The Biggest Changes In Resident Evil 2 Remake
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VOICE OVER: Riccardo Tucci
WRITTEN BY: Caitlin Johnson
Maybe you really can teach an old dog new tricks. Today, we'll be counting down our picks for the biggest changes in the “Resident Evil 2” remake. For this list, we're looking at the biggest differences between 1998's beloved “Resident Evil 2” and 2019's "Resident Evil 2 Remake", that have been made available to public prior to release.
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The Biggest Changes in the “Resident Evil 2” Remake
Maybe you really can teach an old dog new tricks. Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the biggest changes in the “Resident Evil 2” remake.
For this list, we’re looking at the biggest changes between 1998’s beloved “Resident Evil 2” and its upcoming 2019 remake, that have been made available to public prior to release.
The original game had a habit of sending zombies after Leon in large, shambling waves, but don’t expect that in the remake. There are less zombies over all, but the zombies themselves are much more formidable. You’ll need to plant multiple perfect headshots to get them to go down while conserving the most ammo – which, of course, is key. They’re also smarter and have a habit of busting through the RPD’s windows if Leon or Claire don’t board them up, so players had better take the time to secure their environment properly if they don’t want to waste more ammo and resources further down the line. To top it off, they can even the player if they let them get a little bit too close, and you’ll need a combat knife to escape this deadly embrace unscathed. When it comes to the undead hordes, Capcom have really taken on board a “less is more” philosophy.
One thing the original game didn’t do a great job of was fleshing out its characters. Outside of Leon and Claire, many secondary characters had very little screen time and unfortunately shoddy voice acting – at least in the English version. Marvin Branagh originally serves the plot by giving Leon or Claire a key card before sealing himself in a room to become a zombie later on, but the remake sees him become a fully-fledged supporting character. He aids the player more than once, first pulling Leon through a narrow vent with a zombie clawing at him from the other end, bestowing upon him the combat knife as well as some valuable plot exposition, and then he sticks around for more brand-new cutscenes later on. While the grisly wound he’s nursing is surely an indicator that he’ll have the same unpleasant demise as his 1998 counterpart, players will enjoy the opportunity to get know him a bit more. And it’ll make it all the more brutal when he meets his tragic fate.
Fresh graphics and new developers have led to a huge increase in the level of gore in “Resident Evil 2.” While the original has no shortage of blood and guts, it’s unfortunately just pixelated polygons to modern eyes. The revamp will see even veteran gamers sick to their stomachs, which is exactly how you want to feel when playing a “Resident Evil” game. Officer Elliot meets a gruesome end when he’s ripped in half early on, and one corpse Leon finds in a hallway now has his head sliced into segments by the RPD’s monstrous inhabitants. It’s not only the aesthetics which have been kicked up a notch, though, there’s also realistic damage modelling on the enemies. Meaning that when you shoot someone in the face with a shotgun, their head is damaged in a realistic way – flesh is left hanging off the remaining bones as the shamblers keep coming, until you finally pop their heads clean off.
Since anyone who’s played the original game more than once will have memorized all the puzzle solutions, key locations, and where the best items are stashed, Capcom decided to switch all that up for the remake to keep gamers on their toes. Already we’ve seen that the Goddess Statue puzzle in the RPD lobby has a completely different solution, with three medals to collect throughout the station rather than just the one. It also won’t grant players the Spade Key anymore, instead, you’ll find that in an office on one of the upper floors. The shotgun has also moved locations; you now don’t get it from the cowardly gun store owner, but instead discover it in the brand-new Safety Deposit Room. Along with that is the combat knife, now used to escape zombie grapples and open certain taped-up boxes. To put it simply, everything you thought you knew about “Resident Evil 2” probably won’t be of any use to you this time around.
While “Resident Evil 2” deserves to be brought into the modern era, its tank controls should be left behind in the 90s where they belong. The remake will see a welcome update of the awkward movement, and there won’t be any more static cameras – instead, players can move the camera around as they please, just like they’re used to doing. The updated controls mean the combat has also been updated, it’s now much easier to aim and fire properly with standard over-the-shoulder, third-person gunplay. While there will be some people out there very attached to the old-style of playing, the update to the gameplay will definitely encourage new people to jump in. Even long-time “Resident Evil” fans will appreciate this update, since it’s now in-line with the gameplay styles of “4”, “5”, and “6.”
While Marvin gets some more screen time in the pre-release gameplay demos we’ve seen so far, one other memorable character has so far been given a lot less. Gamers will remember the first Licker scuttling past a downstairs window before crawling towards Leon or Claire on the ceiling, but it’s no longer found in that same corridor. Traces of it are discovered all over the walls and on the corpses, but it just doesn’t show itself. There’s some suggestion that this may be a bait and switch, but it’s not the only event that’s completely changed. There’s also Officer Elliot, who now drops a new puzzle clue for Leon, and Sherry finding herself kidnapped in the RPD parking lot by Bryan Irons instead of just running off. Some people even speculate that the game’s whole opening might have changed as well, as the sequence in Kendo’s Gun Shop now occurs after leaving the RPD en route to the sewer, as opposed to the original where the Gun Shop was the first building the players entered.
It only makes sense that players will get to experience “Resident Evil 2’s” twenty-one-year legacy with twenty-one years of graphical improvements. Still Capcom have gone all out to produce a full remake from the ground-up using their home-grown RE Engine. In only its second outing since the wildly successful “Resident Evil 7,” the RE Engine is sure to be pushed to its limits this time around. On top of the stomach-churning gore mechanics, the updated graphics make for a much more atmospheric game. The lightning effects and Leon’s flashlight make every shadowy hallway or dark room a tense experience; even Leon himself has had a visual update. His character model now reflects his status as a young, rookie cop, and he feels like a relatable and fallible character – and the much-improved voice acting certainly doesn’t go amiss.
Maybe you really can teach an old dog new tricks. Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the biggest changes in the “Resident Evil 2” remake.
For this list, we’re looking at the biggest changes between 1998’s beloved “Resident Evil 2” and its upcoming 2019 remake, that have been made available to public prior to release.
#7: Zombie AI
The original game had a habit of sending zombies after Leon in large, shambling waves, but don’t expect that in the remake. There are less zombies over all, but the zombies themselves are much more formidable. You’ll need to plant multiple perfect headshots to get them to go down while conserving the most ammo – which, of course, is key. They’re also smarter and have a habit of busting through the RPD’s windows if Leon or Claire don’t board them up, so players had better take the time to secure their environment properly if they don’t want to waste more ammo and resources further down the line. To top it off, they can even the player if they let them get a little bit too close, and you’ll need a combat knife to escape this deadly embrace unscathed. When it comes to the undead hordes, Capcom have really taken on board a “less is more” philosophy.
#6: More Marvin
One thing the original game didn’t do a great job of was fleshing out its characters. Outside of Leon and Claire, many secondary characters had very little screen time and unfortunately shoddy voice acting – at least in the English version. Marvin Branagh originally serves the plot by giving Leon or Claire a key card before sealing himself in a room to become a zombie later on, but the remake sees him become a fully-fledged supporting character. He aids the player more than once, first pulling Leon through a narrow vent with a zombie clawing at him from the other end, bestowing upon him the combat knife as well as some valuable plot exposition, and then he sticks around for more brand-new cutscenes later on. While the grisly wound he’s nursing is surely an indicator that he’ll have the same unpleasant demise as his 1998 counterpart, players will enjoy the opportunity to get know him a bit more. And it’ll make it all the more brutal when he meets his tragic fate.
#5: Gore
Fresh graphics and new developers have led to a huge increase in the level of gore in “Resident Evil 2.” While the original has no shortage of blood and guts, it’s unfortunately just pixelated polygons to modern eyes. The revamp will see even veteran gamers sick to their stomachs, which is exactly how you want to feel when playing a “Resident Evil” game. Officer Elliot meets a gruesome end when he’s ripped in half early on, and one corpse Leon finds in a hallway now has his head sliced into segments by the RPD’s monstrous inhabitants. It’s not only the aesthetics which have been kicked up a notch, though, there’s also realistic damage modelling on the enemies. Meaning that when you shoot someone in the face with a shotgun, their head is damaged in a realistic way – flesh is left hanging off the remaining bones as the shamblers keep coming, until you finally pop their heads clean off.
#4: Keys and Puzzles
Since anyone who’s played the original game more than once will have memorized all the puzzle solutions, key locations, and where the best items are stashed, Capcom decided to switch all that up for the remake to keep gamers on their toes. Already we’ve seen that the Goddess Statue puzzle in the RPD lobby has a completely different solution, with three medals to collect throughout the station rather than just the one. It also won’t grant players the Spade Key anymore, instead, you’ll find that in an office on one of the upper floors. The shotgun has also moved locations; you now don’t get it from the cowardly gun store owner, but instead discover it in the brand-new Safety Deposit Room. Along with that is the combat knife, now used to escape zombie grapples and open certain taped-up boxes. To put it simply, everything you thought you knew about “Resident Evil 2” probably won’t be of any use to you this time around.
#3: Combat and Camera
While “Resident Evil 2” deserves to be brought into the modern era, its tank controls should be left behind in the 90s where they belong. The remake will see a welcome update of the awkward movement, and there won’t be any more static cameras – instead, players can move the camera around as they please, just like they’re used to doing. The updated controls mean the combat has also been updated, it’s now much easier to aim and fire properly with standard over-the-shoulder, third-person gunplay. While there will be some people out there very attached to the old-style of playing, the update to the gameplay will definitely encourage new people to jump in. Even long-time “Resident Evil” fans will appreciate this update, since it’s now in-line with the gameplay styles of “4”, “5”, and “6.”
#2: Reimagined Events
While Marvin gets some more screen time in the pre-release gameplay demos we’ve seen so far, one other memorable character has so far been given a lot less. Gamers will remember the first Licker scuttling past a downstairs window before crawling towards Leon or Claire on the ceiling, but it’s no longer found in that same corridor. Traces of it are discovered all over the walls and on the corpses, but it just doesn’t show itself. There’s some suggestion that this may be a bait and switch, but it’s not the only event that’s completely changed. There’s also Officer Elliot, who now drops a new puzzle clue for Leon, and Sherry finding herself kidnapped in the RPD parking lot by Bryan Irons instead of just running off. Some people even speculate that the game’s whole opening might have changed as well, as the sequence in Kendo’s Gun Shop now occurs after leaving the RPD en route to the sewer, as opposed to the original where the Gun Shop was the first building the players entered.
#1: Graphics
It only makes sense that players will get to experience “Resident Evil 2’s” twenty-one-year legacy with twenty-one years of graphical improvements. Still Capcom have gone all out to produce a full remake from the ground-up using their home-grown RE Engine. In only its second outing since the wildly successful “Resident Evil 7,” the RE Engine is sure to be pushed to its limits this time around. On top of the stomach-churning gore mechanics, the updated graphics make for a much more atmospheric game. The lightning effects and Leon’s flashlight make every shadowy hallway or dark room a tense experience; even Leon himself has had a visual update. His character model now reflects his status as a young, rookie cop, and he feels like a relatable and fallible character – and the much-improved voice acting certainly doesn’t go amiss.
