Product Description Fight Bloodthirsty zombies and other hideous mutations. Review Resident Evil 2 is the first really big, ultrahyped blockbuster of '98, and what Capcom has pulled off is more an interactive, cinematic experience than a video game

Seriously

Picking up a few months after the events of the first game, RE2 sees the entire town of Raccoon City hit with the devastating virus that zombified only a few dozen folks in the original Resident Evil

It's up to rookie cop Leon Kennedy, and Claire Redfield, sister of one of the main RE characters, to save not only themselves but any and all survivors, to boot

The gameplay remains basically the same as before: As one of two characters, you solve puzzles and shoot monsters

The original Resident Evil featured two playable personas as well, although the differences between the two weren't incredibly significant

One could carry more items than the other could, while the other was easier to play, and they both had their own distinct storylines

In Resident Evil 2 the differences between the two are a bit more interesting

For example, Claire starts off with a lock pick, while Leon begins with a lighter, which alone changes the order in which the game's puzzles must be solved

Each character also finds different weapons along his or her quest

For instance, Claire will find a grenade launcher, however when playing as Leon, a shotgun will be in its place

In addition, Leon and Claire encounter a string of different characters throughout the game, so naturally their stories don't unfold in nearly the same way

The subtle changes between Claire and Leon don't make each character's story feel completely different, but they're enough to make you want to know what happens further into the game

On top of that, once you play through the game as one character, a second scenario is opened up for the other - for instance, win the game with Claire and you'll unlock Leon's alternative scenario

(It's kind of like Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, where you see how one situation or scenario looked from another character's perspective.) And since both characters are supposedly running through the many locations of Raccoon City at the same time, the things you do in the first scenario will affect the other character in his or her second scenario

For instance, if you pick up the submachine gun with Leon the first time out and you later go to the same place with Claire, the submachine gun won't be there

Admittedly, it's mostly cool in concept, since it really doesn't come into play that much

What really makes Resident Evil 2 so amazing is simple: It has more of what people liked about the first Resident Evil - weapons, ammo, creatures, and most importantly, many, many instances when you'll be genuinely scared

If you played the first game, you're sure to remember that your first encounter with a zombie took your breath away, and that you ran scared from the game's boss

These types of terrifying moments are commonplace in Resident Evil 2, and the effect is awesome

How does it scare you? Well, as in the great classic horror movies, it's a combination of eerie low-key mood music and sound effects such as a lone dog howling at the moon in the distance (that could just be right in the next room), followed by loud, shrieking music played perfectly on cue and sudden jolts of terror, like the arms of a zombie bursting through a boarded up window, right as you happen to be walking by

Things like that

Of course Resident Evil 2 comes with all of the trimmings: 3D-rendered backgrounds with 3D polygonal characters running through them

Visually, it looks a lot like the first Resident Evil game, except with incredibly improved graphics and character animations

For example, the heroes, zombies, and other creatures now all move with true realism, with head-tracking effects that make them look at what is near them (like a rabid dog or a zombie eating a dead policeman)

Also improved over the original is that you can tell the extent of your character's injuries simply by looking at his or her body language instead of having to repeatedly check the status screen to see how hurt your character is

There are one of three states: perfectly functioning, holding the side in pain but still functioning properly, and unable to run and in horrible pain

This damage system is both effective and cool

This isn't to say Resident Evil 2 is flawless though, as there are some points that could have been improved

Some of the puzzles just seem a little out of place and might make more sense in a different setting..

a police station that has a room with three large statues, one with a ruby in its hand, and some sort of pressure-sensitive floor that triggers the ruby to fall out of the statue's hand? C'mon! It's not as much a problem as the inventory management system, which hasn't been changed at all

As in the first RE, you are only allowed to carry eight items at any time (except for an item that allows you to carry a few more items)

You must mindlessly keep bringing items to and retrieving them from these "magical" storage bins that somehow share contents with aother bins, and always seem to be really, really far from where you are

If realism is what the developers were shooting for, as it seems to be in RE2, then you should have the ability to set items down wherever and pick them back up again at your leisure, and you should be able to carry more things, too

Really, a key and a rocket launcher don't take up the same space or weigh nearly the same

But in the end, Resident Evil 2 is one of the most entertaining games I've ever played

With its unique camera angles, storyline, graphics, sound effects, and music, Resident Evil 2 seems more like a product out of Hollywood than the video game industry

Resident Evil 2 surpasses its predecessor in nearly every aspect of gameplay, and in short, Capcom has outdone itself.--Ryan Mac Donald--Copyright © 1998 GameSpot Inc

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