5/27 – Resident Evil 2 (2019)
Hello and welcome! My name is Katosepe and I’ll be your host for today’s Video Game of the Day.
It’s the last day of sequels week and I’m going to do a bit of a cheat here. Resident Evil is a long storied franchise and Resident Evil 2 has a lot of great things to cover but today, why don’t we talk about something a bit more modern. Let’s talk about the Resident Evil 2 remake.
Capcom first started talking about remaking Resident Evil 2 way back in 2002, after they released the remake of the first game for the Gamecube. While it was always seen as a strong project, it never got much traction due to other projects going at Capcom at the time. By the time Resident Evil 4 was finished, Shinji Mikami, the series creator who was championing the remake, was preparing to leave Capcom. Thus, the project stalled.
As Resident Evil suffered setbacks, including a few less than well received titles, the proposition of a remake seemed less and less likely. Resident Evil 7 was finally what changed that. With a soft reboot of the franchise breathing new life into Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2 was looked at again and the remake was born.
Resident Evil 2 takes place two months after the events of the first game. The T-Virus has gotten out and Raccoon City has become overwhelmed with zombies and other biological creatures. Players choose to play as either Leon Kennedy, a cop about to start his first day with the RCPD, or Claire Redfield, a college student looking for her brother, Chris, a member of the STARS team. Each character has their own separate campaigns with their own stories.
Instead of going back to the fixed camera angles of the original game, Resident Evil 2 uses the same engine as Resident Evil 7, although it uses a third person viewpoint, rather than a first person one like that game. The game was re-built to make better use of this style, moving enemies around to better scare people without fixed camera shots. Along with the standard zombies, Resident Evil 2 has other creatures that players must contend with, including the constant threat of Mr. X, a large creature who follows the player around several areas of the game who cannot be defeated without significant firepower.
Resident Evil 2, along with Resident Evil 7, have marked a turning point in the Resident Evil franchise. After the disastrous Resident Evil 6 and other misguided concepts such as Umbrella Corps or Operation Raccoon City, Resident Evil was a series in decline. While Resident Evil 7 marked a critical upswing, Resident Evil 2 brought the fans, and the sales, back. The franchise is back, stronger than ever, and fans have a lot to look forward to going forward.
That is all for Sequels Week! If you want to hear more episodes, check out the archives on videogameoftheday.com and also follow me on Twitter @vg_oftheday for updates and polls and random thoughts about whatever I happen to be playing or watching. Don’t forget to check back here tomorrow for another Video Game of the Day.
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