Resident Evil 2

"Even better than the original in almost every way."

The first Resident Evil game is by far one of the most important titles. Many people still believed that video games only was for kids when it got released, then that game scared many children and even the parents who played the game with the children. However despite the game being so scary compared to what most of the other video games were at that time, it still was one of the most successful games in the early days of the Playstation. And since Capcom has always been known to create an awesome game and then make zillion of sequels, everyone looked really forward to play Resident Evil 2, which would hopefully be even more scary.

Resident Evil 2 takes place in Raccon City about 3 months after the first Resident Evil. The big company Umbrella have managed to quiet down the rumours that they have created a T-Virus that turned normal people into human eating zombies. What has happened to the heroes from the first Resident Evil is unknown. Now even more hysterical things have happened in the poor town. The zombies are not just hiding in a mansion anymore, they are all over the city. Many of the citizens of Racoon City have already turned into zombies and those who haven't is desperate to get away from Racoon City. However there are two humans who has more trouble than everyone else to escape.

The first one is Leon S Kennedy (Who is also the main character in the very popular Resident Evil 4). This day was his first day on the job as a cop and he's out patrolling on the streets when he suddenly sees a dead corpse. He looks at the dead body and suddenly finds himself surrounded by enemies. He then decides to forget his duty as a cop and just get out of the city alive.

The other playable character in this game is Claire Redfield, the hero from the first Resident Evil game Chris Redfield's sister. Her brother has been missing ever since the day the S.T.A.R.S team went to the umbrella mansion. Claire heads to Racoon City to find any clues where her brother are. She walks in to a bar to talk to anyone who might know anything about Chris, but all she finds is the bar owner eating one of his customers. He then looks at Claire as if she was his dessert and Claire can't do anything but to run away from him since she's unarmed.

The two heroes meet each other and Leon is so happy to see another living human, so he offers Claire a ride in his police car to the police station which should be much safer than staying out on the streets. However it turns out that a zombie is in the car and after a few events Claire and Leon gets separated. However they decided that they should meet up at the Police Station to discuss how the should escape from this city of madness.

In the first Resident Evil there were two different scenarios. One with Jill Valentine and one with Chris Redfield. But Resident Evil 2 is on 2 CDs, one of Leon's scenarios and one for Claire's scenarios. You can start with any of the two characters you want to, but when you beat the game with one of the characters, you can save a file which then allows you to take the role as the other character in the first characters story. That means that there are two stories with Leon and two with Claire, however most of the storyline is the same no matter if you play story A or story B, but it still makes you want to play through the game at least 4 times to see all the different endings.

Just like the first Resident Evil game, Resident Evil 2 is a survival horror game. Your mission is to simple find a way out of Racoon City. You can still defend yourself against the zombies and other evil looking creatures with guns and other weapons. Except for the handgun, Claire and Leon have completely different weapons. Leon has the same weapons as the heroes in Resident Evil (the Shotgun and the Magnum) while Claire has a bow-gun and a grenade launcher. There are also just like in the first game a lot of riddles that the player has to figure out, which usually is that you have to use an item in a certain place. Most of the riddles are easy to figure out after a little thinking.

While this game is even more enjoyable than the first Resident Evil game it still has one of the flaws the original also had. All the camera angles are still, and sometimes it's hard to know where you should aim since the enemy can sometimes be out of the screen in one second, and be all over you at another. Another sad thing is that the game can be really hard in the beginning, but once you have found better weapons the game becomes much easier. And while I have nothing against the control in this game, it takes a while before you have learned how to walk forward. The game takes about 3 hours to beat if you have some idea on how to solve the riddles, personally I have finished the game both with Leon and Claire in one session.

Many consider Resident Evil 2 to be the best in the series on the Playstation, and many of the old fans also consider it to be the best in the whole series. Personally I don't really know what is the best in the whole series, but this game is more fun to play than the first one. Anyone who liked the first Resident Evil won't be disappointed with the sequel. Well done Capcom!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/17/07