1998 was one of the more exciting years for gamers.
Bonafide classics released that year, such as Banjo-Kazooie, Half-Life, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Starcraft, and more. Another highly-regarded title that released in 1998 is the survival horror classic known as Resident Evil 2. Capcom built upon the excellent foundation set up by the sequel’s predecessor and managed to produce one of its finest games.
Back in 2002, Capcom completely remade the very first entry in the series. Fans were delighted to see the Spencer Mansion again and get the chance to embark upon an even darker adventure with Chris and Jill. In 2019, fans of Resident Evil 2 will finally get to revisit the horrifying trials of Leon and Claire in a full-fledged remake of their own.
There’s a lot of info to dig through for this highly-anticipated remake. We happen to have everything you need to know about it right here.
Resident Evil 2 Remake Release Date
Capcom
Resident Evil 2 Remake is scheduled to launch on January 25, 2019.
Resident Evil 2 Reveal Trailer
Resident Evil 2 Platforms
Capcom
Resident Evil 2 Remake will be available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Story & Characters
Capcom
Like the original, Resident Evil 2 Remake puts players into the shoes of Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield. Both characters end up making their way towards Raccoon City for their own reasons, but their fates become intertwined as they look to survive the city’s zombie virus outbreak.
Along their journey, they’ll encounter other characters who have their own connections to the city and the virus responsible for causing it – the G-Virus. Leon will mainly come into contact with the mysterious Ada Wong, while Claire will run into Sherry Birkin. Both Leon and Claire will engage with different types of vicious bio-weapons and seek out the truth behind Raccoon City’s horrifying predicament. Several plot points will remain the same, while the gameplay used to get to these moments appears to have been altered.
Gameplay Differences Between the Original and Remake
Capcom
The original Resident Evil 2 released on PlayStation One back in 1998. It utilized fixed camera angles and tank controls in order to tell its survival-horror tale. 2019’s remade version of Resident Evil 2 will stick to an over-the-shoulder, 3rd-person viewpoint reminiscent of the one featured in Resident Evil 4. During an interview with Gamespot, game producer Yoshiaki “H” Hirabayashi spoke on why the decision was made to employ this camera view:
We looked into all kinds of possibilities and options during a long process of deliberation and consideration when it came to the camera, and it all came down to the feeling we want you to have when you play the game, and we wanted to have the key pillars of scary survival horror, and also, a sort of so-called metroidvania style exploration of the environment. And when it came to how to bring the best experience of those two aspects together: the answer was the over-the-shoulder third-person view.
Capcom
Resident Evil 2 Remake will hit the same beats established in the original, such as solving puzzles, locating keys, and fending off zombies and other assorted bio-weapons. Leon and Claire will tackle their mission via two separate story campaigns. While in combat, both characters now have the ability to carefully aim at whoever (or whatever’s) trying to kill them. A gunpowder mechanic will now give players the chance to craft ammo from scratch. This feature was a huge component of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and Resident Evil 7: Biohazard.
Capcom
Other forms of offense/defense that Leon and Claire will have to employ besides guns are wooden boards. While exploring the Raccoon City Police Department, they’ll come across these items and use them to barricade doors and windows from undead menaces. When you do end up getting grabbed by a zombie, you can shove your trusty knife in them and shove them away to avoid getting bitten. This mechanic harkens back to the one introduced in the remake of the first Resident Evil.
As for the game’s item boxes feature, it’ll rely on the same mechanics first seen in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. From a graphical standpoint, Resident Evil 2 Remake has been remade from the ground up – it’s being powered by Resident Evil 7: Biohazard’s “RE Engine.” This remake is capable of running at 60 frames per second or outputting a 4K resolution on PS4 Pro or Xbox One X.
Trailers
Pre-Order
Capcom
Resident Evil 2 Remake is up for pre-order in three different editions – the physical Standard Edition (sold here), the physical Deluxe Edition (sold here) as well as the Digital Deluxe Edition (sold here), and the Collector’s Edition (sold here). Pre-ordering any of these editions gifts its recipients with a download voucher for the following deluxe weapons – the “Samurai Edge” pistol (Chris Model) for Leon and the “Samurai Edge” pistol (Jill Model) for Claire.
Capcom
Both the physical and Digital Deluxe Edition come with an Extra DLC Pack. This suite of DLC gives players the option to use the original game’s music/sound effects, another deluxe weapon (the Albert Model of the “Samurai Edge” pistol), and extra costumes. Those costumes are Arklay Sheriff (Leon), Noir (Leon), Military (Claire), Noir (Claire), and Elza Walker (Claire). And finally, the Collector’s Edition comes with the following bonus items listed below:
Capcom
– a physical copy of Resident Evil 2 Remake
– an exclusive Leon S. Kennedy figurine
– an artbook entitled “Ben’s Life”
– a digital soundtrack
– a physical replica of the Raccoon City Police Department Renovation Plan
– access to the Extra DLC Pack
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