Resident Evil Might Get the Reboot

[IanDavis]

Resident Evil Might Get the Reboot

Capcom will use the upcoming Revelations remake to judge where to go next.

Now that the Resident Evil plot threads are well and truly tied in knots, it might be better to break out the scissors than try and untangle it. With the chilly critical reception the series has been receiving, it might be time for Capcom to simply reboot the whole thing, series producer Masachika Kawata told Eurogamer.

Kawata said that Capcom will be using the upcoming console remake of the 3DS Resident Evil: Revelations as a sounding board for the future of the franchise. "Once we see Revelations released on consoles, we'll be looking very carefully at how the title is received and what feedback we get. I think we'll get a lot of input from the fanbase and the media on what it means for Resident Evil, and what it could mean for the future of the series. We'll definitely be looking at that as a signpost for where we need to be going next."

However, Kawata clarified that this would be to rediscover the heart of the franchise, not just as a response to Resident Evil 6. "Moving forward I can see us focusing even more on the horror aspect and fear in the series, and see us making something scarier than we have already."

He speculated about some possible new additions, even talking about adding open-world elements. "[W]e would want to preserve what Resident Evil is and what makes it appealing to fans, while also making it accessible to new players." But don't get your hopes up, because any change might be far off. "If anyone is waiting for an open-world Resident Evil, I think it will certainly be quite a while. So in the meantime, I recommend giving Revelations a try."

Resident Evil: Revelations will launch for PS3, Xbox 360 on May 21st, with PC and WiiU editions to follow.

Source: [a href=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-01-31-capcom-there-is-a-possibility-of-resident-evil-series-reboot]Eurogamer[/a]

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[GAunderrated]

You know what I am actually ok with this if they go back to their roots with new interesting mechanics. The REmake was actually a great game and some could consider RE4 to be a reboot of sorts. Both cases worked out great so I hope that they will take those examples and stray far far away from RE 3,5,and 6

 

[Kopikatsu]

Whoa, whoa whoa. Revelations is coming to consoles? Fuck yes! It's the only Resident Evil game that I haven't played, and I was worried I'd never get the chance.

 

[ZLAY]

Unlike that other Capcom title that got rebooted, this one actually needs it.

 

[Milanezi]

Reboots... Some people will say "why not a brand new IP???" Maybe. Maybe not. I mean, if they make a new IP about survival and zombies that came from a biological weapon virus, everyone will complain about it being a copy of Resident Evil, on the other hand, making a reboot gets everyone complaining it's not a new IP... Nope, no one in the FORUMS complained yet, but they have, elsewhere, like in Facebook.

 

[Arkley]

Well, if any of the big franchises is ready for a reboot, it's Resident Evil. REmake is one of my favourite games and one of the best survival horror games of all time imo. If they can recapture what made that great - the tension, the incredibly scarce resources, the claustrophobic environment, the few but overwhelmingly strong enemies - and couple it with a more modern control scheme (while ironing out the bad things, such as too-frequent backtracking) they'll have a winner on their hands as far as I'm concerned.

These days I can play through REmake blindfolded, but I remember that first run through. Counting my bullets and weighing them against my healing items, trying to decide in a split second whether to fight and risk wasting ammo on an enemy I can't finish or trying to skirt by it and risking a mauling. Knowing that if I do drop a zombie, it'll just get back up later as something faster, stronger and very pissed off. Wondering if I should try to fight an enemy I probably can't kill or run from an enemy I probably can't escape - in most cases, the same enemy.

That game was a rush to play. It was brutal, unforgiving and didn't give a crap about you. Hell you needed an item in limited supply just to save your game, and carrying them around limited your inventory. And if you were killed, you didn't get to load a checkpoint, no, you got booted back to the title screen and told to load your last save. It was basically the Dark Souls of its day.

 

[shadyh8er]

Resident Evil, in the words of Mari Illustrious Makinami, just....fucking.....DIE.

 

[Artemis923]

Well, if any of the big franchises is ready for a reboot, it's Resident Evil. REmake is one of my favourite games and one of the best survival horror games of all time imo. If they can recapture what made that great - the tension, the incredibly scarce resources, the claustrophobic environment, the few but overwhelmingly strong enemies - and couple it with a more modern control scheme (while ironing out the bad things, such as too-frequent backtracking) they'll have a winner on their hands as far as I'm concerned.

These days I can play through REmake blindfolded, but I remember that first run through. Counting my bullets and weighing them against my healing items, trying to decide in a split second whether to fight and risk wasting ammo on an enemy I can't finish or trying to skirt by it and risking a mauling. Knowing that if I do drop a zombie, it'll just get back up later as something faster, stronger and very pissed off. Wondering if I should try to fight an enemy I probably can't kill or run from an enemy I probably can't escape - in most cases, the same enemy.

That game was a rush to play. It was brutal, unforgiving and didn't give a crap about you. Hell you needed an item in limited supply just to save your game, and carrying them around limited your inventory. And if you were killed, you didn't get to load a checkpoint, no, you got booted back to the title screen and told to load your last save. It was basically the Dark Souls of its day.

That's how Resident Evil was meant to be played.

I hope Capcom will remember that.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

This franchise has needed a reboot for a long while. My friends and I say that newer RE games suffer from "Resident Evil 2 Syndrome". RE4 was good, but all aspects of horror were gone so it didn't really feel like a Resident Evil game. It's the same as watching the original Die Hard Trilogy, then watching the 4th. Not the same thing, but still uses the name.

 

[uzo]

I have one word in particular to share:


OUTBREAK



YOU FUCKING BASTARDS.


Those bastards in Capcom *teased* at what could have become a major international thing, moving the T-Virus from silly games and daft movies (I will admit I love Milla's nipples as much as any man however) into hurdur we haz mutantz but gunz awlayz winz(L4D). If you fuckers did your fucking job we'd all be saying how hardcore Biohazard has been for the last 5 years, not how fucking shit it has been.

Damnit I want multiplayer to be nerve wracking, not 'oh jeeze this guy is a moron' or 'they made this boss difficult to give us the shits'.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Revelations is the one of the boat, right? With Jill? That one looked interesting at the time. I wonder if it will still be any good.

If they reboot the series, then I hope they at least answer the question of "Who is Ada working for?" before they do the reboot. I know she's a spy, but she has to answer to someone. The person who keeps calling her and saying they have a job for her. I'd like to know. Of course, that means coming up with a whole new villain, which might be a mistake.

 

[Proverbial Jon]

I've never been so happy to hear about a franchise reboot. It's about damn time.

However looking at the response to console versions of Revelations probably isn't the way to go. Revelations was actually incredibly good (by Resi stands) even when played on the 3DS. It invoked feelings of the originals; tight, cramped spaces, hectic chases, fixed camera angles and clunky controls. Regardless of how well Capcom did with this particular game I'd still say a refresh is in order.

I have one word in particular to share:

OUTBREAK

I would love to see a Resi game in the Outbreak style that actually is fun to play. The zombie theme still has a lot of potential. I've always thought it stupid that when you get eaten by a zombie you just outright die. What about letting us deal with actually becoming one?

 

[The_Darkness]

Thing is, they hit gold dust with RE4, but then they removed the camp. The camp made Resident Evil 4. Why? Because it's a perfectly human reaction to laugh off a threat once it's passed, and having that moment of relief sets you up for the next tense moment. Give and Take.
I really do believe that, without the humour, Resident Evil 4 wouldn't have been half as good. The Merchant was hilarious and awesome. Baby Napoleon - amusing and fun. Leon having radio conversations with the bad guys... Yeah.

Oh, and there was the non-optional co-op business, which utterly killed any sense of terror because suddenly you had a partner to watch your back and to hurry you along. Resident Evil 4 was a camp horror movie. Resident Evil 5 was an Action B-movie. And Resident Evil 6... I haven't even picked it up, because I can't forgive them for changing Leon's voice actor...

 

[Rad Party God]

Spoiler: Snip.

Well, if any of the big franchises is ready for a reboot, it's Resident Evil. REmake is one of my favourite games and one of the best survival horror games of all time imo. If they can recapture what made that great - the tension, the incredibly scarce resources, the claustrophobic environment, the few but overwhelmingly strong enemies - and couple it with a more modern control scheme (while ironing out the bad things, such as too-frequent backtracking) they'll have a winner on their hands as far as I'm concerned.

These days I can play through REmake blindfolded, but I remember that first run through. Counting my bullets and weighing them against my healing items, trying to decide in a split second whether to fight and risk wasting ammo on an enemy I can't finish or trying to skirt by it and risking a mauling. Knowing that if I do drop a zombie, it'll just get back up later as something faster, stronger and very pissed off. Wondering if I should try to fight an enemy I probably can't kill or run from an enemy I probably can't escape - in most cases, the same enemy.

That game was a rush to play. It was brutal, unforgiving and didn't give a crap about you. Hell you needed an item in limited supply just to save your game, and carrying them around limited your inventory. And if you were killed, you didn't get to load a checkpoint, no, you got booted back to the title screen and told to load your last save. It was basically the Dark Souls of its day.

Definitely, REmake is my favorite RE of all time, I finished the original game many times before, but playing the REmake was an entirely new experience with a familiar setting and I was actually scared, like the change in the path you needed to take, the position of some camera angles, the incredible animations of your character walking, the incredible atmosphere, heck, even the famous "dog hallway" was changed and I almost screamed like a little girl in that room, they actually had in mind the people who might have finished the original game many times before.

Then the crimson heads... god, I've never been so paranoid about dead bodies scattered around, I was especially careful of carrying a lighter (or some grenades) around to burn those bodies, something that Dead Space nearly replicated, but fell flat entirely.

Seriously, if Capcom is able to replicate or even make something better than that, I'll throw them all of my money.

 

[Lazy]

If there's one series that could actually use a reboot, it's Resident Evil.

 

[weirdee]

Thing is, they hit gold dust with RE4, but then they removed the camp. The camp made Resident Evil 4. Why? Because it's a perfectly human reaction to laugh off a threat once it's passed, and having that moment of relief sets you up for the next tense moment. Give and Take.
I really do believe that, without the humour, Resident Evil 4 wouldn't have been half as good. The Merchant was hilarious and awesome. Baby Napoleon - amusing and fun. Leon having radio conversations with the bad guys... Yeah.

Oh, and there was the non-optional co-op business, which utterly killed any sense of terror because suddenly you had a partner to watch your back and to hurry you along. Resident Evil 4 was a camp horror movie. Resident Evil 5 was an Action B-movie. And Resident Evil 6... I haven't even picked it up, because I can't forgive them for changing Leon's voice actor...

if it's any consolation, none of Chris' lines in this game can be taken remotely seriously, you'll either be facepalming, or distracted long enough for the boss to put his palm through your face for you

*Jill surfaces in a vat of virus*

Chris: Are you okay?!

*facepalm*

 

[Arkley]

Unfortunately, I don't see the crimson heads returning, at least not in the same way as in REmake. They were in the middle of one of the most awkward good design/bad design balances of all time. They created tension because killing a zombie meant it would come back as something worse later on, but that tension was dependent upon the fact that constant backtracking (thus running by a zombie corpse over and over) was necessary. Carrying around the burning equipment meant you could burn a couple of corpses, but that limited your inventory even further which in turn led to more backtracking. That sounds like a neat little balancing effect, especially when you consider that backtracking also means re-encountering enemies you escaped previously (thus forcing you to weigh fight vs flight more heavily) but here's where it all falls apart; backtracking is boring. Here's this incredibly atmospheric, claustrophobic, but somehow beautiful mansion that makes you terrified of exploration, but shows you enough wonderful and horrifying things that your feelings of terror at having to open that door are blended with the rush of discovery... But it also makes you repeatedly run through all the stuff you've seen before a dozen times over.

Anyway that post was a lot longer than it should have been, but I'm glad I wrote it because it illustrates a lot of good and some bad about what is, imo, the best Resident Evil. I hope they find some way to replicate that horrible, crimson head inspired foreboding without falling back on backtracking.

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

I'm looking forward to the scene where the new jailbait Jill Valentine gets a fruit stand overturned on top her. Then when two water melons land on her chest she'll look down at them and say "Maybe for a sweet sixteen present."

... does this have some sort of grounding in real (virtual) events or is that just a personal thing?

 

[bafrali]

Let me guess. You are gonna outsource it to an unproven pretentious developer that likes to make films more than games and mess around with the existing characters to make them more relatable.
And profanity. Can't go wrong with profanity.
I see this ending well.