RESIDENT EVIL 2
The triple threat on test! We play as Leon, Claire, and Ada
W aist-deep in a fatberg, we’ve just survived a fight with – blown the chops off, in fact – a giant alligator in the sewers beneath the Raccoon City Police Department. It’s an infamous sequence from the original Resident Evil 2 that sticks in the mind of anyone who played it. Now given Capcom’s beautiful remake treatment, it feels as fresh as any Kratos death blow. And the way Leon S Kennedy delivers his pulpy lines – “Chew on this!” – with shameless gusto makes our return to Raccoon City even more enjoyable.
Out latest hands-on with the Resident Evil 2 remake has us pounding the sewers and killing oversized reptiles as Leon, but we also get to test how corporate spy Ada Wong plays on PS4. At first she’s guiding Leon around, handily filling him, and us, in on what’s happening in Raccoon City.
The exposition could feel clumsy if it weren’t for the stunning visuals: street lights reflecting off the shiny, rainslicked streets, and new-Ada’s Corey Hart fashion sense hiding a secret or two (sunglasses at night are retro cool). Just when you think it’s starting to feel a little staid, a truly emotional scene behind the Kendo gun store tugs on the feels – but we’ll leave you to experience that for yourself. What we will reveal is that overall, storytelling in this Resident Evil 2 matches anything we’ve seen from Sony’s studios.
LADY IN RED
Some puzzling and zombie bashing later, the pair split, Leon heading to his sewer scrap and Ada to explore the NEST facility. She’s on the hunt for Annette Birkin and the G-virus. Why and for whom? We’re not so sure, but we’re having a ton of fun fending off the undead in her best red frock – yes, Ada’s classic Resident Evil 2 outfit is in the game, in addition to her sunnies-andtrenchcoat getup. In fact, it’s just one of many costume changes for Ada. We’ll leave the exact
reason for the fashion parade for you to discover.
Playing as the infamous femme fatale proves one of the highlights of our hands-on, as Capcom has doubled down on her super-spy shenanigans for this remake. Armed with an EMP gun and
seemingly stuck behind an electrically locked door, we scour the walls and floor of a NEST corridor, following the highlighted cables to power points and trip switches that we can activate by holding i. It’s a mechanic straight out of the Arkham text book, and we’re glad we’re all on the same page. The initial puzzle is a simple affair, and we think Ada’s mission will be a breeze, but later problems are complex with multiple wire paths… and everything needs to be
“CAPCOM HAS DOUBLED DOWN ON ADA’S SUPER-SPY SHENANIGANS.”
done under threat of an encroaching zombie horde.
JUMP CLAIRE
The pressure continues as we switch to Claire Redfield. The student-turned-zombie survivalist has her work cut out trying to get through the overrun police department in pursuit of Sherry Birkin, who’s been kidnapped by the creepy Chief Irons.
Armed with a grenade launcher and some newly crafted acid rounds we’re feeling pretty comfortable. Then we solve the classic burning helicopter puzzle and free the Tyrant, and discover the remade-on-PS4 creature stalks us everywhere. We’re trying to solve an Art Room puzzle – thud! We’re shooting the legs off zombies with our unlocked JMB Hp3 handgun – thump! We’re recovering from falling through the floor of the library – thwack! The constant clump of the Tyrant’s boots on floorboards as it gets closer tests both our nerves and our puzzling skills. It puts us on edge, forcing us to rush even the simplest puzzles.
As though that’s not awful enough, even standard zombies hunt you from room to room in this remake, and soon the RPD
becomes cluttered with animated corpses looking to chew on a Claire kebab. Even the old frights feel new now they’re built in the RE Engine. We jump as we open morgue doors looking for puzzle items; like a game of undead Deal Or No Deal eventually a body spits to life and claws us.
Our demo ends with a final twist, and one new playable character that we hadn’t anticipated: we’re in the pumps of Sherry Birkin in an all-new area called The Orphanage. But that’s an unspoilt story for a different issue of OPM…