Spawn Kill Favorites: Resident Evil 2

When it comes to horror video games, Resident Evil tops the chart, nails the head shots, and splatters the screen with blood and gore. Although the popular series changed its mainstream viral formula with the “action horror” award-winner Resident Evil 4, fans still consider the second game a hot favorite. Leon S. Kennedy may be a teenage girl’s knight in zombie gut-stained armor now, but he wasn’t always such a looker who rolled with Umbrella’s punches as slickly as the bad puns and bingo jokes. Once upon a time in Raccoon City, he was a rookie cop whose first day on the job ended in city-wide decimation. He slogged through grimy sewers, followed a corporation’s blood trail, befriended Redfield’s sister … and fell for one dangerous lady in red.

Before Resident Evil started pumping out the angry Plagas mobs, quick-time events, and co-operative missions we recognize today, the series hid its chills and scares behind tight corners, inside vents, and between the melodramatic pages of top secret documents and police files. The first RE turned a single mansion into a booby-trapped house of fear; while Resident Evil 2 moves its horror to the streets, the instinct to survive kicks just as hard. So why do people usually favor Leon’s lovesick adventure and Claire Redfield’s marco polo romp over the classic Jill sandwich, for example? The tacky one-liners and super intense music still run the undead show. So do the zombies, puzzles, man-pecking crows, and deformed baddies. They’re just better, in almost every way.

Unlike its predecessor, RE2 (Biohazard 2) relies on more than puzzles and disgusting monsters to propel the game. In other words, there’s more than one reason to play. The Leon/Claire stories intersperse their gun-reloading moments with puzzles a la the original, but Raccoon City opens up more thanks to the game’s polished edges. Maps are easier to read, ink ribbons are plentiful (no more save game crying), weapons are upgradable (to an extent), adrenaline moments are more rewarding, zombies party with more vigor (and have all sorts of tricks), and the plot and gameplay rarely feel sluggish. On several occasions, players even switch from controlling Raccoon City Police Department’s only surviving cop or the youngest Redfield sibling to Ada Wong or Sherry Birkin, depending on the scenario.

Fewer nonsense situations entail a more streamlined experience, one lacking excessive boss fights. This doesn’t mean the game holds your hand, though. Ammo and health items flow in at an even pace, but when players are thrown into the midst of the overrun city, they quickly learn how to make their bullets count. Resident Evil 2 forces you to survive, and survive well. Chances are, you’ll love every cheesy, heart-pounding second of it.

I’d take RE1‘s super nineties’ cinematic graphics over RE2′s ugly, rounded cut-scenes any day, though.

[Ed. Note: WITA.  also known as Stephanie Carmichael, is currently a guest writer at Spawn Kill! We can guarantee you'll want to sink your teeth into more of her work, which you can find here at her personal blog, Impulse Creations, RadNerd, and now at OneMetal! Thanks for stepping in, Stephanie!]

Resident Evil 2
PlayStation, Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, PC
	Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Genre: Survival Horror Release Date: November 01, 1998 ESRB Rating: M for Mature