Summary
Resident Evilhas certainly been on quite a journey since it launchedon the PlayStation in 1996. The iconic survival horror series began as a tale of survival and ammo conservation over all-out combat, but as time went on, and as the series started to create its own unique identity, the need for more competent combat systems became more urgent.
Thankfully, Capcom has been up to the task, creating some truly fantastic combat systems for players to use in order to combat the creations of the nefarious pharmaceutical company Umbrella. Whether it’s the best of the classic series, where titles likeCode: VeronicaandResident Evil 3shine, or the modern games like theResident Evil 2remake that prioritize high-quality shooting, the series is no longer a stranger to games with great combat.
Buoyed bythe success ofResident Evil 4, the series started to skew more and more towards the action genre, and it all culminated in the sixth entry. This globe-trotting adventure featured four total campaigns, where heroes Leon, Sherry, Chris, and Ada saw their ongoing battle against Umbrella escalate into something much larger. With a conflict as big as the one seen inResident Evil 6, Capcom also brought some improvements to the combat that resonated through some of the modern remakes.
The shooting feels precise and appropriately destructive, as the snappy response from holding down the button to aim and the feedback from the gunfire is excellent. It also included some quality of life improvements over previous titles, with a slick in-game menu dedicated to healing items that keeps players in the fight. It’s a slick and action-packed horror shooter that is getting more recognition in contemporary times, a testament to its place in the history of the series.
Capcom put their survival horror franchise on an extended hiatus after the sixth entry, as the gap between the sixth and seventh games was roughly five years, the longest wait between mainline games since the early 2000s. WithResident Evil 7: Biohazard, Capcom reintroduced the series by continuing to alter the perspective of their games, shifting from an over-the-shoulder view to a first-person camera, which resulted in a much more intimate and personal survival horror experience.
It was something that the game’s combat took advantage of, as this new perspective put the Baker family and their nasty transformations right in the player’s face. Armed with a smaller arsenal compared to previous games,Resident Evil 7puts a focus on tight, close-quarters encounters, and he smaller scale of the game’s weapons adds to this. The weapons don’t feel like giant killers anymore, but rather like the tools of a character fighting to survive.Resident Evil 7’scombat system is designed to help survivethe sinister Baker Family, not take on a giant underground lab full of zombies.
Resident Evilwas a runaway train in the late 1990s, as the popularity of Capcom’s horror franchise showed no signs of slowing down. This resulted in Capcom focusing their efforts on a side story, which eventually formed into a full mainline title known asResident Evil 3: Nemesis.Starring Jill Valentine as sheattempts to escape the imminent destruction of Raccoon City,Nemesisput a hard focus on action and gave the former S.T.A.R.S. member all she needed to wreak havoc.
As one of the last classic-styleREgames before the franchise started to change to a third-person view withResident Evil 4,Nemesisis still an absolutely spectacular game that holds up to this day. Jill moves efficiently, and is more combat ready than ever thanks to the dodge system that Capcom implemented alongside the new ammo crafting mechanic. It is a highly competent action game, with blistering weapons and a sense of danger that later games would attempt to replicate.
While previous games had used 2D pre-rendered backgrounds,Resident Evil CODE: Veronicawas a full 3D experience, both in terms of environments and characters. The end result was what felt like the perfect mix of the classic style and what was to come inRE4, as the restrictions of the 2D backgrounds were gone and opened up new spaces for enemies and monsters to inhabit. Capcom balanced this by adding a host of new weapon types, giving the player more options in their battle against the viral outbreak on Rockfort Island.
CODE: Veronicafeels great to play, as it feels remarkably modern in surprising ways.The increased difficulty fromprevious entries means that players will have to make use of both the new weapons and new ways to use them. Dual-wielding makes its first (and so far only) appearance in the franchise, as Claire and Chris can both use this feature to mow down enemies. It’s a spectacular entry in the series, one that’s in dire need of a remake.
By the timeResident Evilhad reached nearly a decade in existence, Capcom was looking to change the formula that they had been perfecting. Abandoning the 2D pre-rendered backgrounds and fixed camera angles, they placed the camera directly behind Leon Kennedy and put a horde of villagers infected by a disease called Las Plagas in front of him. It was a radical departure, butone that paid off, as the truly fantastic gun combat turned out to steer the direction of the franchise moving forward.
Any sense of guessing about where the player’s bullets would land was gone, as Leon could get pinpoint headshots off via the fully 3D aiming system, and it opened up an absolutely brilliant new way to experienceResident Evil. Guns look, sound, and feel amazing, with some outstanding feedback, and using the knife in conjunction with the firearms makes for a combat loop that still holds up to this day. It was a revolution for third-person shooters, as it established many of the rules and concepts that the genre would use in gunplay systems going forward.
Upon finally givingResident Evil 2the remake treatment that it deserved, Capcom opted for a fully 3D experience instead of the 2D pre-rendered backgrounds of the 1998 original. Similar to other over-the-shoulder shooters in the series likeRE4, the remake ofResident Evil 2focused a tight, intimate camera angle on either Leon or Claire and the supremely claustrophobic atmosphere the found themselves in. By giving players an arsenal of weapons, trapping them in the Raccoon City Police Department, and pitting them against ahorde of seemingly unstoppable zombies, Capcom created a visceral and tremendously engaging combat system that is easily the franchise’s best.
The pistols feel sharp and accurate, as the chance for a critical hit will open up the option for a zombie’s head to explode upon impact. It is a wonderfully gory moment of excitement that punctuates the tense moments. Leon’s shotgun can create these situations even more frequently. Claire, meanwhile, gets the beautifully destructive grenade launcher as her unique weapon, which feels excellent and is compatible with multiple types of shells. It is a game reliant on combat in many ways, and it’s all the better for it, as this action horror masterpiece is a modern must-play.
