(another replay of a game I last played 10 years ago)
Playing this so soon after the original, there is one thing that I can say I miss about RE1: the isolated and creepy atmosphere of the Spencer mansion, and the more interesting puzzles, which were far more straightforward here.
But this daring change (different characters, different setting) worked so well because it was replaced by something equally compelling. Setting this game in a ruined city and derelict police station gave the locations a much more lived-in feel where every room told a subtle story, from the festive decorations meant to welcome Leon on his ill-fated first day to the main office which is literally crawling with zombie cops. The less isolated feeling also created the opportunity for more side characters, and the fact that so many of them appeared in later entries shows how much of a hit they were. And while the RE series isn't as horror-focused as something like Silent Hill, this does have some very effective subtle scares, like how the camera angle in one of the early rooms you unlock is positioned just right so you can see a licker crawl by outside the window (when you don't even know what a licker is supposed to be yet).
This game also feels infinitely better than its predecessor. I'm not entirely sure what it is, but it's probably tighter controls and more refined graphics which makes navigation a lot easier and more intuitive. On top of this, the game actually features some proper physics - enemies can be staggered, and shoving a zombie into a crowd causes the other zombies to stumble.
Unlike RE4 which delivers a much more action-focused experience, these refinements actually serve to enhance the survival horror aspects. The original Resident Evil had more than enough ammo to kill every enemy (though it's scarce at first), so the best approach was to memorize which order to enter rooms so you would never run out of ammo. But in RE2, dodging around enemies feels much more intuitive and consistent, which adds weight to the fight-or-flight decisions you inevitably have to make whenever you run into an enemy. This lent itself very well to this particular playthrough for me where I still remembered the mechanics but forgot the layout - I spent a good chunk of the game fumbling around, half-lost, low on supplies, juking around zombies and lickers. It felt gloriously stressful!
One exception to the better game feel was the boss fights. They were a little more action-oriented than in the previous game, and unfortunately the claustrophobic feel created by the fixed camera angles became more of an annoyance, never affording me a clear line of sight. The lack of a quick-180 or auto-aim function also felt like a hindrance, ensuring that many boss battles felt anticlimactic because the optimal strategy was to just stand in one place and DPS-race the boss.
Overall this is a fantastic refinement of the RE1 experience, feeling so much better to play without straying too far from the feel of the original. The different scenarios and unlockables gave it respectable replay value too. RE3 is next on my playlist - I haven't played it yet, but this entry will take some beating!
Playing this so soon after the original, there is one thing that I can say I miss about RE1: the isolated and creepy atmosphere of the Spencer mansion, and the more interesting puzzles, which were far more straightforward here.
But this daring change (different characters, different setting) worked so well because it was replaced by something equally compelling. Setting this game in a ruined city and derelict police station gave the locations a much more lived-in feel where every room told a subtle story, from the festive decorations meant to welcome Leon on his ill-fated first day to the main office which is literally crawling with zombie cops. The less isolated feeling also created the opportunity for more side characters, and the fact that so many of them appeared in later entries shows how much of a hit they were. And while the RE series isn't as horror-focused as something like Silent Hill, this does have some very effective subtle scares, like how the camera angle in one of the early rooms you unlock is positioned just right so you can see a licker crawl by outside the window (when you don't even know what a licker is supposed to be yet).
This game also feels infinitely better than its predecessor. I'm not entirely sure what it is, but it's probably tighter controls and more refined graphics which makes navigation a lot easier and more intuitive. On top of this, the game actually features some proper physics - enemies can be staggered, and shoving a zombie into a crowd causes the other zombies to stumble.
Unlike RE4 which delivers a much more action-focused experience, these refinements actually serve to enhance the survival horror aspects. The original Resident Evil had more than enough ammo to kill every enemy (though it's scarce at first), so the best approach was to memorize which order to enter rooms so you would never run out of ammo. But in RE2, dodging around enemies feels much more intuitive and consistent, which adds weight to the fight-or-flight decisions you inevitably have to make whenever you run into an enemy. This lent itself very well to this particular playthrough for me where I still remembered the mechanics but forgot the layout - I spent a good chunk of the game fumbling around, half-lost, low on supplies, juking around zombies and lickers. It felt gloriously stressful!
One exception to the better game feel was the boss fights. They were a little more action-oriented than in the previous game, and unfortunately the claustrophobic feel created by the fixed camera angles became more of an annoyance, never affording me a clear line of sight. The lack of a quick-180 or auto-aim function also felt like a hindrance, ensuring that many boss battles felt anticlimactic because the optimal strategy was to just stand in one place and DPS-race the boss.
Overall this is a fantastic refinement of the RE1 experience, feeling so much better to play without straying too far from the feel of the original. The different scenarios and unlockables gave it respectable replay value too. RE3 is next on my playlist - I haven't played it yet, but this entry will take some beating!
Reddish
2 years ago