Resident Evil 2

"City of the Dead"

Before Resident Evil 2 was released, there was a lot of hype surrounding the game because it was the sequel of the first very successful survival horror game, Resident Evil. Everyone had high ambitions for the sequel, which promised larger locations, more puzzles, more enemies, improved gameplay, and most of importantly, more scares. Resident Evil 2 is a great game that should be played by anyone who likes survival horror games or Resident Evil, but it definitely did not live up to the greatness of its predecessor for a number of reasons.

When you get attacked in a Resident Evil game, the game judges the amount of health you have by “fine” to “caution” to “danger”. This stays true with Resident Evil 2, except now when you get hurt the characters will show you that they are hurt by walking slowly and grabbing their stomach or limping. This simple animation does save you a little bit of time consistently checking your health and is the best addition to the series that Resident Evil 2 contributed.

Just like in the original game, you can choose between a male or female character to play as. This time around though, the two scenarios are very different from each other and it really feels more like you're playing two different games entirely. This is another great change of pace to the series, but going through both scenarios makes the plot a little confusing at times and you unlock two more scenarios after that, involving the same two protagonists, that will confuse you even more as to what the hell went on in Raccoon City. However, it is interesting that what you do in the first scenario affects the next scenario.

Wait a minute. You're not trapped in some musty old mansion anymore? Definitely not. This time around you are get to travel the streets of Raccoon City which definitely has much more detail to go with it and a wider variety of zombies with new animations, plus there are way more zombies on screen at once. However, the game does sacrifice much of the feel of the original for all of this new stuff that may seem like a good idea, ultimately it takes a little away from the “horror” part of the game.

There are a plenty of new weapons this time around, but they really aren't that special. You get more weapons than in the first game and you acquire them much earlier than in the original as well, plus there is more ammo lying around. Resident Evil 2 is much more combat-focused than the original game was, but that isn't necessarily an all around good thing because the real fun is being scared to death, which Resident Evil 2 fails to do.

Capcom always delivers with unlockable content, and Resident Evil 2 does have its fair share of unlockable goodies. The main unlockable mode, besides the extra scenarios, is “The 4th Survivor” mode where you play as Hunk, a mercenary who works for Umbrella. This is actually very fun to play through and does add some replayability to the game. You can also unlock “Tofu Survivor” which is the same thing except you play as a walking piece of tofu and it's on a harder difficulty setting. No, I am not kidding.

Similarly to other games in the series, you unlock these modes by earning a good rank in the main game modes, the scenarios. To get a good ranking you basically have to complete the game fast. Some other factors go into account, but the main focus is how fast you go through the game, which can be pretty fast depending on how well you memorize where items are located and what you should be carrying with you when. This is when the Resident Evil games really become fun: when you completely master them and beat the hell out of them.

Extreme Battle mode is a mode where you choose from four playable characters on three different difficulty settings, and in this mode the goal is to hurry to the police station and collect four bombs hidden in the station before the time runs out. This mode provides some thrills, but just isn't as much fun as “The 4th Survivor” is and feels a little tacked on.

Resident Evil 2 is a somewhat disappointing sequel because it doesn't really have that much to do with the first game. There are some small little connections (besides one of the main character's reasons for being in Raccoon City at all) that most people will overlook, so they don't really count, do they? Leon S. Kennedy is in Raccoon City for his first day on the police force, but discovers that the town has been taken over by zombies. Claire Redfield, the younger sister of Chris Redfield from the first game, has come to the town to look for her missing brother and they soon join together when they realize that they're going to need each other if they want to get out of this town alive.

Where Resident Evil 2 disappoints the most is that its graphics are absolutely horrendous on the GameCube. I know that the game is a port, but they didn't even bother to bring the graphics up at all, which they could have done if they really took some time with the game. It's the same graphics as found on the original PlayStation. They were good at the time, but Capcom took no attempt to update the game from the PlayStation original. On the bright side, load times have been reduced and everything runs a little smoother than it did back in 1998.

Resident Evil 2 sees a significant leap in voice acting from the first game, with virtually no corny lines and the characters don't seem like total dorks all of the time. Unfortunately, the creepy atmosphere from the first game is ruined with the city setting of the sequel, but the soundtrack still provides for some thrills. Unfortunately, I didn't jump once throughout this game which is a real shame because I usually count on Resident Evil games to provide those musical jumps that will send you flying out of your chair.

Resident Evil 2 can be beaten in under three hours like most titles in the series, but not on your first time through. There are a total of four scenarios for you to play through, but they do jumble up the story a little bit so you don't really know which ending you should consider official canon (that is if you aren't familiar with the other sequels). You'll feel compelled to get a good rank on the scenarios in order to unlock all of the extra content, including three new modes which can provide for a couple more hours of entertainment. These extras will make the game and will make sure that Resident Evil 2 spends more time in your GameCube than other games.

Resident Evil 2 is a great game, but it just doesn't have the same thrills that the original had. Still, the game does provide for much more content than the original and even though not all of that content is all that great, the more the merrier, right? The gameplay is more action oriented, which most of you will probably like (I didn't). Unfortunately, the game didn't see the same graphical overhaul that the original did when it came to the GameCube, but it still provides for an entertaining experience that should be experienced by anyone who never played the original. If you have played the original though, you might want to think twice about entering the world of survival horror this time around.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/02/08

Game Release: Resident Evil 2 (US, 01/16/03)