"A freakishly great game, but has some flaws, but other then that, a freakishly great game"

Since the success of the original Resident Evil on the Sony PlayStation, it shouldn't be a surprise that a sequal was comming. And yes, a sequal came, and it was as good and scary as hell. It was a top seller on the PlayStation, so Capcom decided to try their luck by releasing it on the N64. They made the right move. After dominating in the sales rate on the Playstation, N64 owners rushed to gaming stores all over the world to get a copy of Resident Evil 2 on the N64. Soon, the sales figures were staggering, as the N64 version of Resident Evil 2 was also amongts the top in sales. The N64 developed new technology that allows them to cram two CDs worth of gameplay into one cartridge. Amazing!

This game is truly a horror game! It will give the people who get scared really easily heart attacks (exaggerated, of course). And it will even scare some of the people who are huge fans of horror movies. Zombie dogs and their bloodthirst grin. Ravens crashing through the windows. It'll all scare you.

Resident Evil 2 follows the story of Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy. Claire is trying to find her brother, Chris, who made a big appearnace in the original Resident Evil. Leon is a new recruit of the Racoon Police Department, arriving on his first day of duty. Both characters discovered that the city has been infested with zombies. And the story goes from there......

First off, the gameplay. Could not get any better!!! The player can choose from two characters, either Claire or Leon. After completing the game with one of them, the player then has to finish the game with the other character, thus getting a view of the game from the other character's point of view. Of course, the second character the player plays as will be harder. And the order the charcters are chosen will affect the outcome of the story. It would also affect some of the items availabe on the second time around. Because of this, the player has total freedom in choosing how the story turns out. And if you're good enough, you will unlock two new characters. Each with their own scinarios, story and challenge.

However, I find that the major flaw with the gameplay is the controlls. They are incredibly tough to master (and even to learn the controlls can be a total nightmare). The character cannot walk/run and shoot at the same time, which makes it really hard to fight zombies that are closing in on you. And you need to hold down a button to draw your gun. Why not just keep your gun drawn? I just wish the Capcom staff would have enough guts to change the controlls in an upcomming Residnet Evil game.

The story is extremely involving, and confusing at times. The story of the two characters are intertwined. So you would not understand it fully until you've completed the game with both characters.

The challenge is extremely high. You never know what's around the next corner. And some of these zombies just never die! Also, it takes a really good mind to solve some of these intensivly challenging puzzles.

The graphics, on the other hand, are well done. They havn't changed from the PlayStation version, but they are great nontheless. From the opening movie to the closing movie, you'll be amazed at the art and the FMVs (full motion videos). The character models have great detail in them. However, the flaw with the graphics is when you are actually playing the game. There are set screens for each small area. And the screen changes from one to the other, it's hard to see where the zombies are.

The audio, what can I say? Could not be any better! The music really fits the mood. Since this is a game from the survival horror genre, the music should be really creepy. And it is. Without the music, the game would be senseless shootings. So I would say that those geniuses at Capcom really did a great job in adding to the scariness of the game. The sound is also very well done. From the moaning of a zombie to a climb down a ladder, to a sound of a door knob turning, to the sound of the echo of an empty hall, everything sounds so realistic!

The fun factor varies on the player. If you love corny horror movies and video games, then you're more then likely to enjoy Resident Evil 2. If you get scared really easily, then you might reconsider playing this game as it could scare the hell right out of you! The replay value is freakishly high! After completing the game with both characters, you might want to try the game again by reversing the order of the characters chosen, to find out how the story has changed. Or if you're good enough, you might want to play as the secret characters Hunk and Tofu, each with their own challenges.

There are some difference from the N64 version to the PlayStation version. First of all, the color of blood could be changed (it's not that important, but it's cool). Next, the violence level could be adjusted, which is a good thing for parents concerned for violence.

In conclusion, buy this game! However, if survival horor is not your cup of tea (excuse my cliche), then you may want to reconsider and rent this game instead.

FINAL RANKINGS:
Gameplay:9
Challenge:10
Graphics:9.99999
Audio:10
Fun Factor:9 (but that's my opinion, it will varry amongts the players)
Replay Value:10
Overall:9

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/22/00, Updated 06/22/00