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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!
« on: December 01, 2025, 05:15:18 pm »
62. Resident Evil 2 || PlayStation || 11.24.2025
Before playing, Resident Evil 2 was a game I knew little about besides some major structure elements. Looking back, I can't really remember if it's a game that I understood the general public as thinking was more successful than the debut title or not; however, it's clear that a franchise had certainly been established once this game's success was cemented. After completing the first entry without much issue, I was looking forward to playing its sequel.
Like the debut title, Resident Evil 2 is divided into two main campaigns, which the player can freely select when beginning a new save file by playing as either Leon or Claire. I don't think there's any general consensus regarding which of the two is easier—they both seem to have strengths and weaknesses. However, this is especially true because each campaign have two alternate scenarios that are dependent on whether the campaign is selected first or second. Why this is done is because, once completing one character's campaign, the option to play the other character's becomes available in a way similar to other games' new game plus mode. So it's my understanding that there are, in a sense, four different campaigns, though I'm unsure how each of the character-specific ones vary exactly. Regardless, there seems to be enough content to warrant at least one follow-up playthrough, as was previously implemented. And with that said, my first playthrough was Claire A, since I read while skimming through information that it made more sense to begin that way.
Almost immediately upon starting, players are left stranded right in the middle of a zombie outbreak throughout Raccoon City, which sharply contrasts the first entry's elevated tension. While danger is mostly exemplified by the sheer number of zombies and other miscellaneous enemies, it's also demonstrated through setting choices. One of the first shelters players stop at is a gun shop of all places, but the game promptly subverts any hint at safety it's first implied to provide. Eventually, players take reliable refuge in the game's central environment that is the city police station. Of course, one would also presume such a place would be safe, but it's anything but and is again trivialized. Unfortunately, though, the heightened chaotic level of action set by the game's introduction isn't really sustained even relative to the first game, really. Like before, players will navigate throughout a large environment with enemies scattered throughout.
I will mention, though, that I did find the game's introduction to be difficult—arguably the most difficult part across the entire game, even. For this series, I've always read how it places a greater emphasis on resource management than its contemporaries, but I've really not seen how that's true. Even for a new player, there are just enough items to collect if being thorough to defeat nearly every enemy while even executing missed attacks. But at the beginning, I did not know that; so, for that reason, I began playing overly resourceful while navigating throughout the falling city outside as hordes of zombies stagger everywhere while having a limited means to combat them. And obviously, passing this section became much easier upon deciding to just the resources I have. Generally, enemy numbers are larger than I remember them being in the previous game despite the corridors players traverse being no wider. And just like before, exploring each of the game's main environments is a puzzle in itself. Most roadblocks are just simple locked doors, but certain barriers are more unique such as a fire needing extinguished and a larger cluster of enemies needing felled, hinting at the need for a different weapon type to gain first. However, these types of obstacles are few and far between. And related to resource management is the ink ribbon save system that's also returned. Its implementation again negates my long-held understanding of the franchise's earliest games that there is this immense tension being established throughout the playthrough. I was able to save my data quite liberally with plenty of unused ink ribbons by the game's end. I eventually began saving far more often than I really needed to far more out of convenience than the fear of triggering a game over.
Complementing exploration once more are prefixed camera angles, though I found its execution to be a bit annoying, which is an opinion that deviates from my thoughts on how they performed previously. There are times when camera angles changing without good reason aside from designing combat to be more cumbersome by intentionally obscuring the player's view from the threats they face. As a result, I found myself electing to play far more defensively than I'd prefer to be, which is saying something considering that I already play survival horror games overcautiously. When players encounter enemies, enemy presence is known ahead of time while within a certain distance from them due to the sounds they make. However, how far that distance is can't always be discerned unless they're visible on-screen. And since enemies creep toward the player at such slow speeds, I found myself waiting at times up to nearly a full minute for them to come into camera view to ensure that my ranged attacks would be successful. All of this is was done to avoid the momentary physical contact I'd otherwise have been subjected to since resources are finite, which I wasn't purposefully trying to see how depleting them would work out for me as it'd certainly create a more tense atmosphere. Another detail worth mentioning now is that enemies take a considerable amount of hits to defeat. What that amount is seems random too, despite the distance and ammo type used being the same. And just like before, I found no reason to engage with the single melee weapon.
For some time, puzzles are quite minimal, and they're not particularly difficult either. As stated before, most puzzles are just locked doors, and I can only readily think of one actual puzzle that deviates from simply requiring the player to gain a specific item and then using it somewhere else. Something else to comment on is the act of finding items. While the game's environment details are far superior than in the previous game, their quality comes with a caveat, being that it's sometimes easy to overlook needed items. At the same time, there are several instances where items to collect are out of view entirely, so it's necessary to press the action button when these viewpoints occur if wanting to acquire valuable pickups like health restoratives and ammo. And by the time I reached the game's end, I realized that how the two scenarios interconnect is more engaging that I previously believed them to be. Apparently, some item lockers and other interactive set pieces are shared between both campaigns. And if I'm understanding how they operate correctly (for I've only played through Claire A), then they're designed as an interesting risk-reward sequence.
Now, of course, I'm needing to address Resident Evil 2's plot. Generally, my opinion on it is that it's subpar, as even with added plot points does it ever seem like the story elevates beyond the need to escape the town's terror. A secondary character whom I wasn't previously aware of also becomes a crucial element to the story around the midway point, and their inclusion does admittedly provide some much-needed tension while also expanding upon the newly-developed G-Virus that's devastating the city. Yet while I ultimately do regard the story elements being lackluster, I will admit that it does openly expand upon what all is exactly happening in Raccoon City as it's indirectly ravaged by the antagonistic force Umbrella. At this moment, though, I'm not particularly invested in the story. But perhaps I'm being too critical of it from the perspective of playing nearly thirty years after its release and having interacted with more modern horror.
Finally, I will point out some other assorted game elements worth commenting upon. Perhaps my favorite update to the game from the first title is item storage. Namely, that ammo can now stack is a much appreciated change. For Claire at least, there is even a weapon that has several ammo types, and ammo can be freely swapped out too. Meanwhile, the game's visuals and CGI are impressive too, that's also complemented by relatively strong voice work. And another fun inclusion is the Game Over screen that shows the moments following player death. Any enemies prey upon their body, so it's particularly fun to see when multiple enemies are in the vicinity. However, one aspect I take some fault with is the visual cue that enemies have fully fallen. Usually, blood pools around their body, but sometimes it doesn't trigger, or it at least can't be discerned based on color choices. There's also a routine graphics glitch where defeated enemy bodies twitch, which is confusing since enemies may appear dead but actually aren't.
After having now completed this sequel entry, I think I ultimately regard it as being a slight step lower in quality than the debut title. I think that may be a bold opinion but perhaps not. Nevertheless, I would like to revisit the game in time to play the Leon B scenario and maybe eventually play the opposite scenarios, Leon A and Claire B, too.
Before playing, Resident Evil 2 was a game I knew little about besides some major structure elements. Looking back, I can't really remember if it's a game that I understood the general public as thinking was more successful than the debut title or not; however, it's clear that a franchise had certainly been established once this game's success was cemented. After completing the first entry without much issue, I was looking forward to playing its sequel.
Like the debut title, Resident Evil 2 is divided into two main campaigns, which the player can freely select when beginning a new save file by playing as either Leon or Claire. I don't think there's any general consensus regarding which of the two is easier—they both seem to have strengths and weaknesses. However, this is especially true because each campaign have two alternate scenarios that are dependent on whether the campaign is selected first or second. Why this is done is because, once completing one character's campaign, the option to play the other character's becomes available in a way similar to other games' new game plus mode. So it's my understanding that there are, in a sense, four different campaigns, though I'm unsure how each of the character-specific ones vary exactly. Regardless, there seems to be enough content to warrant at least one follow-up playthrough, as was previously implemented. And with that said, my first playthrough was Claire A, since I read while skimming through information that it made more sense to begin that way.
Almost immediately upon starting, players are left stranded right in the middle of a zombie outbreak throughout Raccoon City, which sharply contrasts the first entry's elevated tension. While danger is mostly exemplified by the sheer number of zombies and other miscellaneous enemies, it's also demonstrated through setting choices. One of the first shelters players stop at is a gun shop of all places, but the game promptly subverts any hint at safety it's first implied to provide. Eventually, players take reliable refuge in the game's central environment that is the city police station. Of course, one would also presume such a place would be safe, but it's anything but and is again trivialized. Unfortunately, though, the heightened chaotic level of action set by the game's introduction isn't really sustained even relative to the first game, really. Like before, players will navigate throughout a large environment with enemies scattered throughout.
I will mention, though, that I did find the game's introduction to be difficult—arguably the most difficult part across the entire game, even. For this series, I've always read how it places a greater emphasis on resource management than its contemporaries, but I've really not seen how that's true. Even for a new player, there are just enough items to collect if being thorough to defeat nearly every enemy while even executing missed attacks. But at the beginning, I did not know that; so, for that reason, I began playing overly resourceful while navigating throughout the falling city outside as hordes of zombies stagger everywhere while having a limited means to combat them. And obviously, passing this section became much easier upon deciding to just the resources I have. Generally, enemy numbers are larger than I remember them being in the previous game despite the corridors players traverse being no wider. And just like before, exploring each of the game's main environments is a puzzle in itself. Most roadblocks are just simple locked doors, but certain barriers are more unique such as a fire needing extinguished and a larger cluster of enemies needing felled, hinting at the need for a different weapon type to gain first. However, these types of obstacles are few and far between. And related to resource management is the ink ribbon save system that's also returned. Its implementation again negates my long-held understanding of the franchise's earliest games that there is this immense tension being established throughout the playthrough. I was able to save my data quite liberally with plenty of unused ink ribbons by the game's end. I eventually began saving far more often than I really needed to far more out of convenience than the fear of triggering a game over.
Complementing exploration once more are prefixed camera angles, though I found its execution to be a bit annoying, which is an opinion that deviates from my thoughts on how they performed previously. There are times when camera angles changing without good reason aside from designing combat to be more cumbersome by intentionally obscuring the player's view from the threats they face. As a result, I found myself electing to play far more defensively than I'd prefer to be, which is saying something considering that I already play survival horror games overcautiously. When players encounter enemies, enemy presence is known ahead of time while within a certain distance from them due to the sounds they make. However, how far that distance is can't always be discerned unless they're visible on-screen. And since enemies creep toward the player at such slow speeds, I found myself waiting at times up to nearly a full minute for them to come into camera view to ensure that my ranged attacks would be successful. All of this is was done to avoid the momentary physical contact I'd otherwise have been subjected to since resources are finite, which I wasn't purposefully trying to see how depleting them would work out for me as it'd certainly create a more tense atmosphere. Another detail worth mentioning now is that enemies take a considerable amount of hits to defeat. What that amount is seems random too, despite the distance and ammo type used being the same. And just like before, I found no reason to engage with the single melee weapon.
For some time, puzzles are quite minimal, and they're not particularly difficult either. As stated before, most puzzles are just locked doors, and I can only readily think of one actual puzzle that deviates from simply requiring the player to gain a specific item and then using it somewhere else. Something else to comment on is the act of finding items. While the game's environment details are far superior than in the previous game, their quality comes with a caveat, being that it's sometimes easy to overlook needed items. At the same time, there are several instances where items to collect are out of view entirely, so it's necessary to press the action button when these viewpoints occur if wanting to acquire valuable pickups like health restoratives and ammo. And by the time I reached the game's end, I realized that how the two scenarios interconnect is more engaging that I previously believed them to be. Apparently, some item lockers and other interactive set pieces are shared between both campaigns. And if I'm understanding how they operate correctly (for I've only played through Claire A), then they're designed as an interesting risk-reward sequence.
Now, of course, I'm needing to address Resident Evil 2's plot. Generally, my opinion on it is that it's subpar, as even with added plot points does it ever seem like the story elevates beyond the need to escape the town's terror. A secondary character whom I wasn't previously aware of also becomes a crucial element to the story around the midway point, and their inclusion does admittedly provide some much-needed tension while also expanding upon the newly-developed G-Virus that's devastating the city. Yet while I ultimately do regard the story elements being lackluster, I will admit that it does openly expand upon what all is exactly happening in Raccoon City as it's indirectly ravaged by the antagonistic force Umbrella. At this moment, though, I'm not particularly invested in the story. But perhaps I'm being too critical of it from the perspective of playing nearly thirty years after its release and having interacted with more modern horror.
Finally, I will point out some other assorted game elements worth commenting upon. Perhaps my favorite update to the game from the first title is item storage. Namely, that ammo can now stack is a much appreciated change. For Claire at least, there is even a weapon that has several ammo types, and ammo can be freely swapped out too. Meanwhile, the game's visuals and CGI are impressive too, that's also complemented by relatively strong voice work. And another fun inclusion is the Game Over screen that shows the moments following player death. Any enemies prey upon their body, so it's particularly fun to see when multiple enemies are in the vicinity. However, one aspect I take some fault with is the visual cue that enemies have fully fallen. Usually, blood pools around their body, but sometimes it doesn't trigger, or it at least can't be discerned based on color choices. There's also a routine graphics glitch where defeated enemy bodies twitch, which is confusing since enemies may appear dead but actually aren't.
After having now completed this sequel entry, I think I ultimately regard it as being a slight step lower in quality than the debut title. I think that may be a bold opinion but perhaps not. Nevertheless, I would like to revisit the game in time to play the Leon B scenario and maybe eventually play the opposite scenarios, Leon A and Claire B, too.