“A rookie’s first day on the job, and first time to experience this horror”Rookie....a word that everyone has heard of and gone through during their lifetime. However, I can assure you that your experience with this phrase won’t even compare to the experience that the newly appointed cop Leon Kennedy had to face during his first day on the force of the Raccoon City Police Department (RCPD). As we all know it’s been a while since the incident with the T-Virus in the mansion, but does that mean that the horror had completely ended...surely that’s not true. At the same time a female character known as Claire Redfield has entered the town in search for her missing brother Chris Redfield (from Resident Evil 1) and along the way she runs into as you’ve probably guessed by now Zombies created from the T-Virus, with a stroke a blind luck though Leon manages to show up in the nick of time to save her. It’s decided that they should travel together in order to escape this city alive, will this be accomplished or is their life just as doomed as this place. Let’s find out, I’ll continue writing this and you can examine it afterwards!
Graphics: 8 out of 10
I know I’m probably not the first person to say this but the graphics during the actual gameplay certainly don’t stand up as well to other games on the Gamecube, due to the fact that there weren’t really any graphical changes from its original PlayStation release so I can’t really gripe on how it looks from Gamecube standards. Anyway I’m going off topic here so let’s get to the point, the gameplay sections look like something you would’ve seen on the N64 on games such as Perfect Dark or Super Smash Bros which as you know don’t have the best looking graphics...by the way I know that Resident Evil 2 was released on the N64 but they still could’ve changed the graphics for the this release like how they did to the original Resident Evil when it was remade onto the Gamecube. Now the cut-scenes I’d say are excellent in the way that they look along with the fact that the voice acting in my opinion is far better in this game than in the original Resident Evil so I’d give the graphics an 8 out of 10.
Sound: 9 out of 10
Like many other games I’ve reviewed even though the graphics aren’t superior or as stunning as other games, the sound always seems to shine beautifully like the sun reflecting off of metal. My most favorite theme in Resident Evil 2 and through-out most of the series is the Save Room theme, since it gives you a feeling of relief and ease however; at the same time it reminds the player/you that once you leave this room you’ll be in dangers path once more. Other interesting and chilling themes that I could list are: The First Floor of The Police Station, and The Underground Laboratory theme. The police station theme to me sounds mysterious where you know a zombie is just bound to pop out at some point especially when the music has a *BANG* sound like a gunshot sound added in, while the underground laboratory theme sounds more menacing and leaves you with a feeling of uncertainty as you calmly and rationally continue walking down the path to whatever lies ahead of you. The voice acting is alright but the characters look like puppets when they try to talk in-game to other people since their mouths don’t move at all (excluding the cut-scenes) which I know they could’ve improved on this inconsistency so because of this I’m only giving the sound a 9 out of 10.
Addictiveness: 8 out of 10
This is going to be a complicated part to rate, since the addictiveness level of this game can vary from player to player. What do I mean you say? Well...let me put it like this, if you enjoy the original fixed camera angle of the first 3 Resident Evil games then you’ll most likely enjoy this game more so than someone who prefers the Camera and fighting style of Resident Evil 4-6. I personally enjoy the older style of the Resident Evil games since you couldn’t really control the camera in the game it made the game scarier and also more intriguing to me when I first played this game since I couldn’t really know when something was coming towards me, meaning that I had to cautiously go down the hallways & area’s. To me this is how Resident Evil started out and how it made the franchise popular now I’m not saying the other games are bad but I just prefer this style better, I appear to be going off on a tangent again so let’s get back to this review. In RE2 you are able to choose between 2 different characters Leon Kennedy & Claire Redfield to play as each with their own separate story and reason for visiting this city, which does add some replay value to this game although they did take out some important things from this port such as the Art Gallery, Movie Gallery, Concept Art Gallery, Character and Enemy Model Galleries whereas most of these additions can be found in some ports of RE2. All nitpicking aside I’d say the addictiveness still earns an 8 out of 10.
Story: 10 out of 10
Although the S.T.A.R.S members had put a valiant effort with their mission in Raccoon City, they weren’t able to stop the T-Virus outbreak from expanding even farther. As such the entire land of Raccoon City has fallen prey to the blood-thirsty T-Virus zombies. At the same time the R.C.P.D officer Leon Kennedy has just started with his first day on the force, and within minutes he runs into the crux of this cities problem when he finds a body in the middle of the street during his patrol and comes in contact with the vile zombies. As he runs off to find any signs of remaining life in the city he runs into a young woman known as Claire Redfield whom also had encountered the same problems as Leon. Once they regroup Leon decides it’s best if they work together in order to escape from this city alive, however; just as they agree with this they’re startled by a waiting enemy lurking inside the car which in turn causes the car to crash separating these 2 friends onto different paths. Along this treacherous journey you’ll meet up with new allies and foes. 3 of the most important characters being Sherry Berkin whom is the daughter of William Berkin the father and founder of the G-Virus which turned him into a violent beast after he was shot down by Umbrella, and Annette Berkin whom is the wife of William and mother of Sherry. She’s basically lost most of her sanity since her daughter was lost along with having her husband William turned into a horrid monster, what you want proof of what I said? Alright then, when you meet up with her as she immediately points her gun towards you and yells at you to give
Sherry back to her right this instant and what the heck you’ve done to her! The decision is up to you will Leon, Claire, and Sherry be able to make it out of this city alive or will they join with the parade in this now city of the dead. Play the game and see how it turns out of you because this game earns at 10 out of 10 for its rich and interesting plot in my books!
Depth: 8 out of 10
Resident Evil 2 most likely can be beaten in about 1-2 ½ hours by most average players of the RE games so this definitely isn’t the longest in this series of games. Also like I stated this game did cut out a few things from other released versions of this game so their obviously won’t be as much to do when you beat the game however; I still do find myself coming back every once in a while to play this game since it’s not too long. Well I know this part is short so to make it a little longer and intriguing for you all, why not talk about some easter eggs that are hidden through-out this game. The 1st one you can do is finding Brad from RE3 who was killed by Nemesis and appeared as a zombie inside RE2 as well as some additional clothing for Leon & Claire. that you’re going to do is play as Leon (will also work with Claire) and make it all the way to the police station underpass making sure not to use too much ammo as when you reach the underpass you’ll eventually see Zombie Brad and he’ll take approximately 12 handgun bullets to knock him down but in order to finish him off you must smash his head. You should receive a special key from him and this key can be used inside the dock room inside the police station now that you’re inside open up the locker and you shall find 2 costumes for Leon and in Claire’s case she’ll receive a cowgirl outfit along with an additional handgun. Lastly the second easter egg I will share with you all is a hidden photo you can find on Wesker’s desk inside the S.T.A.R.S police station, now check desk 50x times and yes you heard me correctly 50X TIMES! It should give you the option to pick up a roll of film, go into the dock room once again and get this film developed and once it is developed you’ll see that it’s an image of Rebbeca Chambers! I’d say that the depth earn an 8 out of 10
Difficulty: 7 out of 10
In my opinion this is one of the harder games in the franchise all be it not the hardest though, that goes to RE0 to me. If you’ve never played any of the older RE games (0-CV) then you might have a difficult time adjusting to the controls on the game, mostly with the way you shoot your weapons since it has a different feeling that in RE4 and the rest of the series so far. Depending on if you like the camera angles in this game or hate them compared to the other ones, it could bring some difficulty to those that dislike it as well as bring ease to those whom enjoy it. There aren’t really other problems I can see with this game so I guess I’ll end it here by giving the difficulty a fair 7 out of
10.
You’re almost at the end of your adventure as the storyline has now completely unfolded. There is only one question that can remain...will you be able to look toward the lighted path of victory and escape this tragic town of death? This review has told you of the dangers that lie ahead and what mysteries you may have to uncover, so are you still willing to keep going? If so then pick up this game and finish the story since you’ll feel satisfied either way!
Would you like to save & quit this review?
Yes <---
No
*1 Ink Ribbon Used*
Graphics
8 Sound
9 Addictive
8 Depth
8 Story
10 Difficulty
7
User Notice 
