Resident Evil 2
From Resident Evil Wiki
| Resident Evil 2
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| Developer(s) | Capcom Production Studio 4 |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom EUR Virgin Interactive
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| Designer(s) | Hideki Kamiya
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| Series | Resident Evil series |
| Engine | Quake Engine (Modified)
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| Platform(s) | PlayStation, PC, Nintendo 64, Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo GameCube, Tiger game com[1] |
| Release date(s) | PlayStation NA January 21, 1998 JP January 29, 1998 PAL May 8, 1998 Dual Shock Edition JP August 6, 1998 NA November 11, 1998 Game.com NA November 11, 1998 Windows JP February 19, 1999 NA February 28, 1999 PAL April 1999 Nintendo 64 NA October 31, 1999 JP January 29, 2000 PAL February 9, 2000 Dreamcast JP December 22, 1999 PAL April 28, 2000 NA December 15, 2000 GameCube NA January 14, 2003 JP January 23, 2003 PAL May 30, 2003 PlayStation Network JP December 26, 2007
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| Genre(s) | Survival horror Third-person shooter Science fiction |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: M (Mature) BBFC: 15 |
| Media | 2 CD-ROMs (PS, PC), 512-megabit cartridge (N64) GD-ROM (DC), 1.5 gigabyte optical disc (GC)
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| Input methods | Controller, Keyboard
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Resident Evil 2 (バイオハザード２ Baiohazādo Tsū?, Biohazard 2) is a survival horror 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, Sega Dreamcast and Nintendo GameCube.
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[edit] Gameplay
Resident Evil 2 follows the same play mechanics as its predecessor. As in the original Resident Evil, the game's graphics are composed of polygonal character models and items superimposed over pre-rendered graphics and 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's character can arm themselves with a variety of firearms (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). In addition, the player can now determine their character's health based on their walking animation and body language. A character in the "caution" stage will cover his or her stomach with his or her hand, while a character on the verge of death will begin to limp. The game over screens are more gruesome this time, featuring the player's character being horribly mauled and killed by the creature that killed him or her, and three splats of blood splat onto the screen.
The main addition to the gameplay is a two-scenario system officially dubbed the "zapping system". As in the original Resident Evil, the game offers a selection of two playable characters, each with their own scenario. However, after finishing one character's scenario (referred as the "A" game) and saving the clear data, a second scenario (the "B" game) is unlocked in which the same series of events are depicted from the other characters 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 a B game that they normally wouldn't had access to in an A game. There's a total of four scenarios, 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. This time, a letter-based grading system has been implemented in which the player is graded based not only on the amount of time taken to complete one, but also on the number of times the game was saved and the number of first-aid sprays used by the player. Several hidden minigames can also be unlocked, these being The 4th Survivor, its spoof/harder version The Tofu Survivor and in some ports, a longer bonus minigame called Extreme Battle.
[edit] Story
The story is set on September 29, 1998, two months and five days after the events in the original Resident Evil. The t-virus has been released in the sewer system of Raccoon City and has been digested by rats, which then spread the virus to the city's population, which includes animals as well as humans. As the outbreak begins, two figures make their way into the city: Leon S. Kennedy, a rookie cop on his first day, and Claire Redfield, a college student looking for her brother, Chris, of the S.T.A.R.S. unit. Leon and Claire quickly find themselves fighting for their lives against massive hordes of zombies in the search for a way out of the city. But there is a creature much more powerful than a normal Zombie lurking in the shadows.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Playable characters
- Leon S. Kennedy - The male protagonist. A graduate from the police academy who has been selected for the Raccoon Police Department's newly established Select Police Force. He arrives late for his job after making the mistake of oversleeping, not leaving for Raccoon City until after sunset. He has a deep passion for the safety of others and wants to assist as much as possible and is very cautious. In the game, his main arsenal is comprised of a VP70 Handgun, an M1100-P Shotgun and a Desert Eagle, which are all upgradable with their corresponding parts. A handmade Flamethrower is also available for Leon, but cannot be upgraded and has no replacement ammo. His personal item is an oil lighter (which Claire has to procure separately).
- Claire Redfield - The female protagonist. A student and motorcyclist who arrives to Raccoon City in search of her brother, S.T.A.R.S member Chris Redfield (the protagonist of the first game). She is a very optimistic, outgoing, and strong minded young woman, and for a typical 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, Claire is seen to take the role of protecting the abandoned young girl very seriously. Her main weapons are a Browning Hi-Power, an M79 grenade launcher, a bowgun and Umbrella's experimental Spark Shot. Her personal item is a makeshift lockpick like that of Jill Valentine; Leon must find Small Keys to open the drawers Claire's lockpick unlocks.
- In the 1.5 prototype of the game there was a female character named Elza Walker. She was also a college student, coming back to her home town for vacation. She wore an orange leather biker outfit and could wield such weapons as machine guns and Leon's shotgun.
[edit] Supporting Characters
- Ada Wong, an Asian-American woman who claims to be searching for her missing boyfriend, John. Ada is briefly playable twice in Leon's scenarios. She is equipped with only a handgun, ammo, and a first aid spray and picks up only a key needed for Leon. She also holds a picture of her with John.
- Sherry Birkin, a 12 year old girl who is hiding in the police station at the request of her parents. She is briefly playable in Claire's scenarios, twice. She is only equipped with one item: A First Aid Spray. She does hold a family picture of her and her parents, however and only picks up one key (and the Wolf Medal, in the Claire A scenario) that Claire needs.
- Dr. William Birkin, the scientist responsible for the creation of the G-Virus and the subsequent outbreak of the t-Virus in Raccoon City.
- Annette Birkin, another scientist working for Umbrella, she is desperately trying to protect her husband's legacy.
- Brian Irons, the R.P.D's chief and the inside operative for Umbrella.
- Ben Bertolucci, a reporter for the local newspaper.
- Marvin Branagh, a dying R.P.D. officer, infected with the T-virus, who is the only surviving officer within the R.P.D building.
- 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.
There is also a special zombie, named Brad Vickers. He only makes an appearance when you didn't pick up any items during the journey to police station. If you defeat him, he will drop you special item.
Ada and Sherry are both playable during key portions of the main game.
[edit] Development
Resident Evil 2 began development in 1996 shortly after the original game and was scheduled for a March 1997 release. However, as the game was approaching its release date, the developers were unsatisfied with the resulting product. Rather than releasing a game they were unhappy with, the developers took the risk of developing the game from scratch. This scrapped version of the game was later dubbed Resident Evil 1.5 by the internal staff of 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, Elza was a motorcyclist and college student, with the only difference being her appearance and the fact Elza had no ties to any established character from the previous game. 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 the finished game 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." 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.
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 and edited 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] Versions
| Version | Platform | Date of Release | Alterations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resident Evil 2 | PlayStation | Jan.-May '98 | - |
| Resident Evil 2: DualShock Version | PlayStation | Aug. Nov. '98 | DualShock-enabled, Extreme Battle, Ranking system for Minigames, Easy Mode |
| Resident Evil 2 | Game.com | Nov. '98 | - |
| Resident Evil 2: Platinum | Windows 98 | Feb.-Apr. '99 | DualShock additions, Gallery Mode, Hard mode |
| Resident Evil 2/Biohazard 2: Value Plus | Sega Dreamcast | Dec. '99 - Dec. '00 | Windows additions, "VMU" monitor, Demo of Code: Veronica |
| Resident Evil 2 | Nintendo 64 | Oct. '99-Feb. '00 | "EX-files", Item randomiser, violence controller, FP controls, Different costume, no Extreme Battle mode, Hunter cameo, surround sound |
| Resident Evil 2 | Nintendo GameCube | Jan. - May '03 | DualShock features, skipable cutscenes, higher quality scenes |
| Resident Evil 2 | Windows XP | '06 | uncompressed FMVs |
| Resident Evil 2 | PlayStation 3 | Dec, '07 | - |
[edit] Difference between Scenarios
There are two scenarios: "Leon A/Claire B" and "Claire A/Leon B". Which scenario combination is seen is determined by whose game the player opts to play first, and the storyline changes accordingly. The scenario's differ from the beginning, either the Police car crashes into a lamppost head-on or it swerves and the rear of the car hits the post.
In Claire A/Leon B, Sherry is found by William Birkin and implanted with a G-Virus embryo, which Claire must counteract with a vaccine known as "Devil", the instructions to create it were given to her by Annette. Furthermore, Ada finds Sherry's locket, inside which contained a sample of the G-Virus, Ada is attacked by a Mr. X and is critically injured, and "died" in Leon's arms.
In Leon A/Claire B, however, Sherry is never found by William and witnesses the death of her mother. Ada, meanwhile, is revealed to be a spy sent to recover a sample of the G-Virus, but before she can take it from Leon, she is shot in the shoulder by Annette and nearly falls down a pit; Leon tries to hoist her back up, but she plummets regardless. Angered by what the G-virus had caused, Leon takes the G-Virus sample and throws it into the same pit before evacuating with Claire and Sherry.
Many more minor differences exist in the games, notably in the area of which boss encounters each character will have, and where each character will be able to travel. Whichever routes the A path character opens up, will become available to the B path character at a set point in his or her scenario. One minor puzzle also requires both characters to register their fingerprints with the Umbrella lab's computer in order to access a sealed room during the B scenario. Finally, inside of a weapons room in the police department's basement, there are two items; a backpack and a submachine gun. Whichever item the A character takes, will be unavailable to the B character.
[edit] Music
The Biohazard 2 Original Soundtrack is the original 2-disc 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
[edit] Cover Art
 Biohazard 2: Value Plus |
 Resident Evil 2 |
 Resident Evil 2 |
 Biohazard 2 |
 Resident Evil 2 |
 Resident Evil 2 |
 Biohazard 2 |
 Resident Evil 2 |
 Resident Evil 2 |
 Biohazard 2 |
 Resident Evil 2 |
 Resident Evil 2 |
 Biohazard 2 |
 Resident Evil 2 |
 Resident Evil 2 |
[edit] References
- ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game.com Game(.)com
[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)
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