Remakes are a difficult nut to crack. Sometimes they are just a graphical upgrade, like the Spyro trilogy, but then there are other times the remake completely changes everything about the game, and that instance is exactly like the new remake of the horror game “Resident Evil 2.” The original game, which released in 1998 for the original PlayStation, featured a fixed camera, and what people now call “tank controls” because of the difficulty of controlling the character. The remake, however, replaces the fixed camera with a third-person camera like “Resident Evil 4” and controls like a game of this era as well.
The most obvious aspect of the game right off the bat is the game is gorgeous. I had never played the original game so I didn’t know what to expect in terms of locations I would see, so it was awesome to be surprised. The main location, which is the police station, is beautiful and is amazing to explore. Even the beginning approach to the police station, which includes a trek through a crowded street, is absolutely amazing work in setting up a foreboding atmosphere. You know the police station is where you need to be, but it also won’t be exactly what you’re hoping for, which is shown in the tone of the image. The rooms in the station, which are your standard fare in a police station like offices, weapon rooms and a firing range, are nice but the game doesn’t only exist in the station. I was happy to see more unique places, especially in a horror game. I was worried the game would only take place in a police station, and that would be it. I was happily surprised to find that to be false.
The enemies also look great, which is weird to say, because they actually look grotesque and scary. There are a few different enemy types, like your standard zombie, then something called a “Licker,” which is on all fours, and looks like its skin is turned inside-out. There are a couple others, but I won’t spoil them. The regular humans also look great. The movement of them is very realistic, and at some points the game felt like a movie in that regard. Overall, the visuals might be my favorite part of the game, just because it perfectly sets up the tense atmosphere of the game.
“Resident Evil 2” isn’t one of those horror games which is waiting to scare you with a jump scare. It’s more of a tense game, which loves to challenge you with a pack of zombies in a dark environment, and is a refreshing change of pace for horror games. I love that about the game because too many games ruin a good, scary, atmosphere with an overabundance of jump scares, leaving the player not enjoying the tense aspect of the game anymore. You begin to go in to every room and know where the game will try and scare you, but because “Resident Evil 2” doesn’t do it at all, it is able to scare the player with a sound, or a look, or just not having any enemies in a room. The player expects something in every room, so when there isn’t, it leaves me reeling, and it throws off my game a bit, which is worrying, and tenses me up, which works to the game’s benefit.
The atmosphere of the game wouldn’t have worked as well, or at all, if the controls of the game weren’t great. If it isn’t fun to travel the world then why would you ever want to? It’s a treat the game controls like a dream. Each gunshot feels like it has weight to it, the movement feels realistic and you also can predict what will happen to your character. I think the graphics are what ties the game together, and is my favorite part of the game, but without the buttery smooth controls, nothing about the game would work. Each encounter would make the player feel like they are fumbling around with each of the game’s systems, and it isn’t like that at all.
“Resident Evil 2” is definitely one of the best games I’ve played in a while, probably since “God of War” released last year. Everything works so perfectly in tandem with each other to create a well-oiled machine. The controls feel like butter, which makes sure the atmosphere never goes to waste because the graphics are some of the best I’ve seen in a game. I love everything about the game. There isn’t anything wrong with the game per say. If you’re a horror fan, then this is an easy choice, buy the game. You will not regret it one bit.
