Ah, the dreaded Zombie. Ever since I first got the chance to kill the in 3D action was with the Playstation release of Resident Evil. It was a satisfying experience, taking down undead after ghoulish undead with a trusty Beretta 92fs (along with plenty of other weapons) in that creepy mansion setting. There was no denying that I was hooked, and zombies have become one of my favorites for gaming target practice. Perhaps my favorite of the Resident Evil franchise was the second installment, Resident Evil 2.

     Resident Evil 2 takes place shortly after the Mansion Incident that took place on the outskirts of that American suburb, Raccoon City. This time around our "survivors" are Leon Kennedy, a rookie cop whose first day on the job happens to take place as flesh eating zombies have over taken the city (talk about bad luck), and Claire Redfield who is the sister of Chris Redfield from Resident Evil 1. Resident Evil 2 will take players through the streets of the infected city, deep inside a puzzle filled police station, city sewers, and other places where death is potentially waiting around every corner.

     Resident Evil 2 plays very much like its predecessor. The control schemes remain the same, and the inventory screen is essentially identical despite some minor graphical upgrades, and puzzle solving still has an impact on the game advancement. The similarities between the two games is a good and bad thing. Veteran Resident Evil gamers will feel right at home playing Resident Evil 2, and everything works as it is designed to, but the minor annoyances that plagued the first game return in the sequel. For example, the two largest annoyances are sometimes aiming can be difficult depending on the camera angle, and players still need to rely on inventory crates to store or retrieve necessary items. The constant running back and forth to grab a much needed key, or weapon from the inventory crate can be a monotonous task just as it was in the original. There is nothing more disheartening than reaching your destination then realizing you forgot something, and have turn right around to get to a crate. Those who have played Resident Evil 2 through a few times will be able to overcome these flaws, being they'll know ahead of time which items are needed and when. Those who plan on playing Resident Evil 2 for the first time however...well just prepared for the backtracking. As far as game play changes go, possibly the biggest change comes in the way of the character selection. Just like in Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2 has two playable heroes as I mentioned before. Players can start their adventure by either using the Leon play disc, or the Claire play disc. This starts the adventure as the respective survivor, and their half of the story will play through as such. Upon completing either Leon or Claire's story, players can save the game after the credits, and play through the remaining scenario. This makes Resident Evil 2 much larger in scope than the original Resident Evil, as now we are getting another side of the same story. The events that take place are drastically different between the two survivors, and add to the overall replay value of the game.

     The key place where Resident Evil 2 stands out above all the rest of the Resident Evil games in my mind, is the overall setting. With the improved graphics, the background settings are truly eerie. Whether it is walking through a trashed alley filled with graffiti, or the truly devastated police station, Resident Evil 2 just feels creepier. Everything looks as if zombies and other horrors have thrashed their way through killing anyone who is unlucky enough to get in their way. Mixed in with the outstanding use of sound effects and excellent musical scores, at times walking through the environments are scarier than the game play itself.

     As far as story goes, Resident Evil 2 is pretty solid. Voice acting is much better than the original Resident Evil, although there are still plenty of tacky moments that have come to be expected from the Resident Evil franchise. The story itself is about how the Umbrella company continued their biogenic research on the T-virus, and discovered a mutated version of the virus called the G virus which is running rampant through Raccoon City. Resident Evil 2 uses more CGI style cut scenes than first game, and gives a more cinematic feel to the franchise. These cut scenes still look pretty good today, considering they were made in 1998. Despite the better cut scene graphics, I found the standard in game interactions between different characters to be much more interesting. Every character has a defined role and personality, and make for some memorable moments that continue to bring me back to Raccoon City today.

     What else really needs to be said about this game? Since its release, its been incredibly popular to Playstation owners and has been re-released N64, Gamecube, and even the PSN store making it available on PSP and Ps3. Sure early Playstation graphics weren't the greatest, but Resident Evil 2 hit all the right notes. With its eerie settings, and zombie killing action, this game has earned its place as one of the greatest Survival Horrors out there.

Written by: RB

Over and Out!

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