You’ve already seen
the commercials and witnessed hundreds of screen shots of this game. In fact, I’ll
bet you’re reading this to find out if we agree on this game, not to find out what
it’s all about. In case I’m not right about this, here’s a brief synopsis:
you have to kill monsters, and it’s a sequel. OK, now on to the good an bad points of
the game. The first Resident Evil was a Playstation seller. It featured full polygonal characters set against a gorgeous haunted house backdrop. The story was engrossing, the music haunting, and the gameplay top-notch. Whatever hype the first game got it fully deserved, because it did things no other game has before, and helped put the Playstation on top. It was only natural that a sequel would come along to either improve upon or feed off of the fame of the original.
This game is no "feeder". While many of the elements of the first game are present in this new adventure, Resident Evil 2 is a masterpiece by its own rights. The graphics are quite an improvement, and I didn’t think they could get them much better than the original. The characters, especially the zombies, move more realistically and have far greater detail than ever. The play area actually looks better than before, with background elements "blending in" better with the character graphics this time. The play area is larger, too - rather than being confined to one building, this game’s locales include a zombie infested street, a gun shop, a police station, and a sewer system.
In addition, there are
two disks - one for each character - with two different missions on each. Now the missions
aren’t completely unique, as they include the same locales and characters, but things
are in different places, camera angles change, and the storyline adjusts to your saved
game from the OTHER character. It’s quite a neat twist and dramatically improves
replay value. It’s like getting the Resident Evil 2 "Director’s
Cut" built right into the game. There are lots of surprises, enough to make me jump
out of my chair a few times (that ISN’T easy to do, I’m a horror movie
veteran!). The music sets the mood perfectly.
So it turns out I’ve probably told you everything you already know. It’s hard NOT to like a game like this, one that is obviously a labor of love to a great team of talented designers. It’s certain to be one of the "ten best" of the year. Playstation owners "must have" Resident Evil 2, by gosh.
