| [Click HERE for PREVIEWS]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resident Evil 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUBMITTED BY: Martin Jan '97
GAME DEVELOPER: Capcom
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1
SPLIT SCREEN OPTION: No
SAVE GAME OPTION: Yes
OPTIONS: None Confirmed
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[GAME RELEASE DATES]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEWS UPDATE, NEWS UPDATE, NEWS UPDATE, NEWS UPDATE
[RESIDENT]
At last we are starting to get some solid information on the game that
virtually EVERY PlayStation owner has at the top of their "Most Wanted" list
for 1997!
[RESIDENT 2]
Twelve months ago, Capcom were putting together the finishing touches to a
project that would take the video games world by storm. Hyped up to the hilt
with more advance publicity than the Superbowl received, Resident Evil was
finally unleashed on the Playstation during the second quarter of '96, and
everyone was totally knocked out with the experience.
There can be little doubt that Resident Evil is one of the finest video
games of all time, combining quality graphics and ingenious programming
techniques, with intelligent puzzles and a horrifying story line, all
wrapped up in a shoot-em-up that had everybody hooked.
Now Capcom have finally unveiled a promotion reel of their forthcoming
sequel, Resident Evil 2, and it looks just awesome. Capcoms team of thirty,
have even managed to improve on the ordinals graphics while enlarging the
game area by some 50%.
The setting for the sequel takes place only a few months after the
destruction of Tyrant (for those of you who managed to complete the first
game properly). With the Umbrella scandal under investigation, our heroes
from the STARS team have been dispersed to various missions and all is
strangely quiet in the area..........
[RESIDENT 2]
..........that is until now. This time the mysterious plague has spread from
the mansion in the hills to the small surrounding city known as Raccoon. The
previous horrendous incident received massive worldwide publicity and so
when the locals of Raccoon begin to contract skin diseases, they want action
and they want it immediately! The local government assure everyone concerned
that all testing has proved negative and there is no relationship between
these incidents.
But something is stirring in the night as the plague is spreading across the
land, for there is movement in the graveyards and morgues. This horrifying
disease is bringing all the dead back to life and the corpses are taking to
the streets and attacking the living. Once bitten, those infected will join
the ranks of the living dead and unmonitored, the disease spreads across the
city like a forest-fire. Soon zombie-like creatures began to walk the
streets, gradually outnumbering the few who have so far escaped the disease.
A small group of survivors, all with varying degrees of experience gather in
the local police department, where the new story begins............
We are introduced to the games two heroes. Leon Scott Kennedy, a rookie cop
and Elza Walker, a student with a passion for motorbikes. The main
characters boast different abilities, similar to the format of Resident
Evil, and the inclusion of a number of costume changes will enhance the
puzzle aspect of the game, as the number of weapons that can be carried,
depends on which outfit they are wearing.
[RESIDENT2]
The game begins inside Racoon City Police Station, where a gang of Zombie
cops burst into the building and corner Leon and Elza. Unlike the first
game, where you were confronted with two or three creatures, you are thrust
straight into a battle against eight undead Zombies, all on the screen at
the same time. If that sounds tricky then here's some news that will get you
licking the blood from your lips, each Zombie moves at a different speed. As
some advance towards you slowly, others will actually start running at you
so you had better find something more powerful than that measly barretta,
and pronto.
Confronted by this frightening situation, one of our heroes will attempt to
find an exit from this predicament where lies a stash of weapons and ammo.
Well, go on, pick them up! Crash, and your surrounded by a group of burning
Zombies, reaching out with flaming arms, lets hope you are wearing that fire
resistant suit that just happened to be lying around the department. As
previously mentioned the switching of outfits are an essential part of the
gameplay, unlike the first game, where the changing of clothes served as a
challenge to complete the game and, lets be honest, a chance to see Jill
with her kit off (I'll bet I wasn't the only one disappointed out there and
I would willfully have chipped in for a lightbulb). It would be advisable to
check out the locker room where a useful bullet proof vest may be found, in
fact any change of attire would be beneficial, as this time, you actually
get splattered with blood and guts when a Zombie is blasted and your clothes
remain bloodstained until you discover an alternative uniform. It is also
worth noting that if your clothes get ripped then take great care as you
will become susceptible to the disease.
Resident Evil 2 is considerably more detailed than its predecessor with the
police chiefs office showing a detailed model of the city, which should be
useful if you ever leave the department in one piece. Each of the Zombies
have their own distinctive appearance, with the Zombie cops still wearing
their uniforms and badges, while the civies are dressed in the clothing they
were wearing when they were attacked. Your immediate mission is to find the
map of the town, then fully arm yourself before proceeding with the main
objective of the game, which is to find out where all these Zombies are
coming from and put a stop to this nightmare. The entire police station can
be explored to unveil the civic reception area, dog kennels, garage, a
shooting range, armory and the prison cells.
More Zombies requires meatier weapons, therefore the upgrading to an
automatic pistol, more powerful shotgun and an early appearance of the
magnum will be gratefully accepted. Each weapon used has a different effect
on the Zombies which, I am sure, will raise many smiles amongst you. When
taking out a Zombie with a shotgun, in the original Resident Evil, a close
range shot or a high aim removed the smile from the creatures face,
completely. Well now it's even neater, as a well aimed blast with the souped
up shotgun into the Zombies nether regions, will not just shoot his balls
off, but will tear him in two. Not only that , the top half will carry on
attacking you by dragging itself across the floor, excellent. If you don't
feel confident with the weapons then why not try some target practice. Find
the shooting range and stand in front of one of the practice booths, then
fire away at the targets. When you have emptied your barrels just press a
button to bring the target towards you to check your score, but beware, as
you concentrate your aim on the direction of the target, those sneaky devil
dogs could slip up behind you and bite your bum. Perhaps the poor little
pups are just being friendly and sniffing the discharge in your pants, I
think not.
When Capcom made the original Resident Evil, they used almost every inch of
space of the Playstations memory capabilities. Therefore on their new
venture, with extra zombies gracing the screen, the programming team had to
steal a bit of memory from elsewhere, and it was decided to use only half
the polygons on the Zombies, but fear not, it really isn't that noticeable
and the extra gameplay makes up for this. The poor acting has also been
addressed, with American actors used to give the game less of a B-Movie
feel. The final change from the original worth mentioning is when your
character dies. Instead of the terrifying scream and the blood stained
screen, you can stay and watch as the Zombies rip your inners out to feed
their hunger and quench their thirst
More news as we get it! Sweet Dreams.
|