Resident Evil 2 If you can brave its shortcomings, Resident Evil 2 is good, scary fun.
The
original Resident Evil remains one of the PlayStation's most successful
games. It was so popular, in fact, that it inspired a slew of similar
horror-themed action/adventure games for the system. And while many
would cite Resident Evil as the originator of this formula, the fact is
that the lot of these games took their blueprint from a PC game,
Infogrames' H.P. Lovecraft-inspired Alone in the Dark. Resident Evil 2
is no exception, following the familiar formula of suspense achieved
through changing perspective and cinematic camera angles. Its PC lineage
may explain why Resident Evil 2 makes a successful jump from the
PlayStation, but only if you can accept some decidedly foreign design
conventions inherent to console games.
Resident
Evil 2 begins shortly after the first one ended. Raccoon City has been
overrun by the zombies created by the unscrupulous Umbrella corporation.
While the heroes of the first game are absent from the story-driven
portion of Resident Evil 2, you still have
your choice of two characters. Actually, it isn't much of a choice. To
finish the game, you must play through each section as both characters.
Most
of Resident Evil 2 takes place in the Raccoon City Police Station,
where both Leon and Claire have taken refuge from the zombie
infestation. Inside, you'll solve a variety of puzzles, which mostly
involve finding keys to unlock previously inaccessible areas. The
puzzles are simple, and you'll find yourself sliding blocks onto
pressure plates and fitting medallions into their resting places.
Likewise, the action, while graphic in content, is somewhat on the light
side. You just point your character in the general vicinity of a zombie
and fire your weapon.
Neither
of these points is a criticism. Resident Evil 2 is an action/adventure
that puts emphasis on neither. Instead, its strength is its atmosphere.
The game is both creepy and, at times, frightening. The creature designs
are good, as there are both gory scenes of zombies feasting on victims,
and startling moments of creatures jumping out of nowhere.
The
translation from the PlayStation is good. The character models are high
resolution, though the backgrounds are a bit washed out. The movies,
though well rendered, are somewhat grainy, but look better than those in
other console ports like Final Fantasy VII. The PC version of Resident
Evil 2 includes all the gameplay modes from both the US and Japanese
versions of the PlayStation game,
and there are enough extras to satisfy you if you still want more once
the lengthy "original" mode draws to a close. The PC version also has an
exclusive new feature, an art and model gallery that lets you see how
the designs evolved. It's not vital by any means, but it's a nice touch.
The music is appropriately creepy, with sad piano music floating in and out of the game. The other sound effects
don't fare as well. The groaning of zombies is creepy at first, but
over time it becomes tedious and repetitive. The voice-overs are
terrible, though they seem appropriate in
the B-movie setting.
Resident Evil 2's origin as a PlayStation game
is apparent. The method by which you save games will infuriate PC
purists, as it is not only sporadic, but requires an item of which there
are a limited number. This is part of the game's design, though, and it
would lose much of its suspense without it. But if such conventions
annoy you, consider yourself warned. If you can brave its shortcomings,
however, Resident Evil 2 is good, scary fun.
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