‘Resident Evil 2’ is even better 21 years later
By Jack Murphy A&E Editor
The story begins 21 years after the original was released. “Resident Evil 2” is back and completely remastered for the next generation of consoles. Return to the zombie-infested Raccoon City, try to escape the zombie-ridden mansion turned police station and try to survive the night. Players have the choice of playing as one of the two main characters, Leon Kennedy or Claire Redfield, to begin their journey of escaping the police station and, potentially, finding the cure. “Resident Evil 2” comes just off the heals of the revival of the “Resident Evil” series in the form of 2017’s “Resident Evil 7: Biohazard”, a fantastic survival horror game that returned the series to its former roots. Capcom, the developer behind the new “Resident Evil” games, has really been killing it lately, making other great games such as “Monster Hunter World” and “Mega Man 11.” I was looking forward to “Resident Evil 2.” Even though I’d never played the original, I was not disappointed.
First off, from watching gameplay of the original, the game was changed a security camera type of angle that switches from hallway to hallway, to a third person perspective and it’s all for the better. The third person perspective creates more tension and allows more scares to take a person off-guard. For example, there were many times I would turn the corner and walk into another room and a zombie would attack me from the corner of my eye. I would jump out of my seat.
“Resident Evil 2” also looks fantastic with the incredibe detail. I played “Resident Evil 2” on a Playstation 4 Pro and it was stunning. With the progression in difficulty from zombies to mutants to the most intimidating force of all time, Mr. X, I was determined to win the entire time. By the way, Mr. X is a 6’11 monstrosity that shows up at a point in the game that will never stop following you, he can’t be killed, and the only thing a person can do is run. You can also hear his footsteps as he gets closer, just adding to the terror. By far, he was the scariest part of the game.
Playing as either Leon or Claire first gives the player the opportunity to play as the character they choose once they beat the game the first time, allowing them to see the perspective of the game from the eyes of the other character. For example, I played as Claire first and there are a couple of instances where Leon would appear in a cutscene or two. Once I finished the game as Claire, I got to play as Leon and see what he was doing. However, some continuity errors don’t make sense in regards to the rest of the story, which bothered me a little bit.
Overall, “Resident Evil 2” is an incredibly entertaining experience that I would recommend all horror fans or fans of good video games to play, regardless of your history with the “Resident Evil” series. I’m gonna give “Resident Evil 2” an “A,” with my only criticism being continuity errors in the story at times.
Capcom delivers once again by not only remaking but improving one of best horror games ever made. Photo by Microsoft.com