Resident Evil 2

The Good
How often does a sequel capture the splendour of the original? This first sequel in the long running horror gaming series lets you control not one, but a variety of characters in multiple scenarios and a few sub-games, which add to the already intense, nail biting plot. This was one of the first games I really dived into, and I rarely feel that way with any other game outside of this universe. Leon, Claire and Ada have got to be the most intriguing video game characters of all time. The hidden goodies made me want to play it again and again. My only gripe with that is that it obviously makes the game too easy for ya.

The Bad
It wasn't as hard as the original. A lot of it felt like a retread. But there was never a dull moment. It kept my interest all the way.

The Bottom Line
It is one of the greatest games you will ever play. If you like the horror movies of yesteryear, this is one game you won't want to miss.

The Good
Resident Evil 2 took the best material from its predecessor, whipped up a fresh new story, and plugged it all in with some amazing new ideas. It works quite well, and if you liked the first one, the second one will knock your eyes out.

It's not entirely the same. The first game took place in a mansion in the woods... a much more claustrophobic setting. THIS one takes place all over the CITY, although much of the first half of the game is confined to the zombie-infested police station.

This game, like the first one, offers you the chance to play it as one of two different characters -- cop Leon or biker chick Claire -- which, in many ways, makes it two different games. Furthermore, once you've played once as Leon and then the second time as Claire, if you save the game, and then play again as Leon, you will find that the plot has developed some SUBSTANTIAL changes... which carry over into the second play as Claire... which basically means you're getting FOUR similar-but-different games here...

The Bad
The voice acting, again, is horrible. Odd puzzles that didn't seem too out of place in a weird mansion in the woods don't quite work, logically, in an urban police station. What's the deal with the secrets hidden inside statues? For that matter, how many statues do you normally find in an urban police station? Once again, make sure you have that gamepad peripheral handy to hook up to your PC. It's a Playstation port, and that means control problems...

The Bottom Line
Third-person survival horror zombie shootout in the apocalyptic streets of Raccoon City! Go to it!

The Good
Picture this- you sit down to watch a movie. A horror movie. The third in an incredible series. It is called "Day of the Dead". You pop it in, press play, and grab a handful of tasty (but a bit too salty) popcorn. The first scene involves some people on the outskirts of a Floridian city with a megaphone calling out to any human survivors. The zombies here this and in a second a rather large army of zombies has clogged the streets trying to get to these tasty humans. You think to yourself "Damn, that is really cool. I hope the movie takes place in the city." Unfortunately it doesn't. Although the movie is still good, you feel let down. This game lets you live that wonderful scene for hours of the most crap-your-pants scary suspense you will ever feel in a game. The controls are the same basic Resident Evil style, simple and easy to use. The game is long and provides amazing CGIs for the player to feast their eyes on. The secret modes are no easy to combine and are a blast to play (one even adds a secret bit to the plot from Umbrella's side of things).

The Bad
Wasn't much. The only thing you can really gripe about this game is the continuity. In order to complete the game and be able to see all the CGIs, you need to beat scenarios 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B. This means you see the game through the eyes of Claire and Leon is two different situations. Good right? In theory right if they dictated which character you start out with and then switch it halfway through the game. Instead you can start with either character. This means you need to beat it with Claire starting and Leon starting in order to beat all four scenarios (when you beat 1A, Claire's starting scenario, you get access to 2B, Leon's alt. scenario and vice versa). This means you will play a journey with Claire starting by the gun shop in 1A and Leon starting by the gun shop in 1B. Being as you need to play all four scenarios to unlock the entire final video, this means that the continuity gets screwed up (well, who was thrown by the gun show in the very beginning?! Leon or Claire!? Make up your mind Capcom!). Other than this, it is really a great game and second in the series only to Resident Evil: Code Veronica. Oh ya, and it is too hard to unlock the secret Tofu mode. That is too great an option to never get to experience.

The Bottom Line
After a car accident in a zombie infested city, two new friends- Claire, the brother of Chris from the first game, and Leon, a cop on him way to his first day at the Raccon City Police Department, are separated. You must fight your way through the claustophobic urban atmosphere to reunite and survive this hellish plague. Maybe along the way you will make some new friends and find out just who is responcible for this mess. But when you do find the responcible party you might just regret it...