Yep, we haven't yet left January, most of us are probably still ploughing through the back catalog of games that we got for Christmas, but there's another to add to the prospective pile.
21 years ago, Resident Evil 2 was first released upon the world, expanding the virus from the one big mansion to the entirety of the nearby Raccoon City.
Ingeniously, your first decision in the game is to choose between rookie police officer Leon Kennedy and college student Claire Redfield, who then get split up in the carnage of the zombie outbreak, so you get to play through the same game from two very different viewpoints.
The game has been remade and overhauled with a fancy new graphics engine, giving the iconic game a new lease of life for current gen players who might only know Resident Evil 7 as the "good" RE game.
Anyone concerned that the game wouldn't hold up in today's standards will soon have their fears put to rest by the glut of reviews for the remake:
"Resident Evil 2 is a survival horror masterpiece, and sets an unbelievably high standard for video game remakes. The unrivaled realism, terror, and difficulty creates a tremendous, immersive experience that, honestly, makes other horror games look bad. I can see this game living on forever in speedruns, let’s plays, and even discussions for the greatest horror games ever made." - GamingTrend
"Though Resident Evil 2 has its roots firmly in the past, it reworks the familiar horrors into something that feels brand new and all its own." - Gamespot
"This Resident Evil 2 remake is a phenomenal update of a classic game. It combines the best of the original's narrative and puzzles with the ammo crafting of Resident Evil 3 and the action gameplay of Resident Evil 4 to create a hybrid that still manages to feel like classic Resi. Old fans will enjoy the nostalgic retread of Racoon City in all its newfound glory, whilst newcomers will get to experience one of the finest episodes of the series as it should be. The remake has been more than worth the wait, and the evil of the Umbrella Corporation is back in residence at the top of the survival horror pile once more." - TheSixthAxis
"For veterans who remember the original (and I reviewed it at the time), it is an unmissable nostalgic treat. For those who don’t know their T-Viruses from their Code Veronicas, the experience is easily vivid and entertaining enough to stand on its own merits. This is horror game design as true craft." - Guardian
Resident Evil 2 is released on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on Friday 25 January.
Check out the story trailer below:
Clip via PlayStation
