Horror isn't my thing. I've seen some stuff, don't get me wrong, but it's a genre that I can happily let others play around in. It's surprising that I got through more of Resident Evil than I thought I was going to, but I was still nowhere near close to knowing what it means to survive all this horror.
Enter the sequel then, Resident Evil 2. The Zombies return. The day is to be saved once again. This time, we're not confined to a mansion, but a city. Probably a small one, I don't know yet.
Before we find out, know that the warnings are out again:
Good to go?
Fun Times
Resident Evil 2 kicks off with a short briefing that glosses over the events of the previous game before setting up this game. Like the first title, we can play as one of two characters, but RE2 is so big that their stories are split over two discs, the first allowing us to go through the game as rookie cop Leon Kennedy.
It's his first day on the job, and it's one he'll never forget.
The T-Virus has infected more of Raccoon City, but not everyone has succumbed - yet. Also playable is Claire Redfield, sister of Resident Evil's Chris. She's looking for him, but first needs a little help from Leon.
The CGI cutscene continues as the two escape in a police cruiser until events force them apart, Leon making it obvious what our first course of action should be: to get to the police station.
Did I say events forced them apart? Sorry. Unescapable destiny forced them apart. My mistake.
Finally, we've got control of Leon, and a first objective to complete.
Frustrations
OH SHIT; TANK CONTROLS!
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| Bollocks. Turn! Fight! |
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| Shrug him off. Punch him. Do something! |
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| That's it. Walk vaguely towards safety. |
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| Where the bloody hell did all of you lot come from?! |
I expected tank controls. It's Resident Evil, of course it has tank controls. What I didn't expect is for my first introduction to the tank controls to be in a high-stress situation involving four zombies, a single (large) magazine of pistol ammunition, a raging fire and a pressing need to run forward, which is obviously done by pressing forward, not backwards, despite that being reversed on screen because bloody tank controls.
Remember how the first RE gave you some empty rooms to wander around and bump into the walls first? RE2 assumes you know how to walk in an RE game and has you inches away from fire and zombies. Thanks, RE2, but I don't know how to hit the ground running here.
So, it's time for the second attempt at getting past the first two screens of the game...
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| Oh, for crying out loud... |
Further Fun Times
If there's one thing to be said about my failure so far, it has to be the fact that Resident Evil 2 looks pretty damn good. I'm emulating the PlayStation Dual Shock version, and the models look, for the most part, quite impressive, especially against the pre-rendered backgrounds.
I wander into a gun shop and find another survivor of the outbreak. This is a perfect place to pick up some no doubt much-needed supplies - if I could just run around this bloody desk.
So much for those bullets...
Once I got around the bloody desk again - seriously, I can't move around that desk without popping into a screen I don't intend to - and found another precious box of ammunition, I familiarised myself with combining objects in the inventory (or is that 'combning' them?) and headed to the back alley.
The doors are still loading screens, and the inventory hasn't changed from what I recall; Resident Evil 2 is a true sequel. Take what works, make it look better, and the job is done. What will I get up to next?
Further Frustrations
Fight with the fixed camera, that's right. I can either goad a bunch of zombies into a more confined space than the one they're already in, or I can just shoot off screen until I think they're all dead. Again.
They weren't dead.
Final Word
From what little I've experienced - and by God have I only seen a little of this game - I think I can safely say that, despite my many problems with it, I like what I'm seeing. It really is a better Resident Evil, complete with substandard voice acting.
It's appalling to control and I don't think a drop in the difficulty will help me, but it's one of my options until the remake is available. Like the original game, Resident Evil 2 has received the complete overhaul kind of remake, with normal controls and extra bits and whatever else. For players who didn't master tank controls in their childhood, this would be the version to go for - all the story, all the graphics, less of the weird voice work and none of the tanking.
There are many other versions already available though, and maybe they'd bring me more joy, but I have to say that for as interested as I am in seeing where the story goes, I just don't think I'd ever get around to it unless I was watching someone with brains play it.
Maybe I'll hold out for the remake, but I think I'm probably more likely to just watch it in some form. Horror just isn't my thing. Neither is thinking about how to survive inside puzzle rooms full of zombies. To each their own, you know?
If it's your thing, I bet you've already played it. If you've not played it, definitely give it a shot. It looks nice. I can only imagine it looking nice throughout many more hours of play.
FILLING YOU IN
I did indeed watch it, rather than play it, and by the time I got around to doing so I could have watched the remake but I didn't - gotta keep things as authentic as we can, right?
Everything you know about old school Resident Evil, you see in Resident Evil 2. You can see the awkward movement, you can witness the item management, and you can absolutely not avoid the voicework, janky PlayStation animations, and bonkers plot.
But you didn't question that stuff back then. You gritted your teeth and pushed through the pain to finish what is still a pretty good looking title. Well, some players did. I didn't go anywhere near it, of course. Not my thing. Too fiddly, too silly. Just how many puzzles are there in this police station anyway? Why does seemingly every statue drop something important whenever it's interacted with by our heroes?
Stupid though it is (though stupid probably isn't the right word), I might actually go on to watch the remake through as well, just to see what they've done with it, what with it being a complete remake from the ground up. Only the greatest of games get those, don't you know?
So all these years later, I still shudder at the thought of actually playing Resident Evil 2, but acknowledging it as a must-play is a piece of cake, and now I can be entertained by yet another version of it, should I want to be. It's bound to be easier to play too, but I'd have to check if old faithful could even run it. Perhaps best to not have it swarming with zombies outside of the comfort of YouTube...
Fun Facts
I don't know if I'm to believe this particular fact: Leon's characteristics were influenced by the artists' dog. Presumably only some characteristics, rather than all of them...
Resident Evil 2, developed by Capcom, first released in 1998.
Version played: Resident Evil 2: Dual Shock Ver., PlayStation, 1998, via emulation.
Version watched: Resident Evil 2, PlayStation, 1998 (DrummerDom650)