PREDATOR: HUNTING GROUNDS

Illfonic’s asymmetrical multiplayer title Predator: Hunting Grounds was a flawed game in more ways than one, but for fans of the property, there was some fun to be had in getting to play as a Predator. With multiple different Predator types to play as and unique abilities to make use of with each of them, the game certainly had some interesting mechanics up its sleeve- even though not all of them were as well executed as they should have been.

There’s lots of rumors out there about the future of the Resident Evil series. I mean, honestly, a lot is out there, man. But the series does have an ongoing present with the recently released Resident Evil 3. Part of that package is Resistance, a 4v1 multiplayer title that pits a group of survivors against a mastermind who drops monsters on them. Now each group gets a new member.

The first is Jill Valentine, the main protagonist from the single player, who will join the survivors’ side. On the masterminds side, one of the antagonists of the main campaign, Nicholai Ginovaef, will be added soon. He will go up in the update for the game next month.

Resident Evil Resistance is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC as part of a single package with Resident Evil 3. While we didn’t do an official review, you can see our impressions of the multiplayer mode through here.

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While there’s plenty of excitement going around about the future of Resident Evil, with all the rumours about Resident Evil 8 as well as another remake in the series, for now, Capcom are all-in on Resident Evil 3- more specifically, its multiplayer component, Resident Evil Resistance. They’re planning on adding new content to the experience, and recently shared a roadmap for the same on Twitter.

The roadmap by itself is a pretty threadbare one, and doesn’t really reveal much, besides the fact that some updates are probably planned for May and June. The only thing that it does concretely reveal is that RE3 protagonist Jill Valentine – who was confirmed to be coming as a playable survivor to Resistance following launch – will be added to the multiplayer title on April 17.

Resident Evil 3 and Resistance are out now as a single package for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. You can read our review of the former through here, and our impressions on the latter through here.

https://twitter.com/RE_Games/status/1248279651077754886

Resident Evil Resistance finds a middle ground between the two- in that it is not nearly as fun or as well-executed as some of the series’ better multiplayer efforts, but is also not an atrociously bad experience the way some others have been. What exactly is it then? It is a fun idea on paper, which is carried by its novelty for a while, but once the novelty wears off – and it wears off pretty quickly – you’re left with a repetitive experience that is quite rough around the edges.

"It is a fun idea on paper, which is carried by its novelty for a while, but once the novelty wears off – and it wears off pretty quickly – you’re left with a repetitive experience that is quite rough around the edges."

Resident Evil Resistance plays as a 4v1 experience, with each match seeing a team of four Survivors going up against one Mastermind. The Mastermind’s goal is to stop them from doing so by spawning traps, zombies, bioweapons, and more, and make sure that they don’t reach the map’s final exit before the timer ticks down to zero. Anytime anything happens in favour of the Survivors – such as a successful zombie kill, for instance – a few seconds get added to the clock, while if the Mastermind successfully does something – such as down or kill one of the Survivors – a chunk of time gets lopped off.

It’s a neat idea, and the first couple of matches I played seemed promising, but soon I realized that there’s a very strict pattern that each match follows to a T. Each map is divided into three sections, and each section requires the Survivors to fulfil objectives to proceed further, which require exploration of that section. But it all boils down to the same thing- run around the area to find an item that is randomly placed somewhere while you avoid or fight against enemies.

The combat itself feels quite clunky too. Shots don’t always connect due to poor hit detection, enemies can often move and animate mechanically, while even when shots do connect, they don’t have nearly the same level of punchiness or impact that Resident Evil 2 or 3 boast. There’s a general lack of polish that harms the gameplay, and it becomes even more of an issue when you begin using melee weapons, which just feel clumsy to use. When your whole squad of four is working well together in perfect synergy and completing objectives smoothly while fending off anything being thrown at you by the Mastermind, it’s certainly a rush, but that feeling is far too rare, and easily overcrowded by the general jank and roughness that pervade the entire experience.

Each of the Survivors has his or her own unique attributes as well. Of the six Survivors that are currently playable, each essentially belongs to a different class, from a hacking expert that can disable cameras used by the Mastermind to a character that specializes in Healing to a tank that deals greater damage, so it’s certainly fun to experiment with each of them and find which of them suits your playstyle best.

"The first couple of matches I played seemed promising, but soon I realized that there’s a very strict pattern that each match follows to a T."

Sadly, Resident Evil Resistance’s progression system does not encourage experimentation- in fact, it actively discourages it. That’s because rather than having a unified progression for all Survivors, each Survivor character levels up and upgrades individually. If you’ve invested in any one of them, trying your hand at another one – and basically starting with them from scratch (or at least a much lower level) – really doesn’t seem like a very logical choice.

Bafflingly enough, you pretty much have to regularly do just that, especially if you play in Quick Matches (the ones that are the most rewarding in terms of progression), because there’s no guarantees you’ll be able to pick the character you want before your three other teammates. It’s a very unbalanced system, and hopefully Capcom will sort it out with future patches, because the unique attributes of each character and the prospect of gradually upgrading them is something that can add quite a bit to this experience.

Playing as a Mastermind is much more fun. It’s a very different experience from playing as a Survivor. You hop across the map from camera to camera, looking on as the Survivors try to make their way through, while you place hazards such as traps and enemies in their path using a system of cards. It’s already a fun experience because of how different it is from the other side of the game – and because matches when playing as a Mastermind feel far less repetitive – but it’s made even better by the fact you can even take control of the enemies you spawn. From zombies to zombie dogs to even hulking bioweapons like Mr. X or William Birkin, being able to play as these classic enemies and absolutely wreck shop with them can be a lot of fun- though again, the lack of polish and rough combat are factors to contend with here as well.

Progression is also better on the Mastermind side of things. You start out with Annette Birkin being the only option, but level up with her enough, and you’ll unlock another Mastermind- and so on, and so forth. Right now, there are four playable Masterminds, and each of them has their own unique strengths or exclusive enemy types that they can spawn and then take control of. Having that goal to work towards – of unlocking the next Mastermind – and not having that hampered by any weird balancing issues like on the Survivors’ side of things makes for a refreshing change of pace.

"Playing as a Mastermind is much more fun."

Resident Evil Resistance falters from a technical perspective. I’ve already spoken plenty about the lack of polish, but that’s not just specific to combat or enemies’ animations. Though Resistance, of course, uses the very same RE Engine as RE2 and 3, it doesn’t look nearly as good. The environments look great, sure, but character models and enemies look plasticky and are lacking in detail. Worse still is the fact that there are plenty of glitches as well, where the camera will suddenly clip into the map’s geometry or some random assets, often in the midst of intense firefights, while there’s also been at least a couple instances of major slowdowns during the time I’ve spent with the game so far- which is obviously far from ideal in a multiplayer game especially.

Resident Evil 3 itself is – in spite of being a solid-enough game in its own right – something of a disappointment compared to the 1999 original, or even last year’s Resident Evil 2, and while no one was expecting the multiplayer to lift the experience, it’s still disappointing to see that that tendency to underwhelm isn’t just restricted to this package’s campaign. Resistance has some fun ideas, and one side of the experience is much better designed and thought-out than the other, but on the whole, it just feels a bit too rough to be anything more than a minor distraction right now. Can Capcom make it a significantly better game with patches and more content updates down the line? Certainly. But will they deem it worthy of that time and investment? That much remains to be seen.

Capcom’s open beta for Resident Evil Resistance, the multiplayer mode included with Resident Evil 3, is now live for PC and PS4. It was originally slated for March 27th but faced a delay due to technical issues. Xbox One users can continue playing normally since these issues didn’t affect the platform.

It’s worth noting that PS4 players need to have ver. 1.01 installed. Check the update history to be sure – if you still can’t find any matches, restart the title and it should work. The open beta will be live until April 3rd which is the same day that it launches alongside Resident Evil 3 for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

You can check out our review for the campaign of Resident Evil 3 here. Despite totally not being canon, Resident Evil Resistance will add Jill Valentine as a survivor in a future update. Check out some gameplay from two maps and how the Mastermind works here. Two Masterminds, Alex Wesker and Oswell Spencer, have already been confirmed, each with their own unique abilities.

When it comes to the upcoming remake of Resident Evil 3, the attention is naturally on the single player campaign. The game will revisit the struggle of Jill Valentine as she tries to escape the doomed Raccoon City as she’s pursued by the iconic Nemesis. But there is a multiplayer mode attached to the release (and how they came to be attached is an interesting story in its own right), and today an open beta launched for those curious about it. Unfortunately, it seems to have hit a big snag.

The beta was meant to go live across all available platforms today, but those playing on PS4 and PC reported multiple issues, with many PS4 users reporting a complete inability to start a game. It seems whatever the problem was ended up being enough that Capcom had to shut the whole thing down. There’s also no time frame for when it will go live again. Oddly, though, everything seems to be working fine on the Xbox One version.

Resident Evil Resistance will launch on April 3rd as part of a package with Resident Evil 3. Hopefully, everything will be sorted by then.

Due to technical issues, there is a delay for the RE Resistance Open Beta on PS4 and Steam. The XB1 version is unaffected and is available. We're working to resolve the issue as soon as we can and will keep you updated. Apologies for the inconvenience.

— Resident Evil (@RE_Games) March 27, 2020

Capcom has released a brand new trailer for Resident Evil 3, showcasing protagonist Jill Valentine as she navigates the horrors of Raccoon City. Between zombies, the Nemesis and other bio-weapons, it’s a rough journey though allies like Carlos Oliveira of the UBCS is there to back her up. Check out the trailer below.

It’s revealed that Jill will be playable in Resident Evil Resistance, the multiplayer mode shipping with Resident Evil 3. She won’t be available from launch, instead added in a future update. We know that Resident Evil Resistance doesn’t fit with the series’ canon but it’s still funny to see Jill running around in the mode all the same.

Resident Evil 3 releases on April 3rd for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. A demo for the title is currently available to download for free and should provide a good look at what to expect. Though the digital version is still on track, Capcom has stated that physical copies could see a delay in Europe. Stay tuned for more details in the coming week.

Earlier today, it was rumored that Capcom’s Resident Evil 3 demo would go live on March 20th. Turns out that it’s coming even earlier – March 19th is the day for Xbox One, PS4 and PC players to try out the survival horror remake. A beta for Resident Evil Resistance has also been confirmed for March 27th. Check out the trailer below.

The Resident Evil 3 demo will shove players right into the action, though one is advised to conserve ammo. Otherwise, Capcom hasn’t provided any details for what to expect – you’re advised to experience the fun for yourself. Cue Nemesis yells and manic running.

As for the Resident Evil Resistance beta, it will provide players a chance to either work together with others as a team of Survivors or control a Mastermind that sets traps and unleashes deadly B.O.W.s. Resident Evil 3 will launch on April 3rd for Xbox One, PS4 and PC with Resident Evil Resistance included in the package. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.

Capcom are banking on the multiplayer mode Resistance to make up for Resident Evil 3’s lack of a second campaign, and a new gameplay video of the mode uploaded to YouTube by BlackFox2240 may have confirmed a controversial aspect of the experience.

The video seemingly confirms that the game will have loot boxes. The video itself is in Chinese, but translations (via GameRevolution) reveal some important details. These loot boxes can be purchased with a in-game currency, and only seem to be restricted to cosmetic unlocks, ranging from skins and emotes to voiceovers and sprays. There’s no mention of whether the currency is earnable in-game or if it has to be purchased (or both, perhaps), but given that there seem to be loot boxes of varying levels, it’s likely that purchasing currency will be an option. In the absence of confirmation by Capcom though, all we can do for now is assume.

Resident Evil 3 is out for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on April 3. You can view more Resistance gameplay footage through here. If you’re more concerned about the single player campaign (the actual remake part of the package), you can check out over a dozen minutes of gameplay through here, or watch a new video comparing the remake to the original.

While Resident Evil 3’s campaign will be the star of the show when the remake launches in a little over a month from now, that’s not all the package will have. Capcom are also packaging the game with Resident Evil: Resistance, a 4v1 mode that sees four players going up against another “Mastermind”. If you have not been sold on its premise up until now, a new gameplay video uploaded by IGN might change your mind (or might not).

Showcasing over 8 minutes of gameplay, the video shows two separate maps- Casino and Amusement Park, both of which have very self-explanatory names. The first is shown from the perspective of the four players, who go up against Mastermind Alex Wesker as she throws multiple traps and enemies at them. The second shows gameplay for the Mastermind character, including a player-controlled William Birkin, setting of traps, and more. Take a look below.

Resistance will launch alongside Resident Evil 3 for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC on April 3. If you care more about the single player campaign, make sure to check out its recent dump of new information and gameplay footage through here. Capcom have also confirmed that a demo will be coming “in the near future.”