PixlBit

Games of the Decade: Expansion Pass #07/Blog a Day #24

Hello everyone how are you?

The 90's was a transitional decade for video games, as many games were making the leap from 2D to 3D. Some succeeded, others did not. Some really well-known franchises that you love today actually started in this era. One such franchise is the legendary horror franchise known as Resident Evil and today we are going back to Raccoon City with the remake of Resident Evil 2.

 

                   The music in the game really matches the creepy atmosphere

I have actually played the original game back on the N64. I remember it was a Saturday night and my cousin who lived next door at my old neighborhood invited me over. He had rented Resident Evil 2 and we got to try it out. He was really scared so he didn't play it that much. I thought it was a fun game but obviously with it being a rental I didn't get much time with it. Many years later, 20 to be exact, the game got a remake but it wasn't till Black Friday that I got the game on sale. So after 20 years of waiting to experience the whole game, how was it?

The game takes place in Raccoon City and takes places two months following the events of Resident Evil (the first game). The game follows Leon S. Kennedy, a rookie cop who is going to the Raccoon City Police Department for his first day on the job. At a gas station on his way to Raccoon City, Leon meets Claire Redfield, a college student who is looking for her brother Chris. Together they head to Raccoon City and they sure do pick a fine day to go there since most of the citizens have been turned into zombies.

Before the game begins you are asked to play as either Leon or Claire. The main plot of the game stays the same except that there will be different subplots going on depending on who you choose to play as, as well as the characters that you will meet a long the way. It also encourages you to play as the other character you didn't play as the first time so you can get the whole story as well as going for the true ending of the game.

 

                                           Claire got left out of the welcome party

Both Leon and Claire play the same, but the difference between both of them is the areas that they'll be able to access. Like there are some areas that Leon can access that Claire can't and vice-versa. Also the weapons you can find and use. They both start out with handguns but each of them find different weapons. There are puzzles in the game and yes the puzzles for both characters have different solutions. So if you thought the solution to a puzzle you solved with Leon is the same for the exact same puzzle that you are trying to solve with Claire, then nope.

One thing I will say is that this game looks so good. Like they really went all out here with how the game looks. The characters look great, I really love the more realistic look to them in the game. I also really loved the attention to detail that they did to everything. It's really neat to see stuff from the 90's in the game, like putting in a vhs tape into a vhs player and watching that on a crt televison. It makes sense since that's when the game takes place, but what is old is new again I suppose.

"But Captain N, where can I play this game? You can get it on the PS4, Xbox One, and on PC and should be fairly cheap now physically. The game goes on sale often digitally as well so if you don't mind the digital route then you can get it there instead. There's also a bundle that comes with the Resident Evil 3 remake that also goes on sale on digital storefronts, so that might actully be worth going for. It's also backwards compatible on PS5 and on Xbox Series X/S.

 

             Fighting that thing with a knife was probably not one of my best ideas

Final Thoughts: Resident Evil 2 is among the best remakes that I have ever played. I loved how the perspective was changed to an over the shoulder view like Resident Evil 4 but you can move, aim, and shoot around with whatever weapon you have equiped. The graphics look great, the level of detail is great as well. And the overall atmoshpere is fantastic.

I know this was present on the original game but I really loved how you can play as Leon or Claire and that you can play the game from their perspective. It's really cool and I loved that there are different subplots going on in the game for each of the characters. It was great that they both have different weapons, so even if you are playing through the game again, having different weapons to use makes the second playthrough feel really fresh. And yes all the modes from the original game are back as well.

This is how a remake should be. Bring the game for the modern age, fixing any technical issues, improving the gameplay, while still keeping intact the spirit of the original game. This is definitely among my list of favorite remakes that I've ever played. I heard that there are plans to remake Resident Evil 4, I don't know how to feel about that since that game is pretty much close to perfect the way it is. Also, I haven't played it myself but if its anything like the Resident Evil 3 remake then I don't want them touching RE4. If they insist on remaking it, please follow the example of this game, do what you did for RE2 and apply it to that RE4 remake. I'll be there day one if you do and please, no cut content.

                          She's angry because she wasn't invited to the welcome party

The world and life can be unpredictable at times and unexpected things can happen that are sometimes out of our control. Take care of youself and be careful out there.

That's it for this one. For #6 we are going to get comfy and spin a yarn. Thanks for reading and remember...

 

 

*All images were taken by my PS4 and my copy of the game*