Resident Evil 2
Platform: Nintendo 64
Media: Cartridge
Genre: Survival Horror
Release Year: 1999
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Players: 1
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Resident Evil 2

Ready or not, the terror of Resident Evil 2 is here. In chapter one, the case of the disastrous T-virus outbreak--a mutagenic toxin designed for biological weapons--was eventually closed but the experiments were far from over. Control the destiny of Leon Kennedy or Claire Redfield as their nightmare begins when a biotech terror runs rampant in Raccoon City. Relentless zombies and hideous monsters are all out for a taste of your blood. If the suspense doesn't kill you, something else will.

Gameplay

Resident Evil 2 follows the same basic gameplay mechanics as its predecessor.[1] The graphics are composed of polygonal character and item models, superimposed over pre-rendered backgrounds using fixed camera angles.[1][2] A survival horror title, the game's objective is to explore different locations while solving puzzles and fighting numerous monsters.[1] The two selectable protagonists may be equipped with a variety of firearms, though ammunition is limited, adding a tactical element to weapon use.[1][3] On the status screen, the player can check the condition of the characters, use medicine to heal wounds inflicted upon them in battle, and assign weapons.[4][5] Additionally, the current health of the protagonists can be determined by their animation and the speed of their movement.[1] For example, wounded characters will hold their stomach in pain, whereas they will limp slowly when they are on the verge of death.[1] The protagonists can only carry a certain amount of items at a time, requiring the rest to be stored in and retrieved from boxes scattered across the locations.[1][6] The game may be saved at some select rooms with a typewriter, though one-time-use ink ribbons are necessary to do so.

The main addition to the gameplay is the "Zapping System":[9] Each of the two playable characters is confronted with different puzzles and storylines in their respective scenario.[1] After finishing the "A" scenario with one protagonist, a "B" scenario is unlocked in which the events are depicted from the other character's perspective.[10][1] Actions taken during the first playthrough affect the second scenario, for example in the availability of certain items.[1] After each game, the player receives a ranking based on the total time taken to complete the scenario, and the number of saves and first aid sprays used.[11] Depending on certain requirements, bonus weapons and costumes are unlocked as a reward.[10] Additional minigames are available in the form of "The 4th Survivor", "The To-fu Survivor" and "Extreme Battle", three standalone missions featuring an extended cast of characters

Plot

The game is set in the Midwestern mountain community of Raccoon City,[13] two months after the mansion incident of the first Resident Evil.[14] Nearly all of the citizens have been turned into zombies by an outbreak of the T-virus, a new type of biological weapon secretly developed by the pharmaceutical company Umbrella.[15][16] Having just arrived in the city, Leon S. Kennedy, a rookie police officer on his first day in the local force, and Claire Redfield, a college student looking for her brother Chris, make their way to the Raccoon Police Department, seeking protection from the mutated population.[15] There, they find out that most of the policemen have been killed already[17] and that Chris has left the town some time ago to investigate the Umbrella headquarters in Europe.[18] With no more motivation to stay, the two protagonists decide to split up to look for other survivors, and to flee from the city.[19][20]

In search of an escape route, Claire meets a little girl named Sherry who is on the run from an unknown creature, and Leon encounters Ada Wong who claims to be looking for her boyfriend John, an Umbrella researcher.[19][21] Claire discovers that Umbrella bribed Raccoon City's police chief Brian Irons to cover up any evidence of the mansion incident for the purpose of masking the development of the new G-virus, an agent capable of turning a human into the ultimate bioweapon.[19][22] The maniacal Irons is killed by one such G-virus mutant roaming the police department while Claire and Sherry escape through the sewers and are separated from each other.[19] Splitting up from Leon, Ada runs into Sherry and picks up the golden pendant she lost.[19] Further into the sewers, a middle-aged woman fires at Ada, but Leon dives in front of her and takes a shot himself.[19] Ada follows the assassin who reveals herself to be Sherry's mother Annette, and the wife of William Birkin, the creator of the G-virus.[19] In an attempt to protect his life's work from special agents sent by the Umbrella headquarters, he injected himself with the virus which turned him into the malformed creature that is now chasing Sherry.[19] Annette recognizes her daughter's pendant, and a battle over it ensues during which she is thrown over a railing.[23] Ada finds out that the golden locket contains a sample of the G-virus, and later returns to Leon, tending to his bullet wound.[15][19]

Meanwhile, Claire reunites with Sherry and discovers that Birkin has already implanted her with an embryo to produce offspring.[19] The protagonists advance through an abandoned factory to Umbrella's secret underground research facility. Ada is heavily wounded by an attack from Birkin, and Leon explores the laboratory to find something to treat her wounds. He is interrupted by a psychotic Annette explaining to him that Ada's relationship with John was only a smokescreen to get information about Umbrella, and that she is really a spy sent by an unknown organization to retrieve the G-virus. Just as she is about to shoot Leon, a Tyrant appears and she is forced to retreat. Ada shows up again and sacrifices herself to rescue Leon, confessing that she fell in love with him.[19] Trying to escape with another sample of the G-virus, Annette is fatally wounded by her mutated husband, but manages to give Claire instructions on how to produce a vaccine for Sherry. After preparing the cure, Leon and Claire reunite at an emergency escape train and inject Sherry with the vaccine, saving her life. Birkin, now mutated into a massive blob, followed them but is eventually destroyed when the self-destruct system causes the train to explode. Ada is implied to have survived and to have made away with the G-virus in the pendant. Having escaped from the city with Sherry, Leon decides to take down Umbrella while Claire continues to search for her brother.

The minigame "The 4th Survivor" depicts the successful G-virus retrieval mission of Hunk, one of the special agents sent by Umbrella,[25] whereas "The To-fu Survivor" and "Extreme Battle" are completely independent missions that bear no relevance to the plot of the game