Resident Evil 2

"I borrowed this from a friend today," my brother said to me as he held Resident Evil 2 in his hand. There's absolutely no way I was supposed to be playing a game with blood, zombies, and blah blah blah. There was also no way I wasn't going to play it.

Claire or Leon

Just like Threads of Fate, you have the option of choosing between two characters when starting Resident Evil 2. Leon Kennedy is a rookie cop starting his first day at the R.C.P.D. Claire Redfield is Chris Redfield's sister, and she's on the lookout for Chris, hoping to find him safe somewhere in Raccoon City.

Stranded in the Streets of Raccoon City

Secretly playing games I wasn't supposed to play was a game I was starting to get used to after I was able to save up enough to buy a Playstation. I was overall very successful in this endeavor, but RE2 might've been the first game I even attempted to play secretly. I'm sure I watched my brother play it for an hour or so, and then I, without a doubt, created my own save afterwards. I'll never forget the anxiety of being thrown into the streets to survive with limited ammo. And picking up ammo was really really fun. I loved the design of the 9mm boxes.

As a teen, I was starting to fall in love with all things survival horror, and this experience was perfect. I had absolutely no idea where to go, but I loved the small moments when you knew you had found shelter. Gun Shop Kendo is unforgettable as your first opportunity to catch your breath. I find these little chatty moments to be the central piece of any survival horror media. They're where the story evolves, and you start to truly get to know the characters when they're not just running for cover.

Police Station or Escape Room?

Raccoon City's police station is filled with elaborate puzzles and doors that require old-fashioned keys that might come out of a mystery novel set in the 1920s or something. Probably sounds a little weird, but this aesthetic is undeniably cool. You can kind of immediately tell that this is where the crux of the story is probably going to take place.

By this point in the game, you've picked up some typewriter ribbon, and it's probably starting to get a little addicting collecting items, but also you're stressed out because you don't know where to put them. But those sounds, though. The menu sounds are so late 90s Playstation, and that's where the wave of nostalgia will just rush over you if you come back to it now.

Piecing Together Your Arsenal

Leon, the rookie cop that he is, comes equipped with an H&K VP70, and you come across a plethora of different weapons he can use. Games like Resident Evil and RE2 set the standard for ammo conservation, and the choice of weapon for other occasions, alongside games like Tomb Raider and Metal Gear Solid. Having options makes this problem a fun part of the gameplay that will leave you wondering if you can make it with what you've got.

The most exciting upgrade I found was the H. Gun Parts, which allowed you to attach a stock to the VP70 and use burst fire on zombies. I thought that was so cool and did not see it coming. I figured the first gun was probably going to be the lamest gun in the game, but it moved back up to the top for me once I found the stock upgrade.

Creepy Crawlies

The bad camera angles and hard-to-control characters, combined with the horrors of the zombie monsters, can make this game pretty creepy at times. There is a scene when you're first introduced to a Licker, and that's when you know you're living in the late 90s and horror is likely never to be quite this good very often in the future.

The design of this creature was really unique and deeply unsettling. You know you're gonna have to fight this thing, and you know it's not likely to go very well. It's definitely time to get the shotgun out. Don't even question that. It's kinda reminiscent of a Cenobite from Clive Barker's "Hellraiser", but with a creature vibe instead of a demonic priest with a chain obsession, or a tooth rattling incubus.

Sequel to a Genre-Defining Game

The RE series was really the first of its kind, and it's legendary for a reason. The 2nd game is arguably the best in the whole series, and you can't pass this one up if you're looking for a good retro game.