Resident Evil 2 Remake

Resident Evil 2 (BIOHAZARD RE: 2) is a remake of the original Resident Evil 2 from 1998.

History of creation

For the first time, a remake of the second part was talked about after the success of the remaster of the remake of the first and zero parts. Italian developer studio Invader Games has announced that it is developing a revised version of the second part. In July 2015, the Italians presented an alpha version of the gameplay, judging by which, the game was more reminiscent of the fourth part: the camera position and shooting were taken from Resident Evil 4, while maintaining the core of the original 1998 game, namely survival horror, which includes such main aspects like solving puzzles, lack of ammo and superior power of enemies. Capcom could not leave this project without attention, and, based on the feedback of satisfied fans, asked to stop developing the game and give them the opportunity to release a remake.

During E3 2018, Capcom released the first trailer as well as a short gameplay demo. Most of the developments were taken from a fan-made project from Italian developers, but on a completely different level. The beauty of the game, as well as quite realistic facial animation, was provided by the RE Engine, which was first used in Resident Evil 7. They decided to leave the camera behind the hero, and the gameplay was closer to the first games than to 5 and 6 parts. Capcom decided to overhaul the game, hence the word “remake” is not in the title. Most of the locations remain familiar to players and fans, but have also undergone changes. The scenario system migrated from the original game, while undergoing changes. The developers decided to reduce the number of scenarios from four to two, leaving Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield as the main characters.

Plot

Raccoon City. In the Umbrella Corporation's underground lab, Dr. William Birkin researches his new G virus and prepares to escape with it to sell to the US government. However, the bosses of the corporation find out about this and send their special forces to remove the virus from the Doctor. When SWAT arrives at the lab, Birkin fights back and one of the fighters kills him. The squad takes the suitcase with the virus and leaves the lab. In his death throes, Birkin takes a sample of the G-virus and injects himself with it. Mutating, William turns into a terrible monster and in this state catches up with the special forces soldiers in the sewers, killing all of them. The suitcase opens, the capsules with the virus break and the nearest rats spread the infection throughout the city. A few days later, Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield arrive in a city infested with zombies.

Game process

Graphics

The game uses the RE Engine, which was involved in the development of "Resident Evil 7: Biohazard". The graphics in both games are not only similar, but the interface and even the design of the items bear a striking resemblance. For example, the handgun ammo in the remake uses the same model used in RE7. With major graphical enhancements from the RE Engine, items, characters, enemies, objects, and even the environment itself have photorealistic rendering and visuals. Unlike the original 1998 version, which lit up the corridors and rooms of the Police Station, the 2019 remake instead makes the corridors and some areas much darker, while creating a cool and tense atmosphere as the player walks through them.

The shadows have also been greatly improved, as opposed to the original's shadows, which are a small, dark, translucent circle under characters or enemies.

Thanks to the advanced limb damage system, it is possible to shoot Zombie arms and legs. The character has traces of the attacks of opponents. Using a chemical flamethrower or hand grenade against enemies will cause their body to visibly burn.

Camera and character control

The game uses the same over-the-shoulder view from Resident Evil 4/Resident Evil 5/Resident Evil 6, here called Rear View, but mixes all the mechanics of the three games into one. For example, character control is reminiscent of Resident Evil 6 where the player is free to move in any direction. The player can also move while aiming, but this will reduce aiming accuracy, although this does not apply to all weapons.

Resource management and inventory

The inventory in the game is similar to "Resident Evil 7: Biohazard", which starts with 8 slots but can be increased to 20 by collecting hip bags scattered throughout the game.

Some weapons found in the game take up two inventory slots, while others can only take up one before they are upgraded.

Ammo no longer stacks to 255 like in the original. Now each of the types of ammunition can be contained in a cell with its own maximum amount. For example, handgun ammo stacks up to 60 rounds per slot.

The remake, like the original, features chests to store items found throughout the game.

Health and healing items

Overall, the healing mechanic is similar to its original counterpart. A new combination of herbs is available in the game: red + blue. This makes the character immune to poison and boosts their defenses until the effect wears off.

Saving progress

The game can be saved without using ink ribbons at lower difficulty levels. However, ink ribbons are required to save any progress on Hardcore difficulty.

boarding up windows

A new game mechanic that wasn't featured in the original Resident Evil 2 but is similar to what was featured in the Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 Desperate Times scenario is wood planks. They are used to board up certain windows found throughout the RPD where zombies may be present, preventing them from entering, making certain areas easier and safer to move around. These boards cannot be broken or removed after being boarded.

Мweapon modifications

Weapons in the game can be improved by finding parts as the game progresses. Some mods can increase damage dealt or increase ammo capacity. Parts that increase the number of weapon slots from one to two can be attached and removed at the player's discretion in the inventory screen.

Powder

A mechanic that first appeared in Resident Evil 3 is the ability to mix different types of gunpowder to create different types of ammo. The ammo that is created will depend on the types that the player combines.

Combat mechanics

As with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, many aspects of RE4-6's action have been toned down or completely removed from the combat system. For example, the player cannot melee zombies by knocking them out or knocking them to the ground (i.e. performing a finishing move).

weaponry

Both Leon and Claire start the game with their respective pistols, but both are able to obtain more powerful weapons throughout the game at certain points.

Each character has specific weapons available only in their scenario, such as the Shotgun and Flamethrower for Leon, and the Grenade Launcher and Electrogun for Claire.

Defensive weapon

Another feature that was included in Resident Evil is the return of protection items. If the character is grappled by an enemy and has a defensive weapon in their inventory, a button will appear on the screen and when pressed, the item will be used as a defensive weapon that shakes the enemy off the player.

There are two types of defensive weapons: knives and grenades.

The knife also features a new game mechanic with durability similar to the melee objects used in Resident Evil Outbreak and Resident Evil Outbreak File #2. In the inventory screen, under the knife icon, there is a small gauge that shows its durability. As soon as the scale is empty, the knife will break and you will have to use another one. However, in this game, if the knife was used for defense during an enemy attack, the player can return it if they kill the enemy, which was not possible in the RE1 remake.

A knife with unlimited durability can be unlocked by meeting certain in-game conditions.

There are two different types of grenades in the game: hand (fragmentation) and stun.

Found hand (frag) grenades are deadly shrapnel-based explosives that explode and damage enemies within a certain radius.

Flashbang grenades, however, are non-lethal and are used to stun enemies for a short period of time, creating opportunities to either dodge or attack enemies. A player can only carry a maximum of three grenades of the same type in one inventory slot. When used in defense, the effectiveness of grenades is reduced.

Enemies

Compared to the original, there are no new enemies in this reimagining. However, their game mechanics are heavily modified. In general, most enemies can grab and attack the player. When the character is captured, the camera will zoom in. However, some of the original enemies are missing from the remake, such as Evolved Slimers or Giant Spiders.

Zombie

Compared to the previous installments, the zombies are also slightly different. They have great health and are able to get up several times after lying on the ground for a while. They no longer leave a small pool of blood when dead, and if they detect the player, they can chase the character from room to room.

There are few crawling zombies, but they are still dangerous for the player. When grabbed by the feet, the character does not stomp/kick their heads like in the original game, but simply knock them back.

Similar to Resident Evil 0, more than one zombie can grab the player at the same time.

slime

Slimes have a much more detailed design thanks to improved visuals. They detect the player by listening for any sounds they make and emit a loud screech when they pounce. You can hear them growling or snapping their claws as they move.

Giant Insects

Giant Insects are present in the remake, however they are harmless to the player unlike the original, where they can swarm the character.

Zombie Ivy

Zombie Ivy is a new enemy that replaces the original Ivy in Labs. They look like zombies but are covered in plant matter such as vines and bulbs. They can kill the player with a single grab if they don't have a defensive weapon. They can be completely killed with a flamethrower or grenade launcher with incendiary projectiles

G-Adult/G-Imago

This creature now appears multiple times in the later stages of the game, as opposed to a single appearance in the original. They are found in the sewers, hiding in the sewage and lying in wait for the player, jumping out and either grabbing them or hitting them with their giant arm. They have the ability, as in the original, to spew "G-Imago" from a large mouth on a stalk-like neck. They now have a chance to poison the player when captured if they are not armed with a defensive weapon. If the player is already poisoned, then such an attack will instantly kill the character. G-Imagos can now also poison the player.

Tyrant

Tyrant T-103 returns with a new pursuit mechanic similar to Nemesis from the original Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and Jack Baker from Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. The Tyrant cannot be killed, but can be temporarily stopped if enough damage is dealt to it. When confronted, he will constantly chase the character, but if the player moves quickly and moves between rooms, the Tyrant will lose track. The player will be able to navigate by the sound of his heavy footsteps when nearby. The attention of the Tyrant can be attracted by running and shooting (unless the weapon is equipped with a silencer).

He is also able to transform into a "Super Tyrant", being the boss exclusively for Leon's scenario.

Giant Alligator

The giant Alligator that lurks in the sewers of Raccoon City returns in the remake, but instead of a full-fledged boss like in the original, the fight is more of a scripted section that appears exclusively in Leon's scenario. The only way to defeat him is to shoot the explosive can, which is a reference to one of the ways he was quickly killed in the 1998 game.

William Birkin

G-Birkin with all 5 forms also appears in the remake, with the first form (G1) being the first boss in the game. G4 appears only in Claire's scenario, while G5 can be found at the end of the 2nd playthrough for both characters.

Navigation and Exploration

Both characters use a flashlight, as seen in Resident Evil: Revelations. It turns on automatically when entering a dark or dimly lit environment, and turns off by itself when the player is in a bright room. The flashlight cannot be turned on or off manually by the player. Both Leon and Claire can physically hold the flashlight in the same way as in the canceled Resident Evil 3.5; in addition, having a flashlight does not prevent the character from using large weapons such as a shotgun or grenade launcher.

The location of locations has been changed, completely new areas have appeared, the location of items has been shuffled. Veterans and rookies alike will get their fair share of new challenges and fears.

Some enemies can follow you from room to room, unlike the original. Some locations are completely free of enemies, however this may change depending on the scenario. There are rooms that the Tyrant cannot enter, patrolling back and forth, waiting for the player to leave the safe room.

Important places on the map are marked with a “!” icon, the location of items that the player found but did not collect are now shown on the map. In addition, rooms on the map are colored red until they are fully explored, and turn blue otherwise.

Other gameplay elements

Complexity

There are 3 difficulty levels in the game: Easy, Standard, Hardcore. The main differences are as follows:

• Enemies are harder to destroy and there can be more of them.

• Enemies deal more damage and are more aggressive.

• Saves are unlimited on the first two difficulty levels, but ink ribbons are required on Hardcore.

• There is less ammo and healing items.

Additional modes

There is a 2nd scenario, available to players after completing the first one, which differs in the presence of a new type of pistol, item placement, puzzle solving, game start and end.

The 4th Survivor and Tofu Survivor are also unlocked after completing the main game.

There is a free update for the game called "Ghost Survivors" which is billed as "What If" scenarios involving some of the characters from the main game who have been killed off.

Premium Features

One of the features of the Deluxe Edition, Collector's Edition and Premium Edition of the game is the "Change Soundtrack" option, which allows you to play the game with the soundtrack from the original, including sound effects (SFX), such as the sound when opening the inventory from the original.

Another paid feature is unlocking all unlockable weapons without fulfilling the requirements of the game.

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