With Capcom largely abandoning the survival-horror genre and taking the Resident Evil games down a more action-oriented route, frustrated fans have taken matters into their own hands. This has come in the form of a fan made Resident Evil 2 remaster project, which made big waves a couple of weeks ago.
Capcom took notice of the excitement people had over the chance to revisit Resident Evil 2, though, and thanks to fan support the publisher has begun exploring a remake of its own. Now fans have to play the waiting game to see what direction Capcom is going to go with this Resident Evil 2 remake, assuming it gets the green light.
As long as Capcom includes these features, then the Resident Evil 2 remake should be a success, and restore Resident Evil to its former glory. Here are four things we want in the Resident Evil 2 remake:
New Locations
Resident Evil 2 features some of the most iconic areas not only in the series, but also in gaming in general. Who can forget zombies bursting through the glass windows of the gun shop? What about the first time they stepped through the doors of the Raccoon City Police Department? Obviously all of these iconic locations should return in gorgeous high definition, but the Resident Evil 2 remake should introduce brand new locations as well.
This approach was successful in the remake of the original Resident Evil, ensuring that fans still had plenty of new places to see. With the Resident Evil 2 remake, it would be smart of Capcom to open up Raccoon City for fans to explore.
New Characters and Enemies
Resident Evil 2 introduced plenty of new enemies and characters to the franchise. Series mainstays such as Claire Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy debuted as the two playable characters in the game, and the sequel also featured some of the most memorable Resident Evil creatures ever, perhaps most notably the creepy Lickers. That being said, for the remake, Capcom needs to throw in some surprise threats for the player, to keep things feeling fresh. Moreover, it would be nice to come across some familiar faces and flesh out the RE lore a little bit.
We've already seen how throwing unexpected new enemies can improve the experience with the original Resident Evil remake. In that game, zombies didn't just die from being shot, but rather, their head had to be destroyed or their bodies burned. If the player failed to do this, then the zombies would come back from the dead (again) as faster, deadlier versions of their previous forms. This makes the game scarier, and could ensure veterans of Resident Evil 2 won't see everything coming from a mile away.
Improved Camera
Capcom could go down two different routes with the camera angles in Resident Evil 2. Either they can utilize a modified version of the static cameras seen in the upcoming Resident Evil 0 HD, or they could move forward to the over-the-shoulder camera from Resident Evil 4 for an even more accessible experience.
Better yet, they could offer an option to choose which type of camera angles fans want. Those that prefer the over-the-shoulder camera could experience the game that way, and those that want the more static camera angles could choose a classic style. Not only would this ensure that the game appeals to the most amount of people possible, but it could also seriously boost the game's replayability.
Story Surprises
Since it will be a full-on remake and not just a high definition version of the same game that we've played before, the potential for the Resident Evil 2 remake to take some surprising story twists is there. Considering the fact that the latest games in the series have been criticized for their convoluted plots, perhaps Capcom can use the HD re-releases of Resident Evil 0 and Resident Evil as soft reboots of the franchise?
Another twist to the story could come in the form of Jill Valentine. The events of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis are set around the same time as the events of Resident Evil 2, and the timelines even intersect at a point. Unless Capcom plans on remaking Nemesis as well, it could be cool to have some story elements of that game make their way into Resident Evil 2, though this all depends on how ambitious Capcom wants to be with the project. Retelling the same story verbatim is pointless, and just like another upcoming remake, the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, is going to make major plot changes, the Resident Evil 2 remake would be wise to do so as well.
With the potential Resident Evil 2 remake only in the planning stages at this point, it's likely that we won't see anything from the game for quite some time. However, it's still fun to speculate as to what the final product will bring the table, and after all, Capcom is asking fans what they want to see from the game.
Would you play a Resident Evil 2 remake? What changes or additions would you like to see?