Ocelot – Metal Gear Solid Series

Going through everything that Ocelot does in the series may take a while. However, from Metal Gear Solid 1, it’s obvious that the man of revolvers was playing a longer game, working for Solidus to steal Metal Gear’s specs. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty saw him “possessed” by the arm of Liquid Snake, later revealed to be a sham to lower the guard of The Patriots, who seemingly ran the world. In Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Ocelot controlled the five biggest PMCs in the world, took over The Patriots’ SOP system and came close to ultimately destroying their AI if not for the efforts of Solid Snake and Otacon.

Scarecrow – Batman: Arkham Asylum

The very definition of mind games, as Jonathan Crane, aka Scarecrow, used Fear Toxin to create elaborate hallucinations to combat the Dark Knight in Arkham Asylum. He even had a giant Scarecrow in an otherworldly setting to prevent Batman from overcoming the illusion. It got even crazier when the game’s initial events occurred again, but this time with Batman in Joker’s place (revealed to be another illusion). After Batman breaks free again, Crane is taken out by Killer Croc and resurfaces in Arkham Knight, where he enacts a plan to break the hero.

Albert Wesker – Resident Evil HD Remaster

Like Ocelot, Wesker’s career of manipulation is long and storied and can take some time to summarize. While he was a major villain in future titles, his manipulation is witnessed first-hand in the first Resident Evil. He was revealed to be working with Umbrella Corporation, even while seemingly guiding and helping S.T.A.R.S., and responsible for preventing Bravo Team’s escape, prompting Alpha Team with Chris, Jill, and Barry to get involved. Wesker also enlisted Barry’s help to destroy evidence, threatening his family in the process, and would unleash the Tyrant to hunt down Alpha Team. Hilariously, despite going so far for Umbrella, it’s revealed that Wesker betrayed them as well to work for a rival company.

Vaas – Far Cry 3

You have to feel bad for Jason Brody in Far Cry 3 – even after surviving an encounter with Vaas, he’s left emotionally scarred from the death of his brother, Grant. While Jason pursues him at every turn and also attempts to rescue his friends, Vaas is seemingly one step ahead every time, leaving Jason to die in a burning building, drowning him, and even outright shooting him. When it seems like Jason has the upper hand when infiltrating Vaas’s compound to kill him, the latter broadcasts his plans to everyone. The two fight, and while Vaas appears to die, he seemingly survives, as seen in the Far Cry 6 DLC Insanity.

The Illusive Man – Mass Effect 2 and 3

While the Illusive Man wouldn’t be properly introduced until Mass Effect 2, he’s working behind the scenes throughout the series to get what he wants. He founded Cerberus to put humanity first over the alien races. Brainwashing, human experimentation, blackmail, corruption, genocide – the Illusive Man engaged in all this and more. Even his plan to revive Shepard in Mass Effect 2 and fight the Collectors has an ulterior motive, as he seeks to seize their technology. In Mass Effect 3, he becomes obsessed with controlling the Reapers, even implanting himself with their technology. That he can simultaneously execute so many complex schemes and fight Shepard on so many fronts is a testament to his drive and will.

SHODAN – System Shock

As the artificial intelligence of Citadel Station, SHODAN would go rogue after the Hacker, well, hacked to gain amnesty from TriOptimum’s VP Edward Diego. Not only did she effectively gain sentience, but also gained control of the station and killed everyone on board. Well, almost everyone – some were turned into cyborgs or became mutants to serve her purpose of opposing the Hacker. Throughout all this, she’s constantly mocking the Hacker when not threatening him with violent ends. She’s viewed as the biggest threat facing the Earth before the first game ends, before returning in the sequel with a vengeance.

Third Child – Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain

The Third Child first appears in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain with a bang, controlling the Man on Fire and summoning a giant flaming blue whale. He later controls Metal Gear Sahelanthropus, wreaking havoc before Venom Snake can fight back with a mounted turret. He’s also used to prevent the player from doing anything sneaky, like destroying the helicopter that Skull Face emerges from in Mission 30. While not explicitly confirmed whether the Third Child is Psycho Mantis, there have been too many hints throughout the series to suggest otherwise. At least, the Third Child relies more on fire and manipulation instead of, say, turning Meryl against you.

GLaDOS – Portal

One of the most unforgettable villains in gaming, GLaDOS was terrifying due to seeing humans (and, as we found out later, robots) as little more than test subjects. Live or die – all of that is secondary to the testing. In the first Portal, she starts with relatively safe tests to introduce you to the game’s various mechanics before turning the hazards up. You eventually learn that she may have killed all the researchers in Aperture Labs by releasing toxic gas.

Of course, her comments remain spicy throughout, as she mocks protagonist Chell’s life, parents, general skill and more. Insults like “smelly garbage standing around useless,” “a bitter unlikeable loner whose passing will not be mourned” and “horrible person” may sound biting on their own. However, GLaDOS’ phrasing (and Ellen McLain’s incredible voice work) ensures they’re delivered with the right amount of panache.

Scratch – Alan Wake 2

Scratch is a complex being, first created as Wake’s doppelganger and meant to replace him in the real world before being possessed by the Dark Presence. Throughout Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, Scratch opposes Wake and is seemingly defeated, but emerges once more in Alan Wake 2, turning Wake’s escape attempt into a horror story that bleeds into the real world. From there, he causes all sorts of trouble and even succeeds in dragging Saga Anderson into the Dark Place to mess with her mind.

Lisa – P.T.

Lisa’s existence in P.T., the teaser to the cancelled Silent Hills, is pitiful. She was previously expecting, but one day, her husband, claiming there was a monster inside of him, stabbed her. The result is that Lisa’s ghost haunts the halls of the teaser, sometimes appearing in a door frame before disappearing.

If possessed by her, players will hear a third footstep while walking and her ragged breathing. Turning around at this stage isn’t advised, since she’ll kill them. Regardless of whether you’re possessed or not, seeing her watching through the windows outside, the balcony upstairs and the bathroom before moving away.

Scott Shelby – Heavy Rain

Shelby seems unassuming – a private investigator working to find the Origami Killer. However, he’s revealed to be the killer, manipulating the likes of Lauren (his partner), Ethan Mars and families that suffered due to his murders. It’s somewhat out of left field, especially since you play as him at various points, but Shelby’s motive is to ultimately test Ethan and find someone capable of saving their son, which his father failed to do when his brother John drowned in his childhood.

HAOS – Resident Evil 6

There are a few positive things about Resident Evil 6, but the final boss of Chris’s story, a massive BOW named HAOS, was pretty good. The fight begins as a sheer spectacle, with Chris and Piers using gunfire to wear the creature down. Just when they think it’s done, it gives chase through the narrow corridors of the underwater lab.

Piers becomes injured, and it seems Chris is done for, but not before the former infects himself and mutates to fire lightning at HAOS. Of course, even when the creature looks defeated, it comes back one last time to stop Chris from escaping, leading Piers, who stayed in the facility to sacrifice himself, stopping it and saving Chris one last time.

The First Zombie – Resident Evil (1998)

For many fans, it all started here. Even with its hilariously bad voice-acting and cheesy characters, the encounter with the very first zombie was perfect. Jill/Chris enters and sees a perp hunched over a corpse as chewing sounds can be heard. As it notices their presence, a decapitated, half-chewed head falls to the ground and it slowly turns around. It may not be the sharpest cutscene by today’s standards but the look in its eyes would herald the horror to come for decades.

Cyberpunk 2077

This one seems the most obvious for a number of different reasons. First, it’s a perspective that CD Projekt RED is well-versed in, though it would require major changes to combat given how it differs from The Witcher 3. Second, it provides a deeper connection to one’s personal V since you can actually see all the cosmetic choices made. Third, if features like wall-running and sticking to walls with Mantis Blades ever get added back in, they’d work pretty well in third-person (like the original design was intended to be). It’d be a lot of work but may probably feel better to play at the end of the day.

Nemesis – Resident Evil 3

Love it or hate it, there’s no denying that the redesign for Nemesis in the upcoming Resident Evil 3 is pretty twisted. While the original looked frightening enough, the remake stretches its lower jaw skin further while resembling the T-103 more (which itself very much resembling Mr. X). It’s a natural evolution and reflects the extreme nature of the Pursuer.

Capcom had announced earlier last year that it’d be bringing not one, not two, but three Resident Evil titles to the Nintendo Switch, and now, they’ve announced the exact release dates for all three ports as well. Resident Evil 0, Resident Evil HD Remaster and Resident Evil 4 will all be available for the hybrid platform on May 21st. You can start pre-ordering all three on February 28th.

While European players can purchase all three games separately through the Nintendo eShop, North American players have another option. Resident Evil Origins Collection, which bundles Resident Evil 0 and HD Remaster together, will be available at retail. Of course, you can still purchase all three titles digitally on the North American eShop.

All three games are available on a plethora of platforms already. Resident Evil 0 was ported over to the Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4, and PC in 2016. Resident Evil 4 has been available on pretty much ever single platform since its initial launch in January 2005 for the Nintendo GameCube. Meanwhile, Resident Evil HD Remaster debuted on PC, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, and PS4 in January 2015.

https://twitter.com/RE_Games/status/1100062873621942272

European Switch owners will be able to grab all three games as separate digital downloads through the Nintendo eShop! More info coming soon.

— Resident Evil (@RE_Games) February 25, 2019

North American Switch owners will be able to purchase Resident Evil Origins Collection at retail, bundling together both RE0 and 1! Stay tuned for more info.

— Resident Evil (@RE_Games) February 25, 2019

Capcom’s Resident Evil HD Remaster turned heads at launch for various reasons, not the least for reminding us what a great game the 2002 remake was. Within the first few weeks, Capcom revealed that it was the fastest selling digital in history and broke day one records on PSN for best-selling digital title.

Now, Capcom has announced that Resident Evil HD Remaster managed to sell more than one million copies worldwide since its release in January. The success was, according to Capcom, due to the project’s quality and word of mouth from fans who enjoyed it. Since then, we’ve seen the release of Resident Evil: Revelations 2 – an episodic adventure title that acted as a spiritual successor to the first game.

Resident Evil HD Remaster is out for PC, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3 and PS4. What are your thoughts on the remake and it’s success thus far? Let us know in the comments below.

Capcom’s Resident Evil HD Remaster saw some strong critical acclaim when it released near January end. Interestingly within a few weeks, it became the fastest selling digital title ever. Yes, that’s in all history for both North America and Europe. It also broke day one records on the PlayStation Network.

Producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi stated that, “It’s been great to see so many positive comments from fans that have enjoyed this new release. The team here at Capcom Japan have worked hard to bring the game to the latest generation of consoles and we are thrilled at this news on its performance.”

Resident Evil HD Remaster is essentially a re-release of the GameCube remake from 2002 which itself was critically acclaimed. The remake supports 1080p resolutions, a 16:9 aspect ratio, 5.1 Surround Sound and even a brand new control scheme. Have you played it and what are your thoughts on the game thus far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

It’s that fear – the fear of loneliness, of no one coming to help you and even guns failing to stop the nightmares before you – which the Resident Evil franchise has lacked for so long. From the third game onwards, the series has leaned closer and closer towards a more action-oriented style of gameplay. The roots of survival horror were nearly stubbed out when Resident Evil 4 released. Granted, it had its own hallmarks and introduced a high-octane element of horror to replace slow-moving zombies of yore.

But it didn’t have the loneliness. It didn’t have the awful connotations and consequences that being alone, trapped in an enormous mansion with flesh eating zombies seemingly impervious to pain – and later, as you’ll discover in some circumstances, death – out to get you. Resident Evil HD takes us back to those days of survival horror and more than 12 years on, recreates the foreboding and horror that’s haunted S.T.A.R.S. members for years.

"After multiple conspiracies, numerous crises and outbreaks, clones of series mainstays, infuriating side characters and stupid plot twists, it's refreshing to play a Resident Evil game with a story presented so simply."

The story, at this point, is iconic. Mysterious deaths and cannibalism on Raccoon City’s outskirts has spurred the police department to send it special team S.T.A.R.S. to investigate. After Bravo Team goes dark, it’s up to Alpha Team consisting of Chris Redfield, Barry Burton, Jill Valentine, Albert Wesker and others to find them. Of course, as soon as they touch down near the wreckage of Bravo’s helicopter, the team is quickly split apart by ravenous zombie dogs. This causes them to seek refuge in a nearby mansion and thus the night begins.

After multiple conspiracies, numerous crises and outbreaks, clones of series mainstays, infuriating side characters and stupid plot twists, it’s refreshing to play a Resident Evil game with a story presented so simply. The pacing is incredibly competent – the game pushes you to discover things for yourself as much as it reverts to its cinematic roots when moving events forward. If Resident Evil 6 aimed to out-do its movie brethren in terms of bombastic chaos and absurdity, then Resident Evil HD is more Night of the Living Dead: Deliberate, calculating, sinister and surprisingly freaky when it wants to be.

Players can choose either Chris or Jill from the outset. The key aspect to choosing a character is both a unique set of skills (Chris can take more damage while Jill has more inventory space and can pick locks) and some different story events. Jill will have Barry to help her out from time to time while Chris will encounter Rebecca Chambers, the surviving medic of Bravo Team. Whichever character you choose, you’ll be embroiled in the same fight for survival against hordes of the undead.

“Hordes” is a bit of a misnomer though. Unlike, say, Resident Evil 6 which assaulted you with wave upon wave of zombies and somehow diminished their overall danger in the process, Resident Evil HD has you facing a few zombies at a time. Many rooms will only have a singular zombie or two at the most and you’ll go for long stretches without encountering any enemies. This means you won’t know when to expect danger and when it does arrive, you’re completely alert.

"The 2015 edition of the GameCube remake simply scales up the resolution of its settings and slightly improves the lighting and character models. It's not a bad looking game at times but there are others where you'll walk into the graveyard and be greeted by a mess of dirt. "

Much of Resident Evil HD involves running from the zombies as much as fighting them. You’ll have defense weapons that will automatically activate (or which you can manually trigger) to get away from a zombie. You can also run past some zombies instead of dispensing lead. Running isn’t always an option though as you’ll come across several mid-bosses and bosses that must be dealt with. And while you’ll still have weapons like the assault shotgun and grenade launcher to help you out, they must still be intelligently utilized. Ammo is scarce in this mansion and you’ll be reminded of such at every turn.

Even when you decide to down zombies, you have to make sure the head is destroyed or the body is burnt. If not, then said zombies will rise up as Crimson Heads, becoming faster, stronger and harder to kill. There’s only so much kerosene to burn up bodies though.

You’ll also be reminded of another hallmark of early Resident Evil games, namely the inane puzzles. Long-time veterans may prefer the Code Veronica approach to puzzle solving but there’s still some appeal in running around, collecting items and trying to figure out which item goes where. It’s not immensely difficult to figure out and even the least adventure-hardened of gamers will be stumped once in a while.

Capcom did a splendid job with Resident Evil HD. However, they did a splendid job nearly a decade ago. Every aspect of the first Resident Evil was reworked with high resolution character models and pre-rendered backgrounds. Even the cutscenes have been cleaned up noticeably though they’re not the most detailed CG you’ll see this year by a long shot. The 2015 edition of the GameCube remake simply scales up the resolution of its settings and slightly improves the lighting and character models. It’s not a bad looking game at times but there are others where you’ll walk into the graveyard and be greeted by a mess of dirt. This is a shame since it only serves to pull you out of the game.

"When you get right down to it, Resident Evil HD is still the epitome of many serious criticism fans had with the series, such as the clunky gunplay. The atmosphere, nostalgia, puzzle-solving and survival horror aspects thankfully save the experience and keep you enthralled throughout."

Sound quality is another element of Resident Evil HD seemingly at odds with itself. The squeaky doors and telltale silence when opening them is still creepy as are the game’s ominous, atmospheric tones. Even the voice acting isn’t half bad though previous Resident Evil games have done nothing to set the bar. It’s just the odd sounds of foot-steps and zombies moaning that feel off at times, like they’ve been recycled from the GameCube version rather than remastered. The audio immersion isn’t disrupted as many times as the visual but it does come across as odd in some cases.

The pacing and overall quality of the gameplay still holds up after all these years though, and Capcom thankfully introduced a nifty new way to control your characters. You’re no longer confined to figuring out your character’s orientation relative to their surroundings and pushing the corresponding directional key.

If you want Chris to move up, hit Up. The jerkiness of this is apparent when switching camera angles as you’ll suddenly find yourself moving back when you intended to move forward. It happens occasionally and it’s only ever so slightly annoying on the PC. This is still miles better than the original control set-up (which you can select at any point if you’re feeling especially masochistic)/

Overall, Resident Evil HD is a strong remake that still holds up after all these years. It’s best recommended for series’ veterans who want to revisit the good ol’ days as well as survival horror enthusiasts looking for a puzzling but scary good time. One can’t help but think what Capcom could have done had it overhauled the visuals of the 2002 remake and rebuilt it from the ground up for current and previous gen platforms as it did with the 1996 title on GameCube.

When you get right down to it, Resident Evil HD is still the epitome of many serious criticism fans had with the series, such as the clunky gunplay and the fixed camera angles which made assessing threats difficult. The atmosphere, nostalgia, puzzle-solving and survival horror aspects thankfully save the experience and keep you enthralled throughout.

More than a decade ago, Resident Evil HD was an instant classic in the series. In 2015, it has to settle with being merely good.

This game was reviewed on the PC.

So how does this latest remaster hold up to the current graphics’ standards and benchmarks? It’s actually a very well made port when one puts it in a perspective to the game’s original setting. The developers have explicitly stated that they have treated different parts of the game differently and have accordingly remastered it. So if you are assuming that the developers have replaced all the textures with high resolution ones or converted every 2D polygonal objects into 3D then you will be disappointed. But in the context of the game, this actually makes sense since the developers did not wanted to hurt the original feel and experience of the game.

Gameplay comparison between the PS4 and Xbox One versions. Both of them run at 1080p at 30 frames per second with only a few drops when the camera changes. Please note that certain elements of the video may be out of sync due to the nature of gameplay.

The developers followed a three way method for remastering the Gamecube version. Some areas were simply given the traditional touch of adding post processing effects to the 2D objects along with creating certain objects from scratch such as the candles. The GameCube version had a mixed of 2D rendering for images along with video for certain objects such as foliage. The video rendering has been replaced with actual polygonal objects in the remaster to make it look better within the context of the scene. The last approach is where the developers updated entire sections of a scene such as the the graveyard section of the game, wherein there was heavy use of dynamic lighting effects.

Due to superior dynamic lighting effects, resolution upgrades and the techniques detailed above, the environments look much better. Not to mention, the bloom filters and other post processing techniques bring some of the scenes to an altogether different level compared to the previous version. The alpha effects for smoke, fire, and water reflection have also undergone remastered treatment.

The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions render at native 1080p resolution at 30 frames per second with only minor drops due to sudden camera changes around the corners. The game is utilizing a high quality FXAA anti-aliasing solution giving it a sharp image quality. Shadow and texture quality are already a level up compared to the Gamecube version and the game uses screen space reflections a lot and wherever possible.

A look at the PC version’s graphical options. The PC version supports 60 frames per second unlike the console versions.

We are not sure why the developers did not opted for a 60fps for the console versions especially given that the PC version can run at that standard. There is a visible difference between the PC and console versions due to this. The texture and shadow quality seems to be better on the PC version, not to mention that the game appears extremely smooth due to the former’s ability to run at 60 frames per second.

The debate between 30 and 60 fps is purely subjective and it all boils down to personal choice. Personally speaking, I am okay with this game running at 30 frames per second since there is not a lot going on the screen and the game is slow paced as it is. But one cannot deny it looks so much better at 60fps on the PC.

The game supports 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios which means you can play the game in the original aspect ratio as well. One of the features of the remastered version which will probably go unnoticed is the support of 5.1ch audio. The upgraded audio feature does a great job of adding more tension and a sense of immersion to the background music which is already creepy as hell.

The PC version comes packed in with a decent amount of options which includes resolution, a few anti-aliasing variables, frame rate along with shadow and textures quality. As expected our AMD FX 8350 and R9 290X set up did not had any issues handling the game with everything maxed out. We also tested it out on some lower configurations with dual cores and it seems to scale down nicely.

The developers have made sure that the remaster remains faithful to the theme of the original and to an extent they have been successful in crafting an excellent port for the PS4, Xbox One and PC. The lack of 60 fps on consoles may be a tad disappointing for some players but it is not something that will detract you from the experience. But there is no doubt that it’s the PC version that provides the optimum experience of Resident Evil. So it goes without saying that the PC version is the one to opt for with both the PS4 and Xbox One versions coming a close second.

 Screenshot Comparison between the PS4 and PC versions. The images on the top are from the PS4 version and the ones below are from the PC.

From one of our earlier posts, comparison screens between the Gamecube version and the remastered version shows a wide range of improvements.