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Resident Evil 3: Remake – Five Tips To Help You Survive Raccoon City
Jill Valentine’s rough day can be made a little bit easier with these simple pointers.
Resident Evil 3: Remake launches today, and that means it’s time to return to Raccoon City – a surefire entry on our forthcoming "most unfortunate cities in gaming" roundup.
Picking up before, during, and after the events of last year’s excellent Resident Evil 2: Remake, Resident Evil 3 sees players back in the shoes of Jill Valentine, one of the city’s super cops in the S.T.A.R.S. department.
Hunted by the ruthless Nemesis (be sure to check out our guide on surviving that hunk of pleasantness), Jill will need all the help she can get.
Here’s our Raccoon City survival guide.
Dodge – Your life depends on it
While exploring Raccoon City, Jill will bump into all sorts of nasties but there’s one thing they all have in common – you don’t want to get too close to them.
Despite the knife being unbreakable (unlike last year’s game’s equivalent), avoidance remains the best technique for survival.
With a tap of R1/RB, Jill is able to quickly roll in the direction of the left thumbstick, making her much more nimble than Leon or Claire. Time it perfectly (the screen ‘shakes’ somewhat) and you’ll get an extra slither of time to either make your escape or aim for the head.
Just remember, you can’t roll ad nauseam down the street like some kind of Katamari – so try not to roll from one enemy straight into the clutches of another!
Don’t Shoot Unless You Have To
You'll want to keep hold of these
© Capcom
Resident Evil 3 is more action-focused than its immediate predecessor, but that doesn’t mean you should be spraying hot lead at any zombie within a 100m radius.
Handgun ammo is found relatively easily on many streets, as is gunpowder (which we’ll discuss shortly), but most of the basic zombie enemies you’ll face will still require three headshots to down.
That makes taking them on somewhat of a risk, especially on difficulties other than ‘Assisted’ which offers more accommodating aim-assist.
While the shotgun offers incredibly satisfying power, and later weapons even more so, these are best saved for enemies such as the Hunters or Drain Deimos, and unless you’re on the ‘Assisted’ difficulty mode, try to conserve any assault rifle ammo, too.
Chemistry 101
Combining Items.jpg
© Capcom
On your travels through the city, you’ll find plenty of gunpowder lying around, often in varying types. These can be combined within the inventory screen to provide everything from the most basic to more outlandish ammunition.
Combining two lots of standard gunpowder, for example, allows for fresh handgun rounds, but combining two helpings of ‘High-Grade Gunpowder’ results in much more powerful .44 MAG rounds that can bust zombie heads with relative ease.
It’s not just offensive items that can be crafted, either. If you find multiple types of herbs, you can mix those together, too. A green herb will offer a decent health boost, but mixing one with a red herb boosts the effects considerably. Combining herbs is also a great way to keep your inventory fairly compact, which brings us to our next point.
This disaster is for hordes, not hoarders
Inventory management is crucial
© Capcom
Despite its focus on action and set-pieces, Resident Evil 3: Remake still retains one key element of survival horror – inventory management.
Jill’s initial inventory is just eight slots, and that’s less if you’re carrying items through on later playthroughs. These can be expanded with Hip Pouches, but those are often found off the beaten path.
If Jill drops an item it’s gone completely, so try not to drop a huge bundle of ammo if you’re trying to make room for a new weapon.
Speaking of weapons, you can assign them to directions on the D-Pad for quick access. That means you can switch weapons much more quickly, and once you’ve come to remember which one is which you’ll be able to switch instinctually.
Don’t forget to combine items for a little extra room as we discussed earlier.
Use the Map
Resident Evil 3's map will tell you if you've found everything an area has
© Capcom
This latest trek through Raccoon City inherits the excellent map screen from the last game, meaning each area you discover is colour-coded based on whether there’s more to find or not.
That makes it easy to see where you’ve been to, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of secrets to find.
After the initial introduction of Carlos and Mikhail, when Jill is released onto the open streets of the Downtown area, she’s tasked with putting out a fire. Once it’s put out and she’s claimed the bolt cutters, return to Downtown to grab some extra firepower – including the shotgun.
In fact, return after you get the lock pick and you’ll be able to gain access to entirely new areas, including the Toy Store.
Upgrade your gun and you can have fancy bits like this sight
© Capcom
Use the map and tools to unlock weapon upgrades, like the pistol sight or increased ammo capacity.
