Genre: Survival Horror
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
# of Players: 1 player
Memory: 1 block per save
ERSB: Mature
Released On: January 17th, 2003
Also On: Playstation, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64
Features: Outdated visuals
Website: www.ResidentEvil.com
Introduction:
Resident Evil 2 has made its way to the Nintendo GameCube; unfortunately it’s practically unchanged from the original PSX version released those many years ago. Due to time constraints, Capcom could not go back and revamp the visuals and gameplay for Resident Evil 2, like they did with the Resident Evil Remake. Instead, they just slap together an unchanged port of the Dreamcast version and price it at a relatively high price for a game that’s nearly half a decade old. Though, Resident Evil 2 is, in many gamer’s opinions, the best in the series and that still holds true to this very day.
Presentation:
Only wines can get better with old age, so I guess you can say that Resident Evil 2 isn’t as presentable as it once was. The overall look of the game, from the in-game visuals, to the option menus show their age and to someone who hasn’t played the game before, or to someone who is all about the visuals, Resident Evil 2 is as appealing as watching LucasFilm’s The Phantom Menace for a second time.
Visuals:
At first I couldn’t help but cringe when seeing Resident Evil 2 again for the first time in nearly 6 years, and virtually unchanged since it was years ago. By today standards the game looks like monkey poo, the prerendered backgrounds are horrendous when compared to those of Resident Evil Zero, and the character models are very low in polygons and lack decent textures. But after a short 15 minutes of game time, your eye somehow becomes adjusted to these dated visuals, and you eventually begin to accept these dated visuals. The game has received a few minor upgrades from its appearance on the PSX; it now runs in higher resolution and any instances of slow down that existed in the original version are nonexistent.
Audio:
Back in the day, the Resident Evil franchise was synonymous with bad voice acting, and with the GameCube port of Resident Evil 2, it returns in all of its glory. The voice acting is as cheesy as I remember it to be, something about the quality of the voice acting makes Resident Evil 2 feel like a B movie and depending on who you ask that can be a good or a bad thing, I like it though, since it makes me laugh. The music in the game is just spectacular, though I didn’t realize it years ago, the music is ideal for the game; it’s moody and really gets your adrenaline pumping at the right time, and at others puts you into a state of comfort. I will even go as far as saying that these tunes are memorable, but not memorable enough for you to be humming them while walking towards the deli. My one big gripe with the game audio wise is the quality of the footsteps. When walking down a hall or when walking up steps during the those stupid loading sequences, the sound of the footsteps sound odd; the best way I can describe them is by saying that they sound like robot slowing skipping to its destination. Aside from that, despite its age Resident Evil 2’s audio portion still holds up very well, even by today’s standards.
Gameplay:
Some are sick and tired of it but others can’t get enough…
The core gameplay of the Resident Evil franchise has basically been the same since the original appeared on the PSX so many years ago. Resident Evil 2 grew upon the formula of the original, sure the bulky controls were still there, but now instead of playing the same game with two different characters like in the original, RE 2 lets you play as either Leon Kennedy, or Claire Redfield in a number of branching game paths.
The addition of multiple game paths really adds some great replay value to the game. Let’s say if you start the game playing as Leon, his entire path will vary from Claire’s in a number of ways, and what you do in Leon’s adventure might affect Claire’s. For instance, items you leave behind as Leon might help Claire on her quest.
Claire’s quest may be radically harder than Leon’s; the reason for this is that Claire is chased by a creature name Mr. X, who is a nine foot tall freak of nature sent by the Umbrella Corporation to hunt you down, and for the most part his addition to the game really gets your adrenaline pumping. Mr. X is pretty much unstoppable though, when you hear him coming just run like hell. Gamers new to Resident Evil 2 might recognize the premise of Mr.X’s involvement in RE 2’s gameplay from another Resident Evil title; the Nemesis character, Umbrella’s second experimental attempt, is an integral part of gameplay in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and is based of the Mr. X character from Resident Evil 2.
Of course, the core gameplay of any Resident Evil is based on solving puzzles. Resident Evil 2 has its fair share of them, with many being obvious from the get go to others being less obvious taking, sometimes, even hours to solve. The amount of gunplay in the game isn’t too abundant, most of the time you will find yourself avoiding most zombies and monsters, remember the game is all about survival, so it would be wise for you to conserve all your ammo for the game’s freakishly ugly bosses.
The story behind Resident Evil 2 unravels right before your eyes, and it’s as thrilling and exciting as the game itself. Those who haven’t experienced are in for a treat and for those who have, it’s like watching a great movie all over again.
I still love Resident Evil 2 to this very day, but it’s not perfect. The difficulty level of Resident Evil 2 is slightly lower compared to any of the other titles in the series. The puzzles are easier to solve than any of the other titles in the franchise, and the bosses in the game are by no means difficult, especially when you’re packing some serious heat.
Final Thoughts:
After all these years Resident Evil 2 still is a great gaming experience. It still stands as the epitome of the Resident Evil franchise, despite all the sequels, prequels, and remakes. If you’ve never played RE 2 in the past, then it might be a good idea to pick it up for your GameCube, to complete the collection.
Some things eventually fade away, but a great game will last forever.
