Review: "And to think, taxidermy used to be my hobby..."
Capcom’s path towards Resident Evil 2 was not an easy one. The original RE2 build, lovingly known as Resident Evil 1.5 by the RE fanboys, was scrapped at almost 75% done because the game simply wasn’t creative enough and too much like the original. So the game that was once set for release in spring of 1997 was to be redone, from scratch.
Despite those same fanboys who flooded Capcom and their mailboxes for months on end (and many still do, I’m certain) begging for Capcom to finish and release 1.5, nobody can say the idea to start from scratch & create a new Resident Evil sequel was a bad one, because RE2 is a substantial improvement on the original, and easily the finest in the series, with CODE: Veronica a close second. RE2 simply gets it all right – a twisty, turny story, excellent visuals for the era, and plenty of good (if clichéd) scares, and a few disturbing moments that mess with your mind. If it wasn’t for a game with the innocent title of Metal Gear Solid, RE2 would have easily been the 1998 PlayStation game of the year – it’s that good. And to this day, RE2 is an excellent title for anyone who owns a PS/PS2 and still don’t have it in their collection.
Resident Evil 2’s story picks up where RE1 left off – Claire Redfield, the sister of RE1 hero (or bumbling doofus, depending on your angle) of Chris Redfield, comes into Raccoon City looking for Chris, who had left for Europe on an Umbrella hunt (this is where the events of RE C:V come into play, since that’s the true sequel to RE2). Once she arrives, things certainly aren’t right, with zombies everywhere looking for a free lunch. Meanwhile, rookie RCPD (that’s Raccoon City Police Department for those keeping score at home) cop Leon Kennedy is heading to town for his first day of work (how convenieeeeeeeeeeeeent). In the process they both meet up and drive off in a police car, only to be separated when an oil tanker explodes between them. Each go their own way (is that Fleetwood Mac I hear?), and the gameplay begins. Your goal – meet up at the RCPD station, a supposedly safe haven that winds up being a hellhole. The majority of the game (but not all of it) is played in this 4 story (including the basement) building. Along the way, you’ll meet up with 2 different supporting characters – each are playable for short periods of time, and wind up playing bigger roles at the end than you ever expected.
What makes RE2 so creative is the “Zapping” system that the game introduced. Each character has a disc per (2 total discs for this game), and each carries 2 different stories and paths. Depending on who you begin the game with, you’ll play the game again (Scenario B, as it’s called) with the other character, taking place at the exact same time as the other scenario (in their real time, not your real time. Work with me here). This means there’s 4 different ways to beat RE2 right off the bat, and completing them opens up a couple new things to increase the replay value more.
The other parts of the Zapping system involve some items. For instance, about halfway through the game, down in the police department weapons room, you’ll encounter a submachine gun and a side pack for equipping more items. As such, you can take both – but when you play through the other scenario with the other character, they won’t be there. Take one of the 2, and the one left over will remain for that character. This decision is important & can cost you later if you get greedy (or too unselfish). Other examples include a fingerprint-sealed door towards the end of the game – you need 2 fingerprints, and that can only be done with one character doing it the first time around, and your 2nd scenario character doing it when they reach that point as well. If it’s passed up by one of them, you won’t be able to see what’s beyond the door.
Besides that, nothing really has changed from the now traditional RE style of gameplay. The puzzles are a dominant factor, and while some are extremely obscure/weird, Capcom covers their tracks by introducing you to the police chief (and wannabe mayor), which you learn is a very…interesting man with a few…strange hobbies, making the weird puzzles fit in because of the sick-minded chief. For RE veterans, the puzzles aren’t really earth shattering, but I get an impression that’s the point – to keep the story moving. What’s neat is both characters will have different puzzles to solve at given times – each of their scenario’s are different in minor ways, like the original RE was. A few of the puzzles are frustrating trial-and error sorts, but usually they don’t give you too much trouble as long as you know how to think.
