Resident Evil 2

"You like horror? Then this is something you must have."

If I want a scare, I could either rent a horror flick (not one of those piece of crap 'I'm a teenage girl who is hunted by a maniac with a huge knife and I'm so scared, I think I'm gonna run down into the basement and be trapped with the maniac following me, I'll be right back' movies mind you, I mean a REAL horror movie in which you actually get scared) or turn to Resident Evil 2, the only game in the Resident Evil series I have played this far, but I will get a Dreamcast and buy Resident Evil: CODE Veronica, a game which I expect nothing but the best from.

Resident Evil 2 sure did capture me. With an excellent plot and storyline, I just couldn't help but love it. While it is thrilling, it's also pretty challenging, although the different puzzles might seem a little in the wrong place. (Who would think of pushing statues in order to bring out an item, I don't remember which? It's a police station, for Christ's sakes!) Anyway, that's being nitpicky. Overall, the puzzles are great enough to keep me satisfied. They're part of the Resident Evil franchise, so why complain? Otherwise it would just be the 'walk around, shoot baddies, get there, kill the boss and be the hero of all time' game that several other games - which names I won't tell - tend to be sometimes.

Graphics
Okay, so the backgrounds ARE pre-rendered and the FMV's do tend to be a little blurry, but this IS after all on a cartridge and that makes it VERY impressing. This is something nobody would have expected. FMV's and pre-rendered graphics on a cartridge... I can hardly believe that they managed to convert everything to the Nintendo 64. But are the graphics great? Would they impress me as much if this was not for the Nintendo 64? The answer to that question is no. But almost. The graphics do look great in every aspect, but I still can't let the fact that this is a game for the Nintendo 64 aside.
Score: 9/10

Sound
Atmospheric music. In fact, Resident Evil 2 is one of the best games available when it comes to atmospheric music. Especially the piano music that plays in the first hall in the police station, the one by the very first typewriter. I just love it. I guess you have to experience it to understand, but be prepared, if you haven't yet played it, for some of the best videogame music you'll ever hear.
The moans of the undead are also well done, and the gunshots and, well, every other sound effect are top quality.
Not everything is smooth, though. One thing that has plagued the Resident Evil series all along is terrible voice-acting and Resident Evil 2 is not an exception. Almost annoyingly bad. They should've hired better voice actors, Paul Haddad as the voice of Leon and Alyson Court as the voice of Claire just doesn't do the thing. Be warned.
Score: 8/10

Gameplay
Can't find anything to complain about here. Sure, the first few minutes I found the controls terrible, but it didn't take me much time to get used to them. Especially not as they've added first person controls, which means that Leon and Claire will turn into the direction you want them to turn instead of forcing you into first turning them in the right direction and then moving, which could cost you some health if you're unlucky.
It is very spooky, so prepare to jump out of your seat a few times. The best thing is you never know when the shock comes. There are lots of windows, but you never know which one of them will break open due to zombie arms, or even IF any of the windows will reveal any shocking surprise. That's what makes it so creepy. It's either you simply don't care about the windows, and when something breaks through it, you are this close to wetting your pants, or you think 'Oh no, there's a window! Something will smash through it, I can feel it! Here it comes, I'm right next to it and... No? Phew. I must've been wrong. Then I guess the next window won't have any surprises for me.' CRASH! 'Yikes!'
And, I warn you: Do NOT waste your ammo on zombies if they are not entirely blocking your way. Imagine facing a reeeaaally tough boss and running out of ammo. What will you do then? Slash him with your knife? Well, I wouldn't feel so comfortable in that situation and I don't think you would either.
One thing I find uncomfortable about the gameplay, though, is that you can't bring as many items with you as you want. You must store them in item boxes. This could be highly annoying since you probably won't be able to carry all of your guns at the same time since they weigh too much and you need other items such as antidotes and keys which are necessary to solve puzzles, open doors, etc. That's probably the only gripe with the gameplay.
Score: 8/10

Challenge
This game will take a whole lot of time to finish, but it isn't too much hard to do so, at least not if you know when you should and when you should not shoot an enemy.
One thing that will keep you returning is the Ex-Files, which reveal facts about the plot in the other Resident Evil games, Resident Evil, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and Resident Evil: CODE Veronica. Resident Evil Zero not counted because it wasn't under production when they made Resident Evil 2. And, also, when you have completed the game once, if you play through it again, the locations of the items will be changed randomly, so you don't know what you're gonna find where, say the Grenade Launcher previously was. Pretty cool, but nothing that changes the game very much.
Score: 8/10

Overall
I understand now why Resident Evil 2 is a classic. While there are some downsides, for example the terrible voice-acting and somewhat blurry cutscenes, it still is very enjoyable to play and if you like being scared - this is not a game for wimps - give it a try. I promise you won't regret it. Although it only received eights, except for one nine, in the different departments, I feel that an eight would be making it sound worse than it is, so I'll give it a solid nine. Buy it.
Overall score: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/30/00, Updated 12/30/00