Title:Resident Evil 2
Publisher:Capcom
Developer:in-house
Players: 1
Memory card block: 1
2 discs
Rating: mature (17+)
time to finish: 6 hours

When the original Resident Evil hit the market, the game was cheered
for it's raw realistic graphics and taking everything that makes
cheep horror flicks so interesting: terrible one-liners and killer
suspence. It was because of these qualities that is was hailed by many
as the best 32-bit game of it's time. Even though the game design
wasn't particulary original (see:alone in the dark) it was considered
a breakthrough.

2 years have passed and after 1 year of tedious redesigns and new
characters and monsters Resident Evil hit the market on January 21.
In the US it sold 700.000 copies in 3 days, and when the game saw
it's release in Japan (Biohazard 2) it sold a whopping 1.8 million
units in just 1 day! These figures shatter the previous records set
by Final Fantasy and Tomb Raider 2.

Alright those are just numbers; but is the game really any better than
the first installment, or are these sales a direct result of a carefully
planned marketing (read:hype) scheme.
The fist thing noticed are ofcourse the two discs the game comes
packed with. This time around there is again the opportunity to
play as either the male (rookie cop Leon Kennedy) of the female
(Claire Redfield). Difference: Each character has his/her own disc and
this sure makes RE2 a safe buy at first glance; this must be a huge
game! 2 gaming options are available Normal and Easy mode;
easy mode is much too easy and doesn't feature all the gore as in
the Normal game mode.

After a few hours of playing it is clear that the same elements that
made RE1 so popular haven't been ditched, the improvements
however are a little less noticable. Graphics are improved, there are
more animated effects in the background and the design of the labs
and sewers is worth mentioning; controls and game save mode are
the same, you'll remember the ink-ribbons and magic chests to store
your goods in.

RE2 excells in it's locations and enemy design; beside "normal"
zombies and dogs the arsenal is expanded with "lickers", giant
spiders and a huge alligator (one of the game's highlights).
The game is about 50% bigger, but that doesn't hide the fact that
the puzzle element is far too find, gamers just need to search every
room and pick up every object and use it at the obvious places
to proceed. I found just 1 or 2 original gaming elements.

After finishing the game the best feature comes forwards; those nice
people at Capcom have included a 2nd scenario to play.
Technically it's a very smart trick; after completing the game with either
character, a save game is put on the memory card along with some
information in what way the game was played. The player can open
this save game with the other player and presto the game suddenly
changes it's viewpoint with new locations, weapons and enemies.
Welcome addition it the fact that certain plot points suddenly become
clear.

Producer Shinji Mikami has certainly took it's time for RE2 and gladly
didn't bulge for deadlines and executives. I couldn't resist picking
up some magazines from february 1997 and look over the screen-
shots featured. Amazing: every screenshot i saw is ditched in the
final product, even the female lead character seem to have been
scrapped in her original form, the big dog like furry monsters are all
gone and the game has a much darker quality to it. It looks like a year
extra work has paid of, and emphasizes the fact that a game is ready
when it's ready.

Needless to mention the game has a secret wardrobe, weapons
and extra characters (play as a piece of tofu?)

Pro's:

Con's:

Rating: 8