[Review of Claire A/Leon B using the Modern Controls Plus mod with REbirth on the SourceNext version]
If the suspense doesn't kill you, something else will! They are hungry. You are food.
The legendary sequel that took everything that was unique about the first game, and while not necessarily reinventing the wheel, polished and sanded the edges down to a mirror sheen.
Resident Evil 2 (1998) is a survival horror game and sequel to the critically acclaimed genre-setter from two years ago, produced by Shinji Mikami, who'd stepped down to allow Hideki Kamiya to star as director. Inspired by films such as Terminator 2, it is a significantly more action-packed adventure, though still focused on limited resources and puzzle-solving.
Resident Evil 2 is everything you'd expect from a sequel. The same fundamentals are there (manage scarce resources, inspect the environment/items/documents to read about lore and solutions to puzzles you have to solve to progress, save ammo for the most powerful enemies, watch out for surprise encounters and special gimmick enemy types, etc.), as well as the character-specific personal items (lockpick for Claire just like Jill, lighter for Leon, forcing him to use small keys like Chris), though both characters now have eight inventory slots, making it easier off the rip. There is a major adjustment made to the campaigns, however; the continuity fix through a new "Scenario" system. Previously in both the original RE1 and its 2002 remake, you would play as both characters, and while they did differ in stats, items, inventory slots and one or two different characters in cutscenes, the actual campaigns were functionally identical. You fought all of the same bosses, nearly the same enemy and puzzle placements, even though these events happening for both characters at the same time would be impossible. RE2 fixes this: the game will start you off in the "A" scenario of the character you picked for your first run, and once completed you will automatically have a new save file for the continuation of that story, the "B" scenario with the other character. This creates four separate runs, and two different campaign continuities: Claire A->Leon B (canon) / Leon A->Claire B (alternate timeline). Enemy placements, items (but not puzzles), scenes, and even music will differ for each character's A and B run. Each campaign will be connected between A and B, as both characters will be experiencing their stories at the same time. Bosses are shuffled around and reserved for the characters, and for the ones that do repeat, continuity details will be put in place to have it make sense (fight the giant mutated alligator in Claire A who busts through a sewer wall when defeated, the same gator will return for Leon B, but the hole will still be there, implying that the creature returned later). There is also a small, complementary system to the A->B runs: zapping. A limited few choices you make as one character (such as what you take out from the underground RPD weapon storage) will affect and carry over to the other's run. This isn't that huge by itself, but alongside the improved campaign system makes it feel a lot more organic narratively. It makes it all the more tragic that the remake butchered the scenario systems and essentially has you play as Claire A and Leon A for both characters, for their 1st and 2nd runs. The game is arguably the easiest out of the classics (RE0, RE1/1R, RE3, CV, Outbreak), giving you relatively generous amounts of ammo, and no real gimmick enemies like Crimsonheads or Nemesis to make you second guess yourself. Enemy and weapon variety is fantastic, and unlike RE1 gives both characters unique weapons to use, and you will encounter many threats, notably the Crimsonhead-adjacent Lickers, who've traded resurrection for even sharper talons and a prehensile, razor sharp tongue. Bosses are great here, with one particular character having multiple different mutation phases across the story, and another adversary only appears in the B scenario. Extras after finishing the game several times with high end rankings reward you with the 4th Survivor, a time-based challenge mode where you play as an unnamed Umbrella Security Service (USS) agent, HUNK, and the Tofu survivor, which is about the same, but you're a sapient bar of tofu..
Set in late September of 1998, continuing off from the plot from the first game, Umbrella had covered up the illegal and inhumane dealings being done in their hidden research facility in the Arklay mountains and its subsequent destruction from the public eye, with the remaining S.T.A.R.S. unit trying to expose them to the proper authorities, only to be silenced. A second outbreak was set loose, but this time through the sewers of Raccoon City itself, infecting anyone and everyone, family, friends and colleagues alike. We step into the shoes of Claire Redfield, a college girl searching for her brother and S.T.A.R.S member, Chris Redfield, who'd gone missing, and Leon Kennedy, a recently graduated police officer of the Raccoon City Police Department, who'd skipped out on his welcome party because of a bad breakup and hangover. Forced to cooperate and take shelter in the Racoon City Police station after being separated by an oil tanker explosion, they're met with many obstacles to their escape, bioweapon and human included. The story offers a small amount of worldbuilding for Racoon City that we hadn't seen much of in RE0 and RE1, the cradle of Umbrella, and the deep web of connections they have in every corner of its community. Many series mainstays debut here, along with a first look of a more urban setting for the series, away from forests and mansions.
RE2 is a big visual upgrade over the original first game as well, improving upon practically everything, from the inventory item menu portraits, pre-rendered background detail and lighting, model texture quality, and more importantly a more memorable and varied soundtrack. The Raccoon City Police Station being a former museum allows for a lot of the more kooky architecture and convoluted puzzles to feel a bit more justifiable. Between the forensic dark rooms, offices and archives, you have lavish marble statues, paintings and colorful floor and wall tiles. Beneath the RPD are holding cells and various utility basements. Another first for the series comes in the form of grungy sewer systems and maintenance tunnels to offset the previously vibrant interiors. Finally we arrive at the NEST, which is fitted with advanced equipment and heavy-duty wall plating and blast doors, giving it a uniquely futuristic look without going too far into the realm of science fiction like the remake does. It still looks interesting for its age if you choose to keep an open mind and take into consideration what sort of hardware this released on. The soundtrack is maybe the most striking part of the entire package, expanding the range of instruments and melodies beyond the "haunted house" motifs of the first game, adding haunting synth scores, bells, violins and piano keys. It helps make every room you visit more memorable, particularly the grand RPD main hall and save rooms, still remembered to this day by many.
This is a wonderful game, released in a very competitive time alongside Metal Gear Solid and Spyro, yet managing to carve out its own spot in the gaming hall of fame, and for helping further the survival horror genre to flourish for a time. Even in the modern gaming era, I think this is absolutely worth trying, especially with the recently-released Modern Controls Plus mod that adds full analog support (apart from a small few buggy but inconsequential areas to watch out for) which transform the game entirely, ontop of the fact that it goes for extremely cheap as-is, only ten bucks/euros on GOG and Steam, and going for half off most of the time as well. Do yourself a favor and try it out with an open mind, I guarantee you'll have a good time.
