DVDfever.co.uk

404: Page not found

It looks like nothing was found at this location. Maybe try a search or one of the links below?

Archives

Categories

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers:

WP Twitter Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com

Dom Robinson reviews

RE2 logo

for PC CD-ROM

Distributed by
Virgin Interactive

RE2 badguy
  • Price: £39.99
  • Players: 1

    System Requirements - Minimum (Recommended) :

  • Pentium 166 Mhz (Pentium 200 Mhz)
  • 24Mb RAM (32Mb RAM)
  • 3Dfx card recommended but not essential
  • 2Mb DirectX 6 compatible graphics card (4Mb of same)
  • DirectX 6 compatible sound card
  • Quad speed CD-ROM (8-speed)
  • Hard Disk Space: 1Mb (450Mb) plus 100Mb for swap file


  • Resident Evil 2 is, as the name suggests, Capcom's sequel to 1996's superlative Resident Evil which was released in the UK on the Playstation in 1997 and the PC last year, both games having been released by Virgin Interactive.

    In the first game, the S.T.A.R.S. members Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine battled to find out what lurked behind the cause of the zombie-infested town of Raccoon City. It seemed the task was complete when they eradicated the deadly T-Virus.

    Things couldn't be further from the truth though as the Umbrella Corporation have manufactured the G-Virus, and those caught up in the diseased city this time round are Chris's brother Claire and Leon, a cop on his first day in the job patrolling the town.

    In the opening FMV sequence, fate pulls them together and then tears them apart. When you play this sequel, you won't be playing one scenario but four: first go through the game as Leon and then as Clare. Then you'll play each character again, but things will be even harder.

    Like the first game, you'll need to solve puzzles, find keys, combinations and special weapons, not to mention trying to stay alive as fear lurks around every corner. Also, at certain points in the game you'll take on the guise of two other characters mentioned later in the review - Ada and Sherry.


    Characters

    Leon

    Leon is an idealistic rookie cop. He has quickly become disenchanted with the very system he is trained to uphold as he learns the harsh realities of the real world. He is somewhat reckless and brash, and certainly not as naive as his outward demeanor would have the casual observer believe. Leon is highly qualified for his job and his sense of humor makes him a very likeable officer despite his rowdy attitude.

    Claire

    Claire is a light-hearted and articulate modern women. Her intelligence and optimism combine to make her both worldly and keenly aware of her surroundings. While Claire is a bit of a tomboy at times, she is very attractive and retains very feminine qualities. Her demeanor softens considerably when she deals with children. She can also be described as somewhat of a wild girl. Both extroverted and self-confident, she is typically the first person to try things many others would not. With her strong opinions on most issues, she can come across as quite sarcastic.

    Ada

    Ada is a very professional woman, highly skilled and intelligent. However, she also can come across as very condescending with her tendency to talk down to those she deems "inferior" to herself. This is most evident in her tone of voice when addressing others. She is a Chinese-American who is engaged to be married in the near future.

    Sherry

    The daughter of William Birkin, Sherry is a bit insecure yet very intelligent for her age of 12. She is very shy and when she speaks she always sounds a bit unsure of herself like a lost little girl. Her father, William Birkin is a brilliant scientist working for the Umbrella Corporation.


    Game Options

    Key Configuration

    Keys are pre-defined but can be changed. Personally I changed most of them, but left the directional keys as the cursor keys. Joystick/gamepad options are available.

    Sound

    Basic options are available here: Volume levels for both sound effects and background music, plus a stereo/mono toggle.

    Monitor Adjust

    This option places colour bars on the screen allowing you to obtain the correct brightness setting.

    Load Game

    Load a previously saved game. As with the first game, you can only save your position after finding the various ink ribbons scattered about the town and buildings and then using them at the typewriters.

    New Game

    Original Mode: When starting a new game you're given the option of "Normal" or "Easy". The former gives you just a clip full of bullets to begin with, whereas the latter begins with 138. In addition, you get a knife and a lighter.

    Arrange Mode: An extra mode has been added to this option for the PC: "Arrange Mode" moves some of the zombies and items around, the enemies require less shots to die, you get 3 ink ribbons instead of 2 every time you pick some up, the dying sequence for yourself isn't graphic at all and when the game is completed your rating is "S" instead of "A".

    Selecting "Easy" gives you a machine gun with infinite ammunition. This makes the game easier but you will not be able to unlock any of the game's secrets this way.


    Hints and Tips

    N.B. I didn't write any of the following cheats, so can't vouch for them if they don't work.

    Kill the Camera

    Take the east exit out of the basement, and go to the area with two dogs and a manhole in it. Stand with your back to the manhole, walk forward from the manhole until the camera changes angles, then face the camera and fire with the Shotgun. You may have to tweak the aim a bit, but check it out!

    Safe Combination

    To open the safe use 2236 as the Code.

    Brad Vickers (Special Key)

    Begin the game on normal difficulty on the 1st scenario. Play through from the beginning without picking up any items. When you reach the gate before the R.P.D., take the stairs to your left. You will encounter a special zombie wear camouflage pants and an orange vest. Say hi to Brad Vickers who you might recall as the pilot of the chopper that airlifted Chris and Jill out of R.E.1. He's no ordinary zombie. He's super powered and takes far more hits than any other zombie. You can try to kill him now with your limited Handgun ammo (not nearly enough shots to kill him) and your knife (uhh, good luck) but a better idea is to pass him and head into the R.P.D. and grab a shotgun and come back for him (once you've made him appear you can go grab any items you want, he'll still be there waiting for you) You can kill him with one shotgun blow to the head. Or wait till he's facing you and slowly move backwards. He'll take a lunge at you and end up at your feet. This only take up 1/8 of your health but you can kill him with one simple boot smash. Search his corpse and you'll find the special key (you can only fight Brad Vickers in the 2nd scenario if you encountered him in the first and you can still pick up items along the way)

    Special Costumes

    Once you've obtained the special key from Brad, as described above, take the key to the 1st F west wing save room that also has the darkroom attached. You will find a locker there. Use the special key and Voila! With Leon you get choice of two new costumes. Plus you'll get the awesome ability to fire the handgun one-handed which is twice as fast as usual. Claire gets only one new costume but also gains the Colt S.A.A. gun. This weapon will give you a real taste of the wild west, as Claire fires it gunslinger style, holding the pistol from the hip and fanning the hammer with her palm. Not only does this look awesome, but she pumps out bullets at more than twice the rate of the normal handgun. But it only holds six shots(but reloads ultra fast) (Note: If you change clothes in the first scenario, that character will still be wearing the new outfit in the others 2nd scenario.)

    Infinite Weapons

    Infinite weapons are a special reward for skilled R.E.2 players. If you beat the 1st scenario with an A or B ranking in under 2 hours, you get an Infinite Rocket Launcher. In the 2nd scenario there are two possibilities. If you simply beat the 2nd mission with an A or B ranking in under 3 hours, you get the Infinite Submachine gun. If you beat the 2nd mission with an A or B ranking in under 2 hours you get an Infinite Rocket Launcher, Submachine gun, AND the awesome Gatling gun!

    1-hit Gator Kill

    Here's a secret trick to kill the Gator boss. When he starts advancing on you. You'll notice a yellow light on the left wall. Search it and a canister will fall to the ground. When the gator chomps down on the gas canister, shoot the canister and the gator will explode into bloody chunks!

    Reserve Power Control

    To activate reserve power, enter the sequence: Up, Down, Up, Up, Down.

    The 4th Survivor

    The fourth survivor is a bonus game mode that features another playable character named "Hunk." Hunk is one of the soldiers who tried to take the G-virus from William, as seen during the midgame CG FMV. Hunk's mission is to get from the sewer to the second floor of the police station. It is a battle mode of sorts, with no puzzles to solve or items to pick up. To open up this mode, beat the second scenario for either of the two characters in under two and a half hours, using fewer than twelve saves.

    Tofu

    Tofu is yet another playable character... well sort of. He's actually a giant piece of tofu, who plays the same scenario as Hunk but is armed with only a knife. To open up Tofu, you must play through the game three consecutive times. Play through a first scenario, then its corresponding second scenario, then the other character's first scenario and its corresponding second scenario, then finally the first and second scenario all over again. If you can finish each one of the six scenarios in under three hours, with fewer than twelve saves in each one, and without using any of the unlimited weapons mentioned below, he's all yours.

    Ranking System

    To get a ranking of :

  • A - beat the game in under three hours and don't use any First Aid sprays. (You can use herbs, though.)
  • B - beat the game in under three hours.
  • C - finish the game in five to seven hours.
  • D - finish the game in seven hours or more.

    Note that your rank will be lowered by one grade if you use any special weapons or if you saved more than 12 times.


    Graphics, Sound and Playability

    The graphics for the PC lose a couple of points in comparison with the Playstation which test that system to the limits. However, while the PC version features 3Dfx zombies and other characters that move, including Leon and Claire, the backgrounds seem to have been ported straight across from the Playstation. In comparison with the crisp and sharp characters, the backgrounds look out of focus. Why? This certainly isn't necessary - especially since the programmers have had ten months since the Playstation version was released - and detracts from the enjoyment of the game.

    The sound is excellent though. The menacing background music, the pistol-shooting followed by the sound of each spent cartridge hitting the floor, the groan of the zombies as they come at you, or slump to the floor. Plus, the squelching sound of several zombies sucking your blood as they pin you to the floor...

    The gameplay is also very good. The controls take a little getting used to although if you've played the first game then you shouldn't have any problems with this game. For the Playstation game, everything played slightly slower in the PAL version than the NTSC version, but there are no such problems here.


    Overall

    Overall, if you've played the original and liked that, then you'll be eager for some more and the concept of this sequel certainly doesn't disappoint, but the graphics do to a degree as have already been pointed out.

    If I could make one alterations, it's that a spare pair of underpants should be included with the game as this and its prequel are the only ones I've played in which you can be genuinely scared of what's around the corner...particularly if it's late at night.

    I did have another suggestion after playing the Playstation version, this being that every time you go through you get the 'opening door' sequence, which can be quite annoying if you need to go through a lot of doors to get somewhere and you know that there's no more zombies left in that room. Therefore I felt you should only get the 'opening door' graphic the first time you go through. My prayers have been answered! Whenever the 'opening door' graphic appears, even if you haven't been through the door before, just press the 'Action' key and this will be skipped. Woohoo!

    For a look at my review of the Playstation version, click HERE !

    If you're after some more info on Virgin Interactive's games, you can check out their official Website at www.vie.co.uk

    Also, check out Capcom's site at www.capcom.com

    GRAPHICS 	: ***
    SOUND EFFECTS 	: *****
    PLAYABILITY	: ****
    ORIGINALITY 	: ****
    ENJOYMENT 	: *** (***** if you haven't played the Playstation version)
    -----------------------
    OVERALL 	: ****
    

    Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1999.

    [Up to the top of this page]

    Page Not Found - DVDfever.co.uk

    DVDfever.co.uk

    404: Page not found

    It looks like nothing was found at this location. Maybe try a search or one of the links below?

    Archives

    Categories

    Follow

    Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

    Join other followers:

    WP Twitter Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com