A lot of good stuff's been happening recently in terms of long sought
after projects. From the return of the Last Guardian, to Shenmue III, to
the Final Fantasy VII Remake, to the third chapter of Zero Escape...
now... how about one more?
Following the success of the HD remaster of the Resident Evil 1 Remake, and the announcement of an HD Remaster of Resident Evil 0, it now makes sense that Capcom would finally pursue this path...
Following a lot of buzz surrounding a fan-made remake
of Resident Evil 2, and the other hoopla over revival projects, Capcom
began asking on Facebook what fans would like to see in a possible
remake of Resident Evil 2.
Following the success of the HD remaster of the Resident Evil 1 Remake, and the announcement of an HD Remaster of Resident Evil 0, it now makes sense that Capcom would finally pursue this path...
For one, given the template of the game is already there, it's an easier
production, especially if they consider sticking to the basics of the
classics meaning pre-rendered backgrounds and fixed camera angles. So
given Capcom is struggling financially, this would be a financially cheaper option, which
considering the last entry, things haven't been looking up for them
either commercially or critically, despite that the Revelations games
kind have turned things around by being made on the cheap.
Original RE1 versus Gamecube RE1 Remake.
But the success of reselling Resident Evil 1, the Gamecube remake
version ported to PS3, 360, PS4 and Xbone, and I think the PC as well,
has done very well for them. RE 0 is coming too thanks to strong demand,
Gamecube RE1 Remake versus RE1 Remake HD Remaster for PS3 .
Capcom's feedback from fans has overwhelmingly been in favour of what I
also want. A Remake faithful to how the Remake of 1 was by maintaining
the old-school style. Sure the Remake of 1 also introduced new things
and shuffled things a bit and I'm alright with that. There's a reason fans have been begging for a remake of 2 in the
RE1RE style, and that's because they want a return to the puzzle-based less-action focused style that RE4 departed from and for which RE5
onwards to RE6 took their blueprint. The thirst for the classic
tank-control fixed camera style was proven with sales of the HD RE1RE.
So Capcom took notice.
The Original RE2...
Also not only does going with pre-rendered backgrounds make things
easier & cheaper development wise. This frees up resources to really
push the look. I've no doubt that Capcom can approach near photorealism
if they wanted to on PS4/Xbone hardware. And that could really be
stunning! The freed resources can go towards models and lighting and
animation freed from having to render complex backgrounds and accounting
for camera control.
One other thing that might be a concern is that the RE1RE was overseen
by the original director Shinji Mikami who knew the game through and
through and how to update it. It's doubtful he'll return given he now
runs his own studio, so can the new staff pull it off? I'm optimistic
that they can, and I'm certain Mikami could consult if they reached out
to him.
What PS4 is capable of...
That Capcom was scouting for feedback on Facebook was interesting.
Companies don't usually do that... and who knows? Perhaps Capcom already
decided to make it and this was all part of a viral marketing thing?
Either way, it's here! I'm certainly looking forward to it! Now all we need is Silent Hills...
