Tag Archives: Claire Redfield

The Resident Evil 2 Remake Challenge

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I play video games largely for fun, or as a means to blow off steam after a rough day at work. But I also occasionally challenge myself by trying to beat a particular title on the hardest difficulty setting. I’ve succeeded at some—Command and Conquer: Renegade & Fallout: New Vegas—while others—Resident Evil 7 & Neoquest 2 (from the Neopets website)—have eluded me. And I recently set my sights on a game I purchased earlier this year.

I first acquired and played the Resident Evil 2 remake back in February 2019, and I have gotten hours of enjoyment from the title and its associated mini-games. I have since been watching a number of gamers broadcasting their own playthroughs on Twitch. After several months of viewing others run through the grueling hardcore mode of the game, I decided to give it a go myself.

What makes this mode of the game so challenging is that every step through a monster-infested area could be your last. Each creature you encounter moves much faster in hardcore mode and most can kill you in 1-3 hits. And if you die, you must start over from the beginning of the game or from your last save.

I shared my plans with three video game streamers who I watch regularly—Silentkaster, Crazygamingdayz, and ISeeDeadKittensXO. The latter, Kittens, was the only one who had yet to get through this mode with the best grade—more on that later—but said he would if I managed to pull it off.

It took me about six hours to get through Claire’s campaign with 13 saves—about five hours and 15 saves for Leon’s. I didn’t have any ambitions beyond trying to get through both scenarios. I changed my mind when Kittens challenged me to run through it again, this time for a proverbial gold medal.

One staple of the Resident Evil games is that you’re graded on how well you do, ranging from E to S+. Generally, things like speed, accuracy, minimal saves, or number of enemies eliminated contribute to the score you get upon completion. To obtain the best possible grade in the Resident Evil 2 remake’s hardcore mode, you must get through it in under two and a half hours with no more than three saves.

I don’t know how many attempts I made overall, but it had to be at least a hundred. I chose to run through the Claire A scenario since that is the easiest of the four campaigns. Each failure made me more determined and helped me develop tactics to get through.

On my initial try at it, I saved the game just before the first boss fight. Going up against one of the toughest monsters in the game was a grueling experience. I tried a number of different tactics from pumping the creature full of lead to hacking away at it with a combat knife. I’m not sure which method ultimately worked because I kept failing over and over before I could get to my next savepoint.

Fortunately, I got in so much practice against the first boss that I decided to start over from the beginning—this time saving after the fight. I was just under the one hour mark at this point. From here, I had to decide whether or not I should grab a submachine gun on the other end of the police station from my location, or simply run for the next objective. I tried several times to grab the desired weapon before I ultimately decided it wasn’t worth the time or risk. There were certain steps I needed to take just to gain access to the SMG; some steps would put me in a situation that could get me killed.

I finally decided to just muddle through with the handgun and grenade launcher I already had and hope for the best. It took some doing, but I finally made it to my next savepoint in the sewers just prior to the second boss fight.

The second boss monster is perhaps the most difficult one in the game for me to get past—primarily because you have to fight it in the smallest self-contained area and have to use a crane to knock it off the platform to end the battle. Unfortunately, I kept getting killed after the few times I did win. I lost count of how many attempts I made to get through this fight intact.

My plan was to have my last save just prior to the back-to-back final boss fights in the game. But frustration from having to do the second battle over and over made me change my mind. Another contributing factor was that my character was in very poor health at the start of the greenhouse area—the most dangerous location in the game. I feared getting killed and having to repeat the previous fight again, so I saved at a less than optimal point. It also meant I couldn’t save any more if I wanted to obtain the best grade.

I should also note that I could have picked up an electricity-based weapon in the sewers that would have helped me out here, but I didn’t have space for it in my inventory when I came across it. I had to rely on just the knife, handgun, and grenade launcher—mostly—to help me get through to the end.

Through all of this, I’d been keeping Crazygamingdayz, Silentkaster, and Kittens updated on my progress. Kittens was so impressed that I made it so far and stood such a good chance of winning that he decided to go for it himself. Ironically, he completed the hardcore mode with an S+ rank before I did!

I ran through the greenhouse section so many times that I became a veritable expert at it—I even joked to several friends that I could do it in my sleep. I did make some really dumb mistakes at times though. For instance, I found that throwing a flash grenade in a room of immobile zombies will cause them all to get up at once. This really backfired when I mistakenly threw one in a stairwell and the zombie in the room at the top of the stairs came down and caught me unawares.

After multiple tries, it was very satisfying to finally triumph over the final monster in the game—especially since I was considering starting the game over from scratch to conserve more ammo than I had. I was given access to a mini-gun just before the fight, but there were several attempts that ended in failure because I ran completely out of ammo. I solved this problem by being stingier with my firearms in the second-to-last battle. And it took me 2 hours and 15 minutes to get through it.

Successfully completing this mode with the best grade unlocked both a mini-gun and rapid-fire SMG for use throughout the game, both with infinite ammo. While either would make running through any campaign on any difficulty more of a breeze, I’m still aiming to get through Leon’s campaign on hardcore with an S+ rank, which can’t be achieved if I use these weapons. Winning at this scenario would net me an infinite-ammo rocket launcher.

Leon’s campaign is more challenging than Claire’s because you are being pursued by a near-unkillable monster at certain points throughout. The most you can hope for is to temporarily disable this creature to keep it from chasing you, if not outrun it.

It may take me just as much time and effort to get through Leon’s side of the story as it did with Claire’s. But given that I’ve made it about halfway while only saving once, I know I stand a very good chance.

First Impressions of the Resident Evil 2 Remake

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As big a fan I am of the Resident Evil game series, I have never had the chance to play every single game—particularly the early ones. The three sequels to the original game—2, 3, and Code Veronica—were only available on consoles by the time I really got in the franchise. I never got into playing games on the Playstation, Xbox, or Gamecube, and I doubt I will ever invest in one of those consoles.

Which is why I was elated when I first heard news in 2015 that Resident Evil 2 would be completely remade as a high-definition game. Past the initial announcement by the production company, Capcom, there was zero news or updates on the remake’s development until late last year. I got more hyped for this new game the more I learned about it, but I also tried to stay spoiler-free until I could experience it for the first time.

In anticipation of the game’s release on January 25, I invested in a better computer that would be built according to my preferences. While I didn’t get my new PC as soon as I wanted, I was able to play the remake for the first time on January 27 on a Surface Book.

And—aside from the glitches I experienced on the less-than-optimal hardware—the game definitely didn’t disappoint.

As with the original game, the plot follows the adventures of rookie cop Leon Kennedy and college student Claire Redfield—each of them braving a zombie-infested city for their own reasons. You can start the game with either character, but neither impacts how the other’s story plays out like it did in the original—more on that later. It was nice to see more realistic versions of all the characters from the original story, as well as the reimagined and very detailed environments to explore. Graphics-wise, the remake is spectacular.

Lack of knowledge on what to expect made the new and improved Resident Evil 2 a very nerve-wracking experience, though I wouldn’t call that a bad thing. Part of what made it so was that there were certain creatures that didn’t show up in the same locations where they were first seen in the original game. Since I didn’t know where I’d encounter a monster, I was very cautious on my first run through the police station. I very much enjoyed this venture into the unknown—I don’t think it would have been as enjoyable if everything had played out exactly the same.

Another source of tension stemmed from how hard it was to determine if a creature was down for the count. My reaction to a monster getting back up after I thought I’d killed it went as follows: Oh, my God, you’re not dead! Panic fire!

I started my first run playing as Claire. It took me near 11 hours just to get through her campaign—9 hours for Leon—but I enjoyed every minute. Part of what took me so long was that I got stuck at various points—sometimes on a puzzle that should have been easy to figure out. And the locations were at times difficult to traverse—I had to keep consulting the maps for each area to determine how to get to a certain room.

Even the glitches I encountered on the Surface Book made the remake an interesting experience. At one point early in the game, I actually had a zombie walk right through me. The other glitch that really stood out was when I was trying to get supporting character Sherry to hide from one of the bad guys—she kept spazzing out and repeatedly bobbing up and down. In retrospect, I wish I had a recording of the latter—it was really funny to see.

There are many creatures to fear in the remake. But the most daunting has to be Mr. X, a titan who relentlessly pursues you through the different areas—especially if you’re playing Leon’s campaign. And I found out the hard way that hiding from him doesn’t work—if you stay in one place too long, he will inevitably find you. Since he can take away half your health in one hit and will only drop for so long if you shoot him enough times, running is more advisable. Even the sound of his pounding footsteps—whether he’s on the same floor or overhead—can easily work your last nerve.

What made the game even more entertaining were my own blunders. You’re limited on how many items you can carry at one time. My inventory was full when I stumbled upon an item I needed to get through a nearby locked door. I had to discard some ammo I thought I could do without—you can’t retrieve something after it’s thrown away. Ironically, I found the gun that this ammo went with minutes later.

One of my other mistakes originated when I was running from Mr. X. I ended up trapped in a hallway surrounded by three different creature types. In spite of how harrowing that situation was, I could help but start laughing when I was killed.

Another thing I loved about the remake was how well the characters—main or supporting—were fleshed out. I found it easy to feel sorry for police lieutenant Marvin Branaugh, gun shop owner Robert Kendo, and even Umbrella scientists William and Annette Birkin with how their respective stories played out. Not so much with police chief Brian Irons, who is just as vile as he was in the original game.

What makes the remake even better is that it recreates a pair of mini-games that were presented in the original version. Firstly, there is a scenario called the 4th Survivor that has an Umbrella soldier code-named HUNK (Human Unit Never Killed) who must run through a monster-laden gauntlet to an extraction point. I attempted this mode once, but didn’t make it very far before I got overwhelmed. 4th Survivor is a difficult game to beat—stopping to shoot the creatures in your path is a waste of ammo. But I will definitely keep trying.

The other mini-game is identical to 4th Survivor except that you’re playing as a joke character from the original Resident Evil 2. The Tofu Survivor has you as a human-sized block of tofu armed only with a knife who must run through the same gauntlet. Even the Tofu character looks incredibly realistic from the texture to the way he jiggles when he runs. What makes it funnier is that Tofu gets chunks taken out of him as he takes damage. I haven’t yet played this mode, but YouTube videos I’ve watched have shown me you can unlock four additional Tofu characters, each with a different arsenal to help them get through the gauntlet. I very much look forward to trying out this mini-game for myself.

On February 15th, another mini-game titled Ghost Survivors was released as a free add-on to the remake. Ghost Survivors explores what-if scenarios for several characters who perished in the main story—what if they had lived to see another day? The roster includes Robert Kendo, mayor’s daughter Katherine Warren, an Umbrella soldier code-named Ghost, and sheriff Daniel Cortini. As entertaining as it was to see each of them escape their fate, Ghost Survivors is an extremely challenging mode to get through. You must make every bullet count—if playing as Kendo, Katherine or Ghost, you must carefully decide what items you’ll need to advance. I’ve yet to beat any scenario on standard mode—each campaign in Ghost Survivors features a training mode that reduces the number of enemies and makes them easier to eliminate. It may take time, but I believe I’ll find strategies that will help me get through each scenario in one piece. And it would be a treat to see a Ghost Survivors 2 that changes the fates of other supporting characters in the remake.

My only gripe is that Leon and Claire’s stories don’t really sync up in the remake. In the original game, the character you started with dictated the path taken by the other—if Leon unlocked a door in his campaign, it stayed accessible for Claire. In the remake, the second character must track down the same keys and solve the same puzzles as the first in order to advance. What further separates the two campaigns is Annette’s actions—if Leon and Claire’s stories were connected to each other, then the ending would have Annette in two places at once.

The Resident Evil 2 Remake is such a fantastic game chock full of content that I don’t see it getting old anytime soon. The developers have done such a great job revitalizing what made the original game so enjoyable that I can’t wait to see what will come next for the franchise. I have heard rumors that the third game in the series would also be remade if enough fans demanded it—rumors that look very likely to become a reality. Since the original Resident Evil 3 was the biggest nail-biter in the franchise, I imagine that a new and improved version will be an even bigger scare-fest.

Bring it on.

Resident Evil: Tangled Web — Evolution of an Idea

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My love of the written word is the one thing that rivals my love of video games. I have been reading and writing as far back as I can remember. While I have yet to get anything published, I have spent years honing my storytelling craft.

The majority of my writing has centered around fanfiction, which began when I wrote an extensive – but mediocre and nonsensical – series of stories based off the Nightmare on Elm Street films. I started these works of fiction just after the fifth movie was released and I made it up to part 21 before it fizzled.

My later stories, based off such mediums as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Transformers: Armada, and a lesser known horror film called Phantasm, improved my writing style by leaps and bounds. While I kept coming up with ideas – all-original stories I formulated or fanfiction based on film or TV franchises – I had neither the time or the motivation to put all those ideas on paper. What’s worse, I fell into a serious dry spell sometime between 2011 and 2014; a Transformers fanfiction piece called Sky Dancer I had been writing failed to get an ending as a result. That particular story is still begging for its last ten chapters.

Inspiration found me midway through 2014, but in a way that proved it can sometimes be a fickle creature. Sometime in August 2014, I joined a writing group called Deadwood Writers, and I started a story based off the Resident Evil game series. I had thought that being a part of this group would get me motivated to finish Sky Dancer, but it is possible I needed a change of pace after obsessing over my long-neglected story for several years.

I never intended to write a Resident Evil story despite being an avid fan of the video games. I didn’t have a plan when the idea for the Prologue came to me. I wrote the rough draft of my opening chapter for Tangled Web pretty quickly. I hadn’t even settled on a name for an original character who would serve as one of the leads and a romantic foil for Claire Redfield. I can’t recall why Elliott was the first name that popped into my head before I wrote it down at the end of the Prologue. I imagined I would change it at a later time. Nevertheless, it stuck.

A cover illustration I put together to go with the story. (photo credits at end)

The premise for Tangled Web was fairly straightforward – Claire had been abducted by Wesker, had been held captive for almost two years, and was having a baby when her brother finally found her. Much of the story is filling in what happened during those two years. But for the first few chapters, I was literally making up the narrative as I went along. This resulted in a few tangents that didn’t really have a place in the story. At one point, I planned for Claire’s cat to somehow mutate into a horrific monster. A friend advised me to keep it simple and get to the abduction scene as quick as possible, but a small part of the mutated feline setup still made its way into the story.

I can’t pinpoint exactly when I started to conceptualize the ending, but I gained more of a focus as I was writing the first act. Once I had figured out the basis of my climax, I had to go back and rewrite several of the early chapters. This led to the addition of a character known as RogueChild, a mysterious figure who sent Claire a vague email “warning” her of the upcoming kidnapping. I didn’t have a clear picture of RogueChild’s role in the story when I wrote the chapter where the character first appeared, let alone who RogueChild would turn out to be. Some of my early and downright ridiculous ideas were that RogueChild could be either Claire’s unborn child or Claire herself come back from the future. At one point, the character’s name was going to be The_Immortal_One instead of RogueChild.

When it came to the chapter where Wesker informs Claire she was exposed to a mutagenic virus, my initial idea was quite different. I had thought about having her be infected with the T-Veronica Virus even though I had seen that premise used in a number of other Resident Evil fanfictions. Inspiration struck again when I watched the anime film, Degeneration, and gave quite a lot of thought to it. It helped that I didn’t see any other works of fanfiction where someone was exposed to the G-Virus and immune to the negative effects. The idea of tackling an idea that had never been explored before was exciting and helped me figure out the exact direction to go with Tangled Web. A great portion of the storyline and the ending was built around this idea.

My next hurdle was hammering out exactly how Wesker would behave toward Claire and Elliott during their captivity. Before I determined the best way to spin it, the scene where Claire finds out she has rapid regeneration abilities played out quite differently:

Wesker stepped around the desk, tracing the surface with one gloved hand as he moved. Claire tensed at his approach. “I never would have dreamed that you, Chris’ little sister, would possess such a rare genome,” he said. “Unfortunately, studies of your DNA can only reveal so much. It doesn’t tell us if you reap any of the benefits of the virus. Specifically, rapid healing.”

Claire jerked spasmodically once Wesker’s words sank in. A protest was on her lips, but Wesker moved too fast. The combat knife that Jessica had been holding was in his hand, and he had Claire’s wrist in a viselike grip before the latter could even process it.

Elliott started to rise from his seat, but Raymond surged forward, forcing Elliott to stay put by pushing down on his shoulders. The blade was drawn swiftly across Claire’s outstretched arm in the same instant, eliciting a scream from her.

When Wesker released his hold on her wrist, Claire withdrew her arm, hot tears escaping her eyes. She pressed her other hand to the gash in an instinctive effort to staunch the blood flow. Elliott echoed the foremost thought on her mind. “You son of a bitch!” Elliott said. Claire looked over at her companion. Even though Raymond had let go of him, he didn’t seem inclined to get up.

Wesker passed the knife back to Jessica, who promptly sheathed it. He paid Elliott no heed, his gaze remaining on Claire. “My apologies for causing you harm, Miss Redfield,” Wesker said. If his voice hadn’t lacked inflection, she might have considered forgiving him. “But it was necessary. When you feel ready, allow us to see.”

Claire didn’t move her hand. “Go to hell,” she growled before she could stop herself.

Wesker’s hands half-curled into fists. “Do not test me, Miss Redfield. Your friend’s life depends on it.”

Claire closed her eyes. It took everything she had to calm herself. She slowly uncovered her wound, but couldn’t bring herself to look. The blood on her arm and hand was already feeling sticky and made her nauseous. The smug smile on Wesker’s face intensified the ill feeling.

Excella looked pleased as well. “Not even a scratch,” she said. “You are definitely going to be one of our best investments, dear.”

The above scene as initially written didn’t sit well with me. After several days, I determined that Claire would surely be broken if subjected to two years of this kind of torment. And Wesker’s actions contradicted something he stated in an earlier chapter. The revised scene set a far different tone for the story and was one I was much happier with:

Wesker stepped around the desk, tracing the surface with one gloved hand as he moved. Claire tensed at his approach. “I never would have dreamed that you, Chris’ little sister, would possess such a rare genome,” he said. “Unfortunately, studies of your DNA can only reveal so much. It doesn’t tell us if you reap any of the benefits of the virus. Specifically, rapid healing.”

Claire jerked spasmodically once Wesker’s words sank in. When she saw Jessica holding the knife out toward Wesker, Claire shook her head in a panic. “No!”

Elliott started to rise from his seat, but Raymond surged forward, forcing Elliott to stay put by pushing down on his shoulders. Meanwhile, Wesker cocked his head to one side, looking amused by his captives’ reactions. Though Wesker took the knife, he gave no indication that he would use it. “I thought you would know by now that I always keep my word, Miss Redfield. I stated in our initial meeting that I had no intention of physically harming you.” He rotated the knife so that the hilt was facing her. “I leave the choice in your hands. Just know that if you attempt to attack me or my colleagues, there will be serious consequences.” Wesker’s eyes flicked towards Elliott during this last statement to exemplify who would suffer the consequences.

Claire hesitantly took the knife. “And if I don’t heal immediately?” she asked.

“Then I shall see to it you get the necessary medical attention,” Wesker said smoothly.

Claire paused, wondering at the wisdom of playing with fire. “Will I still be useful to you, if this doesn’t go the way you hope?”

Wesker shifted his stance, looking almost bored. She had to wonder if he was being agreeable only to get her to comply. “I will consider sending you and Mr. Gregory back home if you lack any regenerative capabilities.”

Claire watched him in silence for several seconds before casting her gaze downward. She didn’t like the way he worded it, but even a slim chance was better than nothing.

“Claire, don’t,” Elliott said. She looked over at him briefly. Raymond’s grip on Elliott’s shoulders must have tightened; a wince crossed Elliott’s face.

“I have to,” she answered. Claire positioned the blade next to her forearm, her breath coming out in rapid puffs to prepare herself. Before she could lose her nerve, she drew the knife swiftly across her skin. The anticipation didn’t stop her from hissing in pain; seeing her blood welling from the gash made her nauseous. Don’t heal, she thought. Please don’t heal.

Against her will, the wound knitted itself together within seconds. Claire looked away, feeling sick when she realized Wesker was offering her a disinfectant wipe. “To wash away the blood,” he said as an explanation. The smug smile on his face intensified her ill feeling.

Excella looked pleased as well. “Not even a scratch,” she said. “You are definitely going to be one of our best investments, dear.”

As I continued to surge forward with Tangled Web, I began brainstorming the last eight to ten chapters. I eventually had the ending planned down to the last detail, save for one. The aspect that caused me trouble was related to how Wesker would be defeated at the end. I needed him to venture into the caves below his facility, but I couldn’t think of any logical reason why he would go there. Especially if his intent was to take Claire’s newborn child. I can’t go into detail without spoiling the climax of Tangled Web, but I came up with one wicked plot twist in October 2016 that would make the setup work.

If there is one thing I love about fiction stories, it is being surprised by something that you don’t see coming. Plot twists are my favorite thing to incorporate in my own writing. I have at least four or five in store for the final chapters of Tangled Web, all of which have been subtly hinted at throughout the narrative.

Though I have a clear vision of how the story plays out, I still have a good amount of deleted material for it – ranging from bits of dialogue that didn’t work to entire scenes that got cut. I have been saving the deleted material in a separate file, which is currently thirty pages. My plan is to share it with fans of the story once Tangled Web is completed.

I have also attempted to write a companion story to Tangled Web called Razor’s Edge, though I never made it past four chapters on that one. It would have addressed the same two years, but largely through the perspective of Claire’s older brother, Chris. Ironically, I have a detailed summary for how Razor’s Edge would have gone, but I couldn’t find time to work on both stories simultaneously. I haven’t decided whether I will continue writing the companion story or scrap it altogether.

I have one other thing planned. I would like to make Tangled Web the first book in a trilogy. I have some ideas on where to go with the potential sequels. There might even be a chance for Wesker and Claire to become an item. Even if the additional stories never pan out, I will still be happy with what I’ve written. Tangled Web has definitely been a challenge for me between writing a complex character like Wesker and having Claire and Elliott build a believable romance while being held prisoner. Even though one member of my writing group feels that I’m wasting my time writing fanfiction, I’m glad I was able to pull off this type of story.

 

photo credits:

https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1Irn3SpXXXXbCXFXXq6xXFXXXf/8-10-Month-hot-selling-font-b-Silicone-b-font-Fake-font-b-Pregnant-b-font.jpg

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aLunebGZhs4/hqdefault.jpg

https://t00.deviantart.net/9IiC3FV_m2i_U_nqDcywpt6Hh6Y=/fit-in/700×350/filters:fixed_height(100,100):origin()/pre00/fd03/th/pre/i/2015/247/2/b/re5_midnight_albert_wesker_by_captain_albertwesker-d47qypg.jpg

https://pre00.deviantart.net/1085/th/pre/f/2013/282/5/a/albert_wesker_and_jill_by_wolfshadow14081990-d6ptx87.jpg

http://nerdreactor.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Wesker.jpg

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