Resident Evil 2

"Great game, except for one glaring problem"

This was my first time playing RE2, so the game was shiny and new to me. I can see how many who played this game years ago would be under-whelmed with it, but as a recent RE fan I was very eager to get my grubby little paws on it.

Let's get the whole graphics issue out of the way first...yes, they do suck. Although the backgrounds and environment have held up pretty well the characters themselves look awful. You'll notice glaring flaws like the fact that Claire doesn't really have legs, so much as upper and lower leg pieces that are stuck together. Since this game was released in January 2003 there is no excuse for the characters in the game to look like walking mannequins.

Another weak point in the graphics department are what I believe are called ''particle effects''. The smoke and steam renderings in this game look worse than the characters in the game, the smoke and steam in this game look straight out of the 16-bit era...simply atrocious. I'll end my graphical critique by saying that Capcom(in this and RE3's case) are a bunch of cheapskates.

All that being said, this is really a great gaming experience. RE2 really develops the RE storyline. You start out the game as either Claire Redfield(REmake hero Chris' sister) or Leon Kennedy(a cop on his first day of duty in Racoon City). As you probably know Racoon City is flooded with flesh eating zombies thanks to Umbrella and it's up to these two to get out alive and find out what the heck is going on. Throughout the game Claire and Leon will split up and sometimes meet up again. The interesting thing is after you finish the game with one character(scenario A), you can play the game again as the other character(scenario B) and see the game unfold through their eyes as they encounter slightly different challenges and other characters in the RE mythos. This adds a lot to the replay value and will give you different, and even more complete endings for the game.

As for sound and music, this is an area where the RE games excel. Mood and atmosphere are very important in a survival-horror game, and boy do they work the magic in this game. There's nothing like walking down a hallway and hearing spooky music and creaking boards, then turning a corner only to hear the music suddenly jump to a new level, or to hear the moaning of the undead and wondering where the H-E-DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS they are. Hats off to Capcom in this all important aspect of the game.

Now, about the game play and controls...well, you either love them or hate them. It's the classic RE ''tank'' controls, meaning that you move the characters like a remote controlled car. Personally, I love the controls. This game is about survival, not about jumping over peoples heads. If you played REmake(or any other RE game) and didn't like the controls, you won't like them in this game either.

The replay value is incredibly high. As I mentioned before, there are the A and B scenarios for each character. It's quite interesting to see what Leon was up to while Claire was doing this or that, nice touch. As soon as you start the game there are difficulty selections for those wimps out their who like to play games on the easiest possible setting. There are also other things that can be unlocked and a couple of ''Easter Eggs'' in the game too.

Overall, I really enjoyed my RE2 experience. If you liked REmake and you don't have to have great graphics to enjoy a game, you'll most likely enjoy RE2 and it's deepening of the RE storyline. It's just too bad that Capcom didn't give this game the graphical upgrade it deserves.

GRAPHICS:3/ They pretty much suck, but don't hinder game play.

SOUND and MUSIC:8/ Overall this is a very strong point in the game, but the voice acting can get pretty lame.

GAME PLAY:9/ As I said before, you either love or hate the RE controls. Pretty much the same as every other RE game.

REPLAY VALUE:8/ Lots of cool things to keep you coming back for more.

Now for the all important Qui Gon factor, where I rate a game on how much I personally enjoyed it, or appreciated it's technical achievements, innovation, etc.

QG FACTOR:8/ I just simply love RE games. The story really grabbed me, and the police station is great. The A and B scenarios rock, but the only thing that keeps me from giving RE2 a 10 in the QG FACTOR is...you guessed it, the deplorable graphics.

OVERALL:7/ This game is simply great, only THE GRAPHICS bring this score down to a seven.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/22/03, Updated 03/22/03