Resident Evil 2
Developer - Capcom
Publisher - Capcom
Players - 1
Extras - Memory card
The bit on the box
"Can you survive the horror? First
there was the disaster at the mansion lab. Umbrella Corp developed the
T-Virus, a muta-genic toxin for use in biological weapons. After breaking
loose, living things mutated into all sorts of decaying creatures. The
case was eventually closed, but Umbrella's experiments were far from over.
Now it's the worst possible nightmare: a new virus runs rampant. All of
Raccoon City is infested. Blood thirsty zombies, hideous mutations now
overwhelm the community. When Leon and Claire arrive in town their nightmare
is just beginning...You now control their destiny. If the suspense doesn't
kill you...something else will!"
Graphics
The graphics in Resident Evil 2 are a huge improvement
over it's predecessor (that's not to say the graphics in the first game
weren't good as well). Although much of the game still takes place inside
buildings the outdoor city areas are extremely well done and convincingly
teeming with the walking dead. All the backdrops are done in rendered art,
while all the characters and other assorted creatures are done in polygons,
which are well drawn and textured. The animation for the characters and
the monsters is also improved from the original and some of the things
you will do battle with are truly hideous. There are also rendered cut-scenes
now instead of FMV and I have to say they are the best CGI rendered movies
I have ever seen in a video game (even better than Soul Blade's
intro).
Sound
In my opinion it is the sound that really makes this game.
Sound effects range from creepy to downright scary, and ambient music helps
build up tension until something finally leaps out at you, making you jump
in your seat. The zombies groan and scrape their feet along the ground,
and you can even hear them in ajacent screens (a good warning that something
is around the next corner, something horrible!). Weapon sound effects haven't
changed much from the first game, but then the gunshots from the original
sounded authentic anyway. The voice acting deserves a mention too, as there
is no truly cheesy acting here, but this doesn't hurt the game as many
predicted, as it gives a polished feel to Resident Evil's bigger
budget brother (the first game seemed like a B-movie, so the acting fitted,
but that style of acting would not have worked in the sequel).
Gameplay
If you enjoyed Resident Evil then you will enjoy
this game even more. The control system is the same, and the characters
target better when shooting. All the camera angles give a good view of
the action, although you still get the odd blind spot when you can hear
a zombie moving but cannot see it until it is almost upon you. If I was
to find a major criticism it would be that due to the nature of the secrets
and bonuses in the game (the faster you complete it the more bonuses you
can obtain) the game can seem a little short. This is combated however
by the differences in the storyline from playing with either character,
so in fact you can play the game 4 times and have new things to see. There
are also two bonus characters/subgames to find, but one of these is ridiculous
and could have been left out.
I feel a verdict coming on
There is no doubt that Capcom have outdone themselves
with Resident Evil 2, they have improved every facet and fault of
the original and have added some great surprises and a well written storyline.
There isn't really a big competitor for these types of games, so Capcom
could have been forgiven for doing a re-hash of the first game, but to
their credit they have put in a large deal of effort (and dollars) in making
a sequel both worthy and better than it's predecessor. If you are a Resident
Evil fan then I shouldn't have to tell you to go buy this game, but
if you have never played it before then rest assured you are missing out
on something very special indeed (only if you like horror though!).
Review by D.R.T.Barrett
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