Resident Evil 2

"The classic survival horror game loses its feel with this prettier (but shallower sequel)."

Resident Evil 2 was plagued by delays and retoolings. When Capcom finally released the game to a frenzied, rabid public, it became an instant classic. However, much of the game's praise is unwarranted. It is a fantastic game in the visual compartment, but it loses plenty of the classic ''feel'' of the series (an essential component in making the original such a creepy classic).

The game takes place just a short time after the first Resident Evil, in which STARS Police Force members Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield investigated a zombie-creating virus in an old mansion. Now, after the commotion seemingly dies down, zombies and illnesses have begun popping up in Raccoon City, the metropolis from which the STARS team hails. It appears that Umbrella, the company behind the virus is at it again- a new sickness is spreading and destroying the inhabitants of the town. To make matters worse, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine are both gone, off on missions to investigate the worldwide forces of Umbrella.

You assume the role of either Claire Redfield (Chris' sister) or Leon Kennedy, a new member of Raccoon City's Police Department. After being attacked by zombies and separated by a car wreck, the two heroes must find a way to alleviate the plague assailing the city. Each character has a different path they take on this quest.

First of all, the graphics in Resident Evil 2 are stunning. The first game had some nice visuals with multiple camera angles and some blocky polygons, but the sequel is where the series comes of age on the Playstation. The game begins with an opening FMV movie that has beautifully shaded damp city streets, oozing zombies and fiery explosions. It sets up the game as a violent, bloody feast in which what appears to be two of the last survivng humans must grapple with mindless, frenzied zombies.

The rest of the actual game is ten times smoother than the original RE, where the polygons broke up during heavy action games. Not so here; Claire and Chris run along at a steady clip and interact with the environment smoothly. This increase in animation capabilities also affects the challenge level- now many more zombies can be on the screen at one time, ready to assail you and cause your untimely death. The environments, which are once again prerendered backgrounds are excellent. The game takes place in a Sewer at one point, and the tunnels are covered with fungus and the water is dingy and brown. The rest of the game carries on this pedigree, and the result is some of the best visuals on any game.

The sounds and effects in Resident Evil 2 are technically amazing. The music accompanying the scenes are used sparingly, with a quiet wind blowing through the alleyways you traverse. Inside larger areas like the Police Station, the music is well orchestrated, with unsetlling violins and bass underlying layered tunes. The effects are superlative on the Playstation- Claire and Leon make these damp, gritty pounding noises when running on the cement walkways in the Sewer area and the Zombies are now both well drawn in male and female forms and make individual blood-curdling wails that change as you blast them away with your weapons. The real downside to the audio of the game is that it lacks the creepy, B-movie quality that the original had. In other words, the music is aesthetically appealing but not quite as great as setting a scary mood as other games in the series. This makes a big difference in that much of the scenes that depend on a suspenseful mood simply don't have it.

The controls of Resident Evil 2 match the original. Claire and Leon control the same. You walk around in the 3D environemnts of Raccoon City by pressing Up on the directional pad to walk forward and Down to walk backward. In order to change the direction in which you walk, holding Left or Right will allow you to turn around in a circle until you are facing where you wish to move. You may still run by holding the Square button as you move, and shooting is accomplished by holding R1 and using the movement controls to aim while hitting the X button to shoot. (The X Button also serves as the general action button). The subscreen in which you can manipulate the ammo, weapons and items you find during your quest is now accessed by the Circle button rather than the Start button, but that is okay. It's nothing major.

Resident Evil 2 plays like the classic survival horror game that spawned it. As Claire or Leon you must progress through several locales in the game, blasting zombies, crows and other assorted abominations. Throughout the game, there are relatively simple puzzles that you must figure out (ex: find this medal to get that key from a statue and open a door) in order to progress. These puzzles are varied, if not terribly challenging. Along the way, your heroes encounter potential survivors of the zombie threat, extra weapons and ammo, and Boss Monsters that guard important treasures or doors. The name of the game is survival, with an additional emphasis on exploration. You must find everything you can (using a well thought-out box system to store your goods) and usually everything has a helpful use. You can save your game at many points throughout the game, and this is good because you will certainly not breeze through it in one sitting.

From there on, you unveil a complex, layered plot in which you discover the reason for the zombie threat on Racoon City. This story is well done, although the characters' voice acting is rather dull and at times humourous (although it never reaches the ''master of unlocking'' level of the first RE). The game is also helped by plenty of replay value- each character has a different quest, and in addition they each possess a ''reverse'' quest that changes the objectives and challenges for each. These modes must be unlocked, and this is achieved by completing the game and not using a ridiculous amount of saves and healing items. There are even secret modes and games in RE2 on top of this. Without giving anything else away, this game is truly a bargain.

Well, RE2 has plenty of impressive technical achievements but it really lacks in the ''feel'' of the original. Resident Evil took place in a haunted mansion, complete with crumbling plaster and a feeling of rot. However, in the sequel the game takes place in a shiny Police Station (well, it has been destroyed a little). This looks even more suspicious when you start to see the same gothic-type statues and puzzles of the first game in this modern setting. Just why are there two statues of the god of war sitting up on the second floor of the Police Station? Do they help fight crime or what? What worked in an old mansion just doesn't fly in a Police Station. The same tricks that worked in the first game just seem silly at times here.

Thus, what is left here is a technical wunderkind with little underneath the hood. Resident Evil 2 is worth experiencing, but it falls far short of the elements that made the first so memorable.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 05/10/00, Updated 05/10/00