Box Art
Game: Resident Evil 2
First Released: January 21, 1998, PlayStation
Developers: Capcom
Platforms: PlayStation, Game.com, PC, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, Gamecube,
Playstation Network
Rated: M, for Animated Blood, Gore, and Violence
First Released: January 21, 1998, PlayStation
Developers: Capcom
Platforms: PlayStation, Game.com, PC, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, Gamecube,
Playstation Network
Rated: M, for Animated Blood, Gore, and Violence
How I Came To Play This Game
Item Box
Resident Evil 2 was the first game where I worked to get it. It was a long time ago where I chopped up branches outside my house to earn money from my parents. You see, no one in my house wanted to do yard work, and my parents new that I wouldn't do it just because they asked me to. So I made a deal with them that if I chopped the branches up, they would get me the game. It costed 20$ for the Gamecube version at GameStop. I brought it home and I beat it that same day. However, I had just beaten the Leon A story. Little did I know, there was three other scenarios (Leon B, Claire A, and Claire B), two bonus scenarios (Hunk and Tofu), as well as an Extra Battle game. I had a lot to do.
Story
Birkin's Final Form
The game is set two months after the events of the first Resident Evil, in the Midwestern American mountain community of Raccoon City. Nearly all of its citizens have been transformed into zombies by an outbreak of the t-Virus, a new type of biological weapon secretly developed by the pharmaceutical company Umbrella. The game's two protagonists are Leon S. Kennedy, a rookie police officer on his first day in the local force, and Claire Redfield, a college student looking for her brother Chris. Having just arrived in the city, Leon and Claire make their way to the Raccoon Police Department, seeking protection from the mutated population. There, they discover that most of the policemen have been killed already, and that Chris has left town to investigate the Umbrella headquarters in Europe. With no remaining motivation to stay, the two protagonists split up to look for other survivors and flee the city. While searching for an escape route, Claire meets a little girl named Sherry, who is on the run from an unknown creature, and Leon encounters Ada Wong, who claims to be looking for her boyfriend John, an Umbrella researcher. It is revealed that Leon's superior officer, Raccoon City police chief Brian Irons, had been bribed by Umbrella to hide evidence of the company's experiments in the outskirts of the city. He also concealed their envelopment of the new G-virus, an agent capable of mutating a human into the ultimate bioweapon. Irons tries to murder Claire, but is killed by a G-virus mutant in the police department. Thereupon, Claire and Sherry escape through the sewers and become separated. After splitting up with Leon, Ada comes upon Sherry, and picks up a golden pendant the girl loses while running away. Further into the sewers, Ada reluctantly teams up with Leon again, after he insists on his duty to protect her. They encounter a middle-aged woman who fires at Ada, but Leon dives between them and takes a bullet himself. Ada ignores the unconscious Leon and follows the woman, who reveals herself to be Sherry's mother Annette and the wife of William Birkin, the Umbrella scientist who created the G-virus. In an attempt to protect his life's work from special agents sent by the Umbrella headquarters, he injected himself with the virus, which turned him into the malformed creature that is now chasing Sherry. Annette recognizes her daughter's pendant and attempts to take it from Ada. A fight ensues, during which Annette is thrown over a railing. Ada learns that the golden locket contains a sample of the G-virus, and later – taken over by her emotions – returns to Leon, tending to his bullet wound. Meanwhile, Claire is reunited with Sherry, and discovers that the mutated Birkin has implanted his daughter with an embryo to produce offspring. Leon, Ada, Claire and Sherry advance through an abandoned factory connected to Umbrella's secret underground research facility. An attack by Birkin leaves Ada heavily wounded, and Leon explores the laboratory to find something to treat her wounds. He is interrupted by Annette, who explains to him that Ada's relationship with John was only a means of getting information about Umbrella: Ada is a spy sent to steal the G-virus for an unknown organization. Just as Annette is about to shoot Leon, a T-103 appears and she is forced to retreat. Ada returns to save Leon, and defeats the Tyrant seemingly at the cost of her own life. She confesses her love to Leon, who leaves behind her motionless body. Meanwhile, Annette tries to escape with another sample of the G-virus, but is fatally wounded by her mutated husband. However, before she dies, she tells Claire how to create a vaccine that will stop the mutations caused by the embryo within Sherry. After preparing the cure, Leon and Claire reunite at an emergency escape train, and inject Sherry with the vaccine, which saves her life. Birkin – now mutated into a large agglomeration of flesh and teeth – follows them, but is destroyed when a self-destruct system causes the train to explode. After escaping from the city with Sherry, Leon intends to take down Umbrella, while Claire continues to search for her brother. Ada is implied to have survived and to have made away with the G-virus in the pendant.
Extra Content
The minigame "The 4th Survivor" depicts the successful G-virus retrieval mission of HUNK, one of the special agents sent by Umbrella. "The Tofu Survivor" and "Extreme Battle" are stand-alone missions that are unconnected to the plot of the game.
Extra Content
The minigame "The 4th Survivor" depicts the successful G-virus retrieval mission of HUNK, one of the special agents sent by Umbrella. "The Tofu Survivor" and "Extreme Battle" are stand-alone missions that are unconnected to the plot of the game.
Pros And Cons
Story
Helicopter Crash
The story is very interesting, but also confusing. The story as a whole is a perfect sequel to the previous game in the series. However, many things in the game make what is canon inconclusive. In the different scenarios, Leon and Claire do many of the same things, such as putting out a fire, placing gold and silver medals, and placing two red gems into slots to get an object. In a realistic sense, two people couldn't do the same things in the same story. Once something is done, it can't be done again. I'm pretty sure the ClaireA-LeonB scenario is the canon one because of clues found in later Resident Evil games.
Characters
Playable Characters
The four main characters you can play as are Leon, Claire, Ada, and Sherry. The characters you use most are Leon and Claire, and you control Ada and Sherry for short periods of time in the scenarios respectively. In addition, there are two more characters you can play as, but only one is canon. HUNK is the only survivor of the Umbrella group sent to retrieve the G-Virus, which he succeeds at doing. He stars in "The 4th Survivor" bonus scenario. Tofu is literally a walking block of tofu that stars in a parody of "The 4th Survivor" scenario called "The Tofu Survivor" and does not exist in the story at all.
Gameplay
A mob of Zombies
The gameplay remains largely unchanged from the previous games, except that the cutscenes are now made from external sources, and are recorded into the game. The controls are a lot more fluent than before. Also, up to seven enemies can be on the screen at the same time, so there's more of an enemy count. The game was very easy compared to the first one, however, you can still end up being killed if you're not careful. Enemies have instant death attacks that can cause lots of frustration.
Graphics
Detailed Background
The graphics have been updated from the previous game. The pre-determined backgrounds are more detailed than before. Even the detail of the 3D polygon models has been improved. Now, characters have limp animations too.
Releases
PSX Box Art
The game was originally released in 1998 for the PlayStation. Near the end of that year, a Dualshock Version of the game was released. This version had support for the analog and rumble features of the Dualshock controller. It also included an easier Rookie mode for beginners, and a mini-game called Extreme Battle mode. Also that year, a 2.5D version was made for the Game.com. This was immediately forgotten about due to how bad it was. A Pc version for Windows was released in 1999, which had all the additions of the Dualshock version, as well as higher resolution, and a Data Gallery which let players view movies, illustrations, and 3D models. Then it was released to the Nintendo 64. This version had better sound quality and supported the Rumble Pak. This one had alternate costumes for characters, the option to change blood color, an option to randomly place the items throughout the game, and 16 new files called Ex Files that connect and reference the game to other games of the series. However the Extreme Battle mode was not included. In 2000, a port was released for the Dreamcast. This one keeps the high resolution from the PC version, and even makes use of the Visual Memory Unit to display the characters condition. The Dualshock version was ported to the Gamecube in 2003, and then to the Playstation Network in 2009.
My Rating
I give this game a 10/10. It has to be one of the best games ever made. It still holds up today as a game worth playing.