Resident Evil 2 (Video Game Review)

Remakes are surprisingly rare when it comes to video games. Really, while you'll often see reduxes, remasters, re-uploads or ports (yes, I ran out of "re" words) a full remake isn't something which comes up all that often. Unlike the film industry, publishers have far more incentive just to clean up the old data a bit and put it online for fans to enjoy in all its glory. Plus, this sidesteps most of the big risks involved in ticking off fans of the original. So, why did they do this with Resident Evil 2? Simply because the first time they did it with the original Resident Evil produced one of the best sellers in the franchise.


The Story

The story follows on from the apparent end of the first Resident Evil, where the outbreak of the T-Virus was not so tightly contained as S.T.A.R.S. hoped. Despite blowing up Spencer Mansion, surviving zombies and other mysterious factors led to a full-scale pandemic throughout Racoon City. This is no longer a case of containing the threat and walking away alive, this is a situation which demands survival first and foremost. A task which is made all the more challenging for Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy when their efforts interfere with the Umbrella Corporation's schemes.


The Good

Trying to do the exact same thing as the first remake would have been a mistake. While the original Resident Evil releases are rightfully known as classics, some things simply have not aged well. The map designs and tank controls in particular are notably offputting now, and even the re-release onto Steam succeeded in spite of these mechanics rather than because of them. As such, the remake of Resident Evil 2 has ditched much of the fixed camera angles in favour of a more typical over-the-shoulder view. While this choice could have easily interfered with the atmosphere essential to the survival experience, the map redesigns and aesthetic choices helps to offset this possible weakness.

One thing you will quickly notice is how often you are blindsided by possible choke points and ambush areas. In a move akin to Dead Space, various doorways, shadows and tight corridors works to prevent you keeping an eye on everything in front of your character. Furthermore, the fact that the field of view can be remarkably constrained creates a notably claustrophobic feel, and creates a sense that you can be blindsided at any moment. This allows it to capture what made the fixed camera angles of the original so effective without limiting the player's freedom to explore; along with also making any level where you are being hunted all the more terrifying. Really, if you thought Mr. X was bad in the original, wait to see how he handles here.

The use of the Resident Evil 7 engine in this came has worked wonders, and Racoon City has never looked better. Every area of it, from the dingy industrial grey environments to the segments which are crumbling, on fire, or filled with the undead are gripping and as bleakly beautiful as any Dark Souls environment. This same quality is present in the enemies, and even the most human among them have borderline uncanny valley elements to their animations. They seem to move in a manner which is simply too stiff or too robotic for a human, or have sudden jerking motions which no living thing should make. There's really not a single enemy present which has not benefitted from this reworking, and any familiarity with the Lickers, Giant Moths or Giant Spiders does nothing to reduce the terror of bumping into them. It's less "Yay, I remember this!" when a certain massive reptile shows up and more "Oh sweet merciful Odin, I remember this!"

The enemy AI is also worth mentioning, especially in regards to Mr. X as it is not nearly so easy to fool this time around. Whereas in previous entries any creatures would make a bee-line toward your location, a few can and will toy with you. It can seem for a moment as if one has passed by your hiding place without noticing you huddling in the corner, only to leap down and block your path in the next heartbeat. It makes backtracking for items or searching for secrets all the riskier, and allows the game to better execute its jump scares. You see, this isn't simply a case of something frightening happening out of nowhere. No, it's a case of the game building up the tension, making everything seem all the more hostile, and then having things go to hell at the worst possible moment.

Speaking of things going to hell, Resident Evil 2 has retained the benefits of splitting its story between two characters. Just as before, you are forced to choose between Leon and Claire very early on, and to see the full story you need to play through both. While certainly not the most detailed or refined narrative, it has nevertheless been better refined in this outing, often either poking fun at past mistakes or having substantial re-writes to certain scenes. There's always a B-movie quality to it, but it's the kind of one where you can forget about how hoaky the execution is thanks to the performances involved and better-developed exchanges.

Finally, there are no cut corners when it comes to the weapons. It feels just as satisfying to take up the shotgun now as it did back in the days of the N64, and while the pistol is weak, it has enough stopping power to prevent situations from becoming unfair. The limited ammo and supply shortages are enough to keep you on edge, but it's never so sparse that you keep thinking "But I might need it later". Even if you do fall into that mentality, desperation or the sheer power of certain enemies will often force you to fall back on more powerful weapons to stay alive. It's a very careful balance to maintain, but it's one of the best examples of pulling this off that I have seen to date.

And yet, Resident Evil 2 does still have a few noted imperfections. Given all that has been discussed so far, you can probably guess what the first of these is going to be.


The Bad

The PC port has issues. While it's far from the lazy efforts or bug-ridden embarrassments which some publishers resort to producing, Resident Evil 2 nevertheless needs a few extra patches. The PC version has the habit of not playing well with certain graphics cards, and you can easily end up facing an unending black screen at the police station or sewers without any prior warning. This is a matter only made worse by the one-two punch of sudden stuttering and FPS drops at the worst possible moments. Like when you are running like hell from a few zombies with only one bullet left, or trying to dodge about a much more powerful opponent.

Another definite failing lies in how you can end up with a corrupted save far more easily than you might expect. The exact cause of this is unknown, but you can be doing fine at one moment, and then come back the next day to find that hours of gameplay have been wasted by your save turning into a mess of broken code and warped information. Again, this is largely exclusive to the PC version, but it's still a noted problem - Not to mention the reason why this review is a couple of days behind schedule.

So, what about Resident Evil 2 in general, rather than just the PC version? Oddly enough, the remake has omitted certain segments and fine details that fans previously enjoyed. Books mentioning events in other games of the series have been curiously removed, and any addition which might tie it into a broader universe has been trimmed away. Given that this is a series undergoing a soft reboot and looking for new fans that might be somewhat understandable. However, after Resident Evil 7 accomplished the same thing with offhand notes to the broader franchise, it seems like an odd choice which weakens the sense of scale behind events.

Another problem lies in how it handles certain enemies, or specifically how it introduces them. Whereas previously Mr. X was a villain who would show up a few times and then emerge for the big showdown, he appears at every other opportunity. What was once a scary and engaging villain suffers from some definite over-exposure which seems to be intended to pad out the experience, and by the final few hours you stop seeing him as a threat so much as an obstacle. This is the same problem which every modern game of this type has suffered from, and the lack of a proper special introduction when he shows up in his final form makes the last engagement seem oddly mundane.

Finally, the crafting system's RNG elements are an unnecessarily problematic addition which no one would have asked for. You can attempt to create any number of combinations of the same item, and end up with wildly different results. When the game already has limited supplies, a random element to make life much more difficult is simply unneeded, even if it simply results in one or two less bullets each time. Greater control or even the capacity to offset negative results of these combinations would have been something, but there's really nothing at all to help in this regard.


The Verdict

Resident Evil 2's flaws lie more in a few unfortunate choices rather than outright failings, and beyond the aforementioned RNG, there's very little to truly complain about here. It's open to new fans and old ones alike, and while some prior knowledge might help, it's far from needed. As such, overall, it scratches that itch which Evil Within failed to satisfy several years ago. Unless you're utterly opposed to gore, horror or rotting, flesh-eating, freaks then this is a must buy for this month. Plus, if you need something more traditionally loyal to the original games, you at least still have the remake of the first game to fall back on.

Verdict: 8.5 out of 10