[FONT="]--Resident Evil 2: GameCube Review --[/FONT]
[FONT="] Introduction/General Comments [/FONT]
[FONT="]The sequel to the game that started the fictional story of the Umbrella corporation and its military bio weaponry research, a much anticipated sequel, at that. [/FONT]
[FONT="]This game has always been a special game for me, I found myself playing it constantly to see if I could better my rank at the end of the game, see how far I could get without being struck by a monster, see how fast I could finish the game or see if I could finish it without dying or saving.
The new 'scenario' system added more depth to the story, enabling the player to see the 'B Scenarios' of the characters, with added details and increased difficulty. The game was originally released for the playstation console in 1998, it has however, been ported to PC, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast and GameCube. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Storyline[/FONT]
[FONT="]The game starts not long after its predecessor and after the first half of Resident Evil 3, the Umbrella company had been performing research on bio weapons for use in warfare in the outskirts of Raccoon City in a nearby mansion, unknown to the residents. Strange reports of cannibalism had been reported and the suspects were a group of about ten people. A S.T.A.R.S [/FONT][FONT="] (Special Tactics And Rescue Service) [/FONT][FONT="]team was dispatched to the nearby mountains to see what the cause was; they did not return, however.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Upon hearing this, yet another S.T.A.R.S team is dispatched to find out what happened to the other team, including the members Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and Barry Burton. [/FONT]
[FONT="]They seek refuge in a seemingly empty mansion after being chased by Cerberus (Also known as ‘zombie dogs’) and finding a member of the other S.T.A.R.S team being eaten, upon investigation of the mansion it becomes clear that the mansion is in fact a guise, a guise for the lab that Umbrella had been using all along to perform inhumane experiments to further their research on the bio weaponry front.[/FONT]
[FONT="]After barely escaping the mansion facility the S.T.A.R.S team tries to alert the Raccoon City Police of what happened, but to no avail, there was no evidence of what happened and they had no proof. The remaining S.T.A.R.S members go their separate ways to try and shut down Umbrella.[/FONT]
[FONT="]That was just the beginning...[/FONT]
[FONT="]Resident evil 2 starts mere months after the mansion incident, the inhabitants of the nearby town of Raccoon City are oblivious, however, to such developments.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Dr.William Birkin, a talented scientist working for Umbrella produced his greatest piece of work yet; the G-Virus, able to revitalise cellular functions and reanimate the host, but giving asinine results with the host having an unquenchable thirst for flesh.[/FONT]
[FONT="]However, the G-Virus is spread throughout Raccoon City, the inhabitants are overwhelmed by the virus, it spreads quickly from person to person, the death toll mounts and the legion of undead arise, and the inhabitants were outnumbered.[/FONT]
[FONT="]A woman by the name of Claire Redfield enters the city mere hours after the outbreak, unknowing of such developments around her. She is looking for her brother, Chris Redfield from the S.T.A.R.S unit and knows his last activity was at Raccoon City.[/FONT]
[FONT="]She gets off her motorcycle and begins to search around the seemingly deserted town.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Leon Kennedy, a rookie police officer is also arriving in Raccoon city at the same time as Claire, he is eager to start his first day on the job, he is driving to the station when he finds the near deserted town full of zombies, he comes across a young woman by the name of Claire Redfield being attacked, he pulls the trigger on the zombie and he and Claire make their escape to the police station. [/FONT]
[FONT="]This is where the player takes control and explores the police station and the other environments of Resident Evil 2, being hounded by legions of the undead at every corner.[/FONT]
[FONT="]-Rating-[/FONT]
[FONT="]9.5/10[/FONT]
[FONT="]A very intriguing storyline if I do say so myself, there are however certain loopholes that coincide with the Resident Evil 3 game release, which makes certain parts seem a tad hazy, apart from that it's great.[/FONT]
[FONT="] Characters[/FONT]
[FONT="]There are four primary characters in Resident Evil 2, only two of which are playable throughout the entire game.[/FONT]
[FONT="]-Claire Redfield-[/FONT]
[FONT="]Claire comes to Raccoon City to find her missing brother, Chris. She is very upbeat woman who can handle herself given the situation. Claire has not been trained in any way as opposed to Leon's police training, but she fights with determination throughout the game, she simply refuses to give up. A tomboy of sorts who is quick to learn, and thankfully for her, quick on her feet.[/FONT]
[FONT="]-Leon Kennedy-[/FONT]
[FONT="]Leon arrives at Raccoon City as it is his first day on the job as a rookie police officer for the Raccoon Police Department, he is trained for certain situations but never has he been trained for a situation such as this. A clever young man who can think fast in the need of an emergency, quick wit and agility helps Leon throughout this endeavour.[/FONT]
[FONT="]-Sherry Birkin-[/FONT]
[FONT="]Sherry Birkin is the daughter of the scientist William Birkin, creator of the G-Virus; she only appears in Claire's scenario who tries to help the young girl escape from the city with her. She always carries a picture of her family with her and wears a gold pendant around her neck.[/FONT]
[FONT="]-Ada Wong-[/FONT]
[FONT="]Ada is like the Sherry counterpart of Leon's scenario, in that she only appears during his scenario, and not Claire's.[/FONT]
[FONT="]She is a woman with quick wits and doesn't seem as phased as an ordinary citizen would be of the viral outbreak; she meets Leon whilst searching for her boyfriend, who disappeared. There is something strangely mysterious about Ada, however.[/FONT]
[FONT="]-Rating-[/FONT]
[FONT="]8.0/10[/FONT]
[FONT="]A good character set, most with ties to the other Resident Evil games and interesting storylines.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Not the best scripted however, and interaction scenes between the characters are few and far between.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Gameplay[/FONT]
[FONT="]The gameplay is primarily focused on the character making their way through the game whilst trying to avoid as many enemies as they can, you can choose to defeat every enemy you encounter as you wish, but it is not necessary to complete the game. In fact, this will help you as you will have increased supplies for the later duration of the game, as supplies on this game are limited. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The player starts with a pistol and a knife, regardless of which character was chosen. I find that the knife however is quite a subpar weapon in this game and I have only met my end every time I have tried to use it. The pistol is your ordinary trusty weapon that I very rarely find myself unequipping, even until the late stages in the game as you need all the firepower you can get.[/FONT]
[FONT="]One of the most notable things about this game in reference to gameplay however, and most other Resident Evil games would be the box system; the player can place items from their inventory (which has severely limited space) and place them in boxes strategically placed around the game in certain areas. Using these boxes effectivley and deciding what you will take with you can be key to finishing the game quicker, or can lead you to a quicker demise.[/FONT]
[FONT="]If the player gets attacked by an enemy, their status will change accordingly, the status levels are Fine, Caution and Danger. These are also key to understanding how well your character is doing; Fine means, as stated by the title, that your character is doing fine, they have no wounds or anything hindering them. Caution is the next step, this shows that your character has taken a moderate amount of damage, the character holds their hand to their chest visually signalling this to the player so they know their status without even looking at the status screen. [/FONT]
[FONT="]If your character is cautioned they should be healed as soon as possible to avoid the next and worst step, that being Danger, your character will limp in this state, barely even walking for that matter, this makes it much easier for enemies to finish you off; without immediate treatment your game will most likely be over soon. Unless you are an extremely skilled player. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Other gameplay examples would be picking up items, moving objects, opening doors and walking up stairs.[/FONT]
[FONT="]You may think a few of the above sound silly to be used as gameplay examples, but in order to open a door the player must walk right up to the door and press the A button, the same applies to walking up stairs and picking up items. To move objects you just need to move your character using the control pad or control stick in the direction of the object you want to move; if the[/FONT][FONT="]y can move the object and you keep hold of the directional button then they will move the object.[/FONT]
[FONT="]-Rating-[/FONT]
[FONT="]8.3/10[/FONT]
[FONT="]Great system, but it has it's flaws and a few camera angles are rather tricky to manoeuvre which can become a hindrance, luckily this is a rarity. The lack of an ability to quickly turn or dodge your enemies however makes me feel wanting somewhat in that category, these features were included in a few later Resident Evil games, however.[/FONT]
[FONT="] Controls[/FONT]
[FONT="]The control configuration of this game fits the gameplay aspect very well; the default configuration is as follows:[/FONT]
[FONT="]Start/Pause = Opens the option menu during play.[/FONT]
[FONT="]B = Cancel selection, if held simultaneously with the control stick or control pad the character will run in the direction the control stick/pad is being pressed.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Z = This opens the map of the current area you are in, can also be done from the status menu, however. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Y = Opens and closes the status screen/menu, a very important button.[/FONT]
[FONT="]R = Your most trusted button in times of need, this draws or holsters your equipped weapon, you need to keep it held and press A simultaneously to attack, to exit this attacking stance, release the R button.[/FONT]
[FONT="]A = This is going to be your most used button without doubt, you use it to confirm your selection at a prompt or in a menu, as mentioned prior pressing it simultaneously with R will allow you to attack with your equipped weapon, it enables you to jump on objects you are facing, go up stairs or climb ladders.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The above buttons are with the default setting however, there are other settings you can have it as to optimize your gaming experience, very simple and easy to get used to and they don’t take long to learn. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Utilizing these controls to their maximum efficiency will be a great help playing the game, if you know the controls, your chances of survival are much greater; also with knowing the controls better it will be easier to manoeuvre around enemies and avoid unnecessary confrontations.[/FONT]
[FONT="]-Rating-[/FONT]
[FONT="]9.8/10[/FONT]
[FONT="]A brilliant control system, it could be improved a tad by enabling walking up stairs without the need to press action but apart from that they are very good. In some later Resident Evil releases the player could walk up the stairs without the need to press the action button, Resident Evil 3 was the starter game of using this function, but enemies could climb the stairs with you.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The controls work very well with the overall gameplay aspect of the game. I, myself have no major quarrels with it. [/FONT]
[FONT="] Graphics[/FONT]
[FONT="]I find the graphics to be the most disappointing aspect of this game, and I think I can safely say I have good reason.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The GameCube remake was made in 2003 with the same additional features of the DualShock version. There was a slight graphical improvement such as improved frame rates during the FMV sequences, there were no major developments concerning the main graphical interface however. The graphics of this game look very similar to that of the playstation version in my personal opinion, which is a whole generation behind the GameCube so to speak. [/FONT]
[FONT="]There were minor improvements yes, but I think that a complete graphical redo like they did with the Resident Evil Remake (Original) for GameCube but they just didn’t seem to take the time to do so. [/FONT]
[FONT="]It’s not a major issue for me either, but I think it’s where it’s lacking the most; I still enjoy it to this very day. I don’t play games just because they’re all sparkly and look attractive; content matters too[/FONT]
[FONT="]-Rating-[/FONT]
[FONT="]6.5/10[/FONT]
[FONT="]Not the best graphics I have ever seen on a videogame, but not the worst either. I find them suitable and they do invoke a sense of nostalgia in me from time to time. So it’s not necessarily a bad thing.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Sound[/FONT]
[FONT="]The sound in this game is done superbly; even the most generic sounds were done quite well considering the time of release. Again, however the sound was not updated as well as the graphics, you may think that it doesn’t matter but it does, an improved sound set could have instil more fear into the player. Sound plays quite a large part in this game if you really think about it.[/FONT]
[FONT="]I’ll give an example, imagine you are playing the game and you are walking down a seemingly empty corridor you can’t see much but you can hear something, something faint. You are not sure of what it is but you know that there’s a noise coming from somewhere; and it is that noise that puts you on alert, the one that makes you think that there could be anything ahead waiting for you.[/FONT]
[FONT="]This could also be said for silence, silence, whilst not being sound in itself can also play a large effect on this game, and then it makes you want to hear something, for some form of confirmation of what is happening. [/FONT]
[FONT="]I myself find the sound on this game quite ingenious, it plays on your most common of psychology and with that it can affect how you play the game, without you really noticing it.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The music is done just right too, it has a very eerie tone about it most of the time, but not in a monotonous way, there can be sudden music which will alert you to special events and such, sometimes listening to the music or sounds is key to guessing what’s coming up next.[/FONT]
[FONT="]-Rating-[/FONT]
[FONT="]10/10[/FONT]
[FONT="]As mentioned above, a great use of sound and music in this game. I cannot fault it, myself, it provides all the key emotions you need for the game, mostly fear; but that’s how it should be.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Unique/Extra Features [/FONT]
[FONT="]This game does have some quite fun extra features, these being Extreme Battle, a minigame where you play as the character Hunk, a rookie difficulty level and another minigame lead by a character with who’s name is Tofu, who can only use a knife. [/FONT]
[FONT="]These extra features can keep you playing the game for hours on end even after you’ve finished with the main story itself, you may not think that the rookie difficulty is an extra feature, but it was only first added to the DualShock version of the game, and then to subsequent releases, of which includes the GameCube version. In this difficulty the player starts with a sub machine gun and enemies generally tend to do less damage. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The extreme battle minigame involves finding four anti-biohazard bombs around the police station, the player starts in the underground laboratory and there are four playable characters and three difficulty settings to keep you occupied for even longer.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Hunk’s minigame requires you to make it to the helicopter pad on the second floor of the police station as fast as you can from the sewers, it might sound easy but it is an absolute nightmare to do. Utter chaos, there is nothing the game won’t throw at you on that minigame, it’s quite hard even to finish it, let alone finish it with a record time.[/FONT]
[FONT="]-Rating-[/FONT]
[FONT="]9.5[/FONT]
[FONT="]Great additions to the game, most were introduced first in the DualShock version of the game, seeing other GameCube exclusive extras would have been nice, but the ones mentioned above will be enough to keep you occupied for hours on end anyway. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Replay Value[/FONT]
[FONT="]The first time I played through this game, it took me quite a few hours to do it, and I struggled, I will admit. However, each time you do it you get used to the general game layout more and more until it becomes second nature, and even doing it repeatedly doesn’t become boring. Why? The reason being is that first of all you get to choose from two different characters, then there’s the fact that you can do the ‘B Scenario’ of each character too. “What is a B Scenario?” you may be thinking.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The B Scenario runs in parallel with the A scenario of the other player, say, for example you did Claire’s A Scenario (Her original scenario) you will get a save prompt at the end of the game asking if you want to save, selecting ‘yes’ will enable you to load that saved data on Leon’s game, but this time, it will be a lot different.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Without trying to spoil too much, I shall just say that the B Scenario is much tougher than the A Scenario, it really does throw you in the deep end. There are more enemies, they do more damage and take more attacks to kill. There is one certain troublesome enemy who will keep you on your toes too, I shall say no more.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Another thing about the B Scenario is that actions performed by the other player in the A Scenario affect certain outcomes in the B Scenario, so think carefully about how you go about your first playthrough, you may just have to make it tougher for yourself to make it just that bit easier in the B Scenario.[/FONT]
[FONT="]In addition to this, there are the extras that are provided with the game as mentioned above, whilst not being the main game, they can also add to the replay value of the game and keep you addicted just that hour longer.[/FONT]
[FONT="]-Rating-[/FONT]
[FONT="]8.5/10[/FONT]
[FONT="]Lots of replay value, and even once you have done everything you can possibly do, it’s still fun to do them again.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Overall Rating[/FONT]
[FONT="]An amazing game brought to us by Capcom, truly a legend of the series, I won’t lie, it does have its flaws but I feel that the positives of the game weigh out the negatives by a long shot.[/FONT]
[FONT="]A very fun game, very thrilling and can keep you on the edge of your seat every time you play, even after playing it countless time I still jump, and no doubt others do too. Lots of replay value and extras, the graphics could have been improved as could the sound, but I still think that the sound is immaculate as it is.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The noise of a zombie groaning still gives me shivers, or that of a licker breathing; a great sense of nostalgia is also involved when I play this game, making this one of my all time personal favourites.[/FONT]
[FONT="]-Overall Rating-[/FONT]
[FONT="]9.7/10[/FONT]