Resident Evil 2

"How to make perfect sequel; improve, don't change."

After the smash hit Resident Evil had raised the hype higher then nobody thought was possible Capcom just had to make a sequel. And that was risky business.

Resident Evil 2 came with a huge responsibility to not let the fans down, if it succeeded this could be the start of a new never ending story of great games, if not Resident Evil would probably have been quickly forgotten. Now we know that Capcom did not just manage to follow up the great Resident Evil but also bring us one of the best games yet in videogame history.

Was it better? Not necessarily. What the first game had in graphics RE 2 just made better and if you have ever played the first Resident Evil you know that there was room for improvement. That you now actually could control your character in a decent way did not just made the gameplay slightly better, but it appealed to a much much bigger public. The controls are often said to be clumsy but I’m fine with them, actually I think that Capcom have done a pretty good job with these even if RE3 showed that they could be better.
You can say that Resident Evil 2 in one way is the perfect sequel, while it improves almost everything that could be improved from the original it still leaves room for further improvements (more about that later on).

In Resident Evil we lived under constant horror and the feel of being outnumbered in a spooky mansion filled with things we did not know anything at all about. The thing I liked the most however must have been how you never had enough ammo to take down those enemies you needed but somehow always made it anyway. Resident Evil was not impossible to beat, but it had a hell of an atmosphere. Another part that helped that game was the characters, even if the voice acting was awful and the intro with real actors was not that good (actually I liked it) the characters felt real interesting.
In Resident Evil 2 on the other hand the first part of the game takes place in Racoon City and as you might have guessed the whole town (almost) have been infested with the walking dead – zombies! And as you might guess an open town can never be a scary as an unknown mansion somewhere outside Racoon City, but it gets better. As soon as you reach the police station you can say goodbye to the friendly outdoors environments and get ready for disgusting sewers and of course illegal hidden labs.

We follow Leon Kennedy at his first day at work and what a day to start with. We also play through the game as Claire Redfield, sister of Chris from the first game. And while it’s not hard to see how pretty boy Leon and thought to be foxy Claire managed to get the main roles in a big videogame it’s arguable if they get the job done. Well it could have been worse, but the characters in this one does not stand a chance against the mercs from the first one where we played as either macho Chris Redfield or the woman with impressive survival skills; Jill Valentine.

Now, how the characters where used in the games is a completely different matter on the other hand. While we in Resident Evil played the almost exact same scenario either as Chris or Jill, Resident Evil 2 introduced a groundbreaking way of telling a videogame story.
Depending on which one of Leon and Claire we choose to play as first the game turns out in different ways. The first time you go through the game you play scenario A, and the second scenario B. This is a fantastic part of the game. Of course there are some key events that happen to Leon and Claire respectively which way you even play the game but they actually go through different things depending on the order you play the game. To completely finish the game you will have to complete the both scenarios. And if scenario A is good, scenario B is out of this world. After actually completing scenario A I felt happy with this game but after gotten so much more of the story explained when putting A and B together it felt like a whole new game almost.

A thing that I missed in Resident Evil was bonus features that would have added a least a little replay value. In Resident Evil 2 there are bonus games (if you can manage to unlock them) and while they add a little replay value, they are not that good.

What more can be important in a game where more then 60% depends on fighting fierce monsters with the available arsenal?
Of course I’m talking about the guns and the foes, where shall I start?

Guns don’t kill people they kill enemies. An interesting and important aspect of the Resident Evil games has always been the inventory. With a limited amount of items you are able to carry it’s important to choose the right guns at the same time as you carry along the important key items for the game and wisely leave a slot or two open for items you will find along your way.
While the arsenal in Resident Evil 2 does not include anything out of the ordinary it contains all the guns you need. I believe that this game quite set the standards for the arsenal in games like this.
You got a knife, handgun, shotgun and rocket launcher, and that’s pretty much what you will need. Also items can be find through the game letting you customize your weapons to more effective versions of the originals, that is lovely. Of course there are some other weapons that you won’t use that much too but they’re nice additions.

Now onto the bad guys of Resident Evil 2. For you who have played the original I can assure you that this game contains pretty much to same enemies, which is a good thing. A BAD thing is that the most fearsome enemy in a videogame ever, the hunters, are left out of this game. Instead we are introduced to the Lickers (actually they might have already been in the original, there were some Licker like guys at the later part but I’m not sure if it actually was Lickers), wall climbing human like things that will rough you up bad enough, but not as bad as the hunters.
For you who are not familiar with what I’m talking about the hunters where those frog-like beasts that walked upright and could decapitate your head before you even noticed them coming.
If that does not ring a bell just get the original Resident Evil!

The last and probably most important part I will cover are the bosses. While the enemies try to kill you and might at times scare you pretty well the bosses of the Resident Evil series are killers, literary.
And at this plan RE 2 got it all, a big variety of bosses both when it comes to difficulty and to physics brings a lot more to Resident Evil 2 than you thought possible. You see how the virus affect people that comes back to hunt you, and they get bigger, badder and deadlier for each time.

Be sure not to miss this brilliant settlement of the Resident Evil series. It’s impossible to say which is the best of this game and the original, and I’m not going to make a try. Resident Evil had originality and a great story. Resident Evil 2 have that plus an improved gameplay. In the original there was the Mansion that started it all (at least until Resident Evil 0 comes out) and the feeling of being constantly chased by something you don’t want to encounter.
It’s just impossible to decide. All I can say is that Resident Evil 2 is a pretty damn good game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/17/02, Updated 11/17/02