Resident Evil 2
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| Resident Evil 2 | |
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 Variations on this design (the PlayStation release is pictured) were used on the covers of all of the North American releases. The initial Japanese and all European covers (except Dreamcast) showed a zombie's face in stark black-and-white, and later Japanese releases featured Leon and Claire. |
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| Developer(s) | Capcom Production Studio 4 |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom EUR Virgin Interactive |
| Designer(s) | Hideki Kamiya |
| Series | Resident Evil series |
| Release date(s) | PlayStation: NA January 21 1998 JPN January 29 1998 EUR May 8 1998 PlayStation (Dual Shock version): JPN August 6, 1998 NA November 11, 1998 Tiger game.com: NA November 11 1998 Windows (PC): JPN February 19, 1999 NA February 28, 1999 EUR June 1999 Nintendo 64: NA November 19, 1999 JPN January 29, 2000 EUR February 2000 Sega Dreamcast: JPN December 22, 1999 EUR April 28, 2000 NA December 15, 2000 Nintendo GameCube: NA January 14, 2003 JPN January 23, 2003 EUR May 30, 2003 |
| Genre(s) | Survival horror |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: M (Mature) BBFC: 15 |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation, PC, Nintendo 64, Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo GameCube, Tiger game.com |
| Media | 2 CD-ROMs (PS, PC), 512-megabit cartridge (N64) GD-ROM (DC), 1.5 gigabyte optical disc (GC) |
| Input | Controller, Keyboard |
Resident Evil 2 (バイオハザード２ Baiohazādo Tsū?, Biohazard 2) is a survival horror video game by Capcom originally released for the PlayStation in 1998 and the second installment in the Resident Evil series. It was later ported to the PC, Nintendo 64, game.com, Sega Dreamcast and Nintendo GameCube.
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[edit] Gameplay
Resident Evil 2 follows the same play mechanics as its predecessor. The game's graphics are composed of polygonal character models and items superimposed over pre-rendered graphics, using fixed camera angles. The player must travel through a variety of locations, solving puzzles and fighting numerous mutated creatures, in order to complete the game. The player can arm themselves with a variety of firearms, although ammunition is limited. The game features an improved graphics engine over the previous game, allowing for more zombies to appear on-screen (up to seven at one point).[citation needed] In addition, the player can now determine their character's health based on their animation and body language. A character in the 'caution' stage of injury will cover his stomach with his or her hand, while a character on the verge of death will limp. The game over screens are more gruesome this time, featuring the player's character being devoured by the creature that killed him or her.
The main addition to the gameplay is a two-scenario system officially dubbed the "zapping system".[citation needed] As in the original Resident Evil, the game offers two playable characters, each with their own scenario. However, after finishing one character's scenario (referred as the "A" game) and saving the data, a second scenario (the "B" game) is unlocked in which the same series of events are depicted from the other character's perspective. Actions taken by the player during the first scenario affects the player's surroundings during the second scenario. In addition, one character also has access to one area in their B game that they normally would not have access to. There are four scenarios, with two for each character.
Similarly to the original game, the player is awarded with unlockable weapons and other bonuses after completing a scenario under certain requirements. A ranking system has been implemented in which the player is graded based not only on the amount of time taken to complete the game, but also on the number of times the game was saved and the number of first-aid sprays used. Several hidden minigames can also be unlocked as well, the "The 4th Survivor", its spoof/harder version "The Tofu Survivor" and in some versions, a minigame called "Extreme Battle".
[edit] Plot
The game is set on September 29, 1998. Zombies have infested Raccoon City. A biological weapon known as the T-Virus was released into the sewer system. Rats then spread the virus to the city's population. Two people make their way to Raccoon City: Leon S. Kennedy, a rookie police officer on his first day on the job, and Claire Redfield, a college student looking for her brother. Leon and Claire quickly find themselves fighting for their lives against hordes of creatures in their search for survival.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Playable characters
- Leon S. Kennedy - A graduate from the police academy who has been selected for the Raccoon Police Department's newly established Select Police Force. He arrives a few days later than scheduled due to personal problems. Although he has a deep passion for the safety of others and wants to assist as much as possible, he finds himself confused and lost most of the time. Being somewhat gullible, he easily falls in love with Ada Wong, who betrays him. Most of the characters he encounters do not listen to his advice, regardless of him being a police officer. His personal item is an oil lighter (which Claire has to procure separately), and he begins the game armed with a Heckler & Koch VP70.
- Claire Redfield - A student and motorcyclist who arrives to Raccoon City in search of her brother, S.T.A.R.S member Chris Redfield. She is a very optimistic, outgoing, and strong minded young woman, and for a civilian survivor she is shown to be very self-confident, collected, and brave. Revealing herself to be somewhat of a mother figure as well after finding the wandering Sherry Birkin, taking care of the young girl. Her personal item is a makeshift lockpick, and she starts the game armed with a Browning Hi-Power.
[edit] Supporting characters
- Ada Wong, a woman who claims to be searching for her missing fiancee.
- Dr. William Birkin, the scientist responsible for spreading the virus, and the father to Sherry Birkin and husband to Annette Birkin.
- Brian Irons, the R.P.D's chief and also the inside operative for Umbrella.
- Ben Bertolucci, a reporter for the local newspaper.
- Marvin Branagh, an R.P.D. officer.
- Robert Kendo, owner of the Kendo gun shop.
There are also two hidden characters named HUNK and Tofu (see below). Only HUNK is part of the game's normal storyline, as Tofu is a joke character.
Ada and Sherry are both playable during portions of the main game.
[edit] Development
Resident Evil 2 began development in 1996 shortly after the original game and was originally scheduled for a March 1997 release.[citation needed] However, as the game was approaching its release date, the developers were dissatisfied with the resulting product. Rather than releasing a game they were unhappy with, the developers took the risk of developing the game again from scratch. This scrapped version of the game was later dubbed Resident Evil 1.5 by Capcom. This prototype version of the game starred Leon S. Kennedy from the finished game and Elza Walker, a prototype of Claire Redfield. Like Claire Redfield, Elza was a motorcyclist and college student, with the only difference being her appearance and the fact that Elza had no ties to any established character from the previous games. Other supporting characters from the released game also appeared in Resident Evil 1.5. For example, Marvin Branagh, a minor character who gets killed off early in Resident Evil 2 played a major role in the prototype, helping Leon and Ada escape. The settings of the game were also significantly changed, with the police station in the original prototype having a more contemporary design.
There were dozens of sketches done for the main boss of the game, G, and there were even final bosses planned before him, entitled "Zeiram" and "Gorgoda".[citation needed] When they were scrapped, their designs were incorporated into G's, however, little remains of their original appearance. Some of the sketches of G differ so drastically from the used version that they appear as if they could be entirely different creatures.[citation needed]
The actual finished version of Resident Evil 2 was preceded by a demo version of the game that came bundled with Resident Evil: Director's Cut.
[edit] Regional Differences
In Japan, where Resident Evil 2 was titled Biohazard 2, the game was released a week after the North American release. The game was made easier for the Japanese market with changes in item and enemy placement, increased firepower for weapons and the auto-aiming feature turned on by default.
In addition, the game over scenes are less violent in the Japanese version, as zombies and other creatures do not devour or eviscerate the player's character on-screen like they do in the North American and PAL versions.
[edit] Dual Shock Version
Several months after the original release, a second version of Resident Evil 2 was released known as the Dual Shock Version. As the title suggests, the game was modified to incorporate support for the vibration function and analog control of the Dual Shock controller. The main addition is a new unlockable minigame, Extreme Battle. The objective is to reach the police station from the underground laboratory and retrieve four anti-biohazard bombs located throughout the station. There are four playable characters (including Ada Wong and Chris Redfield) and three difficulty settings. The Extreme Battle became a standard feature for subsequent versions of the game.
There are also a slew of minor additions, such as ranking screens for the Hunk and Tofu minigames, a Rookie difficulty setting for the main game (as well as a "USA version" mode in the Japanese version, based on the North American version's default setting) and a new cheat code that grants the player unlimited ammo for all weapons.
[edit] Other platforms
Like the original game, Resident Evil 2 saw release on other platforms after its initial success on the PlayStation. The first of these ports was a PC version titled Resident Evil 2 Platinum in 1999. It features all the additions from the Dual Shock Version and added a new gallery mode featuring illustrations, renders and in-game character models, as well as a new Hard Mode setting for the main game. The Sega Dreamcast version, released the same year, features these additions, along with the added benefit of viewing the character's health in a VMU. In Japan, the Dreamcast version (where it was titled Biohazard 2 Value Plus) was bundled with a demo of Resident Evil Code: Veronica and also contained assorted music from several Resident Evil soundtracks released in Japan.
A Nintendo 64 version was also released in 1999, ported by Angel Studios (currently Rockstar San Diego). While it was the only port of the game that did not feature the Extreme Battle mode, it did contain a slew of console-exclusive features. The most prominent was a series of additional in-game documents known as the "EX Files" that connected the plot of the game with the other games in the series (including the then-unreleased Resident Evil 0). Other features include an item randomizer, violence control (allowing players to change the color of the blood), first-person controls and new unlockable outfits replacing the ones from the previous versions. The game supported the Rumble Pak and Expansion Pak. The N64 version is notable due to the compression techniques that the developers were forced to use in order to fit 2 CD-ROMs worth of data (including voice acting and FMV) onto a single 64MB cartridge.
The Nintendo GameCube version, released in 2003. The game is identical to the PlayStation's Dual Shock Version in terms of content, featuring only a minimal set of improvements such as skippable cut scenes and a higher framerate for the game's FMV sequences.
An LCD game based on Resident Evil 2 was also released for the short-lived Game.com in late 1998. Two versions of the Game.com game were scheduled to be released, one starring Leon and the other with Claire, but only the former saw release. An aborted port for the Sega Saturn was also planned that utilized the 4MB RAM included with X-Men vs. Street Fighter.
[edit] Reception
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| Compilations of multiple reviews | |
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(based on 13 reviews) |
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(based on 28 reviews) |
[edit] Music
The Biohazard 2 Original Soundtrack is the original soundtrack CD for Resident Evil 2, and was composed by Masami Ueda, Shusaku Uchiyama, and Shun Nishigaki. It does not contain every track written for the game however. The remaining tracks were included in the subsequent release of the Biohazard 2 Complete Track album on August 21, 1998.
[edit] Novelization
 First edition cover |
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| Author | S. D. Perry |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Resident Evil |
| Genre(s) | Horror |
| Publisher | Pocket Books |
| Released | May 1, 1999 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 352 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-671-02441-8 |
| Preceded by | Caliban Cove |
| Followed by | Underworld |
A novelization of the game titled Resident Evil: City of the Dead was written by author S.D. Perry, as the third book in her series of Resident Evil novels. The narrative is based on the Leon A/Claire B scenario, with Leon fighting the mutated Birkin for most of the story, while Claire fights the Tyrant (Mr. X). The book downplays most of the puzzle-solving elements from the game and focuses more on the interaction between the characters. There are also added scenes in the book involving the supporting characters such as Ada, Annette and Chief Irons. The ending is slightly altered, in which the survivors of S.T.A.R.S. Exeter pick up Leon, Claire, and Sherry, as opposed to the "walk into the sunset" scenario.
City of the Dead was written before the release of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and as a result has contradictions in areas. It is also the longest Resident Evil novelization.[citation needed]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Biohazard 2 PlayStation version site (Japanese)
- Biohazard 2: Dual Shock Ver site (Japanese)
- Biohazard 2 Value Plus site (Japanese)
- Biohazard 2 Nintendo 64 version site (Japanese)
- Biohazard 2 GameCube version site (Japanese)
- European Resident Evil 2 site
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Resident Evil • Resident Evil 2 • Resident Evil 3 • Resident Evil Code: Veronica • Resident Evil Zero • Resident Evil 4 • Resident Evil 5 |
