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Resident Evil 2 Remake: As soon as you switch this on and see the Capcom logo appear in front of you, you should reminisce about the sheer terror of playing this on the PS1 (or N64 for me). 6 hours into the game, you will hope that those involved with this remake/master get themselves hired every time as this is certainly how you do remake/masters correctly.
15 minutes in, after the intro, I found myself seeing that familiar Resident Evil brandished on the screen and just wished they had announced it with the dark voice used in Resident Evil 1. And there you have one of my only gripes with this game.
At the start, you’ll get to choose whether you want to play the game as Leon or Claire. I started as Leon, knowing that it really didn’t matter as I will definitely play as them both. You find yourself entering Racoon City after some kind of serious zombie epidemic and end up in the Police station. Ironically, as soon as you get there, you realise that you need to get out, as well as stop this epidemic. So off you trot, to find your way out of the only police station that has doors which open due to the positions of statues and one of the few with mental tyrants marauding around like lost puppies with anger issues.
When it comes to the graphics, I was pleasantly surprised with how much better they were. Actually, that’s unfair. As a standalone game Resident Evil 2 holds its own graphically. The only annoyance was the banding. At times the walls looked like a range of different colours and lost their definition. However, I am sure this is something that they can fix with a small update. Other than that, everything looked crystal clear. Surprisingly, they have managed to keep the original feel to the game even though everything has been updated. The moment you see the characters and enter the Police Station, nostalgia sweeps through your body and you know you’re in for a treat. The close ups of the gory moments are incredible (spoiler alert) and when the shutter draws a close on that poor cop’s life and you see his body torn into two, you may even find yourself turning away for a short moment until curiosity brings your eyes back into focus.
The biggest change they have made to the gameplay is the changing of the camera. In the original, the camera was fixed and now it isn’t. Honestly, I preferred it no longer being fixed and liked trying my hardest to look around the corner and still crap my pants when the zombie finally jumps out at me. Generally, everything else plays the same. The game is littered with random puzzles which you can solve by being incredibly inquisitive and avoiding the zombie’s attacking jaws. Of course, you will find yourself with a range of weapons but, if you play like me, you will conserve your ammo.
Well, until you get to a boss and then you will shoot like crazy. There are a number of ways of getting ammo: you can find it in all of the rooms or you can make it by combining materials. This leads to a clever addition to the game where, on the map, the room shows as red if you haven’t collected all the items or solved the puzzles. The puzzles annoyed me sometimes and I found myself using a guide. Luckily, they are so easy to access nowadays. This didn’t take anything away from the game as the suspense was still rife. Saying all this, the tension caused from the moments where you have to escape the tyrant are just fantastic and absolutely terrifying.
One of the aspects I loved was how similar the voice acting was. The game benefits by being minimal with sound. Quietness can sometimes be the scariest thing and that is certainly the case with RE2. The cutscenes used sound sensibly and didn’t ever try and overdo it. The atmosphere created due to all the features of the game is incredible and one of the best Resident Evil atmospheres with which I have ever been involved.
RE2 is a game that you need to buy if you previously owned it. RE2 is a game that you need to buy if you never played the original. RE2 is a game that you need to buy.
Overall, Resident Evil 2 is like seeing an old friend who has bettered themselves, but kept everything great about them the same. RE2 has kept me off of every game that I was involved in and definitely offers you longevity value. First of all, you will definitely want to replay it as the other character and then you may even get involved in all of the possible speed runs and making sure you S+ the game. At one point, my wife came into the room and also stated that she hopes other remakes are as good as this one is. This is the first game that I have fully played on the Xbox One X and I have to say that every close up was beautiful.
Resident Evil 2 Remake is out now on PS4 and Xbox One.
Also available is the Steelbook Edition on PS4 and Xbox One.
Important info:
- Developer: Capcom R&D Division 1
- Publisher: Capcom
- Players: Single-player only
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GRAPHICS SOUND GAMEPLAY ENJOYMENT |
8.5 8 9 9 |
| OVERALL | 9 |
I have been a video game player since 1993 and a music fan since I can remember. I studied Film and Journalism at university and ended up becoming a Primary School teacher. Video games changed my life and sent me on the right track and have stayed with me ever since.