Resident Evil 2
PlayStation
This game is associated with SO many memories for me. Back in the late 90s I was a huge fan of the original Resident Evil game. In fact, it is one of the main reasons I even purchased a PlayStation to begin with. When I heard they were making a sequel, I was giddy with excitement.
I followed the game's production closely. I remember that this was back in the days of dial up internet. When I would go to look at screenshots from the game, each one would take about 2 or 3 minutes to load. That seems comical by today's standards, but back then it was well worth the wait. The original version of the game was vastly differently from the finished product that we know today. The screenshot below is an example.
Apparently the game's creators were unhappy with the way the game was going and decided to scrap it and start over again, despite the game being about 80% complete. I remember being really sad about this as I thought the game looked cool. Plus, now it would take even longer for me to get my hands on the game if they were going to be starting over again.
The closer the game got to hitting the shelves, the more excited I became. I remember that the Blockbuster video by my school had a playable demo of the game's opening sequence on display. I would always go there after school and play it over and over again. When I finally got my hands on a copy of Resident Evil: Director's Cut, I was able to play the demo at home as there was a copy included with the game. When the game itself finally released, I went out and bought it immediately. I came home, popped it in, and never looked back.
Can you believe that my initial reaction to the game was disappointment? I liked the game, but to me it didn't hold true to the spirit of the original. There was too much action. It wasn't scary enough. The puzzles were too easy. It was too linear. You had too much ammo lying around. I never really felt like I was on edge or constantly in danger like I did when playing the first game. I think I beat the game in a day or two, whereas the original game took me weeks to complete.
When I finished the game, I went over to the other disc and played with Leon. But I made the mistake of starting a new game rather than loading up Scenario B. I will get to Scenario B later. But again the game proved to be no challenge to me and I finished it in a day or two. I couldn't help but feel disappointed that I had just sunk sixty dollars into a game that I could have easily just rented and gotten the same experience from.
After playing through the game a couple times I finally wizened up and loaded Scenario B. Say you beat the game with Claire and save at the end of the credits. This opens up Leon Scenario B. Same as when you beat the game with Leon and save, it opens up Claire Scenario B. I think I just assumed that all it was was a "Hard Mode" so I had ignored it. Turns out, holy shit, I was in for a surprise.
Scenario B is almost like a completely new game. It tells the story of what is happening with the other character at the same time you were playing with your original character. You progress through a lot of familiar ground, but you can also access new areas that the other character could not. Plus, the story line is very different. In a way it is like Resident Evil 2 is four games in one: Claire Scenarios A and B, and Leon Scenarios A and B.
In Scenario B you are stalked by a mysterious character named Mr X, who is dropped by Umbrella via helicopter into the police station. This character can not be killed. He can only be stunned. He has this bad habit of popping up when you least expect him to. His arrival is always marked by this really loud, frightening music. I remember my first encounter with Mr X was late at night when I was home alone, playing in the dark. He scared the living shit out of me. Not only the first time I encountered him, but every subsequent time after that. I thought I had known the game so well from my other play throughs. Now it turned out I knew nothing.
That feeling of gut wrenching dread that the first Resident Evil had filled me with came back. Finally! I was constantly on edge as I played through Scenario B. This sounds silly, but I was actually terrified to even turn the game on knowing that Mr X could show up anytime, anywhere. Eventually I powered through it however. It truly is a completely different experience than playing the original Scenario A. Even the ending is different.
Suffice it to say, my original feeling of disappointment over the game went away and I was able to recognize Resident Evil 2 as the deep, complex classic that it truly was. But after twenty years, does the game still hold up?
The answer is yes. There are things that are outdated about the game. Everyone likes to bitch and moan about the "tank" controls. Rather than just move your character where you want them to go, you have to turn them in the proper direction and hit up to move them forward. Down makes them slowly step backwards. This is fine, but in the heat of battle it can be a little inconvenient. It never bothered me much though.
Graphically, of course the game is not going to look like much by today's standards. The game is over twenty years old. But it doesn't look terrible. The characters are a little pixelated but I think for the most part they look fine. I like how there is variety in the enemies. You don't fight the same zombies over and over again. There are even female zombies this time around. The pre-rendered 2D backgrounds look nice and are filled with all kinds of little details. But again, they ARE pre-rendered 2D backgrounds. Where the game shines, however, is in building atmosphere.
Whereas in the first Resident Evil the game's shoddy voice acting kind of killed the scary atmosphere for some people, it is not nearly as bad this time around. It is not perfect, but it is a huge improvement. The game's music and its sound effects really add to things too. When you are underground your footsteps echo. If you walk over broken glass or a sewer grate, the sound of your footsteps changes. You can hear zombies moaning and enemies shuffling off-screen. The game's eerie music sets the tone perfectly. Atmospherically, the game is very well done.
If I had to make one complaint, it would be this:
It bugs me every time.
The main thing I came away with is that Resident Evil 2 is fun to play. I can pick it up and immediately lose myself in the game like I was a teenager back in 1998 all over again. The game does so much right. When I look back I can't believe that I had initially been let down when I first bought this game. But my mind changed the more I played the game, and my opinion has not changed since then. The game is fantastic.
I gave the original game an A+. I don't like to give out A+ scores very often. It seems like I have been giving them out way too much though. True, I have been playing a lot of classics and nostalgia carries a lot of weight for me. It looks like nostalgia is going to win again. I just can't give this game anything less than a perfect score. It is fucking great, and it means a lot to me. That's all I have to say about that.
Overall:
A+
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