Despite the campaign's short length, the remake of Resident Evil 3 packs about twenty hours of content for those looking to beat the game on every difficulty, obtain the S ranks, do all the Records, and buy all the special items from the shop. But that's not all that comes with the purchase.
Packed in with the game is Resident Evil: Resistance, a multiplayer mode designed around survivors in an Umbrella testing facility tasked with fleeing while a mastermind does all in their power to prevent their escape. For anyone interested or slightly hesitant about trying it out, perhaps the ten tidbits of information below will help make up your mind one way or another.
10 Asymmetrical Multiplayer
What is special about Resistance is its four versus one setup. Four players are survivors doing everything they can to escape the environment, while one player behind the scenes sets up traps and lets zombies loose to make the testing facility their grave. Other popular games with the closest type of gameplay are probably Friday the 13th, Dead by Daylight, the now defunct Evolve, and the upcoming Predator: Hunting Grounds. Those put the lone player in a monster's shoes, however, and not in charge of an environment.
9 Practice Mode
The key to victory for survivors is familiarity with the maps. This could lead to a steep difficulty curve and disadvantage for newcomers. Fortunately, a practice mode lets players grow accustomed to each map without the pressure of an online match. This way, one can feel comfortable with the environments before truly putting their skills to the test. This also means a fairly large time investment to play competitively, however.
8 Tutorial
One of the first things to happen when starting up the game is a tutorial prompt. While not mandatory, the crash course on how to play is highly recommended, especially considering the novel idea behind the multiplayer mode. Without it, figuring out the basics in the midst of a match is not only stressful, but it also puts the whole team at a disadvantage while playing as survivors. If one is the mastermind, then by the time the controls are understood, the other team will have already escaped.
7 Shop
Survivors earn points during their bid for survival which can be used in a match to buy weapons and healing items. The first few checkpoints are relatively easy and don't seem too hard to bypass, but the ending runs require players to be fully stocked for even the slightest hope of survival.
Powerful weapons are available for purchase, which harkens back to the series' more action packed-days with Resident Evil 4 and 5.
6 The Mastermind
The mastermind has more than just zombies at his disposal as they try to stop survivors in their tracks. While looking at them through the camera, they can also set traps for them to run into, costing the team health and precious time. Eventually, they can unleash Mr. X or William Birkin upon the players for massive damage. The monsters last about a minute out in the field, but that's more than enough time to do some serious damage.
5 The Setup
The game briefly explains the lore behind this multiplayer mode when first starting it up. Taking place either during or before the Raccoon City outbreak, several poor souls are abducted and placed in a NEST 2 testing facility to test out the T-Virus in a combat setting. The mastermind is instructed to leave no survivors.
4 Melee
Unlike most Resident Evil games, melee combat plays a fairly large role. Players can choose from a variety of objects with which to bash zombies.
Since ammunition is a valued resource, some players may want to use close range weaponry for a short time before bringing the guns out. The melee is not as involved as other zombie games like Dead Island or Dying Light, but it holds up just fine.
3 The Survivors
The choice of survivor is not simply based on aesthetic preference. Each of them has a set of unique abilities to choose from. January can deactivate a camera, Tyrone can knock a zombie on the floor with ease, Valerie can heal other players, and so on and so forth. Coordinating with teammates and finding the right balance between all of these factors is key to victory.
2 Progression System
Like any modern multiplayer component worth its weight in server space, Resistance has a unique progression system. As players obtain more RP from playing, they can buy packages which unlock a variety of items to use during matches. While it encourages one to play more, it also puts newbies at a disadvantage as they do not have access to the game's best abilities. At least experienced survivors can help out everyone with their souped up characters.
1 Separate Launcher
Despite coming with Resident Evil 3, Resistance acts as a separate game in all other respects, to the point of having its own launcher on the menus. Nothing one does in the single-player game has any bearing on Resistance, and vice versa. It makes one wonder what Capcom's plans are for the game. Will they update it with each subsequent Resident Evil release? It probably all depends on its initial success.