Highly anticipated: The original Resident Evil, which came out on PlayStation in 1996, was the first video game to truly scare the pants off me. Two years later, Resident Evil 2 came out and scored me even more.
Remasters of old games do not generally excite me too much. Doom 2016 was the last and only remake that I have purchased. However, when Capcom announced in 2015 it was bringing Resident Evil 2 to modern hardware, my ears pricked up. I got even more excited when it revealed a teaser at E3 2018 and told us it will be out next year.
Now my skin is getting all prickly again after watching this gameplay trailer posted by Nvidia. While the game was running in 4k, unfortunately it was only recorded in 1080p. That's okay though. It'll look all the better running on your rig.
Resident Evil 2 has seen remasters before, most notably the port to Dreamcast. What makes this remake so exciting is that it is not just the same game with a a fresh coat of paint like Sega's port was. Capcom has basically rebuilt the game from the ground up adding new elements like a new camera system that intensifies encounters with the zombies.
"The new immersive camera lets you feel their fangs as they sink into your flesh."
The narrative remains mostly intact, so you still get the same gripping story that you remember, but Capcom claims it has a whole new feel. Judging by the gory gameplay in the trailer, I think that's a fair statement. Best of all, it promises to run at 60FPS in 4K.
Of course, I may just be biased. I've always been a sucker for zombie stories and games. Be that as it may, if you have fond memories of the early Resident Evil franchise, you might want to keep this one on your radar.
Resident Evil 2 is due out on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam on January 25, 2019. The standard edition will go for $60 while a "Deluxe Edition" containing extra costumes, weapons, and the soundtrack will run $70.