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Just when you thought it was safe... Well, Resident Evil 2 was released about eighteen months after the original and it changed the way games were released after the Christmas season. Ordinarily, they are usually not that great and we go into a lapse of crap from four months and then May makes things all better once again. Sometimes March does this too. In 1998, however, things were changed when Resident Evil 2 was released in the dark days of January and it gave us reason to be scared out of our wits in the most polished game of the series. Did we want to go back and experience the horror? You betcha.
The story takes place a few months after the original, and two lives are about to collide into a huge nightmare. Claire Redfield, the sister of Chris Redfield, has arrived on her motorcycle to Raccoon City to look for him. Then there is rookie cop Leon Kennedy, who is out to the police station for his first day on the job. Claire is ambushed by zombies and so is Leon. Leon saves Claire and they try to head to the police station. However, they are separated by an oil tanker that loses control. Leon is on one side of the burning debris, and Claire is on the other. The new nightmare begins for both of them. This story could have easily blown up in their faces, but the people at Capcom do a fine job of keeping their cool and make a story that is actually nicely constructed and it doesn't do too bad of keeping the cheesiness out that was so obvious in the original. This game also spends most of its time in the Police Station, just like the original spent most of its time in the Mansion, so you will come to know the station rather nicely. Maybe too nicely....
The graphics are much more textured and they have a much better edge to them than the original did. This might not be as scary as the original, but it gets the job done nicely. The videos are superbly done and you can see some good emotion, which is hard to do, even today.
The controls are less of a challenge, but they still haven't changed THAT much. You will still die a couple of times from some weird controls ideas but you should get the hang of it pretty quickly. Where's the auto-aim, damn it!
The voice-overs aren't as dumb as the ones in the original and you can almost feel for them. Thats certainly a good sign. The music is far better than in the original and it will really get your heart going, so keep those pills next to you.
The overall gameplay structure is enriched by a second quest that is linked to the original, and it explains everything that the first quest didn't. The second quest might be a little tougher at first, but that changes quickly enough and you are on the same wavelength as before. The final boss is too easy, but that doesn't mean you're gonna get it that easily. The other bosses in the game are at least a little tougher and should be able to keep you ready and alert. It is good to be scare
-- Chris Vavra, PGNx Media
---- Oct 5, 2002
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