Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not for the weak hearted, 3 Sep 2003
Resident Evil 2 is just like a George A Romero zombie flick from the late sixties, full of the living dead bursting through windows, chasing after you with their innards exposed and clawing at your feet as you get the hell out of there. The gameplay is amazing with pre-rendered backgrounds, atmospheric soundtrack and a huge arsenal of zombie destroying weapons. Raccoon city has been overrun by zombies due to an outbreak of bio weapons released from Umbrella, all this is unbeknown to rookie cop Leon Walker arriving in town for his first day on the job, during his journey he is attacked and as he flees the scene he bumps into Clare Redfield who has also being plunged into this nightmare town because of her desire to find her missing brother Chris a S.T.A.R.S member from the original Resident Evil. This is where your journey begins amidst flames and destruction, parted by a huge tanker the two characters must go their separate ways to the police station with the aim of survival their only goal at this moment. On the way to survival there is an array of zombies, mutants and puzzles to conquer. All this is accompanied by an impressive arsenal of weapons, each character has their individual set ranging from an average handgun to a machine gun and rocket launcher. Variety is added to the weapons with different types of ammo and add-ons to be collected. The inventory system of the game is remarkable, you can see your characters heartbeat and condition with the small ECG in the corner, read files that you can collect and combine medicines and weapons making them stronger and more potent. Atmosphere is added to the game in a clever little way, when you go to open a door the screen blackens and you get the door creaking open whilst the next section loads up, terrifying stuff if for example you've just been attacked by a swarm of fleshing eating crows. I also like the choice you have of being able to decide if you want to climb ladders or remove objects and also the fact that you can click on things and get a description this all adds to the thrill of the adventure and makes you feel involved. Resident Evil 2 is a fantastic adventure game that once completed offers you new challenges in a second mission that is a lot tougher and has the addition of a new beast following you around your adventure. Once you overcome the extra challenges there are lots of little extras to be achieved such as costume changes and bigger, meaner weapons for you to enjoy, a great game with added replay value.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Survival horror at its very best - the definitive Resident Evil game, 27 Sep 2009
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
Development of Resident Evil 2 began shortly after it became obvious that its predecessor was going to be a massive success. It was originally scheduled to be released in early 1997, but after reviewing an almost complete version of the game, Capcom decided they didn't like what they saw. Rather than rush out an inferior game like so many others would have done, they instead opted to scrap it, effectively starting again from scratch. Resi 2 subsequently blew through a series of deadlines before finally being released in April 1998. People were nervous, wondering if this game could possibly justify the endless delays.
Well, they needn't have been. Resident Evil 2 rocked. It rocked back in 1998, and it still rocks today.
Much like James Cameron's Aliens, Resident Evil 2 took the basic premise of its predecessor, kept the stuff that worked, threw away the stuff that didn't, and chucked in bucketloads more action for good measure. Whereas Resident Evil was a slow-paced survival horror, relying as much on subtle tension as gunplay, its sequel is a balls-to-the wall action adventure.
Thrusting you into the role of either Leon Kennedy or Claire Redfield (sister of the original's Chris), you arrive in Raccoon City to find the streets eerily deserted. A brief search of the local area reveals that virtually all of the town's inhabitants have either been killed or turned into flesh-eating zombies. Fleeing to the comparative safety of the Raccoon City Police Department building, the race is then on to stay alive, search for clues about what happened to the town, and find a way to escape. Needless to say, there's an awful lot more going on beneath the surface, and before the end you'll encounter conspiracies, betrayal and plot twists aplenty.
The first thing that makes Resident Evil 2 work so well is the absolutely blinding pace. This game grabs you right from the action-packed opening and doesn't let go until the thrilling final act. A new game engine means that far more zombies can appear on screen at once. At times you genuinely feel like you're fighting the entire city as you battle your way through derelict streets littered with burning cars and makeshift barriers. Everywhere there is evidence of the desperate struggles the few survivors tried to put up.
The plot is more complex and intelligent than before. Better yet, you have to play the game through twice to get the full story. Complete one half of the game with Claire for example, and you then have the option to insert the second disk to see Leon's half of the story, which runs parallel to Claire's. It's an innovative idea that encourages repeat play.
There are more characters, all with their own agendas and objectives. Some are out to steal Umbrella's secrets, some are in search of missing relatives, some are seeking the truth of the T-virus outbreak, and some are just trying to survive. Crucially, they're all invested with enough personality to keep them interesting.
There are far more weapons this time around, with an array of different pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, lightning guns, flame throwers, crossbows and even a minigun. And despite the wide variety, there's a great sense of balance. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, allowing players to customise their weapon loadout to suit their own playing style.
In the end then, Resident Evil 2 really was the best sequel that anyone could have hoped for, and I'm not alone in holding it up as one of the best games of the entire series. It retained the atmosphere and spirit of its predecessor, but made it its own, reshaping it into something truly worthy of the series that would follow.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly Classic, 5 Aug 2008
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
Resident Evil 2 is so good that I recently played through it three times in one sitting (one of the few benefits of unemployment is the abundance of free time). From the opening FMVs and that first awesome section dashing through Raccoon City ("the next thing I knew, the entire city was infested with zombies") through to the Police Headquarters, cavernous sewers and the then-traditional laboratory-set ending, this game exudes quality through and through.
While some were put off by it, the Resident Evil control system was in my mind perfect, and only improved upon in Resident Evil 4 (which much of contemporary gaming owes A LOT to). The soundtrack is incredible, with each and every scene scored with the perfect blend of atmosphere and action, or whichever was necessary. The sound effects are excellent, a huge step up from the somewhat comical zombies or the first game, now moaning discomfortingly rather than hilariously. The graphics are of course hugely dated, but you can't fault the design of the game. Enemy characters shuffle and shamble realistically, speeding up when their prey is within range, clawing along the floor when they've parted way with their legs and taking bullets with more than a mere step back, another leap from the arms-outstretched grey (!) zombies of before. While the backgrounds are pre-rendered in 2D, each is totally eerie, cold and at times genuinely upsetting when it comes to life-like quality. The undead-dominated world of Resident Evil 2 makes for a very oppressive feel indeed.
Also of note is the voice acting, which is for the most part still rubbish, but again a vast improvement over the first. Sadly, the live action scenes are gone too, but it all adds up to make RE2 a much more serious game than its progenitor. Its not often enough games improve this much on their predecessor, and a major complaint of the sequel (Resident Evil 3: Nemesis) was that it ran on the RE2 engine, which to me is no bad thing as it allowed the game to be released mere months after 2.
Finally, and most importantly, the game is scary as hell, from Mr. X smashing through walls to falling through the floor in the library (who didn't jump the first time around?) to the final confrontation with the flaming tyrant, this game mixes the perfect amount of mood with jump scares to keep things fresh. The replay value is high also, with the game being split into two distinct chapters which play out differently depending on which character you choose to begin with, as well as two bonus games which aren't easily unlocked and command you come back for more. Long story short, its one of those rare games that surprises you with much, much more when you thought you'd finished it.
As my opening comment suggests, the game is quite short, easily completed by a veteran like myself in a little over an hour and a half, but for newbies it ought to keep you entertained for long enough to make your purchase worthwhile. Might I recommend you buy the Nintendo Gamecube version, as it plays much smoother than previous versions, allows cutscene-skipping (for those all important second playthroughs) and offers a few other neat bonuses, as well as suiting the GC controller perfectly.
It may not have redefined gaming necessarily, and it's not even the best in the series, but this is a classic well worth investing in, either for first timers or fans nostalgic for the golden years of PSOne. For its combination of story, atmosphere and action, few other games of that era come close.
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