Resident Evil 2

"Artwork from Capcom, titled Resident Evil 2"

Resident Evil was a smash ht in the playstation's opening stages of life. While the game officered a new form of gameplay, and opened the doors of survival hero, the games producers now had a large base of fans to please. And what a way to deliver, by no other means than a sequel. Did it satisfy the blood thirsty fans? Indeed it did, in fact went on to becoming the game of the year. Resident Evil 2 was born and had hit the gaming industry like a freight train.

To begin, Resident Evil 2 improves greatly upon the few flaws that the original had, but is pumped up with loads of new content. Improved battle system, physics, and much sharper visuals. As well as much needed professional voice acting cast and good translation. The game is a work of art, and is the best in series. This is the new nightmare, and it's just gotten a whole hell of a lot worse. Now with a new virus strain unleashed in Raccoon city as well as the infection and mutation of the T-virus, this horrid mix of the newly uncovered G-virus and the Spencer labs previous disaster all in hand, leaves the town in darkness. Civilians by the hundreds are infected and rise from the dead.

Story - As stated above, the virus has spread into the nearby Raccoon city. The police are all dead, minus a few survivors. The only hope comes from two very different places. Claire Redfield, the sister of the Resident Evil hero, RPD cop, Chris, has come in search of him after hearing of activity in the Spencer mansion. The other hero is new. He goes by the name Leon and he's a great addition. Leon is a rookie cop on his way for the first time to Raccoon City. He gets a very warm welcome. Leon finds a lone corpse in the deserted streets and is ambushed by the undead; his world comes to a screeching halt. But these are not the only life forms left out there. There are new characters in Resident Evil 2 as well. You meet the man responsible for the supervision of the T-virus creation. And is also the boss you commonly fight in the A game. He has various forms and it's just a single researcher that injected himself with the remaining G-virus sample. Umbrellas merc team tried to escape with his work (the G-virus), but as they escape through the sewers, he meets up with them, and destroys his work. From there you must learn about this horrendous conspiracy and I would say more, but I have no intentions of spoiling it for you.

Gameplay - First things first, is you may notice this game can be played in two ways. You may begin on Claries disc or Leon's disc. While they both play similar, the items, people you meet and weapons you acquire are completely different. Everything from the dialogue to locations, the game is in someway altered. However, let's say you finish Claries A game, you have to save, and then place Leon's disc in the system and play through his B game (and Visa versa). This makes for a very neat take on the game. Basically you see what happens to leon/clarie while you played the A game. The B game is much more intense by tossing in very large amounts of more powerful enemies as well as a new boss that follows your character all around the course of the game. The A and B game system is genius and is really adds replay value. In total you will have 4 ways to experience Resident Evil 2.

The improved battle system is to talk about as well. I'll just start with the newly updated engine. You can still do everything you could in Resident Evil but there are tons of new additions, hold on. Remember how in Resident Evil and Resident Evil Director's cut if you were wounded it would only be displayed in your status screen? Well this time around, the game shows it right to you. If you're fine, your character stands upright and erect. Once entered upon the Caution apparatus, you will see them clutch their side, and walk and run slightly slower. Once you've absorbed a large dose of damage and you enter the danger status, you hold you abdomen and limp very slowly and react much slower. This adds to the immersive feel of things. Another great thing is how you can inflict damage as enemies fall or rise from or to the ground. In Resident Evil, if a zombie was falling you could attack all you want, the ammo or slash was cancelled out until the foe was in place on the ground, or fully standing up. Now, even as a zombie falls towards the ground, you can attack them as they fall, this squeezes in that extra needed punch. Speaking of zombies, let me tell you, they look, and move tons better than before. They look much better compared to the single lab coat zombies found in First game. They come in male and female ranks; they have different looks, clothes and even some naked ones too. The models look much more freighting as well. Some have bloody cavities, body parts ripped open, and intestines spewed about. You even get to see some special zombies, like this one cop you meet early on. They can attack much more viciously and can even leap one to your ankle from afar. They can also now be shook off you. If you rapidly press the X button they tend to only get one bite, thus resulting in less damage. Another great step in the physics is the way the foes can be interacted with. They can be on fire and can be hit with excess fire; it's all great and makes the physics engine much more fun and exciting.

Another thing you'll notice is the amount of bodies. This adds to the games atmosphere in my opinion. The savage look and gruesome amount of the dead are incredible. The bodies range from civilians to what's left of the police force. Ammo is just lying everywhere too. The weapons are now all very impressive to use and act very differently. In Resident Evil you got a few weapons, but In Resident Evil 2 your going to have a blast with the new spanning arsenal. Some crazy one's like a Spark shot and a Gatling gun, they all are great. The weapons Leon gets range from Handguns, Sawn-off shotguns, Desert eagles and plenty more. The even greater thing is that most can be upgraded. Some guns like the VP70 handgun can be modified to have an automatic setting. The shotgun gets a longer barrel and the magnum is also improved. This just makes Leon godly in terms of the battle system. Claire gets unique weapons like a crossbow and a grenade launcher (much like the bazooka). You also have a few secret ones at that. The general feel is great. As far as opponents go Resident Evil 2 doesn't disappoint. Sadly my favorite baddies are gone, the Hunters, but fans will be glad to know that the new muscle, known as the licker is awesome. Toss in some new plant monster, bigger more powerful bosses and a ton more amounts of them, you got yourself a biological nightmare. You may also notice that they come in much larger amounts. With in the first thirty minutes of you're A game you will have encountered twenty some zombies and a licker. Creatures also tend to break out of no where as well, Glass, wood panels. I'll let you find those. Overall the game is just like the original but with a supercharged hemi.

Graphics – This version of Resident Evil looks fabulous, it's amazing and the detail is down to the grim on the walls, posters with small tears, and the individual glass particles. Words cannot simply describe the background images. However, your character and enemy models look somewhat ill. The textures are sharp in the background, but in real time the models look very sketchy. Not to mention that the effects are nice but hold the game back somewhat. None the less greatness is not achieved in its visuals. The game holds true to its polished look, however, as the animations are great, the models really need some work. The new FMV's are amazing, they look great. The reflections are also real eye catchers in these cut scenes. You have to see them all to do them justice. The gore also looks much more pure and realistic. The blood has a deeper and less blocky look. Even the decapitations are much more cinematic. Bits of flesh and skull land all over the ground, it's awesome. And all in all, the game will keep you going wow, even if it is old now days; it runs great for its time and the hardware.

Without validation you should buy this master piece. The best in the series and is worth every dime of your money. It's a piece of art and is a part of gaming history; it is the ultimate survival horror.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/03/06