I'm sure I'm not alone in strangely finding it much easier to write up about things I dislike as oppose to those I like, and writing out acres and acres of criticism just makes for a much easier time and the words tend to flow a little more naturally. It's not that I'm an especially negative person or anything either, but I'd like to think it's part of sheer human nature that (most) people always tend to have more to say when it's something negative... Which is unfortunate, because I fakking love Bloodborne! Which differs from my two previous criticism blogs, one of which focussed on GTAV and the other Dragon Age: Inquisition. I just recently achieved the platinum across four different characters (with a fifth that I brought into this world only yesterday. She's called Mary and has my eyes), which counts for more than enough investment for me to properly consider my thoughts on the game. Which is that it's fantastic and is quite possibly my favourite of the souls/these types of games!

However

For all of my love for Bloodborne there are a number of problems both big and small that can be hard to ignore, some of which seem as if Miyazaki and his ego wanted to pretend that Dark Souls II and all of its many improvements for these games never even occurred. That obviously can't be proven to be the case, and given that Bloodborne is technically a separate franchise then perhaps it could be seen as From's ''A Team'' simply wanting to start over from the ground up and expand with the inevitable sequels, if not patches or DLC. Or both! Patches-focussed DLC sounds rather intriguing... Nonetheless, despite the many inevitable comparisons to be made to its forebearers, I feel that Bloodborne still has some notable flaws ingrained within its own frame separate to its spiritual predecessors.

From the top we start at the very bottom: Chalice Dungeons

Perhaps what was one of the most intriguing aspects regarding the game, and is also thusly the most disappointing. The Chalice Dungeons represented the idea of twisting the Souls/Souls-like formula into something even more related to action-RPGs by introducing all of these supposedly random elements. That, and a more accessible and longform venue for coop play! However that's not quite how they ended up. While you do eventually start acquiring ''Root'' Chalices that are supposed to implement randomisation, the actual 'random' rewards barely felt worth the effort. More often than not you would simply just keep acquiring materials to then start making more chalice dungeons, which at a certain point feels like it's defeating its own purpose... Acquiring more blasted tomb mould while I'm already exploring the lowest depth available frankly seems like a serious flaw in the dungeon's design. Opening one of 'dem gaudy looking coffins only to be rewarded with ritual blood to have the chance to eventually open up more coffins to possibly acquire more ritual blood is like some sort of surreal self-serving insanity. Sure, there are two outfits and a unique weapon to attain, but amongst the sheer number of dungeons it feels a little thin. And the ''uncanny/lost'' variants of weapons also aren't especially rewarding, for reasons I'll elaborate on below. I suppose the primary pull of the dungeons is the gems, as it seems that many of the game's very best reside in there.

Still, chalice dungeons quickly start to feel awfully monotonous. The environments are all wholly similar from dungeon to dungeon; different chalices feature their own aesthetic, but they're all largely the same. Exploring chalice dungeons often just isn't very interesting or enticing, and every time there's a side-door before you head to the boss battle I audibly groan. I know I'd be better off in just skipping it but I do it anyway because what if. What if this time I'll actually find a blood chunk even though I've only managed to find one amongst the dozens of hours I've put into these things alone. I'm definitely one that likes to make sure I've fully scoured each area, though I'm less so motivated now that I'm more fully aware to the fact that there's not really that much of worth -- and what actually is worthwhile have their odds of showing up firmly stacked against you. But for the longest time I would suffer through exploring every damn corner of these things.

I do at least appreciate that there are a number of exclusive boss fights cordoned to the chalice dungeons, though there's only so many before you start encountering repeats. Worst of all is the boss patterns never change; facing Beast-Possessed Soul only now it has like 10x the health and can kill you in 1-2 hits isn't any more interesting than it was the first 18 times I fought that fucker. Boss repeats from the main game feel a tad lazy at that, especially since they're again simply the same boss but with more health. And in the case of Amydala and Rom are now in a much more enclosed space; Amydala can thusly sometimes result in the camera being filled with nothing but its arms as you try to make out what is even happening, and Rom tends to lead to an entire layer of spiders that cover the whole area with barely any room to get by without one of 'em leaping into the air and rocketing down on you from outside your vision. That you'll also occasionally encounter common enemies like a Brainsucker as a 'boss' seems like they were running a little thin coming up with enough bosses to pepper throughout these things.

The multiplayer-related side of the dungeons also comes across as something less than an afterthought. Multiplayer in general is a tad undercooked, but I'll save for that later. For starters, that you actually need to find a blasted item just to be able to join people in coop is insane to me; you can at least forever use your Beckoning Bell to bring them to you, but to actually act as the summonee requires its own item. And it's not like you'll stumble upon it within the first series of chalice dungeons; oh no, this thing will require far more damned layer cleansing than should be necessary. It's likely because of such obtuseness as to why both coop and pvp is so damned rare in the dungeons. Having to actually first 'open' your dungeon can't be helping things, especially since the dungeons will more than gladly let you ring that beckoning bell regardless while they snigger from around the corner as you wait an eternity for players that literally can't join you in the first place. Furthermore, coop still functions much like it does in the main game, so whence a boss is beaten they're sent home in a flurry of gestures. Given that the chalice dungeons are so damn monotonous, the idea that you could at least go through an entire dungeon coop would help alleviate some of my grumblings.

Coop at least has some success rate going for it, but pvp is seemingly non-existent. I mean it technically exists, but I've certainly had no luck with it. I once literally spent about an hour with my character searching to invade somebody (to which finally resulted in a server error and me getting kicked to the title screen), and all of my time playing through the 'Sinister' dungeons--wherein a bell lady is spawned into the dungeon--resulted in a grand total of zero pvp'ing.

Frankly I think what is the biggest offender of the whole shebang is how there's basically no end reward. There is sort of an end boss, and a pretty good one at that, being Yharnam, the Pthumerian Queen. She's quite a toughie (she got nuttin on Loran Darkbeast, though. Only boss I couldn't beast solo) and the fight itself is an engaging one. Given all of the time and turmoil it took to reach the bloody woman, however, then surely there must be something real swell awaiting for you once it's all over? Oh sure! Upon beating her you acquire the mysterious Yharnam Stone, which you can use to do ABSOLUTELY FUCK ALL. Yeah, seriously. It has no purpose. It's seemingly supposed to function as a badge of honour, but I'd say the actual PSN trophy you get for beating her would be good enough. People were scrounging for an age to find out what it does, but according to the official guide its purpose is merely to laugh in your face at all of your hard work. No weapon, no armour, not even a blasted gem! You get nothing, you lose, good day sir.

Insight

That people for the longest time were feveriously trying to figure out just what the fuck does this do aptly summarises what it is about these games that brings such fervor. Puzzling it together and figuring it all out is part of the fun, but another part is also actually reaping the rewards, of which Insight barely has any. Initially Insight was believed that it makes the game progressively harder, which it does... somewhat. The most notary alteration is that it steadily decreases your Beasthood and Frenzy resistances, which besides a few occasional situations (fuckin' brains and their stupid singing shit) doesn't really count for much. Beasthood I often tend to forget even exists at all frankly. Insight also gives certain enemies some new attacks, and by certain enemies I mean, like, one? Those church guardians with the lamp can now shoot some orbs and unleash a radial explosion, but by and large I think that may be it.

So, what other benefits/detriments does Insight incur? Well, er... you'll occasionally hear a baby crying? Those creepy laser-face spiders will now become visible earlier in the game? Well ain't that just dandy. I preferred Insight when it seemingly accounted for everything and anything and was full of mystery. Did you know that if you have 56.45 Insight and beat Shao Khan without taking damage, stay idle on the title screen for 7 months, take the disc out during the the opening cutscene and put in your copy of The Order 1886 you forgot to send back, then Shen Long will burst out of your anus and grant you the power of Greyskull?

Insight primarily seems to exist merely as another form of currency; currency that I often only ever really use to buy the occasional armour sets that become available. Otherwise I will often have far more Insight than I know what to do with as it slowly accumulates. Amidst my pvp'ing I eventually amassed 99 Insight and have played most of the game as such, only to unfortunately confirm that it doesn't really change a whole lot. Certainly not enough to matter anyway. Which is a shame because the idea that Insight did in fact make the game harder, ala World Tendency from Demon's Souls and Bonfire Ascetics from Dark Souls II mixed with the Humanity concept of Dark Souls, sounds like a fine interpretation of those concepts. Considering the game is constantly awarding you with it you'd think it would thusly serve more of a purpose. Insight, more like OutofSight yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. Perhaps there's still more to be discovered regarding what effects Insight has, but whatever it is I can already confirm that it's so menial as to barely even register.

Multiplayer

The online portion of the game in general is flawed in most regards, so I'd say it's best I go down each element one at a time:

Coop

Helping people is fun! And gratifying! And sometimes erotic depending on how you choose to help. However I won't lie in that at least part of the appeal of coop is also gettin' a little sumin sumin on your end. In previous games of this 'ilk', helping someone out netted you some souls, an item of some sort, and would even revive you. Bloodborne is... similar, in that it of course rewards you with Souls Blood Echoes, but that's largely the beginning and end of it. There's no penalty for dying anymore (beyond the fact that you don't regain the blood vials/quicksilver bullets you've used up), so there's no revival incentive or anything like that. You will acquire a single digit of Insight, but as mentioned above we all know how beneficial that is. Again, coop for the sake of coop is certainly a fun time, but I do really wish there was more incentive beyond the base level of Jolly Cooperation.

Sometimes simply trying to find your coop partner is an adventure all on its own. Because you now matchmake by jinga-linga-linging your bell, you're not guaranteed to actually spawn where the person summoning you is located. Because as the summoner your beckoning bell is perpetually beckoning after a single ring, you're pretty much always searching for those special someones. But again, as they travel around and pick up a hot bit of summoned assistance, chances are by the time you've arrived they're already on the other side of the location. It admittedly almost feels like detective work to try and find your summoner, following the corpses and bloodstains they've left like a more morbid interpretation of the breadcrumb method. But it can still prove to be a nuisance all the while. This is doubly so for the chalice dungeons when it actually manages to work, as at times it feels as if they're dropping you in the place at random like they were throwing darts at a dartboard while blindfolded.

PvP

Now, PvP... PvP is all kinds of fucked. Especially for me, because for the first time I actually genuinely quite enjoy it! I've certainly dallied in the past, mostly with Dark Souls II, however the crazy unbalance and latency issues constantly left me in a grump after so long. Bloodborne however excels primarily because of its vastly superior gameplay. The combat is so taut and fast-paced that fighting your fellow Hunter really makes for a lot of fun. The lack of customisation also funnily enough benefits the pvp for the sake of how balance is much more streamlined and so you're not going to wind up going against a magic user that can backstab you in the face with a sword made out of a kamehameha before you've even been invaded.

However, despite this without a doubt being pvp at its most accessible, it can often feel like From really wanted to stick it to those filthy invaders. For starters, much like in coop, your health is cut down by like a third. Which, OK, sure. You're the invader, the enemies won't attack you, and you can heal, so it's fair game to give your health bar a slap on the wrist all the while. The tough sell for the pvp is regarding the bell ladies. See, you can only invade someone wherein a bell lady resides and is swinging that curvy pile of rust. The bell ladies only actually exist by default in, I think, three locations? That leaves an awful lot of areas bell lady-less. Yet you'll find that you can still invade areas you know are ordinarily lacking the distinct clanging of a lady's bell. And that's because when someone summons a friend in, they tend to let in one of those bell ladies and it just gets everywhere and all over the carpet and ugh. As such, more often than not when you're invading someone you'll be faced with two to three opposing players. You only need to kill the host to win, and the host's coop buddies have the same health nerf as you do. But still, fighting against three players at once is real nasty business - seemingly impossible in fact.

Now, this acts as both a pro and a con. The con is that, well, you're very much outnumbered. The pro is that it thusly forces you to instead use guerilla tactics. You have to try and stay hidden, waiting for the right moment, and ideally butting in when they're scuffling against the enemy monsters and such. Using the enemy inhabitants to your advantage has always been there, but now it actually feels a little more even scaled to counteract what on the surface clearly leaves you with the overall advantage. The Unseen Village and its penchant for respawning enemies certainly makes for some rather entertaining back and forths. Almost sorta feels like a one-sided moba in some respects, only with the sound of angry people being exchanged for suffering through ''this town's finished...'' every five seconds.

That isn't always the case, however. Three players all working together will usually be able to best most enemy encounters, and it's awfully demoralising to invade a world that's already been picked clean of potential frenemies to rely upon for help. Sometimes it'll simply involve all players just staring at each other from a distance, gesturing to and fro as neither one dares to budge. Everybody can heal as well, so if you're thusly cornered against three players on your lonesome, with less health than at least one of 'em, and if they're al more than willing to partake in a little blood from the vial, your chances of success are pretty slim.

I can sort of understand why they went this route, at least partially. Because the Soul Memory thing didn't carry over from Dark Souls II, you could potentially run into the classic scenario of a Grade A Masterclass Bastard keeping their level real low and powering through to upgrade their weapon and, in this case, acquiring the sweetest of gems and runes. All for the aim to then invade some poor schmuck who's only just getting his/her feet damp in bloodstains. So, they make pvp real restrictive and for most barely even a thing that happens lalala happy happy happy.

Then why the Hell isn't there at least some kind of pvp arena? I cherish the chance that I actually encounter someone on their own (which is only if they too are trying to invade someone, as all the while they get their own personal bell lady to throw the invasion back in their face. And carry your bags) that also abides by the golden rule of ''keep your fuckin' mitts off your blood vials!''. But I cherish those encounters specifically because of how rare they are.

Also, latency is still a problem I run into. It's not quite backstab in the back even though from my perspective you're still like a mile in front of me, but that's only because you can't backstab in this game. Seriously, I've been killed from attacks that clearly didn't connect, and there has been many a time where you can very clearly see my attacks hitting them only to see their health bar poker face you in return and blow cigar smoke in your eyes. Sometimes if I have a fire weapon or what have you you can literally watch the flames engulf my opponent from an attack, only for no damage to occur. Hell, sometimes I'll even be able to get my health back from an attack while still not doing any damage!

Covenants, if that's what you'd even call them

I think the most disappointing aspect of the online overall are the covenants, or lack thereof. I mean what we have are barely worthy to be used in the same sentence. They seem to exist more so as an additional rune slot than as a way to incentivise and encourage online play in all its forms. So, as far as I know, we have:

Hunter of Hunters

The rune slightly hastens the speed by which you regain stamina, which is nice. Otherwise I have not a single clue what this one involves or does. The crowfeather armour set is pretty bitchin' at least.

Vilebloods

This one's rune makes it so you'll regenerate some health when you're nearing close to death. Hey, great! Oh, wait, it's a single damned digit of health and it's like per 10 seconds or something and only seems to last until your health is like a 1/16th regenerated? This rune fucking sucks. I had figured that it would at least serve to help stabilise the health drain that the Chikage places upon you when you've buffed it up with your own AB Negative, but no, it doesn't come close to stopping the tide. I guess you could try and stack it up with certain gems that provide their degree of regeneration, but still in relation to the other two runes I don't see why you'd have it equipped.

Well, for the sake of the Vilebloods I guess, which is the one that actually somewhat resembles how the covenants originally operated. See, with the Vileblood rune equipped every enemy Hunter you kill--NPCs and players alike--you'll earn a blood dreg. These can then be handed to the Vileblood Queen, who in return allows you to play charades as you mime yourself feasting upon the sweet, sweet air. The dialogue she responds with, and that you of course are to hand these things in, implies there's different levels to it, but as far as I'm aware there's only basically two. First Level: hand in a single blood dreg to earn the Deep Respect gesture. Second Level: Hand in blood dregs for eternity for the sake of a fucking leaderboard with no other rewards.

I've handed in about 115 overall with my pvp-centred character only to have no further rewards beyond that bloody (lul) gesture. It's a pretty sweet gesture, but I had hoped there would have been more down the line. Maybe another level to this Respect train that has me bow while also lying on my back. Or maybe a bow that shoots a giant blood geyser as I kneel, or a bow that has me bow with so much goddamn respect all the enemies and NPCs can do in response is salute with a single, shedding tear.

As far as I can tell beyond the first gesture unlock there really is no more to it than merely climbing the leaderboard ladder. Which I suppose is fine for some, but I had hoped for something a little more tangible. Considering you can gain dregs from NPCs you could then potentially just keep farming them by helping people in the Unseen Village against those three chuckleheads in the chapel. So it's not like your position may entirely be founded by your skills in pure mano e mano combat anyway!

Executioners

The rune makes it so you gain a higher percentage of health per blood vial, which is real fuckin' mint boiiii. My favourite rune of the lot, and would potentially be my favourite 'covenant' if it actually worked. So, from what I'm to understand Executioners exist to hunt Vilebloods, so if a Vileblood summons you for assistance, you are then tasked with bleeding their ass dry. The idea of being summoned under the guise of a friend w/ kirkhammer only to then use the hammer to pummel them while they question their mistakes and sink into a deep depression from this betrayal is fantastic. It brings to mind the Undercover Cop mode from Kane & Lynch 2 in fact. However for myself at least this has never gone as planned. I've certainly tried enough times, but really because the Vileblood rune is without a doubt the worst of the three, why would anyone actually have it equipped anyway whilst they're about to engage in coop?

And this other stuff

That Hunter outfit is so last season

I'm a vain fucker. I always enjoy customising my characters to make them look how I want 'em, to roleplay and spend decades tinkering in character creators to prepare for the future when we can customise our own human-emulated dolls and oh I'm so lonely. The Souls game were no exception, and there's a reason why Dark Souls II in particular had a whole subset of a community dubbed ''Fashion Souls''. The variety of outfits allowed me free reign to customise and style my characters. Creating new characters often had me excited about what I was going to wear as much as how I was going to play. Cosmetics often always came before practicality, and if anyone were to watch any of the videos/screenshots I've uploaded would notice my characters are nearly always decked out in something different.

However Bloodborne's clothing options are a little on the slim side. There's certainly variety, but not enough to satiate my Fashion Souls lust that has grown ever more when every new 'one of these games' comes around. The Dark Souls games in particular were really good about how virtually every bit of clothing you see someone wearing, chances were you too could get it yourself. One size fits all as well conveniently enough! That's most definitely not the case in Bloodborne. There's many a set of armour and crumpled top hat that is unattainable. Hell, they don't even give you Gehrman's badass Evil Magician outfit from his boss fight. Instead you're stuck with his old man attire that he's wearing when he's not trying to decapitate, bifurcate and generally eviscerate you. From what I can tell he's only wearing a slightly different version of the top hat and charred hunter's cape (a fine combination that is sure to turn heads if I do say so myself), so I don't see why they had to be so stingy about it. Although if they were willing to add the ''Old Dragonslayer'' armour set into Bloodborne after years of waiting for it to be attainable in Dark Souls II I think that'd be both grand and ridiculous enough that all would be forgiven and then some.

You're a Wizard, Yummy. lol j/k get back in the cupboard

I'm not usually one who gravitates towards magic in these games. I enjoy the melee combat, so I generally prefer to stick to being a boring ole sword-swinger. I've certainly 'experimented' and gone through a college faze as they say, but I always tend to go back to what I know. However after how crazily out of whack the magic was in Dark Souls II, I figured I'd pave my way to the wonderful world of shooting rainbow swords out of my ass dealing 99999 damage. Only what seems to pass for 'magic' in Bloodborne is more akin to cheap parlor tricks.

It seems with every new Souls-esque game revision the way magic is handled is different each time. Demon's Souls had the OG tried & true mana bar, Dark Souls fucked that off in favour of limited spell uses per each spell, and now Bloodborne has everything governed by Quicksilver bullets. Less so Magneto offspring and more anti-werewolf fuel, Quicksilver bullets not only serve as by which you shoot at the things but also how you enact an all manner of malarkey. I don't see how bullets are related to shooting out Lovecraftian fanfiction out of your arm, but no matter. While all of the 'spells' look flashy and rather intimidating at first glance, most quite frankly haven't proven much use during my time. There's only a very small selection available overall at that - enough so I can list 'em one by one with my thoughts neatly tucked under each!

Auger of Ebrietas

Sort of like the 'training wheels' to officially becoming a bible-bashing nutjob of the Bloodborne world. It only uses one bullet, but the actual damage is negligible and you're just asking to get a Holy Blade up the rectum if you're using it in pvp. It has a 100% chance to knock an enemy over at least, although they're also invincible whilst they clamber back onto their feet/claws/amorphous slime body. As such, and what'll be a recurring theme for these things, dem bullets are best spent elsewhere. Like, in your gun.

Old Hunter Bone

What sounds like a punchline from a Judd Apatow movie is ''the art of quickening'', which temporarily turns your dashes into what looks like you're actually teleporting with the power of sand or something. The visual of it all is again engaging to look at, but the actual practicality of it doesn't ring as true. For starters it requires 5 bullets, which could potentially be a whole quarter right there, and the effect of the spell doesn't long especially long. It seems like something that is meant for pvp purposes really, and from my experience pvp bouts tend to last quite the semester. That, and again those bullets are far more valuable as a means to parry dem son'bitches while they healing.

Empty Phantasm Shell

An arcane enchantment, one that I haven't made much use of across my characters because it seems like nearly half of the weapons aren't even bloody applicable! If a weapon already comes with an enchantment packed in, such as the Chikage, Blades of Mercy, Wheel of Logarius ect., then no such additional enchantments can be administered. I don't even rightly know what arcane is good for anyway. Fire is good for burning all of that wavy beast hair, bolt seems efficient against extra-terrestials and general tentacle folk, so arcane is perhaps best against humanoid enemies? I dunno, never felt like I needed to make use of it in my time.

Beast Roar

One such spell that can actually prove to be useful at times. It doesn't do any damage by itself, but the knockback is good for disarming a horde, if not using it to knock a hapless player off the edge to their doomdom.

Tiny Tonitrus

And now we're right back to ''barely even worth acknowledging''. This greedy shit requires 6 bullets, and the damage never seems to make up for it. That's if it even hits as it only travels in a singular line, again making it nothing short of a deathwish in pvp.

Executioner's Gloves

Another waste of space, this will summon a trio of slowly hovering menstruation ghoulies that'll travel like 5 feet before calling it a day and sapping 3 bullets out of your pocket. Damage isn't especially impressive and again they barely even go anywhere before dissipating into a waste of air.

Messenger's Gift

This one's alright. Lets you live out your wildest fantasy of existing as a tiny grouping of ghostly burn victims to fool any would be attackers. Easy enough to distinguish should you pay enough attention, due to how they show up as messengers displaying a message even without you being in the vicinity, but at a glance they can prove efficient in fooling people. Plus only a single bullet! Just like the lovable little goblins to be so easy on the cost.

Choir Bell

As someone that enjoys playing the support role in multiplayer environments this certainly strikes as something worth my attention. However as you're to likely be playing with randoms, who are highly likely to down their blood vials almost instinctively whenever necessary, it'll often seem like a waste of 8 perfectly healthy blood bullets.

Death By a Thousand Cuts

I don't know how I did this, but that right there is the sort of power that demands to be harnessed.

A Call Beyond

What is supposed to function as the granddaddy wizard-meister spell that basically flattens all of existence, A Call Beyond is wholly disappointing. As with other spells there's a lot of sparkly shit going on to try and make you forget how useless it is. The damage it does is dependant on how many of the magic sperm hit their target, only they're just as bad at navigating as actual sperm as it turns out. Most often won't usually hit anything besides the floor and the damage dealt is typically a complete waste. I could shoot those 8 bullets into nothing and I would still feel that I got a better use out of 'em.

So, yeah, most of the magic stuffs I find is kinda rubbish. Because of how damned Godlike the parry-with-bullets system is, your bullets are always infinitely more useful in saving for the guns they were meant to be loaded in.

New Game Minus

One of the greatest innovations Dark Souls II brought about the way it handled its New Game+ offerings. Most games, including the previous two Souls games, often have NG+ function as the same game only enemies hit harder. Rejigger with the damage and health modifiers and boom, you got yourself a NG+ mode. That's why I really appreciated DSII and how it would actually introduce whole new ways for you to die. Completely new enemies would be introduced, more black phantoms would arrive to ruin your day, boss designs would change, as would many also now have new drops such as rings and even additional boss souls.That part where The Duke's Dear Freja molested my mental health by clambering up the cliffside before I was even nearing her domain is one of the most effective jump leap scares in recent memory. Now technically speaking you could have already seen all what's new by using bonfire ascetics before you were to officially start a NG+ playthrough, but regardless it's a sight better than what Bloodborne decided to answer with.

Unfortunately Bloodborne reverted back to the ways of ''MULTIPLY ALL ENEMY HEALTH BY A HUNDRED''. The only difference from one playthrough into the next is how much damage you and the enemies can withstand. There's quite literally nothing else to set them apart. No new drops, no additional secrets, nothing. That you'll still be picking up damned blood shards and having enemies drop level 1 gems despite also doing about the same damage as an attack from a first playthrough Gehrman seems somewhat misaligned. What's especially humorous, and by humorous i mean annoying, is how you'll even potentially unlock a new weapon! Only you more than likely won't be able to upgrade beyond level 6 for the longest time because of how weirdly stingy the game is with their blood chunks. That's also what makes acquiring all of those ''lost/uncanny'' weapon variants such a dry fart of a reward because of how you won't be able to upgrade them especially high anyway, lest you plan before hand.

Medium Travel

Why can't I fast travel to different areas via the lamp rather than having to keep heading back to the Hunter's Dream? Like, comon now.

Micolash

Just...

A lack of mystery

I'd say a lot of what I've written can ultimately be amounted to how the game comes across as surprisingly small scale in relation to its forebearers. That I was able attain all the weapons, spells, and armour pieces amidst a single playthrough makes me feel all weird inside. All of the speculation surrounding certain mechanics kinda erupted into a puff of smoke, and in a weird way to put it Bloodborne is most certainly a much easier game to understand than any games of this type have come before it.

This blog's finished...

It goes both ways, though. Bloodborne's overall accessibility acts as a boon to many certain elements such as weapon customisation. Allowing you the freedom to easily switch a variety of gems in and out as you please makes it so it's less punishing for experimentation and lets you try things at your own pace. Though it's just a bloody shame the actual weapon upgrades system wasn't as lenient.

In any case with this being a criticism blog obviously it's all death, pain and miseries, but I see it merely as the toughest of love. And believe me, I love this game. As mentioned earlier I've platinumed this sucker, yet I'm still playing. I've completed it on NG+, and yet that isn't enough to stop me. Even those wretched chalice dungeons aren't enough to hold me back as I moan my way through layer after layer in the hopes of getting me some motherfuckin bling. The gameplay is such an incredible leap from the games past that it's suddenly made the Demon's and Dark before it feel weirdly slow and sluggish in relation. Don't get me wrong, though, I can and have been enjoying my time with Dark Souls II: Scholar of The First Sin all the while. They're different sorts of games basically. Bloodborne is much more action-y and a bit more reliant on reflexes than it is as much as methodically differing between offense & defence. Stamina management isn't as much of a concern as you can practically cartwheel across all of Yharnam without breaking a sweat.

I'm not usually one that tends to get drawn into the lore of theses games, but Bloodborne has even managed to seduce me in that regard as well. I'm not about to write up my own synopsis of what the fuck I think is going on, but I'm intrigued enough that I'm always paying attention per playthrough so as to make sure I catch any little deets I may have missed in a previous one. Bloodborne is one of those games that I feel impassioned by, that I frankly want any reason whatsoever to keep playing; whatever you're selling, Bloodborne, I'll be buying! And it's what has made me such a tough critic, because I want to see it to improve. I don't want this blog to be viewed as me whining about everybody's favourite werewolf x tentacle fanfic, but as a fan that only wants to see this series improve in certain areas that I feel could do with a little.

Still love you, BB! xoxo

• Episode 1 Playthrough, Podcast, and Blog/Review/Whatever!
• Episode 2 Playthrough and Blog/Review/Whatever! + Podcast!
• Episode 3 Playthrough and Blog/Review/Whatever! + Podcast!

Duder, it's over! Or perhaps this is just the beginning???... Nah, I think it's safe to say Revelations 2 is over. Though I'm still far from through with it as I'd like to at the very least play through the main campaign on Survival, while perhaps giving the countdown & invisible enemy modes a run, and then there's still the two bonus episodes and more Raid mode and... suffice it to say Revelations 2 is likely to keep me stuck in for a fair while longer. In any case, as is tradition I recorded my playthrough of Episode 4! It's about what you'd expect, complete with the same annoying whir that encompasses the entire bloody thing... But at this point anyone who was actually willing to watch any of it shouldn't be surprised.

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I have to admit, I'm somewhat saddened that the routine of an episodic bit of Resident Evil'ing is over. While Revelations 2 is a game that could have easily stood to be released all in one go, the episodic format actually lead to a tinge of excitement that slowly built per week; the prospect of having to wait for the next story beat and to see what other Raid mode stuffs will be added was effective enough to force me out of bed at the wee hours every Wednesday. And believe me when I say that reasons for me to get out of bed these days is in short supply.

As such, the final episode of Revelations 2 is bittersweet to say the least. Though the actual episode didn't quite match my expectations. Storywise it involved a lot of me waiting for a twist or some sort of unexpected surprise that unfortunately never came. I think that would be my main criticism for this episode, for how the story pretty much wraps up how you'd expect it to; not much in the way of any curveballs or anything that breaks the mould of what to expect from a Resident Evil game story. Which is really unfortunate, as I think they done well in inserting all kinds of intrigue that could have hypothetically lead to something a little more... well, perhaps intelligent isn't the right word. Out of the ordinary let's say.

Still, the actual character moments once again take the cake and make for some of the most surprisingly well done character building the series has seen. That's not exactly a tall barrier to overcome, but still! Improvement! Barry in particular is the star of the show once again, and in a weird twist takes up much of the episode. I was surprised to find that the opening segment with Claire & Moira is in fact really short. Not a whole lot of combat either and mostly seems to function as the set-up for where Barry's segment will take him. Claire's segment still has memorable moments packed within all the same, however, with the selfless 'sacrifice' of Moira to push Claire out of the way of descending rubble making for a surprisingly touching moment. All throughout Barry's segment I as a result kept worrying of whether there was something else I could do, whether it was worth playing it again to see if there were any option at hand to save Moira. I was surprised to find that I actually felt guilty, and realised that I inadvertently must have grown at least some degree of attachment of Moira. Which is understandable, as I've found her to grow to be more likeable with every proceeding episode.

With Moira's fate left ambiguous, as Claire also leaps off into the ocean below, we're then taken over to Barry's side of things, which again takes up much of the episode's running time. There's a good variety of stuff going on in Barry's, too. It first opens up with Barry & Natalia having to operate a number of levers and lifts to help one another across a rather banged up bridge. It seems that they made this segment look to be a little more complicated than it actually is, but it still involved a bit more of that cooperative dynamic that Episode 3 in particular executed so well. The duo then find themselves in a gas-encased mine, which requires that they must act with the utmost haste when exploring the depths before having to escape and get some air. Fortunately the gas doesn't seem to have risen as high as you may think, so you're not constantly having to return to the surface; you also recover astonishingly quick from the effects of the gas. A little jarring to see (and hear) Barry sounding like he's about to ready keel over right then and there, only to be good as new within a milisecond of escaping the gas's radius. The gassy mines portion is designed pretty well overall nonetheless, as it forces you to keep on the move and gives your actions an added sense of urgency, especially when it comes time to unlocking one of the optional puzzle boxes as Natalia. Combat encounters amidst the gaseous depths are naturally made to be rather intense at times too, often forcing you to decide whether you should take these monsters on, or if it would be more advantageous to just run past it all to escape the gasping effects of the gas.

Finally their travels take them to (wait for it...) a spooky mansion! Yup. Capcom have no shame, no restraint! But ah, for as much as the spooky mansion archetype is so played out within this series, it's still an environment that I think works. What's unfortunate, however, is that the actual mansion motif is disappointingly short-lived. It's just not very big overall and is still rather linear all things considered--that and your time in the mansion is split between the mansion and a slaughterhouse/lab--which is a shame. One of the primary pulls of having a huge mansion to explore is that it's a big frikken mansion! They're typically massive, with all kinds of rooms and multiple corridors to discover. Still, despite Capcom's incessant mansion retreads, the environment itself is attractive to look at and carries at least some semblance of the slow-paced spookiness of the original Spencer Mansion. The lighting in particular is well done and sets the mood, and for as unoriginal an aesthetic it may be, it still makes for one of the more evocative environments in the game.

One thing I liked about the proceeding lab area was the number of Ravanent enemies quietly slumbering within their cozy little tubes. You would expect that they're simply lying in wait until you've triggered something important, signalling their time to strike! Or at least I assume so, as funnily enough the game allows you to prematurely smash each tube and kill the bloody things as soon as you find one. It's a small but appreciative gesture that laughs in the face of the invincible zombie corpses in RE6 that you couldn't kill until their triggered ''jump scare revival'' went into effect.

Once the mansion's done and (figuratively) dusted, it isn't long before you then stumbleupon Alex Wesker, still rockin' the fairy tale hansel & gretel witch look. However despite having God knows whatever viruses she has sloshing around her insides, she then injects (what I think is) uroborus for funzies and undergoes quite the bit of spinal stretching. She now looks like a mix between 'The Big Cheese' from RE4, and those utterly terrifying quadruped nightmare monster skeletons from Dark Souls. Monster Alex is certainly a rather memorable design, though the boss itself was disappointingly easy. The first stage is also generally a little bland, as you must simply shoot at the prototypical glowy-orange weakspot until she eventually dies. She will sometimes duck into the vents and routinely pop out to spit gobs of snot or something at you, but by and large she doesn't make for an especially memorable boss battle.

The second part is much superior and a more fitting finale. After Moira arrives (shocker!) in her hobo garb to save the day and provide some backup (with guns!), Barry, Natalia, and Moira escape the lab, only for Alex to then undergo the B.O.W. equivalent of blackface and start rushing after the three. At this point we then have a nearly unrecognisable Claire Redfield, looking like she's cosplaying as Ada Wong, who arrives by chopper and provides some air sniper support. From there Barry goes into Maximum Badass mode, as he then slowly advances towards Alex on his lonesome while Claire provides cover from above -- there's also a really great use of Barry's ''I Have This!'' quote to wrap the cutscene up in a sweet, silken bow. Though it was a little awkward to see Barry ready his Colt Python magnum, to then revert to gameplay where I had exchanged his Python for a different magnum...

This battle again makes for a huge improvement over the first Alex bout, though this too is a little on the easy side. Still, the added sense of spectacle makes up for it. When playing single-player at least you'll switch control between both Claire & Barry; as Claire you have to safeguard Barry as he does his thing, to which you'll then switch to Barry whenever he makes his way inside a cave or something. This goes like that for a while until eventually Barry suggests that ''Hey, hows about you make use of that RPG you have up there'', and in classic Resident Evil fashion you destroy Alex with a well placed RPG shot. Still sucks to see that the RPG has taken the place of the rocket launchers of yesteryear, though. Why Claire didn't just use the RPG from the get-go also doesn't make any lick of sense, but whatever. Gotta build to the crescendo first, soften her up and all!...

All of the dialogue that follows is just pure gold, complete with practically everything coming full circle with both Barry & Moira swearing up a storm, complaining about 'technology', and other such ''Like father like daughter'' tropes. Natalia is then formally adopted by Barry, and they all lived happily ever after.

...BUT THEN PLOT TWIST OH SHIT NATALIA ACTUALLY SEEMS TO BE CARRYING THE ESSENCE OF ALEX WESKER OOWHAAAA. Right, in an epilogue cutscene--complete with references to Chris & Piers heading to China during RE6--we actually get to take a sneak peak at the Burton household. My first thought was how I then suddenly wanted to play a Sims-like sort of game as the Burtons go through their non-BOW bustin' adventures. The perspective then switches to Natalia, who is quoting poetry about a bird and a cage and something something before ending on a close-up of an incredibly evil-looking smirk.

I don't know when or how that happened mind you. Natalia is shown to be kidnapped by Neil at the end of Episode 2 and placed in Alex's post-modern laboratory, as it seems Alex designed this whole fear gauntlet so as to discover who best could withstand the procedure of Alex somehow transferring herself into the body of another. The reason why she's doing this is because I think it's implied she's dying? I mean there's also her harebrained desire for immortality which undoubtedly functions as part of her motive, but she's also shown to cough, which I think was meant to imply that she's perhaps not in the best of health. Especially considering she injected herself with that T-Phobos virus as well, for... some reason? It also turns out that she transforms into the hunchback of Oz during Barry's segment because she had previously shot herself in the head... for some reason? Only she didn't die completely or whatever and the fear of dying then instigated the virus to turn her into Quasimodo.

So... what happened to Natalia during this time? Was Natalia secretly housing the essence of Alex this whole time during Barry's segment? Or was that why Alex got all freaked out at the end of episode 3, because that's when they done the whole Freaky Friday shebang? In any case as it turns out this is still very much a Resident Evil story and doesn't entirely make sense! Though there is that Bonus Episode that centres on Natalia which may perhaps answer my questions, or it may very well pile on even more questions for that matter. Still, despite the confusing subject matter nearing the end, I'm still a little disappointed that it had to end on another ''good guys save the day with practically no major repercussions!'' thing.

I was really banking on the possibility that Moira may not only die, but may in fact have to be killed by Barry as her own very swear-happy variety of monster. This series is just so damn shy about killing their good guys, and while I dig much of the character interactions, I was hoping that the story would lead to something a little more... consequential. It's always a little difficult to fear for the cast of characters' lives when we already know that they're ultimately going to survive anyway, that is unless you're a faceless bit member of a special forces squad, a pilot (or often both), or the comic relief. If you happen to make it through your first appearance in particular, chances are high that you've then got yourself a lifetime's worth of plot armour at your disposal. I mean, those bits of rubble hit Moira pretty damn hard. She didn't look like she was going anywhere, and the timer to Everything Explodes was around 17 seconds. I already know that Moira was somehow saved by that old Russian guy, as I've played a bit of the first Bonus Episode, but it still doesn't specifically explain how that was even possible. This is still undoubtedly Resident Evil's most engaging story yet, in large part thanks to the antics of Barry, but the actual story itself stuck too closely to the formula of every other Resident Evil game for my liking.

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Oh, I also streamed my first attempt at the Moira-centric Bonus Episode. To my surprise this is actually fairly different from the main game. Story wise it seems to be set in-between Claire and Barry's main campaign segments, and of course follows Moira, who is paired with that grouchy Russian beardsman who briefly appeared in Episode 2.

Right off the bat, the character interactions are surprisingly enjoyable. Moira being her defiant and attitude-prone self doesn't mesh with the old Russian fellow at all, and neither is afraid to voice their displeasure of having to work and try to survive with one another. Their conflicting personalities adds a very vivid ''Odd Couple'' sort of vibe, but one that I found to be genuinely rather entertaining.

What really took me surprise is the structure. It first opens with you killing animals in order to collect the meat, which accumulates up top by way of these bag icons. This right here felt like this was the 'Winter' equivalent from The Last of Us, though it soon got weirder. As it turns out what you're basically doing is farming for lives, as each death you succumb to will use up a bag of food; should you run out of food, it's game over. Also, it deletes your save and forces you to start over. For the Bonus Episode I mean, not the entire thing!

The difficulty makes for another splash of cold water, as you can only choose between Casual and Survival -- there is no gobetween, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis style! Naturally I picked Survival because I ain't no filthy casul, but whoo boy this shit is tough! After you've acquired food you then move onto what is essentially wave-based survival shenanigans, where it just throws hordes of everything at you, including multiple appearances of those cauldron-cannon wielding things. You at least carry over all of up your upgrades, though you must reacquire your weapons again. What makes it especially difficult is the increase in aggressiveness of the enemies. Those Hammer monsters were typically rather slow, but here they'll routinely break into a sprint and bum rush you to Hell and back. Enemies are also naturally sturdier and can withstand more punishment, but the ferocious new AI enemy patterns is what really sets up a whole new dynamic. I was so used to relatively waltzing my way through the main campaign on Normal that playing this Bonus Episode on Survival has forced me to start playing much more conservatively and to make extra-use of the dodge maneuver. Ammo isn't in especially high order either, often forcing me to really savour every bullet and make sure I'm getting the most use I can out of 'em. No more shotgunning every enemy I spot regardless of their threat level.

Like the main episodes you still have a coop buddy, this time being the old Russian fellow. What's weird is that you now have two characters with weapons, though the old guy can seemingly only use the bolt-action rifle. Moira can use any weapon she can find so long as she has the space, which I think is sorta funny, given that she's now seemingly a weapons expert despite going nearly her whole life avoiding firearms like the plaque. Must be those 'Burton genes'. Funnily enough she also still has her torch available as well, which that too has proven to be vital as it helps to save on ammo as you try to rely on melee attacks instead.

I managed to get through the wave-survival stuff but quickly perished during the latter stealth stuff, which I didn't even understand what was really even going on. Suffice it to say this Bonus Episode is pretty fucking Hardcore, but in a good way. It's helped open me up to certain strategies I wouldn't otherwise consider, such as actually making use of the damage bonus you get whilst crouching. It's also given me an even greater appreciation for the dodge maneuver! Perhaps one of the greatest new mechanics the series has seen for some time. Despite the difficulty I really enjoyed what I played of it and I'm certainly excited to try again. Though I also think this episode in particular would really benefit from having another player at your side, especially since if Moira dies it's game over completely, without any opportunity for her to be revived by Manly Russian Tramp Woodsman. I still haven't yet touched the second Bonus Episode yet, to which I think will be next on my to-do list. Will likely want to do a write up about that and maybe some more thoughts in the first Bonus Episode in due time. And not to mention a general retrospective on Revelations 2 as a whole and what it means for the series' future!

Hullo! A new episode of our Postmats That Drill cast! Though as we're still on the Revelations 2 train, we're still currently exclusively discussing the third episode of Revelations 2. A little late, given that Episode four is on its way, but no matter. It's not like we legitimately expect many people to pay much attention to this realistically speaking!

Still, for those that are kind enough to listen, we thank you! And are always open to constructive criticism and feedback, especially the likes of which we saw last week from @slag! This time yours truly handled the editing and I, er... well, I didn't so much as go overboard as... well, listen and judge for yourselves!

Also, we have a Special Guest on this week! Courtesy of a dog (or two) whose barking would routinely enter the waves, which hopefully won't function as too much of a distraction...

• Bograts That Nil Episode 2!
• Noseflaps that Mill Episode 1!

The first piece of DLC (of three) for The Evil Within is upon us! Not that many on here care I imagine, but I at least very much enjoyed my time with The Evil Within. It certainly had its flaws--undercooked stealth mechanics, terrible story/dialogue, enemies with guns, and a couple of the bosses really sucked--but it by and large delivered a more than satisfactory 'reimagining' of Mikami's work with Resident Evil 4. The shooting was satisfying, the atmosphere was suffocating, and it featured a surprising amount of environmental variety and constantly left me wondering where it would take me next from chapter to chapter.

While it was hardly a ''pure'' survival horror game, despite Mikami's repeated claims, it did at least implement certain aspects of the sub-genre staples, most importantly being ammo conservation and an unforgiving level of difficulty. It helped establish a specific identity of being what was still basically a third-person shooter, but one that followed en route from The Last of Us by generally limiting your supplies to make you cherish every bullet, and to take any opportunity to thwart the enemies that impede your progress by other means beyond simply shooting them in the head.

I was more than ready for more 'survival horror shootery' anywhoo, yet to my surprise The Assignment is very different from The Evil Within proper. The Assignment practically sheds away much of the action--besides one short instance that is--and instead doubles down on the horror, the exploration, and most importantly the atmosphere. As Juli Kidman, you rarely ever have much in the way of any means to defend yourself, and must thusly rely on stealth to get through encounters. Fortunately while the stealth felt like something of an afterthought in the main game, Kidman is able to take cover and can peek behind corners to get a better look see of her surroundings, making it now much more viable and easier to manage. While hiding in lockers and under beds in the main game often seemed useless, for The Assignment it may just be what'll save your life.

Again, Juli Kidman has no weapons of any kind for most of the DLC. She does have a melee attack, but that too purely exists for defence and certainly can't be relied upon to take down any enemies. What she does have is a torch, which while she won't be blinding and making monsters sizzle ala that other horror shooter featuring a torch, it's instead often used simply to help you find your way. The environments throughout much of the DLC are exceptionally dark, and the torch is sometimes a necessity to find your way. It also helps accentuate the fantastic lighting effects on display, which goes to great lengths to actually make the environments in The Assignment surprisingly unnerving to traverse through. That, and it's used to great effect to help you dispatch the invisible enemies from the main game.

It's amazing what removing your weapons can do to a game's atmosphere; you'll encounter a few enemies you will have already massacred many times over in the main game, yet they still manage to portray a significant degree of intimidation all the same in the DLC. Though there are still a couple of new enemies on hand. One of which seems taken from the same page of the likes of Pyramid Head, complete with its own eerie 'object where your head should be' motif. Walking on two long, feminine legs--complete with high heels to make sure you know when it's coming your way--that lead up to a vicious maw of teeth crudely hidden beneath a cloak, with a glaring searchlight reigning on top of it all. It's a legitimately freaky character design, and its distorted cries for 'Leslie' (and sometimes Kidman herself) would always send the odd shiver down my spine. Its appearances may be scripted, but it's nonetheless a superb new entry in the 'stalker monster' lineup of horror video games.

The other enemy type is similarly as depraved-looking. Made up of what looks to be a mix of bulbous sores and jagged teeth, with something resembling a person in the midst of it all, these creatures look to be what are essentially the 'offspring' of the Searchlight monster. Despite their grave appearance, they are at least completely blind, and will inconveniently find themselves patrolling areas to which you need to pass. Their patrol routes typically follow a rigorous pattern, often requiring you to meticulously memorise their routes to try and brave past the creatures, if not sometimes intentionally start making some noise to lead them astray.

While the stealth mechanics have been given some new notches by way of Kidman's ability to take cover, it's still ultimately rather rudimentary. The stealth gameplay exists more so to enhance the atmosphere, to force upon you a keen feeling of vulnerability as you crawl through vents and try to circumvent the enemies by any means possible. That's not to say this DLC is completely passive or anything, but that it's not overly complicated and is pretty linear for the most part. Puzzles are much more prominent now as well, and while they're not especially difficult, they help to add to the pace and give some more purpose to your sleuthing in the dark.

One other primary component of The Assignment is the story. The story for The Evil Within felt needlessly convoluted, however for better or worse The Assignment does its job well in serving some vital bits of information to help tie things together. I especially liked how it explains the effects of the mysterious 'STEM', and how it also explains why it features such a wide variety of environments. That the castle portion was in fact where Juli Kidman used to live when she was a kid was a welcoming revelation. Juli Kidman herself makes for a much more engaging protagonist than Sebastian could ever hope to. Jennifer Carpenter's performance isn't fantastic, but it's a huge step-up from Anson Mount and his performance's perpetual boredness. Kidman also simply makes for a more interesting character, as we learn of her backstory as someone who was something of a troubled child you could say, with a rap sheet that you wouldn't expect to pin to her attractive appearance. It's funny that Kidman manages to pack in more characterisation and backstory in this roughly 3-hour DLC that Sebastian could in the 12-15 hour main game, but there you go.

Mobius, an ultra-secret society that Kidman is a newly joined member of, helps give the game something of an enjoyable foreshadowing for things to come. The exceptionally tall and seemingly faceless man in suit makes for an effective antagonist as well, which eventually results in a pretty great chase sequence at the very end. The way the suited man literally transforms into the shadows themselves, and how his long-reaching claws attempt to grasp Kidman, do a great job in establishing Mobius's power and influence. That, and it was a legitimately cool effect at witnessing these claws sprout from the walls like that.

While The Assignment does double back to a few environments from the main game, there's a surprising amount of new areas. The first chapter's creepy office building in particular I found was the most frightening to traverse throughout the DLC. Even when the game does return to its familiar locals, they're interesting to explore due to the different perspective and nature of the DLC. The segment where you have to stealthily fight back against Joseph Oda as a 'Haunted' was another highlight of the DLC. Also, kind of a funny coincidence that we have two horror games featuring the player having to kill a monstified Yuri Lowenthal in one week.

Even with all this said, I think what's most important to note is that The Assignment at times feels legitimately scary -- a welcome surprise considering the main game's complete devoid of frights. I would always personally choose to walk everywhere and felt anxious should I ever decide to travel via Kidman's default jog, let alone the sprint. The atmosphere in The Evil Within proper was nicely evocative to begin with, but it's been wonderfully amplified in The Assignment. The air feels like it only gets heavier and thicker the more you play, and the creepy drone of music that fills throughout the first chapter in particular does an outstanding job of keeping the undercurrent of unease going strong. It felt like my heart was lodged in my throat throughout the whole thing. The second chapter wasn't quite as frightening as the first, but I still thoroughly enjoyed my time with this DLC from beginning to end, and I'm really looking forward to the following DLC of Kidman's story.

Finishing this DLC has left me rather curious to see where the series as a whole will go from here. I can't imagine they would actually follow in the Juli Kidman DLC's footsteps wholesale, but it'd be nice if they incorporate much of what they've learned from here into the shooty-shooty of what this series will likely continue with.

Considering how heavily The Evil Within set itself up as a very horror-orientated style of game, it's weird then to have the DLC deliver on those promises when the main game itself is very much more inline with the likes of Resident Evil 4. Do people who played The Evil Within even want this sort of DLC? Perhaps this is precisely what they wanted all along. As such, when the second DLC is released I think it would be extremely beneficial if it could exist as its own standalone thing. From a story perspective it may be a tad confusing, but then the same can still be said for the main game anyway so! Still, that The Assignment feels so far removed from much of the main game, I imagine there's a wholly different audience out there that would love to experience the DLC without having to purchase the full game itself.

As such, for anyone who felt disappointed in The Evil Within's lack of proper horror, The Assignment at the very least is most certainly worth a look see. Hopefully the second piece of DLC--The Consequence--will lead on from what The Assignment started, but then as someone who really enjoyed The Evil Within, I guess I wouldn't be too disappointed if it potentially regresses back to the original way of things.

I recorded a playthrough for Revelations 2 Episode 3! Complete with the same obnoxious buzzing in the background-foreground-underground-allground that's practically a trademark of mine. As such, I'm not really surprised nobody pays attention to these as streams managing to stand out is difficult enough without a shitty mic dragging it down, too. Still, I've enjoyed broadcasting these and I like that my first-hand reactions have been eternally captured whence playing through each episode, regardless of how unfortunately shoddy it all still ultimately is. This time was at least a little different as there was a guy who hung around and chatted for a good majority of the stream, which I really appreciated. So, a big thank you to yeah_28!

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Another week, another episode of Revelations 2, and thus another blog of mine! At this rate it seems as if every episode is surpassing the last, with the first being something of a mixed but optimistic opening, the second episode finding its footing, and now the third with some pretty satisfying story steps being taken. However not all is well with episode 3, as while Claire's portion delivers unto us many of the game's highlights thus far, Barry's segment following thereafter almost kind of feels like padding. The episode could have easily wrapped up with Claire's, and Barry's segment feels latched on, as if due to the structure per episode Capcom felt they had to put him in here somewhere. Barry doesn't miss out on the praise completely for this outing, as his part once again features some charming, and rather important, character interactions, but actually playing through it all often felt tedious and mundane.

Still, not to start off on the negative foot, Claire's segment houses some of the better gameplay happenings in the whole game thus far. In a surprising turn from the previous two episodes, Claire and Moira are both forced to solve a number of puzzles that look like they'd fit right in any classic survival horror game. While none are especially difficult, I did think the one that required you to trigger the ceiling spikes to lower down enough so it destroys a statue with a key embedded in it (Yup!) pretty clever. Another that has you rely on Moira and Moira alone as she uses her torch to follow a series of footprints, helping her avoid the menagerie of death lasers that are trained on the location, was another highlight. Not only because it was at least out of the realm of something, like, simply reading a memo for a code and was actually relatively creative, but because it gave Moira in particular more of a purpose. While from a combat perspective she only seems to be getting more useless per episode, as Claire acquires more guns and via certain upgrades only gets more powerful, Episode 3 makes for a sound attempt in forcing situations that outright require cooperation.

Some obstacles are simple, such as having Moira hold onto a lever while Claire shoots enough hooks holding up passing carcuses into a grinder below so the blood then fills up enough so you can collect a fake piece of liver (...Yup, simple!), whereas another later puzzle requires the player as Moira to note the specific lever Claire must pull--AKA the one that won't result in her bloody demise--from the other side so she can join up with Moira. Of course it's not necessarily Moira who we should be specifically grateful for as these tasks could be performed by any secondary character. Still, it's at least enough to give Moira something to do as opposed to running around like a headless chicken while shouting the odd profanity. Though she does tend to make for good bait at least...

Claire's segment is surprisingly lengthy as well, and just when you think it's about ready to wrap up, complete with a classic 5-minute timer ticking down amidst a fiery stream of explosions, it introduces a whole new area with its own challenge due to the knee-high water limiting your maneuverability.

Barry's unfortunately threatens to drag the whole thing down it's so tedious. It takes place across two different areas, the first of which involves Natalia taking the high ground and turning the valves to open the way below for Barry. Barry meanwhile must try to safeguard her travels and shoot any slight obstacles. It starts off well enough and compliments the episode's overall emphasis on teamwork quite nicely. However it goes on for a little too long, and they've also reintroduced the zombie 'Rotten' enemies, which are so pitifully easy to dispatch that it's almost comical. Whereas the Afflicted during Claire's segment are aggressive enough to demand you keep moving and pay attention, the Rotten are slow and typically die from a single headshot, leaving Barry's first part to feel overly long and rather boring. The second part is even worse, however, as it requires you to transport a box throughout this mine to help you reach higher plains. This too comes across as busywork, almost as if Barry's working a 9-5 job as a factory worker or something, and quickly becomes tedious and sucks away any sort of momentum. This segment does at least introduce a new enemy type, though it's just too bad that it had to have been spoiled in Raid mode... Much like with certain other enemy types that I encountered in Raid mode before they were formally introduced in the story.

Speaking of which, story stuffs!

Claire's segment weirdly enough goes to great lengths to try and tie it with the events of the first Revelations, specifically Morgan Lansdale and his attempts to raise awareness of BOW-threats by basically instigating them... or something. Revelations' plot was kinda messy and a little hard to follow. Still, the predictable betrayal of Neil and his motives of trying to carry on Lansdale's dream made for a nice little callback; a means to help tie together the lore and give it some consistency. Also, fun fact, Morgan Lansdale is basically Gen from Street Fighter. Seriously, he even has a very Gen-esque melee attack in Raid mode!

Anywhoo, Neil is ultimately and also predictably betrayed by Queen Blondie Bitch Alex Wesker with a nasty dose of the Uroborus virus from RE5. He then thusly turns into something that looks like a mix between a Tyrant and a hentai manga... Because tentacles. In any case the boss battle itself, while I think could have standed to end a little sooner, was enjoyable and felt very reminiscent of a classic Resident Evil sort of boss. It's also not very often that you get to have Yuri Lowenthal voice a bad guy, not to mention one that continues to talk all monster-y. There's also another reference to Moira's backstory about Barry's difficult nature when they interact, while Claire also makes mention of she and her brother Chris having a similar relationship when they were young. Funny that Claire compares how Moira & Barry are behaving to a childish sibling rivalry; whether Capcom actually intended that to be Claire's intention seems uncertain...

The best part of it all is during the end of the boss fight, when Claire is bamboozled by Neil (who returns after his supposed defeat after the boss fight -- WHAT A TWEEST), forcing Moira to then potentially have to use Claire's gun to save her. We all saw it coming, Moira's act of defiance against her own morals to save another, but it's handled well as we then receive flashbacks to a scene from her past involving her accidentally shooting her younger sister Polly as a child and Barry discovering the accident. It actually managed to carry the gravitates of Moira's issues stemming from this event quite handily. Though funnily enough you could potentially miss that sequence should you choose to stay in control of Claire, as she then instead picks up the gun and shoots Neil Diamond in the lipless monster face. It's strange that they give you the choice as obviously Moira being the saviour is the significantly better and more thematically appropriate outcome. In a world where zombies and monsters are happening at least somewhere in the world, yo fucking pick up the gun.

Fortunately even Barry's segments has some worthwhile story to it as well, specifically again involving Moira's past. After Natalia injures herself, Barry then takes to carrying her on his back. For starters, it's adorable, and second he then decides to spill his guts regarding Moira and how he of course blames himself for not locking the door to where he keeps all of his fancy guns. Unfortunately, he also reveals that Polly didn't actually die and was able to recover, which seems like some pretty typical cowardice on Capcom's part. However, all the same, given the recent influx of controversy surrounding gun ownership in the US and the potential danger they posses--including real life incidents of children killing their loved ones by mistake--this bit of backstory actually feels surprisingly mature. I doubt Capcom are actually trying to say something political here, but it's all handled with enough seriousness to still feel surprisingly effective... though Moira's ''Go jump on a dildo'' line certainly does its best to deflate much of the earned tactfulness. Still, Michael McConnohie once again deserves praise for his performance of Barry, as he manages to portray the guilt and regret Barry's experiencing quite well. It also helps to bring the relationship of Barry and Natalia closer together, and if I had to guess he's likely to adopt her as his own once this'll all be over.

There's also this continued intrigue surrounding Moira, whom is purported to be dead by the time Barry's arrived, if not undergone a traditionally body-horror heavy transformation. I wouldn't think that to be the case, considering that Capcom rarely ever kill their good guys--especially since they didn't even have the balls to kill Polly, a character who hasn't even partaken in any of the games--but if Capcom actually force you to kill a monstrous Moira as Barry, they would certainly earn my respect!

Not everything concerning the story is handled with the best care, as while Moira, Barry and Natalia all give solid performances, Claire I can't say the same. She's primarily characterised as being a little 'grittier' and more prone to dry and sarcastic quips, and whenever the character is asked to portray a little more emotion, the lines really fall flat. There's also Neil, and how it's suggested that Claire had a thing for him and is all broken up about his betrayal and death. However because we barely ever saw or got to know Neil, that too doesn't have the necessary investment to matter to the player.

Nonetheless, Revelations 2 thus far easily ranks at what is Resident Evil's best told story. Not that that's especially high praise of course given the standards of the series, but it's enough to show that Capcom are actually improving. Each cliffhanger also does a great job in leaving me excited to learn more, and this one is no different, with the mutated Alex Wesker getting rather spooked by Natalia's admittedly creepy stare.

In some ways, Episode 3 is perhaps the best one thus far. It's a shame Barry's portion is primarily made up of sheer boredom, but Claire's excellent segment is able to weigh it back up and have it stand overall as a pretty good time. Only one more episode to go and I am now legitimately excited to see it to the end.

• Revelations Episode 1 Podcast/Playthrough/Blog.

I recorded a playthrough for Revelations 2 Episode 2! However despite opting for a different headset, that same invasive buzzing unfortunately continues to persist... Still, it was nice of you all to provide so much precious feedback regarding both the previous playthrough and the podcast! It's truly heartwarming to witness all of my years of being a consistently active member of the community paying off!!!

Anyway I've also written up my thoughts on Episode 2 or something. Probably wanna eventually record another podcast with @n7 sometime soon too, but for now I think I want to get this stuff outta the way first.

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With another week comes another episodic entry into the increasingly convoluted web of Bio-Organic Weapon-induced malarkey, Revelations 2. Whereas the first episode felt like it was still trying to find its footing, episode 2 is a marked improvement and is generally paced better and leaves a more lasting impression. The story too picks up the pace quite nicely and lets loose some actual 'revelations', which is in stark contrast to the story of the original Revelations, were both everything and nothing really happens. The plotting overall continues with a slow burn, but it sprinkles the events with enough intrigue throughout that I was surprised to find myself engaged and excited to learn what happens next.

The narrative of course still has its issues, primarily with the attempts at comic relief from the two lesser characters and fellow Terra Save members Gabe and Pedro. Pedro in particular has all of the comic wit and naturalness of a dog letting out a big fart while simultaneously kicking someone in the balls -- ''balls'' in particular of which happens to be a weird catchphrase of Pedro's. He does at least echo one of Barry's less infamous lines of dialogue (''I'll be examining this'').

Fortunately they both certainly meet some wonderfully gruesome ends! So, despite my previous discussion about praising Capcom for having a little restraint in conjuring up yet another virus variant, welp, scratch all that because now we have the T-Phobos Virus!...?? Ehhh, at least this type has a different means of body-horror inducing transformations. See, as it turns out everybody's infected! However rather than everybody instantly becoming all 'itchy tasty', the infection doesn't come about unless the individual experiences a heavy dose of fear. Pedro, and his constant anxiety-tell of exclaiming ''balls'', ultimately leads him to falling prey to the fear and undergoing a beautifully grotesque transformation. What's even better is how he was initially using a drill to help enter certain shacks in the fishing village you're in that have been boarded up with concrete for some reason; upon the transformation that same drill of course then becomes his weapon of choice, making for Revelations 2's obligatory 'Chainsaw monster' equivalent. Hell, his animation set is practically ripped right out of RE6 at that, but then that shouldn't be too surprising at this point.

Pedro thusly makes for the game's first proper boss fight, but only after you must defend yourselves while trapped inside an enclosed space with monsters bashing through the windows. It's very reminiscent of such scenarios in RE4 where Leon teams up with Luis, and one early segment in RE5 of the same thing, but the familiarity doesn't in anyway dilute the fact that it's the sort of combat scenario that simply works. As you're trapped with nowhere to go, with the monsters filling the space by which you could potentially escape through the windows, it's a classicly effective case of mounting the tension as you frantically try to stay on top of the situation. Then of course you've got Pedro himself who's increasingly getting freaked out, further clueing you in that the situation is about to go from bad to worse.

Gabe himself shares a similar fate while flying a helicopter to pick up Claire, Moira, and the newly acquainted 6-months younger Natalia Korda. However, with this being Resident Evil and all, something goes wrong and Gabe like so many other pilots in this series crash lands the thing, while also going through a mysterious transformation of his own from the understandable fear of the situation. However unlike Pedro, Gabe's monstrous new appearance is kept a secret for now, no doubt waiting to show up in a later episode.

The concept of a virus that goes into effect based upon your fear is an interesting one, one that has already been explored in such games as Amnesia and, of course, Eternal Darkness. It's thusly a shame that for Revelations 2 it's likely to only matter within a story context and no such gameplay repercussions will arise. Though to be fair, Revelations 2 simply isn't really that sort of game. I mentioned this in my previous blog but for all of Capcom's allusions, Revelations 2 feels like it's steering far from the path the original Revelations had looked to be setting up, and is more so heading into straight-up RE4 territory. Ammo was rarely ever an issue for starters, and given the supply conservation philosophy of such shooters as The Last of Us and The Evil Within, it's disappointing that Revelations 2 didn't follow ensuite. There's at least a little more breathing more this time and many of the environments are more open to some mild exploration.

Still, despite Revelations 2 being a good step towards getting back in the good graces of the series fans (or at least this one anyway), Resident Evil continues to muddle about with the very same identity crisis that has plagued it for so long now. However that's a subject for another blog, one likely dedicated to writing up about Revelations 2 as a whole.

In any case, despite my qualms, onto more positives! While Barry's segments feels a little more uneventful this time around (that is besides the event at the very end), it had more of the adorable character interactions between Barry and Natalia. Both Moira & Barry's insistence to hold their swears in front of Natalia was a cute little gesture that only strengthened the warmth and likeability of Barry especially, while giving Moira a bit of father-daughter familiarity to establish a bond between the two despite neither of which have shared any screentime as of yet. A namedrop of Moira's sister Polly (who currently has never starred in an RE game) was a nice touch, too.

Furthermore, a new enemy type goes to great lengths to build upon the gameplay dynamic from the first episode. Resembling (and sounding) much like the invisible bug-things you may remember from Resident Evil 4, these new enemies are completely invisible to the eyesight of Barry -- that is besides a filter that covers the screen when you're getting in proximity, which makes it all look as if you're in the middle of a heat wave. Despite Barry's lack of sight regarding the creatures, Natalia of course can at least see the outline, requiring you to first pinpoint the enemy as Natalia and then ultimately kill it with Barry. Like the Revenants, these encounters give Natalia some clout and a reason for existing alongside Barry. It's especially nerve wracking to attempt to kill one of the fuckers simply as Barry, while Natalia shouts directions and hints to its location in an increasingly anxious fashion. During one particular instance where I had Barry & Natalia split up, as Barry I found myself immersed in that familiar haziness, which immediately had me hang tight and wait until I could bring Natalia over to join him and provide some much needed assistance. The co-dependency the two share is one of my favourite aspects of the game thus far, it's just a shame Claire & Moira don't have quite the same mechanical chemistry.

This time around I found both segments to be at level with one another. While again Barry's is a little slower-paced than Claire's, it has some likeable character interactions and some solid pacing to it as you follow in Claire's footsteps and give witness to the changes that have occurred over the six month period that separates the two. Barry may have the better guns, yet funnily enough it's his segments that have currently been offering up the closest to some old-school chills thus far. Both segments also each have their own enjoyable boss fight to end on, with Claire going up against a cannon-wielding fire bomber of sorts, while Barry must ultimately put an end to dear Pedro -- his aforementioned ''balls'' tick was also put to good use during this fight, and the smack talk pun Barry ends the fight on felt very much in line with what you'd expect from the character.

There's not much to add concerning Raid mode, besides the inclusion of Leon S. Kennedy wearing his awesome Tall Oaks attire. More missions is all well and good, though I'm still sticking by my rule to take my time until cooperative play is added. Seeing the inclusion of that lumbering and ever-intimidating Executioner Majini from Resident Evil 5 was certainly a nice surprise!

Anywhoo, I continue to enjoy my time with Revelations 2. It's not without its oddities, but it's so far provided enough of what made RE4 & RE5 so engaging in the past to inspire a little more optimism for the series future.

Hey! I recorded a podcast with my chum @n7 over here! Because it's not like there's enough podcasts of guys talking about video games out there on the internet!

It's exactly as amateurish as you may expect, but if you're in the mood to listen to someone ramble on (and on and on and on) about Resident Evil for an hour, then give it a listen, provide feedback, and yes just what in the fuck is going on with that echo?

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Furthermore, I livestreamed my playthrough of the first episode of Revelations 2! Unfortunately despite this being a new headset that took me back like £45, the mic is kinda shoddy and there's this annoying buzzing noise overlaying it all... Still, if you're in the mood to hear even more Resident Evil rambling, then give it a watch, provide feedback, and have I always sounded like I'm in the midst of choking on my own tongue?

Also, if anyone has any recommendations for a headset that doesn't a feature a mic that sounds as if there's a mosquito perpetually buzzing around in your ear, I'd appreciate it.

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I also wrote up a stupidly long review thing as well that's basically redundant at this point, but I've been feeling extra-depressed lately so my motivation has been at an all time low! Still, should you happen to have a Resident Evil rambling fetish, then by all means give it a read, provide feedback, and something something something?

Resident Evil as a series exists in a post-Resident Evil 6 world. A world where Resident Evil's latest big outing was the obnoxious, overly scripted, QTE-driven, sloppy bunch of drivel that was 2012's Gears of Evil: Resident of Duty. Alongside that we also had the even worse and outright pathetic Operation Raccoon City -- in the same year. They served as a one-two punch and deflated much of the momentum the series had built up over the years. Fortunately there was Resident Evil: Revelations, a (still rather lukewarm) attempt at going in a slightly different direction and melding the aspects of the old-school survival horror Resident Evil, and the more contemporary shooty-shooty of the modern releases. Though while it wasn't quite a homerun it at least shown promise, and was certainly far and beyond the quality of its fellows of the 2012 Resident Evil Apocalypse. So much so that rather than continuing with Resident Evil 7, Capcom have opted to instead release a Revelations 2.

No doubt as a means to help distance themselves from the weight of releasing the next Big Numbered Resident Evil, it's still a little peculiar as while it has its own uniquities, Revelations isn't that distinctive from the bigger budget mainline games. Nonetheless, Revelations 2 does have a few quirks of its own to help it stand out amongst the ever growing crowd of Resident Evil shooters.

For starters, Revelations 2 is to be released episodically with an episode per week spanning four weeks in total. There will be a physical release after the fact, though its episodic format, alongside its budget pricing, may hint towards a future where the sub-brand Revelations will continue to exist to provide smaller scale Resident Evils alongside the big budget numbered entries. And fortunately despite the ails of Resident Evils past, the first episode makes for a decent start to this episodic quadrilogy.

Revelations 2 features four protagonists, split into twos. There's first Claire Redfield, sister to Chris Redfield from the most recent of the series releases, who hasn't canonically starred within a game since all the way back in Code: Veronica. Paired with her is newcomer Moira Burton, daughter to legendary sandwich enthusiast Barry Burton. Elsewhere we have Barry himself making his belated return, who hasn't been seen since Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, and even then only in a cameo role at the end. Barry is joined by another newcomer, a mysterious little girl called Natalia Korda. The story first starts you off with Claire and Moira, having been kidnapped by unknown forces and taken to a remote prison island. Then at a certain point, the perspective will shift to Barry and Natalia as they retread Claire and Moira's steps.

Amongst other similarities--such as the setting in particular--the story structure brings Code: Veronica to mind, with how you'd have to explore environments first as Claire, then later on as her brother Chris where he must make his way through everything that has occurred before hand, most notably an explosion that altered the architecture of the island. The differences aren't quite as drastic in Revelations 2, but there's some bits of handiwork you'll perform as Claire & Moira that will prove an obstacle for Barry and Natalia during their segments.

Surprisingly enough the story itself isn't all too bad, given the circumstances of this being a Resident Evil game. Though while there's obviously not that much story going on as of yet beyond ''escape crazy island/save daughter from crazy island'', there's enough intrigue implanted to leave me curious to learn more in the coming episodes. The voice acting and writing is also handled with the right degree of ham & cheese without going too overboard. Though the menagerie of colourful cursing that spills out of Moira's mouth (''moist barrel of fucks''/''shit on a stick'') feels rather forced. Barry himself provides many of the character highlights, with a likeable voice performance complimenting the equally dependable and goofy qualities Barry's known for. That Capcom have somehow managed to recreate and modernise Barry in 2015 into something believable yet familiar is pretty impressive. A not-so-subtle nod to his infamous 'master of unlocking' line in particular made for a cute little reference.

The gameplay of Revelations 2 is also rather familiar while feeling different all the same. Whereas the original Revelations felt much like Resident Evil 4 only with the inclusion of allowing you to move & shoot, resulting in some rather awkward animations in the midst of any diagonal movement, Revelations 2 has seemingly been rebuilt from the ground up. That is with a few inclusions from prior games, such as Resident Evil 6's sprint -- and not to mention much of its animation set. Nonetheless, It manages to feel quite unlike any other modern day Resident Evil shooter despite its obvious similarities. The movement for example feels weirdly slow, in traditional Resident Evil fashion, despite the more accessible maneuverability and animations to account for that; in fact it kind of brings to mind the sort of pacing from the Lost Planet series. It admittedly took some getting used to due to my preconceived expectations, but I grew accustomed to it surprisingly quick.

The core shooting is a vast improvement from the first Revelations, and the enemies react well to bullets with a welcome degree of sploshy and painful looking feedback. The primary adversary of the game, being ''The Afflicted'', function similarly to the Ganado and Majini of games past, however they're significantly more aggressive. The Afflicted will routinely rush right at you, swiping wildly with whatever weapon they have if not their own bloodied mitts. They will also sometimes start munching on you, requiring you to wiggle the stick to escape their grasp. Similar to such games as The Evil Within in particular, The Afflicted function as an effective means of keeping the tension at a steady level with their constant rush tactics. They're also surprisingly agile and will often attempt to leap through the air to grab you, sometimes hilariously leading to them inadvertently jumping over the railing to a lower level.

The Afflicted are only faced in Claire's portion of the game; Barry instead will primarily come into conflict with ''The Rotten'', which are essentially just zombies and are much slower and easier to handle. However to balance things out a little Barry will also contend against 'Revenants', which make for the game's most creative enemy type. Despite primarily looking like a sentient bundle of roughly stitched together limbs, the Revenant is surprisingly resistant to bullets. That is unless you can locate its weak point, which'll reveal the all too familiar pulsating orange bulb of critical hitdom. How you locate its weak point then leads into what is Revelation's most damning, or enjoyable dynamic, aspect -- depending on the segment.

Cooperative gameplay returns once more to the series, after the original Revelations' story left you on your lonesome as Jill Valentine. And by 'lonesome' I mean playing on your own with an invincible AI compatriot continually existing behind you, following you where you go throughout like 90% of the game like a lost little puppy. While the series is no stranger to cooperative gameplay, Revelations 2 makes for a detour and attempts something a little different. Both Claire & Barry each play like a traditional modern day Resident Evil protagonist, however their respective compatriots Moira and Natalia fill in as support roles rather than simply as another gun -- in fact neither of which can use any gun at all. The idea is certainly a fresh one for the series, however the execution is somewhat off the mark. Natalia for example works well in conjunction with Barry, as her own equivalent to the 'see all enemies within the vicinity' vision aids in the game's light attempt at stealth, allowing you to better note the enemy patterns to then take advantage and nail a vicious melee kill from behind. Her vision furthermore allows her to spot the weak points of the aforementioned Revenants, and can spot nearby traps and ammunition, making her a pretty vital asset to the core gameplay. Despite her young age, she still has her own means of attack by way of bricks she can pick up and potentially throw, if not use to violently smash in a downed enemy's cranium.

...Then we have Moira. Moira unfortunately functions as nothing more than a hindrance, a curse-happy liability that only ever seems to get in the way. Her unique abilities include her torch, which can theoretically be shone to stun enemies, allowing Claire the opportunity to rush in and perform a melee attack. However the length of time by which it takes to stun an enemy is surprisingly long, and it often feels that you're better off simply stunning an enemy with a well placed shot to the head. She can at least use her torch to locate items Claire couldn't otherwise collect, similar to the 'Genesis' item in the original Revelations, however the overall span of your torch is significantly smaller and thusly much more tedious to try and locate any hidden goodies. Her other ability lies with her crowbar, which she can use to execute a downed enemy. She can swing it about normally, though its rather slow and the damage it inflicts just doesn't seem worth the danger of getting up close.

What adds to the aggravation is while there's cooperative gameplay, it's local only. As such, I played it on my own and Moira seemingly never actually makes use of her abilities. She would instead simply hang around like some confused bystander, if not sometimes run ahead and/or stay still in the midst of danger. Moira isn't invincible either, and while her getting downed won't result in a game over, her crowbar may sometimes be required to continue onward by way of pulling off a board of wood off a door. Playing it cooperatively would likely help to mitigate some of the cooperative mechanic's failings, however that it's restricted to local only naturally limits the possibility to play as such rather greatly. You can at least switch between each character instantaneously, but such accessibility still can't compare to having each character operate independently by a player.

The structure of the episode is pretty linear and you're not given quite as much leeway to explore on your own as seen in the original Revelations. That said, the environments are much more open than the claustrophobic corridors of RE6. Besides a rather frustrating segment involving an onslaught of infinitely-respawning enemies and a deceptively ineffective flamethrower, the overall design of this first episode feels... safe, yet enjoyable all the same. Revelations 2 isn't going to great strides to reinvent the series, but what it instead delivers is a halfstep return to its glory days. Glory days amongst the Resident Evil shooter generation that is. Despite Capcom's continued insistence that Revelations is to function as a more horror-oriented series to exist alongside the bigger numbered entries, Revelations 2 is still very much a third-person shooter. Puzzles are barely nonexistent and many combat encounters are mandatory, dispelling two of the primary components of the survival horror entries of the series.

That said, Revelations 2 does make some minor adjustments to the formula to help distinguish itself from the likes of Resident Evil 5 and 6. For starters, melee combat continues to be much less of a focus as it has become in the numbered series. You can of course still perform a melee attack against a stunned enemy, but that's primarily it. No more freeforming melee attacks or anything of the sort. In fact virtually all of the new mechanics introduced in RE6 seem to have been shelved, that is again besides the sprint. Enemies won't drop any sort of supplies either, which can at least force your own supplies to begin to dwindle at least. Well, as Claire perhaps, though as Barry ammunition was always in plentiful supply. Certain attacks may also temporarily handicap your character by way of bleeding, which will limit your character's movement speed while also blotting the screen with drops of blood. This can make way for a layer of tension to take a hold as you frantically try to make sense of the situation while your screen's heavily obscured, though it can also simply prove to be a nuisance. And while you won't be diving all over the place like a terribly confused and potentially drunk breakdancer, you do have a four-way dodge maneuver to give you a little defence in conjunction with all of that offence.

Still, despite such minutia, Revelations 2 is ultimately just another Resident Evil shooter. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as before Capcom can go about reinventing the over-the-shoulder wheel, it's fair for them to at least attempt to prove that after Resident Evil 6 there's still some folks at Resident Evil HQ who know how to make something that isn't liable to leave you vomiting from every pore and orifice on your body.

Not like we should really be surprised anymore, but Revelations 2 of course isn't particularly scary, nor even unsettling. It has some creepy atmosphere to it during Barry's temporary exploration of a foggy forest, but considering the recent re-release of the 2002 remake, I feel like the standards of what to expect from a Resident Evil game's atmosphere has been kicked up a notch. The Revenant enemy type certainly gave me the occasional shiver at least.

Once the roughly 2-hour long episode 1 campaign has been dusted, you're then given access to Raid mode, returning from the original Revelations. While the famed score-focussed arena-combat Mercenaries mode has long been situated as the series main post-story minigame of choice, Raid mode offers something just as thought out and surprisingly addictive. Built up as something resembling an action-RPG of sorts, Raid mode has you levelling up characters, upgrading skills, acquiring loot (weapons and weapon mods) and fighting your way increasingly tougher gauntlets. It's relatively simple overall and isn't quite as chaotic as Mercenaries, but it's got all the hooks of what makes such video game concepts appealing, complete with numbers bouncing off of enemies with every shot. It's also seen many an improvement from the original iteration of Raid mode, now including a lot more customisation for your characters with a multitude of skills, many more 'elite' elemental enemies, and what currently appears to be much less of a grind. Whereas the original's often required you to constantly keep returning to earlier missions to grind out levels and currency (sometimes simply to just refill your ammo), Revelations 2 seems to be a little more lenient in letting you clean through the competition -- so long as you're the recommended level at least. Unfortunately much like the campaign cooperative gameplay is restricted to local only, although online coop will eventually be implemented... just only whence the retail version is out. As such, I've been tempering my Raid mode excursions so as to wait until I can start shooting some not-zombies in the head with a friend.

While this isn't necessarily a complaint, but there appears to be an awful lot of asset recycling going on in Revelations 2. Many of RE6's animations seem to have carried over for starters, and many of the 'Gestures' in Raid mode are taken from the Lost Planet series. The HUNK character model is clearly the RE4 model, Wesker's from RE5, Jill Valentine's from Revelations, and many of the Raid mode stage environments also originate from RE6 (right, all of your favourite locals from everybody's favourite Resident Evil game!..), as do many of the enemies. It starts to make Raid mode in particular look like some sort of 'Greatest Hits' compilation, and while it's actually kind of neat to see so many familiar 'faces', it also portrays a slight air of desperation, as if Capcom simply couldn't afford to completely cater to this mode with the game's own assets. Nonetheless, Raid mode alone currently feels like the highlight of the package, and if you happen to buy the first episode on its own then there's a pretty hefty portion of content awaiting you.

Overall I'm excited to get to play more of Revelations 2 as the weeks go on. While it's all thus far feeling pretty safe in the grand spectrum of Resident Evil games, it's certainly a marked improvement over Resident Evil 6, and even the original Revelations in some regards, which is currently all I can ask for. It unfortunately doesn't quite carry the same 'survival horror shooter' qualities as such games as The Evil Within or The Last of Us, but it's enough to give me hope that Resident Evil may just be able to pick itself up and get back on the rotten, decomposing, maggot-infested horse...

But seriously Moira you're bloody useless.

It's funny to think that the 2002 remake of the 1996 Resident Evil classic is now plenty old enough to be considered a classic in its own right. Almost thirteen years have passed since its original release, two whole generations have flown by, and the Resident Evil series has gone through some rather drastic changes throughout the years. It's safe to say that Resident Evil is barely even recognisable anymore from what it once was, and thus, we have the 2015 Remastering of the Resident REvil Remake to shine a light on the old ways of the series.

The remake is typically lauded as being one of Resident Evil's best, right alongside other popular contenders Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4, and there's a good reason for that - many in fact! The remake is especially impressive for how it manages to recreate many of the hallmarks of the 1996 original, while still establishing its own identity. To be sure, the remake is so different (yet familiar) that it can easily stand as its own game rather than inciting a constant comparison to the original. As a remake it's undoubtedly one of the best in the entire industry, and as an old school survival horror game it's not too shabby, either.

Now I had already played the remake many times before, and while I admittedly still have much of the game memorised (though not quite as acutely as I do the very original), playing the remake still made for a welcoming return to everything I hold dear with these sorts of games. The remake looked absolutely stunning upon release, and the 1080p facelift has done wonders in allowing its graphical proficiency to grab ahold and smother you within its intoxicating atmosphere.

The Spencer Mansion has become an iconic environment over time, one Resident Evil continually attempts to replicate and imitate. Sometimes it functions as an homage, though other times it can feel akin to blatant pandering and/or a lack of creativity. Nonetheless, the 'spooky mansion' is such a classically archetypal horror setting for a reason, and the remake's is one such standout. All of my time playing the remake throughout the years has actually given the mansion a sort of comforting quality to it. Due to the game's classic survival horror design of requiring an awful lot of backtracking, it's easy to become accustomed with the many hallways and bedrooms of the building. All of the different pathways to get here or there, with many shortcuts to discover, introduces many opportunities to strategise and weigh between which route is the best one to take to get where you need to go. No other Resident Evil game has featured an environment quite as well designed or open to exploration as the Spencer Mansion.

The proceeding environments such as the Residential Building and the Umbrella Laboratory are a little more linear in how you'll progress via the dally of key items you need to continue the story, but even still the exploratory aspect of the remake still stands as one of its biggest strengths. The exploration is of course what then leads into the game's mix of puzzle solving and combat. Both of such elements aren't especially involved, however, and the older Resident Evil games instead peppered the combat and puzzle solving around to compliment the game's atmosphere. Nonetheless, while the puzzles aren't especially taxing, they require just enough brainpower to still feel satisfying to figure out and execute, while also making for a change of pace from the combat.

The combat is perhaps why the older entries of the series have become so divisive throughout the years. While the remake still carries certainly similarities to the latter day entries, specifically Resident Evil 4, with its (default) tank control settings and your inability to move & shoot, they're still wholly different games. Resident Evil 4 is of course a third-person shooter, and a damn innovative one at that. The act of shooting everything in sight and gradually increasing the power of your ever expanding armoury differs greatly from the older games of the series. The remake may also involve a lot of you shooting stuff, but that still doesn't necessarily make it a shooter.

The classic camera angles that are still in place serves to both accentuate the atmosphere and provide you with a noticeable handicap within the confines of the game's combat. However, due to the limited cache of supplies on hand, you are to thusly choose your battles wisely. The camera angles may also obfuscate your view of enemies, but, as I elaborated further in a previous write up, every enemy has a tell to let you know they're close by. You also by default have auto-aim, so even if you yourself can't see the creature, your character will be sure to let you know when there's something available to shoot in the face. The combat of the game due to the aforementioned constrictions is thusly a rather simple affair, and the crux of it all is instead centred on the player deciding whether or not it's worth actually choosing to kill whatever you find is trying to maul face off or not.

This sort of design has been the same throughout all of the mainline series up until Resident Evil 4, though it's undoubtedly at its best in the remake. Rather than simply blasting your way through everything, the openness of the Spencer Mansion goes hand-in-hand with your theoretically limited cache of ammunition to ward away the monsters. It forces you to actually think about how to proceed, about whether it's worth clearing out this longer pathway with lesser enemies, or braving the shorter one that may have more enemies to kill and/or potentially avoid. You must also weigh between whether it's worth using your handgun to kill this zombie, which will likely around 8-10 bullets, or instead choose to use the shotgun which could potentially kill it in a single shot. Or perhaps both, where you manage to knock a zombie down to the ground, and then use your handgun to finish it off... Or you could even intentionally have the zombie grab your leg whilst it's residing on the floor, inflicting a bit of damage, but also resulting in an insta-kill that shows your character destroying the zombie's head completely with their boot.

Exclusive to the remake are Self-Defence Items now, too. These are situated within their own inventory space, and with one equipped will allow you to escape the grasp of an enemy and deal some damage at the same time. This then throws in another layer of strategy at your fingertips, as you may intentionally decide to get bitten to be able to use a self-defence item to save on ammunition for your other weaponry.

Avoiding enemies is of course a valid tactic, too. Due to the tight corridors that populate the mansion, however, this may prove tricky. Nonetheless, the fan-coined ''wall hug'' is as effective as ever, and because the zombies you'll encounter are as dim-witted and sluggish as you can expect, environments that are slightly more open allow you to more easily escape from their grasp.

Due to the element of backtracking, this involves a lot of you returning to previous areas where enemies you may have avoided still reside. However the game has a decent sense of progression, as you slowly acquire more ammunition and better weaponry. Avoiding an enemy at one moment may be an easy dispatch should you return later on after locating some more ammunition. As you yourself begin ramping up your bevy of weaponry, however, so do the monsters themselves in a sense. At roughly the midway point, the zombies are replaced by the iconically terrifying 'Hunters'. These are much faster and considerably more dangerous, complete with an insta-kill attack they will liberally attempt to commit should your character's health be in the 'Caution' state or lower. The Hunters as such make for a deviously fantastic means of subduing the confidence you're likely to build as you acquire more supplies and weaponry.

Then, then there's the Crimson Heads. Perhaps one of the most ingenious inclusions the remake saw for the series, Crimson Heads are the horrifying 'revival' of the already undead corpses you'll kill. After downing a zombie, you'll notice its corpse will still reside within the area, when they would ordinarily vanish upon returning. This signifies that it's undergoing the Crimson Head transformation, and will then eventually reawaken into something much more ferocious. No longer content in slowly shambling towards you, Crimson Heads will rush at you at roughly the same speed as your own character, and now have access to claws that give them a slight increase of their range of attack. They retain the same amount of health as a regular zombie, although their aggressiveness can certainly change your tune all the same even should you have the ammo to spare. The only means to halt a Crimson Head transformation is to burn the corpse, if not manage to kill the zombie by destroying the head. You'll soon come upon the necessary tools for cremating the undead, however as you would expect the kerosene required is of a very limited quantity. The concept of Crimson Heads thusly add another angle to consider to killing the creature in front of you, and in turn can make the act of backtracking surprisingly anxious.

Even before the transition to a third-person shooter, the Resident Evil series still featured a cavalcade of grotesque boss monsters to fight. Within a design that's supposed to give you the freedom to go about combat encounters your own way, mandatory boss encounters that you're required to kill admittedly flies in the face of what those older games were about. However as such, bosses are actually rather rudimentary as far as attack patterns and tactics go. Most simply require you to shoot, run away, shoot, and so on. They exist more so for spectacle really, and as a means to force you to give up some of your ammunition that you may have otherwise been able to successfully stockpile. Even still, the spectacle allows the many boss monsters to stay with you longer after you've finished it. The undead shark--coined Neptune--encounter still resides as one of the most stressful video game moments of all time personally speaking.

For this 2015 Remastering, Capcom have implemented a few new options to make it accessible for a more modern audience. There now exists a modern day analogue control scheme to coexist alongside the classic tank controls. Results may vary, but I personally much prefer the tank controls, as they feel inline with how the game was designed. The alternate controls are plagued with the same issue that games such as the original Devil May Cry suffered from, being the mixture of camera angles and analogue control. Whereas tank controls would mean Up always meant you would move forward, the alternate control scheme could involve you switching angles and then accidentally finding yourself running in the opposite direction. The lack of animations for how your character moves within this control scheme just looks plain jerky, too. It's appreciative that they're there, and I'm sure for some they're a significant improvement, but for myself I can still play the remake with the original scheme and still manage to feel completely in control of my actions. There's a surprising fluidity to your movement that lends itself well to escaping enemy encounters and rushing past, even with the tank controls.

The other most notary addition is a 'Very Easy' mode. The remake's Easy mode I would feel is accessible enough as it is, but the Very Easy mode likely assures now that just about anyone who's interested in the game, but is put off by the combat, will be able to see it to the end.

Unfortunately, and this perhaps makes for my one sole criticism, that's basically all there is that's new here. While Capcom have done their due diligence in appealing to a newer audience with the game's Very Easy mode and alternate modern control scheme additions, there's unfortunately nothing new here to celebrate for the veterans. No additional difficulty settings or anything of the sort. There is at least a new costume for both Chris and Jill, being their BSAA character models from Resident Evil 5, which is an appreciative gesture. However for veterans such as myself, the static nature of the game has thusly made it to be rather easy. I chose the highest difficulty available (which by default is only its Normal mode) as Chris Redfield, who is also home to the more difficult of playthroughs between he and fellow protagonist Jill Valentine. And still did I get through the game mostly issue-free. I still enjoyed reliving it all, and I did still admittedly die the one time, but that there's no mode that would at least rearrange the key items around, or randomise the enemy locations, is rather disappointing. Especially when you consider the number of alterations the Director's Cut and Deadly Silence saw with the very 1996 original.

The graphical upgrade the remake has seen still makes for reason enough to see it through again all the same, however. As mentioned before, the remake looked pretty damn breathtaking upon release, and to this day the original GameCube version holds up surprisingly well. The added bells & whistles thusly make an already superb looking game all the more effective. The remake is now all the more of a beautifully haunting skirmish, with exquisite detail contained within every single room. The dark, gloomy corridors and lighting-laden windows, paired with the perpetually ominous and sometimes penetrating soundtrack, do wonders in cementing the remake as a truly effective horror game.

Jump scares are abound, but not overly so to feel gimmicky or worn out. The jump scares are spread around enough to compliment the atmosphere rather than dominate and dilute it. While this element perhaps doesn't ring as true after so long, but the way the remake explicitly preyed on the expectations of fans of the original strengthened the potential for frights. The classic camera angles do an outstanding job at creating a surgically precise gallery of visages and this 2015 Remastering does a great job in reinvigorating the merit of camera angles for the benefit of atmosphere. The new widescreen option also seamlessly allows the game to better show off its graphical prowess, all at the small cost of the game occasionally having to pan up or down within certain environments.

In a weird twist, if there is one thing that I feel the original still performs better than the remake, it's the voice acting. The voice acting of the original is notorious for how impossibly and hilariously awful it is. It has lead to many a classic quote that still rings throughout video game culture in general, and while the voice acting and dialogue of the remake is still rather hammy, it's not nearly as unintentionally memorable nor as gut bursting. That the story takes itself a little more seriously also makes the many leaps in logic of certain characters all the weirder. Of course, such 'Engrish' as seen in the original can never be manufactured and has to happen via sheer serendipity, so with their superior localisation team there's nothing that Capcom have done to recreate such magic as Gerbil Sandwiches and Masters of Unlocking.

Regardless, I am positively elated that this game can exist in this format. The expansion of its accessibility, with how it's now available on just about everything, has allowed it to flourish for a completely new audience. Whether this new audience will take to this game or not is difficult to guess, however it's beneficial that more people are at least aware of one of Resident Evil's best. Could this lead into more survival horror Resident Evil? One would hope the remake may open Capcom's eyes to the reality that such a fanbase exists, though let's not get our hopes up too much. The remake remastering, and not to mention Resident Evil 4's PC version, primarily exists as a peace offering to make up for the shameful display Resident Evil flaunted back in 2012. The less beloved Resident Evil Zero is at least assured to go under a similar treatment, but whether they'll cut it short there or somehow attempt to give games such as Resident Evil 2 and Nemesis the highest of defined love is another question entirely. With Revelations 2 on the horizon, with its many The Last of Us inspirations in tow, leaving me cautiously... curious, Resident Evil looks like it may very well be on the up and up. And even should Resident Evil once again suddenly crash and burn, we can at least take solace that Capcom were able to give the REmake the honour and degree of modern day polish it deserves.

Ever since the release of the positively superb 2002 remake of the 1996 Resident Evil release, people have been clamoring for its successors amongst the PS1 generation to go under a similar such evolution. Resident Evil 2 perhaps more so than Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, though that too tends to get shuffled in alongside its more beloved predecessor for good measure.

During the years following the release of the remake such wishes were understandable. Given the incredible recreation of the original into a beautifully haunting and atmospheric horror adventure, one that was different enough to feel like its own entity while still managing to feel familiar all the same, it's only logical to then start envisioning just how that would transpire with the latter games. However as the years have gone by, the hunger for a Resident Evil 2 remake has gone on unabated. Hell, it very well might have intensified! But...

Do we really want a Resident Evil 2 remake?

Regardless of what's actually being posted, whenever a Resident Evil-anything crops up from Capcom you're bound to see a handful of comments demanding a remake of Resident Evil 2 (and sometimes Resident Evil 3). Obviously there are going to be people who do simply want a remake of Resident Evil 2 at seemingly at cost, but I feel that for most of the sort of folk who actually comment on Capcom facebook posts or whatever don't actually know what they're even asking for. Because of the sad state the series is in, people asking for Resident Evil 2 to be remade comes across as a sort of involuntary impulse; a shot in the dark as to what might somehow save the series from its own rotting demise. That, and the more appropriate reboot, self-destruct-and-start-anew idea.

However, I again have to wonder if they actually understand what they're even asking for. I would have to assume that a solid majority of RE2 remake yearners are holding on to their memories of the original remake. When they're asking for a remake of Resident Evil 2 they're asking for it to be given the same treatment that the remake underwent. But unfortunately as each year passes us by such a wish has only gotten more and more unfeasible. The idea that Resident Evil 2 could be remade with the survival horror trappings intact is certainly appealing! That it could be designed with the intent to provide a fresh experience that captures that same delicate balance of feeling like its own beast, while preying on the expectations of players who have already played the original, is something I too immediately longed for soon after I had finished the remake.

Unfortunately times have changed, Resident Evil has changed, and perhaps most importantly Capcom have changed. The remake excelled in no small part down to Shinji Mikami's direction, which benefitted from the fact that he was the mastermind behind the very original. However he along with many of the other notable faces of Capcom--including of course RE2 director Hideki Kamiya--have moved on elsewhere.

When I try to realistically imagine what a Resident Evil 2 remake would resemble in this day and age, I think cooperative gameplay, I think over-the-shoulder shooty-shooty, I think gameplay that incentivises you to kill everything in your wake, with zombies dropping ammo and forced combat encounters. I think of what would essentially be Resident Evil 5 in Resident Evil 2 clothing. Now, that's likely what a contingent of Resident Evil 2 fans want, to be able to play the older games but with many of the modern conventions introduced. But I would have to imagine that for those that are seemingly plagued with a nervous tick of randomly screaming for a Resident Evil 2 remake, the idea of Resident Evil 2 being actioned-up inline with the likes of Resident Evil 4 and beyond would be seen as blasphemous.

And really, when you consider the state of the series, who's to say that Capcom could even successfully manage developing a more action-orientated interpretation of Resident Evil 2? Confidence in Capcom, especially when it comes to their efforts with Resident Evil, are at an alltime low. However...

They're trying.

For the longest time, Capcom have spun the whole ''we want to take the series back to its roots'' ad nauseum. It's practically tradition at this point, a rite of passage for the next Resident Evil project to be taken hold and lead into something tangible. While such attempts like the Leon S. Kennedy campaign in Resident Evil 6 make for an especially hilarious fallacy with their supposed aim to ''getting back to their roots'', we do have games such as Resident Evil: Revelations.

Now, I personally don't consider the first Revelations to be particularly stellar, but it was appreciative to see them actually trying. Despite Revelations functioning as a limp mishmash of both styles, leaving it festering and failing to flourish as either a survival horror game or a traditional Resident Evil action-shooter, it was at least a respectable first attempt at bridging the gap - brainstorming a happy medium between the old and new. And with Revelations 2 on the horizon looking to be trying out some new things, then that proves they're willing to experiment further.

Most importantly of all is of course the Remastering of the Remake that is but mere days away from release. If what Capcom have described is true, then they've really gone the full nine yards in sprucing up what is now a classic remaking of a classic. Not only does it of course include all the Ps, but a few of what were once pre-rendered backgrounds have in fact been completely redone in polygons. That may possibly make the aesthetic of the game look a little jarring, but it's important purely for the sake of the effort they're willing to put in. When you note the addition of a more modern analogue control scheme to coexist alongside the tank controls, and it actually gives me pause as to whether a Resident Evil 2 remake could work. Just, not one that is as drastically different from the transition the original saw between 1996 and 2002.

Remaking Resident Evil 2 - The Yummylee Way!

The Ideal

Anyone who knows me shouldn't be too surprised to learn that I'm of the ilk that would most love to see Resident Evil 2 rendered with the same design philosophies as its original release. I'd want it to play with all of the hallmarks of yesteryear, with the notorious mix of camera angles and tank controls. Though that's not to say there couldn't still exist an alternative analogue control scheme like in this REcent REmastering of the REmake... I'M SO VERY SORRY OH LORD SAVE ME.

Hell, they could perhaps even include the option to move and shoot, allowing you to slowly pace backwards or forwards. While your inability to simultaneously move and shoot was pretty key to the third-person shooter design of Resident Evil 4 & 5, allowing you the courtesy for the older games wouldn't alter them too drastically I feel. Just so long as the pace of which you can move while shooting is at walking speed of course. No running 'n' gunning with a FAMAS ala Metal Gear Solid for example. They had already implemented moving & shooting within the classic design in Resident Evil: Outbreak File 2 before hand. In fact they even allowed analogue control, too!

I would also expect a few twists here and there within the gameplay much like how the remake introduced self-defence items. Crimson Heads would certainly have to carry over in particular. Further expanding on the Scenarios system, by most importantly featuring many more decisions that will reflect in the alternate B scenario, would be a must as well.

The tone of the story would still be within the realm of... well, I don't want to see Leon defying the laws of everything like during that laser hall scene in Resident Evil 4. I also wouldn't want them to take themselves too seriously, however. The extreme melodrama of RE6 could get to be a little nauseous, although while the story was needlessly convoluted, the original Revelations managed to recapture the silly spark of the older games with its goofy dialogue and seemingly intentionally strange line readings.

Though when it comes down to it, that Capcom would be willing to remake Resident Evil 2 under these guidelines seems highly unlikely unfortunately.

Survival Horror Shooter-Vania

The other primary alternative is of course with the over-the-shoulder setup and having it function more as a straight shooter. However that too isn't completely without appeal in my eyes. When we consider the recent influx of shooters such as The Last of Us and The Evil Within, and maybe even Alien: Isolation to a certain extent, the 'survival horror shooter' is starting to form into a sub-genre of its own. Capcom have already been taking some obvious cues from The Last of Us with how they're steering the direction for Revelations 2. That could then perhaps work as the blueprint for this hypothetical actioned-up remake of Resident Evil 2.

However they would have to keep the exploration aspect intact. The RPD station in particular would still have to allow you to explore (mostly) at your leisure. Though to account for the higher action-focus, the open nature of the game could then lead into what would basically be a MetroidVania style of shooter. You would not only be acquiring the necessary key items to move on but also upgrades, hidden away behind all sorts of optional puzzle rooms or boss battles or what have you maybe, and they could even add a bit of randomisation to it. Not only with what sort of loot you'd find, but enemy placements, too. That would further strengthen the survival element of this 'survival horror shooter' by way of it forcing the all important aspect of improvisation into the design.

There's also the question of cooperative gameplay. Under my rule, the story would primarily stay single player. However funnily enough what I think would be interesting is if they took a cue from Resident Evil 6. Specifically the cross-campaigns connection. With the Scenarios system still intact, they could then have Leon & Claire occasionally meet up with one another, only the alternate character could potentially be another player who is playing the alternate Scenario. In the original game they never actually fought together, but for the sake of this hypothetical remake idea's higher focus on action, having them working together to best a boss or survive a noticeably tough encounter would fit in without cooperative gameplay being too overbearing.

The randomisation element would ideally promote the concept of replay value, and not to mention the typical suite of unlockables one would expect from a Capcom game, so there'd hopefully be enough people playing to successfully allow such a specific match up.

Playing It Safe

What is the most likely route for Capcom would be what they're doing with the Remastering of the original remake. No, not the remake itself, but the remastering of the remake specifically. So while they wouldn't go to the extent of creating all these new assets and so on, they'd at least be willing to layer on a shiny new coat, while maybe adding in some additional mechanics similarly to the many upgrades Resident Evil: Deadly Silence saw. Y'know, stuff like the 180 degree turn - finally!

Like many of Capcom's games, Resident Evil 2 has seen a lot of porting throughout its time. Many of which include their own additions both big and small. Some like the N64 version featured a mode that would rearrange all of the item placements just like the Advanced mode in Resident Evil: Director's Cut, alongside some new costumes to wear and files to read. Its PC version has itself its own exclusive Hard mode setting at that, and every version from the Dualshock PS1 version (meaning not the very original) has the Extreme Battle minigame, which sort of functions as a very early prototype to the recurring Mercenaries minigame. Sort of...

In any case, if this Ultimate Edition of Resident Evil 2 could compile all of Resident Evil 2's content into one accessible package, alongside all of the other aforementioned bells & whistles, then I know I at least would be content. (pun...)

Oh! Conclusion!

I'm generally sort of torn when it comes to the idea of Resident Evil 2 being remade. As described above, it's clear that I would certainly love to see it get its due, but whether or not modern day Capcom could properly execute any style of interpretation without bungling it all up is tricky to ascertain. After the Resident Evil apocalypse of 2012 it's clear they're trying to make amends, and they're obviously aware of the demand. With them also re-releasing the most survival horror-est of Resident Evils in 2015, then perhaps that's a sign that they understand those classic design philosophies still hold weight for a certain subset of people. Enough that my 'Playing It Safe' hypothetical may come to pass at the very least.

Or perhaps 'Playing It Safe' would in actual fact be that they simply keep their mitts off of Resident Evil 2 and let sleeping zombie dogs lie.

Outro Mosaic

...Also Music:

Ever since the release of the positively superb 2002 remake of the 1996 Resident Evil release, people have been clamoring for its successors amongst the PS1 generation to go under a similar such evolution. Resident Evil 2 perhaps more so than Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, though that too tends to get shuffled in alongside its more beloved predecessor for good measure.

During the years following the release of the remake such wishes were understandable. Given the incredible recreation of the original into a beautifully haunting and atmospheric horror adventure, one that was different enough to feel like its own entity while still managing to feel familiar all the same, it's only logical to then start envisioning just how that would transpire with the latter games. However as the years have gone by, the hunger for a Resident Evil 2 remake has gone on unabated. Hell, it very well might have intensified! But...

Do we really want a Resident Evil 2 remake?

Regardless of what's actually being posted, whenever a Resident Evil-anything crops up from Capcom you're bound to see a handful of comments demanding a remake of Resident Evil 2 (and sometimes Resident Evil 3). Obviously there are going to be people who do simply want a remake of Resident Evil 2 at seemingly at cost, but I feel that for most of the sort of folk who actually comment on Capcom facebook posts or whatever don't actually know what they're even asking for. Because of the sad state the series is in, people asking for Resident Evil 2 to be remade comes across as a sort of involuntary impulse; a shot in the dark as to what might somehow save the series from its own rotting demise. That, and the more appropriate reboot, self-destruct-and-start-anew idea.

However, I again have to wonder if they actually understand what they're even asking for. I would have to assume that a solid majority of RE2 remake yearners are holding on to their memories of the original remake. When they're asking for a remake of Resident Evil 2 they're asking for it to be given the same treatment that the remake underwent. But unfortunately as each year passes us by such a wish has only gotten more and more unfeasible. The idea that Resident Evil 2 could be remade with the survival horror trappings intact is certainly appealing! That it could be designed with the intent to provide a fresh experience that captures that same delicate balance of feeling like its own beast, while preying on the expectations of players who have already played the original, is something I too immediately longed for soon after I had finished the remake.

Unfortunately times have changed, Resident Evil has changed, and perhaps most importantly Capcom have changed. The remake excelled in no small part down to Shinji Mikami's direction, which benefitted from the fact that he was the mastermind behind the very original. However he along with many of the other notable faces of Capcom--including of course RE2 director Hideki Kamiya--have moved on elsewhere.

When I try to realistically imagine what a Resident Evil 2 remake would resemble in this day and age, I think cooperative gameplay, I think over-the-shoulder shooty-shooty, I think gameplay that incentivises you to kill everything in your wake, with zombies dropping ammo and forced combat encounters. I think of what would essentially be Resident Evil 5 in Resident Evil 2 clothing. Now, that's likely what a contingent of Resident Evil 2 fans want, to be able to play the older games but with many of the modern conventions introduced. But I would have to imagine that for those that are seemingly plagued with a nervous tick of randomly screaming for a Resident Evil 2 remake, the idea of Resident Evil 2 being actioned-up inline with the likes of Resident Evil 4 and beyond would be seen as blasphemous.

And really, when you consider the state of the series, who's to say that Capcom could even successfully manage developing a more action-orientated interpretation of Resident Evil 2? Confidence in Capcom, especially when it comes to their efforts with Resident Evil, are at an alltime low. However...

They're trying.

For the longest time, Capcom have spun the whole ''we want to take the series back to its roots'' ad nauseum. It's practically tradition at this point, a rite of passage for the next Resident Evil project to be taken hold and lead into something tangible. While such attempts like the Leon S. Kennedy campaign in Resident Evil 6 make for an especially hilarious fallacy with their supposed aim to ''getting back to their roots'', we do have games such as Resident Evil: Revelations.

Now, I personally don't consider the first Revelations to be particularly stellar, but it was appreciative to see them actually trying. Despite Revelations functioning as a limp mishmash of both styles, leaving it festering and failing to flourish as either a survival horror game or a traditional Resident Evil action-shooter, it was at least a respectable first attempt at bridging the gap - brainstorming a happy medium between the old and new. And with Revelations 2 on the horizon looking to be trying out some new things, then that proves they're willing to experiment further.

Most importantly of all is of course the Remastering of the Remake that is but mere days away from release. If what Capcom have described is true, then they've really gone the full nine yards in sprucing up what is now a classic remaking of a classic. Not only does it of course include all the Ps, but a few of what were once pre-rendered backgrounds have in fact been completely redone in polygons. That may possibly make the aesthetic of the game look a little jarring, but it's important purely for the sake of the effort they're willing to put in. When you note the addition of a more modern analogue control scheme to coexist alongside the tank controls, and it actually gives me pause as to whether a Resident Evil 2 remake could work. Just, not one that is as drastically different from the transition the original saw between 1996 and 2002.

Remaking Resident Evil 2 - The Yummylee Way!

The Ideal

Anyone who knows me shouldn't be too surprised to learn that I'm of the ilk that would most love to see Resident Evil 2 rendered with the same design philosophies as its original release. I'd want it to play with all of the hallmarks of yesteryear, with the notorious mix of camera angles and tank controls. Though that's not to say there couldn't still exist an alternative analogue control scheme like in this REcent REmastering of the REmake... I'M SO VERY SORRY OH LORD SAVE ME.

Hell, they could perhaps even include the option to move and shoot, allowing you to slowly pace backwards or forwards. While your inability to simultaneously move and shoot was pretty key to the third-person shooter design of Resident Evil 4 & 5, allowing you the courtesy for the older games wouldn't alter them too drastically I feel. Just so long as the pace of which you can move while shooting is at walking speed of course. No running 'n' gunning with a FAMAS ala Metal Gear Solid for example. They had already implemented moving & shooting within the classic design in Resident Evil: Outbreak File 2 before hand. In fact they even allowed analogue control, too!

I would also expect a few twists here and there within the gameplay much like how the remake introduced self-defence items. Crimson Heads would certainly have to carry over in particular. Further expanding on the Scenarios system, by most importantly featuring many more decisions that will reflect in the alternate B scenario, would be a must as well.

The tone of the story would still be within the realm of... well, I don't want to see Leon defying the laws of everything like during that laser hall scene in Resident Evil 4. I also wouldn't want them to take themselves too seriously, however. The extreme melodrama of RE6 could get to be a little nauseous, although while the story was needlessly convoluted, the original Revelations managed to recapture the silly spark of the older games with its goofy dialogue and seemingly intentionally strange line readings.

Though when it comes down to it, that Capcom would be willing to remake Resident Evil 2 under these guidelines seems highly unlikely unfortunately.

Survival Horror Shooter-Vania

The other primary alternative is of course with the over-the-shoulder setup and having it function more as a straight shooter. However that too isn't completely without appeal in my eyes. When we consider the recent influx of shooters such as The Last of Us and The Evil Within, and maybe even Alien: Isolation to a certain extent, the 'survival horror shooter' is starting to form into a sub-genre of its own. Capcom have already been taking some obvious cues from The Last of Us with how they're steering the direction for Revelations 2. That could then perhaps work as the blueprint for this hypothetical actioned-up remake of Resident Evil 2.

However they would have to keep the exploration aspect intact. The RPD station in particular would still have to allow you to explore (mostly) at your leisure. Though to account for the higher action-focus, the open nature of the game could then lead into what would basically be a MetroidVania style of shooter. You would not only be acquiring the necessary key items to move on but also upgrades, hidden away behind all sorts of optional puzzle rooms or boss battles or what have you maybe, and they could even add a bit of randomisation to it. Not only with what sort of loot you'd find, but enemy placements, too. That would further strengthen the survival element of this 'survival horror shooter' by way of it forcing the all important aspect of improvisation into the design.

There's also the question of cooperative gameplay. Under my rule, the story would primarily stay single player. However funnily enough what I think would be interesting is if they took a cue from Resident Evil 6. Specifically the cross-campaigns connection. With the Scenarios system still intact, they could then have Leon & Claire occasionally meet up with one another, only the alternate character could potentially be another player who is playing the alternate Scenario. In the original game they never actually fought together, but for the sake of this hypothetical remake idea's higher focus on action, having them working together to best a boss or survive a noticeably tough encounter would fit in without cooperative gameplay being too overbearing.

The randomisation element would ideally promote the concept of replay value, and not to mention the typical suite of unlockables one would expect from a Capcom game, so there'd hopefully be enough people playing to successfully allow such a specific match up.

Playing It Safe

What is the most likely route for Capcom would be what they're doing with the Remastering of the original remake. No, not the remake itself, but the remastering of the remake specifically. So while they wouldn't go to the extent of creating all these new assets and so on, they'd at least be willing to layer on a shiny new coat, while maybe adding in some additional mechanics similarly to the many upgrades Resident Evil: Deadly Silence saw. Y'know, stuff like the 180 degree turn - finally!

Like many of Capcom's games, Resident Evil 2 has seen a lot of porting throughout its time. Many of which include their own additions both big and small. Some like the N64 version featured a mode that would rearrange all of the item placements just like the Advanced mode in Resident Evil: Director's Cut, alongside some new costumes to wear and files to read. Its PC version has itself its own exclusive Hard mode setting at that, and every version from the Dualshock PS1 version (meaning not the very original) has the Extreme Battle minigame, which sort of functions as a very early prototype to the recurring Mercenaries minigame. Sort of...

In any case, if this Ultimate Edition of Resident Evil 2 could compile all of Resident Evil 2's content into one accessible package, alongside all of the other aforementioned bells & whistles, then I know I at least would be content. (pun...)

Oh! Conclusion!

I'm generally sort of torn when it comes to the idea of Resident Evil 2 being remade. As described above, it's clear that I would certainly love to see it get its due, but whether or not modern day Capcom could properly execute any style of interpretation without bungling it all up is tricky to ascertain. After the Resident Evil apocalypse of 2012 it's clear they're trying to make amends, and they're obviously aware of the demand. With them also re-releasing the most survival horror-est of Resident Evils in 2015, then perhaps that's a sign that they understand those classic design philosophies still hold weight for a certain subset of people. Enough that my 'Playing It Safe' hypothetical may come to pass at the very least.

Or perhaps 'Playing It Safe' would in actual fact be that they simply keep their mitts off of Resident Evil 2 and let sleeping zombie dogs lie.

Outro Mosaic

...Also Music: