Back To Reviews Resident Evil Director's Cut Review
Rating: Awesome Anticipation for Resident Evil 2 has slowly built since the original was released nearly two years ago, and the final game is living proof that a company can hype a game to the moon and still have it live up to everyone's expectations. The original cast of Jill and Chris (and Barry!) have been replaced by the rookie cop Leon and Chris's sister Claire, who is looking for her missing brother. The first big change you'll notice about the game (other than the improved graphics) is the more action-oriented gameplay. In Resident Evil 2, there are lots more zombies and other enemies than there were in the original, and of course, much more ammo and weapons to shoot them with. Zombies are much harder to kill this time around. They'll fall down after a few good shots from the Beretta, but they won't die until they get up and fall back down one or two more times (unless you have a better weapon and blow their heads off in one shot). Puzzles are now more of a side thing you do every once in a while instead of a crucial gameplay element. One of the best things about the game is how it practically has Resident Evil 2: Director's Cut built right into Resident Evil 2 itself, because you unlock each character's alternate game by beating the game the first time through. The alternate games for each character follow the same basic gameplay structure, but has different items, bosses, etc. They threw in just enough new stuff to keep you surprised the whole way through. In a nice touch, beating the game with Leon unlocks Claire's alternate game, and you'll have to beat it with Claire to unlock Leon's alternate game. This encourages you to play the game through with both characters, and Capcom took advantage of this by integrating the two characters' story lines, giving you the same basic story line, only from two different views, and each one having its own side quests. There is also an Easy Mode for newbies to the world of survival horror, which has less zombies, more ammo, and easier to kill zombies. Resident Evil 2 also features many moments that literally make you jump, much more often than the original did. Even if you know something scary is going to happen, it will still manage to raise your blood pressure anyway. I won't mention specifics so I don't spoil it for anybody, but be prepared to jump out of your seat on a lot more than one occasion. Resident Evil 2 also features a great deal of underlying tension throughout the whole adventure, although it never quite reaches the level of tension that the original did. The original Resident Evil did a much better job of conveying that "Oh my God, this is freaking me out!" feeling. One of the other things I really miss from the original game is the cheesy voice acting, which is almost completely absent from the sequel. Even if Capcom didn't do it on purpose, the original had hilarious dialogue and voice acting. The sequel just isn't the same without Barry there to say "What is it?" every other line. Small complaints aside, Resident Evil 2 lives up to all the hype and is a must-have game. Other video game companies: Start taking notes! This is what a sequel should be like!
Back To Reviews
Resident Evil Director's Cut Review
© 2001 ivan@mastergamer.com