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Resident Evil 2 (Japanese:バイオハザード２, Biohazard 2) is a survival horror game by Capcom originally released for the Sony PlayStation in 1998 and the second installment in their Resident Evil video game series. It was later ported to the PC, Nintendo 64, Sega Dreamcast and Nintendo GameCube
Development History
After the surprise success of the original Resident Evil, Capcom immediately began the development of a sequel. The first public showing of Resident Evil 2 was in the Tokyo Game Show '96, only a few months after the original's release. Resident Evil 2, in constrast to the original, would've taken place in a decidedly more urban setting in a police station. The main characters were Leon S. Kennedy, a police officer, and Elza Walker, a college student.
Resident Evil 2 was initially scheluded for a March, 1997 release. But as the game was approaching its release date, producer Shinji Mikami and the development staff were unsastified with the direction the game was taking. Rather than release a game they were unsastified with, Capcom took the risk of cancelling the nearly-completed version of Resident Evil 2 (which was dubbed Resident Evil 1.5) and rebuilding the game from scratch.
Yoshiki Okamoto hired Japanese television writer Noboru Sugimura (who formed Flagship with Okamoto and wrote most of the Resident Evil games up until the release of Resident Evil 4) as a story consultant. Several changes were then made to the game's storyline. The most notable being the omission of Elza Walker, who was considered unlikeable by Sugimura and was revamped into Claire Redfield, the sister of protagonist Chris from the original game.
Since revamping Resident Evil 2 delayed the release of the game by several months, Capcom compesated to the public by releasing an updated version of the original Resident Evil titled Resident Evil: Director's Cut, which came packaged with a Resident Evil 2 demo.
Resident Evil 2 was finally released on January, 1998 in North America and Japan and gathered generally positive reviews from the press.
Gameplay
The biggest difference between Resident Evil 2 and the original was the addition of the Zapping System Like in the original, the player has choice between two characters: Leon and Claire. Unike the original, where both characters' scenarios were self-contained, Resident Evil 2 allows the player to play through the first scenario with either character and then play the second scenario with the other character. Although, both scenarios take place simultaneously storywise, some of the actions performed by the player during the first scenario will affect the player's surroundings in the second scenario (including access to certain areas). As a result, player can play through one of four possible scenarios depending on the order of characters they choose (Leon A and Claire B, or Claire A or Leon B).
The differences between both characters is more balanced out in Resident Evil 2. Both characters can hold the same amount items (eight by default) and have their own advantages and disadvantages. Claire can use a lockpick to open desks and simple locks (like Jill in the first game), while Leon has a lighter as his default item. The weapons availble to both characters are different. Leon gets possesion of conventional fireams such a shotgun, a Desert Eagle and a Flamethrower (along with upgradable custom parts), while Claire receives a grenade launcher (with various type of ammo), a rail gun and a crossbow.
The gameplay remained largely unchanged from the first game, although the player can now determine their character's status by their body language. If the player is in the Caution state, their character will be covering their stomach with their hand. In Danger state, the player becomes limp (and unabled to run) and will be using their weapon as a walking cane. The player's character will also react to their enviroment by looking up or down at enemies.
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