Resident Evil 2 Platinum

Year: 1998
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Console Played: Playstation


Resident Evil was a breakthrough hit that saw a group of police offers stuck in a mansion infested with zombies and mutated monsters. For many who grew up playing the Playstation when it came out, Resident Evil may well have been their first true taster into the world of Survival Horror. It certainly was for me, and it was something of a revelation to me. I remember first getting the demo disc of Resident Evil 2 which let you play the start of the game for 10 minutes. I played this demo over and over, trying to get better at it and play through faster so I could get a glimpse of an extra room I hadn't seen yet before the timer ran out. No matter how many times I played through the demo, that first encounter with the licker monster scared the bejeezus out of me every time! The way it builds up by catching a glimpse of it outside of a window, hearing glass smash and then seeing that awesome FMV cutscene. It was sheer terror on the level of the greatest Horror writers and film directors! Eventually I got the full game for my birthday and it ended up consuming me for at least a month! I still revisit the Playstation 1 Resident Evil games every now and then, since they are available as cheap downloads on the PS Store, and yes they still hold up!

Of the 3 PS1 Resident Evil games, I feel that Resident Evil 2 is the best, though all 3 are so brilliant. In fact I'd go as far to say that Capcom have never topped the sheer magnificence of Resident Evil 2. So why is it the best? I think that this game was probably the most fun and well balanced of the lot. It sucks you in with a brilliant opening movie that really pushed the cinematic limits of the console. It surrounds you within a brilliant immersive atmosphere. Whilst Resident Evil 1 had you confined to a mansion, Resident Evil 2 took the action outside onto the streets of Raccoon City. From the very first moment it makes you feel helpless. Unlike the first game, Resi 2 was able to handle pitting you against entire hordes of zombies on one screen. And because ammo is so limited, it improved on the strategy of the game. It's up to you to work out which zombies it is best to run away from and which ones to shoot. If you play the game well enough, you can get to the Police Station without firing a single bullet or getting touched by a zombie. The overall puzzle and strategy side of the game is generally improved. With much more enemies to tackle, you really have to think and plan, which items do I carry and which do I leave in the boxes? It makes you wonder whether to kill a zombie now, or conserve the ammo for later. Having these decisions on your mind all the time only adds to the terror. This is one idea that Resident Evil managed to beat Silent Hill with. The Resident Evil games give you a very limited inventory that you can hold at one time, whilst Silent Hill lets you have unlimited items at once, which means you have one less thing to worry about. The graphics and design of Resi 2 was a big step up too. It carried on the lovely pre-rendered backgrounds, but pitted a lot more obstacles in the way. Now you had to dodge flaming vehicles, and sections of the police station can end up getting damaged through fire. It truly felt like you were in a living, breathing place. Even at the start of the game, you are running past zombies and you see a group of them eating a poor human to death. These little touches weren't quite present in the first game and so the game environment has been opened up much deeper. The array of monsters was even scarier in this game, with the terrifying licker monsters who could climb up walls and ceilings, making them much tougher to get a clean shot at. Hell even the plants in this game become acid spitting zombies! Resi 2 also ramped up the fear by having not one, but two terrifying bosses that follow you through most of the game. The first game mode has William Birkin, a mad scientist who injects the G-Virus directly into himself, turning him into a giant mutant with a deadly claw. The second game mode has the even scarier Mr. X, who seems indestructible and will make you crap your pants by randomly smashing through a wall and chasing after you! The idea of Mr. X would later be expanded into the Nemesis character in Resident Evil 3.

One thing that makes Resident Evil 2 stand out for me though, is the genius Scenario A & B mode. The game is given tonnes of replay value. Like in the first game, you can choose between two different characters, and each one has a similar game objective, but takes different paths and meets different characters along the way. This means that playing the game as both Leon and Claire is thoroughly worth doing. But Resi 2 went even further by implementing Scenario B mode. This allows you to play the entire game another time, except you are trapped on the opposite side of the city, with lots of new areas you couldn't access the first time around. New enemies, new terrors and a new boss, Mr. X. What's even more clever is that some decisions that you make as Leon in Scenario A will have a knock on effect to when you play as Claire in Scenario B. This will make you think twice about picked up certain weapons and ammo. What might make playing through Scenario A a lot easier, might end up screwing you over when it comes to scenario B. Really Resident Evil 2 is like playing 4 games in one! The scenario A & B system is one of the most intelligent and brilliant ideas implemented into a video game. And I am amazed that the Resident Evil series, and other games didn't really pick up on it and explore it further. Resi 3 and Code Veronica played with these ideas a little bit, but never really explored them in the same depth. This is truly what sets Resident Evil 2 apart and makes it the very best of the series, and one of the greatest games of the entire Playstation 1 era. If you thought Scenario A was scary enough to leave you in therapy, then wait 'til you experience the even more overwhelming and unforgiving Scenario B mode! And if you have managed to beat all 4 of Resident Evil's game modes (plus the bonus modes) you are truly a don with a stomach of pure steel!