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Resident Evil 2
Release Date: January 21, 1998
Developer: Capcom
Game Type: Survivor Horror
Price Paid: $2.09
I had the pleasure of playing Resident Evil 2 pretty much right after playing the first one. I vaguely remembered a few things in the sequel that I had done when playing it as a kid, but nearly all of it came blind to me. I do have a few problems I’ll get to later, but I knew I was going to be in for a different kind of experience when I booted the game up because I firmly believe that in the first fifteen minutes of the game, I wound up killing more zombies than I did in my entire run-through of the original game. It’s a very disturbing foreshadow on what I’ve heard about the franchise becoming more action oriented and less tense/scary. One of the game’s strongest improvements eventually led to its downfall amongst most fans. Ironic.
The game introduces Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield into the series. Being the man that I am, I seem to always pick the male character, and the trend doesn’t end here. So just as a heads up, I cannot relate to anything that may be exclusive to Claire’s run-through of the game. Right off the bat, I can tell a few things about the game. One was being related to the graphics in the game. The first game was a giant clunker of shit that kind of added to the charm of the game. It was so terrible to look at that combined with other poor technical aspects, made it fun. For the sequel, that changes for the better. The graphics are still shit, but there is actual depth to them. When you walk around the streets, walk through the police station, and run through the laboratory, there are things to look at. Books are actually on the shelves, pictures hang on the wall, and texture is somewhat visible on all the surfaces. Again, coming from games of today, it’s laughable to bring this up, but the jump between the two is pretty significant. I am curious and ask you readers that played it upon release, were you amazed by the look of this game? I feel I came out way too impressed by a game that looks so bad. Ha. The one area they still improve all that much on was the character models. The first game essentially had them as colored blocks, but you can make out a human of some sort here. It didn’t feel as fun watching the cut scenes this time around. I was very disappointed by the choice to rid the game of the badass live-action cutscenes. They were so bad.
Enough about the look and let’s get into the plot. We actually have a really nice story that actually refers back to the first game all the time through papers and documents. Even very little things many people may have missed because I had just got done playing it. They seemed to actually try hard to bridge the gap between the games. All of this comes from the perspective of rookie police officer Leon Kennedy. He’s a bit stale, but never really touches the greatness of Chris or Jill. That is due in large part of not having terrible dialogue to laugh at. As the game furthers on though, the story just gets worse and worse. Backstabbing becomes a common thing, confusing relationships are thrown into your face, and just overall incompetent motivations lie behind all of the characters. It starts to become as laughable as the first. I think that comes from the games choice to actually let the characters talk some more. They are so bad that the first two games dialogue may go down as some of the best of all time. It’s delivered so unprofessionally, you’re amazed this is coming from actual working people. The game ends on a looming note that sets up future installment, but its attempt at a much more complex storyline makes it stumble near the finish line. Not enough to make it bad, but just enough to make it a bit tedious. It’s decision to take a much more serious approach benefits it a lot in many aspects but makes it less fun to think about after it ends, despite being the much better game.
The actually gameplay is a carbon copy of the first. They seem cemented on these and I know the future installments follow it as well. Moving is still a complete bitch for newbie’s trying to jump in, but I have it mastered after spending so much time with it. Once you get the hang of it, moving feels just as natural as any other game. This is something I never thought I would say. You still need to stop to aim and shoot, but I think it adds to the approach you need to take in certain scenarios rather than run and gunning and just skipping past all those cool documents you might have passed up. The number of enemies on screen has been upped as well. Now you could walk into a room and see three zombies coming at you. It’s a little easier this time around, but I still had to preserve some ammo for specific moments in the game. Part of me was glad it was a little easier because it allowed me to enjoy the game without screaming at it, but I love those moments once I actually get past them. The accomplishment feels bigger and more important. The puzzles feel like they are bigger than the first and more fun. I enjoyed the challenges to work my brain and frustrate me until my dumbass found what was right in front of me.
*In a side-note, after beating the game, I read about this Zapping System that is in the game that lets you play as the other characters from their point of view and all kinds of shit, but I have no clue about it. It was clearly not well thought of if I didn’t take a notice of it the entire time. Even reading it seems like I should have been prompted early on with this but it never was made clear to me. I am sorry, but because of that I cannot really comment on the tool.
Resident Evil 2 is a game that pretty much improves on everything from the first and creates such a better game. I know I have been joking about how much I loved the stupid shit of the first one, but in all seriousness, this was a very great game that would have blown my mind upon release. It’s a ton of fun, features much better combat, and feels much bigger than the first. I look forward to jumping into the third game and seeing where the franchise is going. Regardless, it’s in a win-win situation for me, because I enjoy the best of both worlds. I can find enjoyment in the shitty aspects while enjoying its finer mechanics. My dip into the franchise has gotten off to a much better start than I had intended.
Hours Played: 8
Game Difficulty: 7.5
Trophy Difficulty: N/A
Right to the point:
+ Better Presentation
+ Better/Bigger story
+ Just as bad dialogue
- Convulted ending
- Terrible side characters
- Character Figures
Final Score: A-
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