Resident Evil 3 Remake release date: Launch time news for PS4 and Xbox One...

Capcom’s next major launch is scheduled for this week, with the Resident Evil 3 Remake release date set for Friday, April 3, 2020. The main attraction will be the remastered campaign, which offers a reimagined, modern version of Jill Valentine’s survival story through Raccoon City. But the Resident Evil Resistance multiplayer mode will also be a big part of the new experience coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC.Combat is similar to last year's Resident Evil 2 remake -- slick and satisfying, with a consistent sense of danger. You can use a cool new dodge to get away from enemies (replacing the defensive weapons of the previous game), but I always moved deliberately lest something nasty leap from the shadows. Jill also has a small arsenal of weapons, some of which are upgradeable. The perspective occasionally switches over to mercenary Carlos Oliveira, giving you a different set of guns to play with.This pair form a convincing partnership through the story, and it's beautifully presented via engaging cutscenes as slick as I've come to expect from recent entries in the series. Jill is a charismatic protagonist, while ruthless villain Nicholai has more convincing motivations than in the original. It ties satisfyingly with the events of Resident Evil 2, which take place after the first half of this game chronologically..

This is especially unfortunate when you consider the optional areas and branching paths of the 1999 original -- this remake pretty much forces you on a set track, with few options to deviate, so it lacks the same replay value. 

The remake also suffers from a serious dearth of puzzles -- getting most of the game's key items requires facing a bunch of enemies, but I seldom had to use my brain to figure out a combination or to get some machinery working. It's regrettable that this classic element of the series is largely ignored in favor of combat. Ammunition and health are a little too plentiful as well, so item management isn't as vital as it was in the remake of the second game, robbing the experience of some tension.

You'll get through the game in about five to six hours, which isn't quite as long as I'd like, and there's little to bring you back beyond the series' usual array of unlockable items and harder difficulties. The original game's excellent Mercenaries minigame -- which tasked you with battling monsters and racing across the city as quickly as possible -- is sorely missed.

Instead, the remake is packaged with Resident Evil Resistance, an intense four-versus-one multiplayer game, but I couldn't get into a match during the review period. Our friends at sister site GameSpot will be taking a deeper dive into Resistance in the coming days, so keep an eye on their review in progress.

On its own, the Resident Evil 3 remake is a fun way to pass a few days of social isolation, but it feels a bit bare-bones compared with last year's exquisite reimagining of the second game, and its lack of replay value means it won't resonate like the original.