moment, listening to the footsteps
of the Tyrant making his way back
and forth down the corridor – the
directional audio helps us keep track
of his movements. He barges through
a door in the distance and when the
footsteps finally stop we let out a
sigh of relief.
This was just one of the many
intense experiences we had during
the course of the game but it
demonstrates that by instilling you
with a constant sense of unease
Capcom has been able to capture
the essence of survival horror, and
maintain that throughout the game.
Gore blimey
Slow, shuffling zombies are an
overused trope in any media involving
the undead, but incredibly, Capcom
has managed to make them terrifying
again. Even in the original, although
they were scary at the time, you knew
roughly how many bullets they’d
take to kill, and could predict their
movements. Now they’re unpredictable
and relentless. You can find yourself
in a panic if, as they stumble towards
you, their heads lolloping from side to
side, you waste a bunch of valuable
bullets as they miss their mark. Then,
just as you’re reloading they suddenly
lurch forward for a bite.
The scariness of the zombies is
likely amplified by the fact that this
is probably the most gruesomeREto
date. The dynamic destruction of the
zombies may be extremely graphic,
but it’s incredibly impressive and
morbidly entertaining. Shoot an arm
or a leg and you might see that limb
stretch and slide off the body. Pistol
shots will blow chunks of flesh away,
while a point-blank shotgun blast to
the face might explode the head or
simply tear off the flesh, leaving only a
bloody, chattering skull.
Then there’s what happens to the
body when you do kill them. Games
often give themselves away when
bodies vanish with no explanation,
breaking the suspension of disbelief.
Here, every single enemy you kill
remains in the exact location they
died at throughout the game. Even the
way you killed them is retained. If you
did end up shooting off that arm or
leg, or made their head explode, that’s
how they’ll stay. This may seem trivial
and insignificant but it’s integral tokeeping you immersed. This attention
to detail offers a level of consistency
that makes the world so much more
convincing. The continuity allows
you to forget that it’s a game and
keeps you wrapped up in the reality
Capcom has woven. It also helps that
there’s not a single loading screen
in the entire game, giving you a
seamless experience.
RE2isn’t just a fantastic remake,
it’s one the best entries in the
franchise. Capcom has really raised
the bar for what a remake should be.
Not only will it please new players but
also avid fans. Yes, its whole existence
is based on a 20-year-old game, but
it’s managed to retain the essence
of what aResident Evilgame is while
offering something completely new.
And it’sbecauseof its foundations,
as well as the lessons learned from
the entire franchise, that this game
as good as it is.QGRIM REAPER
Once you’ve
witnessed the game’s
true ending, by
playing though both
Claire and Leon’s
stories, you’ll unlock a
bonus mission called
The 4th Survivor. This
mode returns from the
original game, and
has you playing as
Hunk, a special agent
for Umbrella, on a
mission to reach an
extraction point and
escape with a sample
of the G-virus. But
you’ll need to get past
the copious amounts
of zombies and
creatures standing in
your way first.
Completing this
mission will unlock
The Tofu Survivor. It’s
the same game mode
but has you playing as
an anthropomorphic
Tofu with a high-
pitched voice. Yup.“Not ust a
fantastic remake
but one of the
best entries in
the franchise”
OXM VERDICT
Perfectly captures
the essence of the
original while
offering something
completely new.10
LEFTIf you’ve
gotaknifeor
grenade you can
stop these zombs
from biting you.
FAR LEFTYou’ll
want to keep
your distance
when fighting
William Birkin.1998’s Resident Evil 2 was originally to star a female character called Elsa Walker, rather than Claire RedfieldMore Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 077REVIEW