2019-03-01_Xbox_The_Official_Magazine

EDITOR’S

CHOICE

Resident Evil 2

YOU HAVE ONCE AGAIN ENTERED THE WORLD OF SURVIVAL HORROR ADAM BRYANT

PUBLISHERCAPCOM/DEVELOPERCAPCOM/RELEASE DATEOUT NOW/COST£44.99/$59.99

their priorities change. They’re soon

separated and agree to make their

way to the Raccoon City Police

Department to search for survivors,

discover what’s been going on and

find a way to escape with their lives.

But while the game treads a similar

narrative footprint, there are many

distinct deviations along the way

that make the story more engaging

and enjoyable than ever before.

What really pulls you in, however, are

the characters. Each one has been

brought to life with a combination of

great voice acting, spectacular facial

animation and motion capture, as

well as wonderful cinematography.

This goes for all the minor characters,

too, who are given extra attention

and reveal themselves to have more

personality, emotion and depth.

It’s also visually stunning. Every

environment is packed with detail that

stays faithful to the original game

and simply oozes with atmosphere

thanks to superb use of lighting. Some

Remakes are hard to
do. Not only do you
have to keep fans of
the original happy,
you have to entertain
new ones – a
substantial audience forResident Evil
2 considering the original is now over
20 years old. However, what Capcom
has achieved here goes far beyond
that. Traditionally remakes are just the
same game with improved graphics
and/or audio but it’s managed to
bottle up the essence of what made
the original so great and brewed it into
a new formula, to recreate that same
magic for a new audience.
The broad strokes of the story
remain from the original. Once again
we get to play as either badass
college student Claire Redfield or
rookie cop Leon S Kennedy. Both arrive
in Raccoon City for different reasons
but after a chance encounter with
each other and the discovery that
the city is now infested with zombies,

rooms will be pitch black and you’ll

have nothing but your flashlight to

guide your way, making those areas

feel oppressive and claustrophobic

• perfect for any survival horror. Then
  there’s the rain, which adds to the
  overall atmosphere and not only looks
  beautiful as it glistens on the skin
  and soaks your clothes, but Claire and
  Leon will react to it, contributing to
  the world’s believability.

A hero emerges

But it isn’t just the story or how it

looks that makesRE2so special,

it’s about how it plays. Gone are the

fixed camera angles from the original

and in their place is a more intimate

over-the-shoulder perspective, similar

to mostREgames sinceRE4. This

changes the way you explore and

interact with the world, making things

seem familiar yet new.

Another way the game makes

everything feel new for those that

played the original is by subverting

ABOVEMany of

the areas will

seem familiar

but you’ll

navigate them in

different ways.

LEFTThe Lickers

are positively

terrifying in

this game. Make

sure to sneak

by them when

you can.

See if you can spot the Easter egg for Brad Vickers, which can be found at the beginning of your second run through the game

More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 075

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