Umbrella would've gotten away with it if Himbo Cop Leon S. Kennedy didn't show up to work late in the middle of a zombie outbreak, and was too pure of heart and simple of mind for Ada to be able to kill without feeling immense guilt. It's been a while since I played the original Resident Evil 2, but I swear they actually made him dumber here, which is really just one of many excellent choices on Capcom's part that help REmake 2 excel over the original.
This game is great. On paper it's essentially a fusion of Resident Evil 4's more combat-focused control scheme and the original trilogy's puzzle-heavy progression. Obviously tank controls are out the window, but Capcom smartly redesigns the RPD building to be full of obstructed, narrow hallways that keep the tension high. Movement is sluggish both when attempting to evade or aim at zombies, which move around with an unnatural rhythm that further complicates shooting them in critical areas. You're given just the right amount of control that none of this feels annoying, while maintaining a sense of anxiety in every encounter.
Similar to REmake, many of Resident Evil 2's puzzles have some connection to the original, though how they progress and interconnect has been completely overhauled. This provides a similar sense of satisfaction when you route your way through the game that REmake does, and the manner in which locations slowly open up to you feels natural and well paced. It's just a very smooth experience all around. I also enjoy how much REmake 2 plays around with the player's expectations, introducing Mr.X far earlier than he would appear in the first game.
Likewise, jumping to your second run of the game immediately after the first (as intended) doesn't feel stale given how different the two campaigns are. While you'll solve many of the same puzzles, the route through the RPD and other locations are so radically altered that you can't rely upon the same sequence for an easier run. That said, the 2nd run can get kind of annoying as enemies seem to be placed in blind spots more frequently, which at times feels like a cheap substitute for difficulty.
There's some additional side modes if you want even more RE2, but I found most of them to be kinda just so-so. I think I prefer REmake's approach to focusing solely on the core game mode and introducing variables to augment future runs. I'm sure someone out there loves No Time to Mourn. Like, that's the one mode they've come to play, getting through the campaign is just a formality. Freak behavior. Personally, I'm fine playing through the two campaigns and calling it.
Things were real rough for the Resident Evil franchise for a while, but I'm glad Capcom is back in the business of making good games. It's impressive that they could release a remake of Resident Evil 2, a game that was critically acclaimed for the Playstation and remains one of the finer pieces of software in its library, and have it outshine the original at nearly every turn.
This game is great. On paper it's essentially a fusion of Resident Evil 4's more combat-focused control scheme and the original trilogy's puzzle-heavy progression. Obviously tank controls are out the window, but Capcom smartly redesigns the RPD building to be full of obstructed, narrow hallways that keep the tension high. Movement is sluggish both when attempting to evade or aim at zombies, which move around with an unnatural rhythm that further complicates shooting them in critical areas. You're given just the right amount of control that none of this feels annoying, while maintaining a sense of anxiety in every encounter.
Similar to REmake, many of Resident Evil 2's puzzles have some connection to the original, though how they progress and interconnect has been completely overhauled. This provides a similar sense of satisfaction when you route your way through the game that REmake does, and the manner in which locations slowly open up to you feels natural and well paced. It's just a very smooth experience all around. I also enjoy how much REmake 2 plays around with the player's expectations, introducing Mr.X far earlier than he would appear in the first game.
Likewise, jumping to your second run of the game immediately after the first (as intended) doesn't feel stale given how different the two campaigns are. While you'll solve many of the same puzzles, the route through the RPD and other locations are so radically altered that you can't rely upon the same sequence for an easier run. That said, the 2nd run can get kind of annoying as enemies seem to be placed in blind spots more frequently, which at times feels like a cheap substitute for difficulty.
There's some additional side modes if you want even more RE2, but I found most of them to be kinda just so-so. I think I prefer REmake's approach to focusing solely on the core game mode and introducing variables to augment future runs. I'm sure someone out there loves No Time to Mourn. Like, that's the one mode they've come to play, getting through the campaign is just a formality. Freak behavior. Personally, I'm fine playing through the two campaigns and calling it.
Things were real rough for the Resident Evil franchise for a while, but I'm glad Capcom is back in the business of making good games. It's impressive that they could release a remake of Resident Evil 2, a game that was critically acclaimed for the Playstation and remains one of the finer pieces of software in its library, and have it outshine the original at nearly every turn.
5 Comments
Great review as always! It really is impressive that Capcom has seemingly learned from their mistakes and gotten the RE series back on track after so many years of mediocrity and excess. It all started with RE 7, but I think it was really made clear with this game that 7 wasn't a one-off thing.
Yeah I think the biggest misstep they've made recently is the RE3 remake, and even that's not a bad game, it just falls short of everything else they've been putting out.
Exactly. I'd say it's the "least good" of the modern RE games simply by process of elimination, but that doesn't it's a bad game at all.
Yeah RE3 is a great game, just could have been better without the seperate multiplayer release and adding back in the clock tower and Mercenaries.
It's not even just RE, they've been hitting it out the park with almost everything recently.
It's not even just RE, they've been hitting it out the park with almost everything recently.
GoldSource
1 year ago