[ENG] Resident Evil 2 Remake - Review
(I think I don't have to tell this but - review contains my feelings and thoughts about the game, and after reading this - reader should decide if the game sounds cool or not really)
(It's worth noting that I haven't played the Original Resident Evil 2 so I don't really have a comparison - every comparison made here was done with a bit of research)
Resident Evil 2 Remake (also called Resident Evil 2 or Biohazard RE 2) is - as the title suggests - remake of a legendary survival horror - Resident Evil 2, a game released over 20 years ago (1998). It was released on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Remake seen the daylight on 11th of January 2019, it was both produced and released by Capcom on their new RE Engine (which was firstly introduced in Resident Evil 7). Resident Evil 2 (For simplicity's sake - when I say Resident Evil 2 - I instantly mean the remake) is a game made completely from scratch, adjusted to modern games and technology and yet, still retaining the climate of the original...
In Resident Evil 2 we can take control of either Leon S. Kennedy - a rookie police officer or Claire Redfield - a young woman looking for her missing brother Chris. Action takes place in Raccoon City Police Department, where Leon and Claire are trying to find any survivors and uncover what the hell happened and why the zombie-virus outbreak began.
Although if you want to experience everything Resident Evil 2 has to offer, you have to complete the game with both Leon and Claire (and at least complete one of the 'B' routes [B route/2nd run is unlocked after you complete the game once - so technically you have to complete the game thrice to witness the true ending]). Both characters follow the same storyline, but they have different weapons and paths (for example you can access one room when playing Leon, but can't do the same with Claire and vice versa).
Although there are many weapons, ammo (as well as healing) is very limited - of course you can clear every room from every zombie but considering the amount of enemies (and the fact that few shots in the head is usually not enough so you have to 'kill' the zombie 2 or 3 times [or luckily destroy it's head] for it to be truly dead) - sometimes it's just better to run away (of course there are rooms you will pass through several times during your playthrough and those rooms are worth clearing out, trust me - it will save you a lot of time). There are also knives and grenades (although they are even more limited than ammunition or healing) - they can help you push the zombie away when they catch you - you lose the item, but don't lose health.
But I'm gonna be honest with you here, I say that resources are crucially limited, but... At the end of both Leon and Claire campaign I had somewhere around 4 full magazines to most weapons (except those most powerful ones) and around 8 healing items that restore full health so... It's more about managing your resources cleverly rather than worrying about the limited amount of such
(Tip - when you headshot a zombie and it visibly wobbles back - it's stunned - you can use this brief moment to run next to him without risk of being grabbed. I used it quite a lot in my playthroughs and it saved me a lot of ammo because I only wasted 2 or 3 bullets while running back and forth instead of 9-10 to kill him for good)
(Map in Resident Evil 2 Remake is made in simple, yet helpful and interesting way)
There are a lot of revamped mechanics - for example camera - whereas in older Resident Evil (before Resident Evil 4) parts you had camera fixed in one place; place that changed when you walked through it but you had practically zero control over it. In Resident Evil 2 camera is constantly behind your character and you can look around freely.
As well as shooting - in older instances you had to stand in one place, take aim and shoot. Here it's basically the most effective way of dealing with the infected but you can move (although very slowly) while aiming - it's a small change but it's in my honest opinion satisfying
Map is designed in a pretty interesting way - every room you enter is marked on your map - when room is marked in red - it means you missed something in that particular room or you should come back here later with proper tool or something like this. But when you collect every single thing possible in the room - it's marked blue on your map. It's pretty handy and easy way to keep track of where you already cleared something - and... Considering amount of backtracking in this game, it's a big quality of life change - major part of the game takes place in Police Dept. and it's good to know every possible path and shortcut.
There is also one change in saving - in older instances you usually had to have ink or something like this to save your progress. You can't save anywhere you wish - you have 'save rooms' - in there you are both safe from enemies and you can save your progress. In Resident Evil 2, as far as I know, there are no limits to amount of saves plus there is auto-save system in place (although I preferred to stick to manual saves). In save rooms you can find Item Boxes - you can place unnecessary items or bonus ammunition there for future use (considering really limited inventory space, I think you'll be using it pretty often).
A small yet pretty natural looking thing is flashlight - when it's dark, characters hold flashlight in one hand, but when they enter a bright room - suddenly they turn it off.
You have a lot of key items that you need to use several times, and Resident Evil 2 makes sure that you use that certain item to it's fullest. When you for example open all doors that needed certain key - that key is check-marked in your inventory - meaning that there are no uses for this item anywhere in the game and you can get rid of it (or do it like myself and hide it in Item Box, just in case)
There are few pretty easy puzzles in both campaigns that give a nice change from walking, looting and shooting. As well as crafting system - you can connect various types of plants or gunpowder to create more effective healing items or certain types of ammunition.
Resident Evil 2 has also a very strong modding community, adding, changing or sometimes removing huge parts of the game, textures, models, sounds - modded playthrough can be very different to normal one
(Probably the most recognizable scene from the remake, even for the people who haven't seen the game - this scene has became a meme.)
You can't write anything regarding Resident Evil 2 without mentioning probably the most iconic and recognizable thing - Tyrant, more widely known as Mr. X - a menacing foe that gives your heart a huge rush first few times when you see him. You cannot kill him, you can stun him by loading a hell of a lot bullets into him - but it's waste of both time and bullets, sometimes it's just better to take that punch in the face and run. Although unstoppable and menacing - there are a few annoying flaws. After first few times, whenever you hear his typical loud footsteps - instead of getting scared you're just annoyed. Mr. X also seems to teleport, like - you hear his footsteps two floors below and yet, when you open the door and turn into the hallway on the third floor - he's already there. I really hope that the Nemesis in the upcoming Resident Evil 3 Remake will work similarly to Tyrant, but won't be so annoying.
There are also Bonus Modes - The Ghost Survivors and The 4th Survivor.
The Ghost Survivors explore and explain what happened to some characters or events in the main game, they are short but really hard and annoying. Each one introduces you to a completely new type of enemy - for example zombie with incredible regenerating abilities that just eats up your bullets like a sponge. Oh, and did I mention that this particular zombie type is about twice as fast as a normal zombie? - Do you see why I call them hard and annoying? You have no saves, resources are much more limited and if you mess up on the last section - tough luck, start from the beginning
The 4th Survivor mode is unlocked after witnessing true ending. You take control as 'The Grim Reaper' of The Alpha Squad. I would say that this is even harder than The Ghost Survivors - it works the same way as aforementioned - you have no saves, resources are scarce and if you die you begin from the start. Although in The 4th Survivor you have full equipment (I mean - 2 fully-healing items, a lot of ammo, some grenades etc.) but... It's not really helpful considering the flood of various infected zombies. You have to run from the start, through the whole Police Dept. and through the back exit to complete this scenario
Resident Evil 2 Remake is in my opinion a definition of a good remake, climate and story of the original was retained and everything else was modernized. I am really glad that I have experienced this game and I look forward to upcoming Resident Evil 3 Remake (of course if my PC won't explode until then). Relatively short campaign is both filled with various emotions (you can find notes and journals in the game, expanding your knowledge about events that happened in Raccoon City). And if you get bored you can set yourself a challenge - for example complete the game without using healing items or Item Box! Anyway, have a scary time while running away from Mr. X and discovering the horrors hidden within Raccoon City as Leon or Claire.
Kind Regards,
Wing.
But I'm gonna be honest with you here, I say that resources are crucially limited, but... At the end of both Leon and Claire campaign I had somewhere around 4 full magazines to most weapons (except those most powerful ones) and around 8 healing items that restore full health so... It's more about managing your resources cleverly rather than worrying about the limited amount of such
(Tip - when you headshot a zombie and it visibly wobbles back - it's stunned - you can use this brief moment to run next to him without risk of being grabbed. I used it quite a lot in my playthroughs and it saved me a lot of ammo because I only wasted 2 or 3 bullets while running back and forth instead of 9-10 to kill him for good)
There are a lot of revamped mechanics - for example camera - whereas in older Resident Evil (before Resident Evil 4) parts you had camera fixed in one place; place that changed when you walked through it but you had practically zero control over it. In Resident Evil 2 camera is constantly behind your character and you can look around freely.
As well as shooting - in older instances you had to stand in one place, take aim and shoot. Here it's basically the most effective way of dealing with the infected but you can move (although very slowly) while aiming - it's a small change but it's in my honest opinion satisfying
Map is designed in a pretty interesting way - every room you enter is marked on your map - when room is marked in red - it means you missed something in that particular room or you should come back here later with proper tool or something like this. But when you collect every single thing possible in the room - it's marked blue on your map. It's pretty handy and easy way to keep track of where you already cleared something - and... Considering amount of backtracking in this game, it's a big quality of life change - major part of the game takes place in Police Dept. and it's good to know every possible path and shortcut.
There is also one change in saving - in older instances you usually had to have ink or something like this to save your progress. You can't save anywhere you wish - you have 'save rooms' - in there you are both safe from enemies and you can save your progress. In Resident Evil 2, as far as I know, there are no limits to amount of saves plus there is auto-save system in place (although I preferred to stick to manual saves). In save rooms you can find Item Boxes - you can place unnecessary items or bonus ammunition there for future use (considering really limited inventory space, I think you'll be using it pretty often).
A small yet pretty natural looking thing is flashlight - when it's dark, characters hold flashlight in one hand, but when they enter a bright room - suddenly they turn it off.
You have a lot of key items that you need to use several times, and Resident Evil 2 makes sure that you use that certain item to it's fullest. When you for example open all doors that needed certain key - that key is check-marked in your inventory - meaning that there are no uses for this item anywhere in the game and you can get rid of it (or do it like myself and hide it in Item Box, just in case)
There are few pretty easy puzzles in both campaigns that give a nice change from walking, looting and shooting. As well as crafting system - you can connect various types of plants or gunpowder to create more effective healing items or certain types of ammunition.
Resident Evil 2 has also a very strong modding community, adding, changing or sometimes removing huge parts of the game, textures, models, sounds - modded playthrough can be very different to normal one
You can't write anything regarding Resident Evil 2 without mentioning probably the most iconic and recognizable thing - Tyrant, more widely known as Mr. X - a menacing foe that gives your heart a huge rush first few times when you see him. You cannot kill him, you can stun him by loading a hell of a lot bullets into him - but it's waste of both time and bullets, sometimes it's just better to take that punch in the face and run. Although unstoppable and menacing - there are a few annoying flaws. After first few times, whenever you hear his typical loud footsteps - instead of getting scared you're just annoyed. Mr. X also seems to teleport, like - you hear his footsteps two floors below and yet, when you open the door and turn into the hallway on the third floor - he's already there. I really hope that the Nemesis in the upcoming Resident Evil 3 Remake will work similarly to Tyrant, but won't be so annoying.
There are also Bonus Modes - The Ghost Survivors and The 4th Survivor.
The Ghost Survivors explore and explain what happened to some characters or events in the main game, they are short but really hard and annoying. Each one introduces you to a completely new type of enemy - for example zombie with incredible regenerating abilities that just eats up your bullets like a sponge. Oh, and did I mention that this particular zombie type is about twice as fast as a normal zombie? - Do you see why I call them hard and annoying? You have no saves, resources are much more limited and if you mess up on the last section - tough luck, start from the beginning
The 4th Survivor mode is unlocked after witnessing true ending. You take control as 'The Grim Reaper' of The Alpha Squad. I would say that this is even harder than The Ghost Survivors - it works the same way as aforementioned - you have no saves, resources are scarce and if you die you begin from the start. Although in The 4th Survivor you have full equipment (I mean - 2 fully-healing items, a lot of ammo, some grenades etc.) but... It's not really helpful considering the flood of various infected zombies. You have to run from the start, through the whole Police Dept. and through the back exit to complete this scenario
Resident Evil 2 Remake is in my opinion a definition of a good remake, climate and story of the original was retained and everything else was modernized. I am really glad that I have experienced this game and I look forward to upcoming Resident Evil 3 Remake (of course if my PC won't explode until then). Relatively short campaign is both filled with various emotions (you can find notes and journals in the game, expanding your knowledge about events that happened in Raccoon City). And if you get bored you can set yourself a challenge - for example complete the game without using healing items or Item Box! Anyway, have a scary time while running away from Mr. X and discovering the horrors hidden within Raccoon City as Leon or Claire.
Kind Regards,
Wing.
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