Tag: RE2

A Look Back at Resident Evil: The Official Comic Book Magazine #2 (1998)

A Look Back at Resident Evil: The Official Comic Book Magazine #2 (1998)

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Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from reading the comic book and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.

Welcome back, 1990s arts and culture enthusiasts, video game enthusiasts and comic book collectors! Today we go back to the late-1990s to examine the launch issue of the magazine-sized comic book series titled Resident Evil: The Official Comic Book Magazine.

The launch issue of Resident Evil: The Official Comic Book Magazine was surprisingly entertaining. That’s not to say it was excellent as it had some flaws here and there. It succeeded with creative stuff by WildStorm to give readers and RE fans a wider lore of Resident Evil by reconnecting them with the first video game and slowly connecting them to Resident Evil 2. The interview with RE creator and producer Shinji Mikami (still a prolific video games industry producer) was indeed a good bonus.

As many of us know, Resident Evil 2 was a huge critical and commercial hit in 1998. By the time WildStorm continued publishing another issue of the official comic book magazine, enthusiasm for Resident Evil was intensified and many new gamers who enjoy RE2 on PlayStation became fans.

With those details laid down, here is a look back at Resident Evil: The Official Comic Book Magazine #2, published by WildStorm/Image Comics in 1998 with short stories written by Ted Adams and Kris Oprisko, and drawn by  Carlos D’Anda and Lee Bermejo.

The cover.

Early stories

A New Chapter of Evil (Resident Evil 2 adaptation) – Inside a police car moving along the street in the middle of a zombie-fested Raccoon City, Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield tried to figure out what has been happening around them. Leon notices an over-speeding truck is about to hit them from behind. The two managed to get out of the car before it got hit by the truck. From a distance, Leon tells Claire to make her way to the Raccoon City police station where they can meet again.     

Mutant Menagerie – After getting left behind by the armed men who shot him, chief researcher William Birkin clutches an overlooked vial of the G-virus and injects himself with it. He soon mutates into a large, deformed monster capable of killing anyone easily. Propelled by sheer willpower to save his life’s work, Birkin simply thinks about infecting many. The next day at the zoo of Raccoon City, a monstrous roar catches the attention of a security guard who rushes outside only to find his two colleagues dead and their bodies torn apart.

Lock Down – Barry Burton, who has been experiencing recurring nightmares since the disastrous mission at the Spencer mansion, visits a facility to seek the help of a psychiatrist. As he approaches the office of the psychiatrist, he noticed someone looking strange.

Quality

Barry Burton suddenly encounters a Tyrant!

In this 2nd issue, the WildStorm team prepared three short stories with the first one serving as the illustrated adaptation of Resident Evil 2’s story (specifically with Leon on Scenario A and Claire on Scenario B).

The RE2 adaptation titled A New Chapter of Evil is very sloppy and so poorly done. The assigned writer and artist forcibly crammed the entire Resident Evil 2 story into a limited number of pages. The result is a very rushed approach on storytelling and the noticeable lack of care on the presentation. Having played RE2 a number of times myself, I can easily say that the order of scenes from the game were sloppily chained together in illustrated format to unbelievably occur next to each other without any proper spacing. That also means leaving no space for the reader to slow down to be able to absorb the details and to understand what has been going on.

Since there were not enough pages allocated, the visual presentation also suffered. Each battle with a monster happened too fast and not enough panels could be made to emphasize clearly what happened. The same thing also happened in key scenes of the story.

In the scene in which Claire Redfield encountered the office of the corrupt chief of police (with the dead body of a blonde woman on his desk), the creative team showed the two having a really short talk quickly followed by Claire meeting Sherry for the first time (without even showing Claire moving out of the chief’s office) followed by showing them descending on a motorized lift and quickly encountering the chief (who somehow teleported ahead of them).

The cramming of scenes, dialogue and bad visualization happened all throughout this Resident Evil 2 adaptation. One has to wonder why WildStorm decided not to use the entire 2nd issue for the adaptation. This literary adaptation of RE2 is absolutely bad and it is clearly an embarrassing piece of work of WildStorm’s publishing.

The short story Mutant Menagerie is an attempt to connect to the lord of RE2 by having the mutated William Birkin as the monster with the zoo as the environment. The protagonist is the zoo security guard Patrick Brady who is unsurprisingly in a major disadvantage. Creatively, this tale provides readers an interesting look at what would happen had the G-virus infected the animals in the zoo which added a new element of danger in the zombie crisis within the Resident Evil universe. The story has some Rambo-vibes when it came to the protagonist taking extreme measures to deal with the infected zoo animals.

While Mutant Menagerie is clearly non-canon as the presence of Birkin in the zoo made no sense at all in relation to what was shown in Resident Evil 2 (Birkin’s presence was limited to the NEST facility underneath Raccoon City), this short story became more relevant as the Raccoon City Zoo officially appeared in Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2 (released SIX YEARS after this comic book). This short story is an intriguing and satisfying piece of fan fiction.

The third tale Lock Down is a serious attempt to give RE fans a look at what happened to Barry Burton after the events of the 1996 game. This one has some Die Hard vibes as you will see Burton as a desperate action hero who happens to be present during a very unfortunate series of events. You will also see how he strives hard to solve problems without Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield and Rebecca Chambers to assist him. Artist Lee Bermejo did not compromise with the graphic violence and gore, and his approach on visual dynamism was nicely executed. His visualization of Burton is pretty good too.  

While the series of unfortunate events here makes the tale believable, there is something weird as the narrative went on. The building itself has secrets of its own and scenes such as Barry Burton suddenly encountering a Tyrant felt like a nightmare from nowhere. It is implied that the laboratory, the postal center, the smelly sub-basement and the penthouse could have all been established by Umbrella within the city. This short story is actually entertaining and surprising.

Conclusion

Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy in the Resident Evil 2 adaptation.

The main feature story of Resident Evil: The Official Comic Book Magazine #2 (1998) – the official adaptation of Resident Evil 2’s story – is clearly the failure and is an obvious waste of time. What prevented this comic book magazine from becoming a total disaster were the short stories Mutant Menagerie and Lock Down which were entertaining and surprising to read. That said, it is mind-boggling that WildStorm did not use this entire issue to properly tell the Resident Evil 2 story and give the creative team enough space to ensure a quality adaptation. I wonder how Capcom and the Resident Evil 2 developers reacted to this issue’s RE2 adaptation.

Overall, Resident Evil: The Official Comic Book Magazine #2 (1998) is serviceable.

+++++

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Carlo Carrasco’s Game Review: Resident Evil 2 (Remake)

Carlo Carrasco’s Game Review: Resident Evil 2 (Remake)

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Twenty-one years ago, I had a great time playing Resident Evil 2 on the original PlayStation console. I enjoyed the first Resident Evil on the same console in 1996 but it was the sequel that turned me into a fan of the game franchise.

A few months ago, Capcom released the remake of Resident Evil 2 (which I bought for Xbox One) completing the promise they made way back in 2015. Sure details of the game were kept in great secret until E3 of 2018 (when it was first previewed) but I can tell you from my experience that the long wait was indeed well worth it!

Before I go on, let me share to you that while just about everyone called this new version of RE2 a remake, for me it is more than that. I personally would call it a remake with expansion.

Now I can discuss the game

Gameplay and Presentation

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Shooting in 3rd person.

The way this game was remade and expanded, Capcom’s team did a great job to modernize Resident Evil 2 a lot. This is not a carbon copy of the 1998 game design done with 3D environments and a 3rd person view (over-the-shoulder) for the 8th console generation. The developers went the extra mile adding some new challenges and gameplay features that just might inspire other game developers to follow suit.

At its core, RE2 Remake is technically a 3rd person adventure game that carefully blends horror, action and exploration combined with suitable storytelling split into two sides. When you play a new game, you get to choose either Claire or Leon. Once you finish the game, a “New Game – 2nd Run” option comes up which allows you to play the other character on the other side (or scenario) of the main story that you just finished.

While the 1998 game had pre-rendered backgrounds presented in 2D (which makes sense with that game’s outdated tank-like controls), this game has every environment in full 3D which you can freely explore and revisit. As you control your character with a 3rd person view complete control of the view (that allows you to look around), the developers used shadows and darkness in many parts of the game to ensure an atmosphere of horror and suspense. There is nothing like walking down a very dark corridor with your flashlight not knowing what’s ahead of you.

Of course, there is the classic Resident Evil challenge of solving puzzles and item management. There are also these containers where you can put your items into for safekeeping and the good news is that identical containers in other locations instantly carry those stored items.

As this game deals with zombies, the game developers went all out on making each zombie and monster very detailed and grotesque to look at. The 3D artists seem to have studied anatomy while the in-game physics handlers ensured that whatever part of the zombie’s body gets hit by a bullet, it gets the corresponding damage. The zombies are scary and grotesque and compared to their 1998 counterparts, they are tougher and more dangerous to deal with. With regards to the monsters, the standout is the Licker which in this game is much more dangerous even if you have lots of ammunition. The Licker is capable of jumping a great distance towards you with a lot of speed to boot. The Licker can push your character down on the floor when you least expect it.

More on the monsters, the 3D art on William Birkin is incredible! It’s as if the game developers took a close look at the 1998 William Birkin (much lower polygons back then), watched John Carpenter’s movie The Thing for inspiration and then made the modern William Birkin look more monstrous with photo-realism in mind! The more mutated Birkin got, the more incredible the visual detail and scare factor got!

The most defining gameplay challenge is exploring the police station with Mr. X (a Tyrant) walking around searching for you. He walks around obsessively and can go into most rooms although he cannot enter the room with game saving devices (typewriters). Mr. X is very dangerous and each time he appears, the tension and fear run up high forcing you to get away somehow. As long as Mr. X is in the game, you must listen carefully to the ambient sound (note: raise the volume of your sound system or that of your HDTV) to watch out for the sounds of the steps he takes. The louder the steps, then it means his presence is very near you.

As expected, guns are the main weapons to use and eventually you will get to use a shotgun (for Leon), a machine gun (for Claire), grenade launcher, flame thrower and others. This is not a straightforward shooting game however. Zombies are tough as they take a lot of bullets to put down. This will force you to get the most out of each shot as the impact per shot is directly affected by the quality of the aiming which itself goes down as your character moves. To get the best aim, your character has to stand still and when you fire, you better hope that the zombies (which constantly move) do get hit. Sure you can move and fire at the same time but you won’t get good results in return. Forget about doing the Gears of War tactic here. Just pace yourself, be strategic, then aim and fire.

Your character gets to use a secondary weapon in the form of a combat knife or a flasher or even a grenade. Imagine your character is armed with a secondary weapon. If an enemy grabs, you will be prompted to use the secondary weapon to damage (or push back at least) the enemy and allow yourself to keep your distance away without getting hurt.

When it comes to survival, the classic gathering and mixing of colored herbs are back. Taking inspiration from 1999’s Resident Evil 3, the game allows you to create new ammunition by combining items needed for creation. As the items are varied, you can decide which kind of ammunition to make. Speaking of which, the amount of ammunition in this game is pretty limited and this will compel you to conserve bullets and make the most out of what you have to survive.

On the aspect of exploration, the locations in the 1998 RE2 are back but they have been expanded even as key locations from the old game were recreated in 3D. The police station seems bigger to me this time but the standout zone of exploration is the dark and gritty sewer (which puts the sewer in the 1998 game to shame). There are a lot more places to explore and the good news is that there is something worth collecting when visiting those places.

As for the deep underground science experiment facility, the game developers made the place really looked like it was used for work by the employees. There were lots of equipment around that were not presented as mere in-game decorations but rather they gave me a clear idea that work was done previously before disaster struck. There was even a sleeping quarter for stay-in employees which really looked lived-in.

Storytelling (warning: mild spoilers ahead)

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Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield.

A zombie outbreak struck Raccoon City. Near the city, Claire Redfield (who’s searching for her heroic brother Chris) and Leon Kennedy (a rookie cop on his way to the police station) incidentally get together after having an early confrontation with zombies at a gas station. As they got into the city, an out-of-control truck hits their car (which they got out off in time) and separates them. Claire and Leon make it to the police station only to find out that it is hazardous with zombies and corpses inside. From this point on, they have to figure out what is going on, who is responsible and how they could escape and survive from the ruined city.

As this game is a remake, it is no surprise at all that the original script from the 1998 game was not reused but rather this new game has a new script inspired by it. The intention was to reintroduce not only the characters but the game’s core concepts to a modern gaming audience who, by today’s standards, are very used to watching very cinematic cut scenes in their video games.

The dialogue is lengthy and for the most part the voice actors performed nicely on delivering the drama (and the expository dialogue) and bringing the characters to life. The script captured the essence of 1998’s RE2 mostly but there were a few noticeable differences that bothered me.

For one thing, I noticed that Leon Kennedy in this modern game does not really take charge of his situation and even gets fooled and manipulated by Ada Wong who poses as an FBI agent. By comparison, Leon has a subtle but notable taking of responsibility (and taking charge) of the situation in the 1998 RE2. Remember dialogue in that game with Ada telling her that they cannot progress if she does not let him take charge? Remember the scene when the jailed journalist was told that if he wanted to survive, he would have to leave with Leon?  Those character traits of Leon taking charge against the odds really happened back in 1998. The remake’s Leon is more gullible and naive by comparison. Was this a deliberate alteration done by the script writer? We don’t know yet but the difference of Leon’s personality is noticeable.

Next is the lack of strength in the way Leon and Claire reacted to the zombie outbreak in Raccoon City. The scene where they get together for the first time at the exterior of the police station showed them being too casual (not that concerned) of their situation. Their exchange of dialogue felt better suited in a romantic movie. By comparison, their portrayal (getting reunited after the initial separation) in the 1998 game was more convincing.

Next, I have a problem with the way Claire decides to fight the heavily mutated William Birkin in their 3rd fight. It’s just not convincing in relation to the entire situation of the outbreak. Even though Claire Redfield has no military training (she knows self-defense only), she decides to risk her life fighting him completely disregarding the need to quickly save Sherry (suffering at this point) and escape with her. This scene is clearly another one of those “because the game requires it” situations. By comparison in the 1998 game, Claire reacts naturally with silent fear each time she sees William Birkin.

Apart from the differences between RE2 1998 and RE2 2019, there were these inaccuracies regarding the narrative of the game. Supposedly, regardless of which characters were used on each side of the main story, the core story’s events took place in close proximity to each other if not at the same time. This however does not explain Annette Birkin’s appearing in BOTH sides of the main story specifically in the moments leading up to the 3rd boss battle with her mutated husband William. She appeared in Leon’s side of the scene and also in Claire’s side of it. Was there a clone of Annette Birkin made behind the scenes?!

And then there was Mr. X who in the main story appears to hound both Leon and Claire respectively. What happened to Mr. X during Claire’s side of the story goes into direct conflict with Mr. X being the final boss in Leon’s side. I can only speculate that there were two identical versions of Mr. X in the story which the game developers never bothered to explain.

Conclusion

This remake of Resident Evil 2 is indeed a great game to play and I sure got my money’s worth having finished the single-player campaign a total of six times (focusing on the scenarios) even though there is a lack of zapping (which the 1998 game featured) and the narrative lacks precision when dramatizing the two sides (scenarios) and emphasizing the little details between them. The other game modes like The 4th Survivor, The Tofu Survivor and others add value on the side but for me, the real stuff of the game is the single-player campaign.

It’s not a perfect game but it is great enough for Capcom to keep me interested again in the Resident Evil game franchise. I hope that secretly they are working on a full 3D remake of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (which has a visual clue in the RE2 Remake).

RE2 Remake redefined survival horror as much as it modernized the core concept of the 1998 game. In terms of survival horror gameplay, this game is the definitive model on how to do it. Forget about the debacle that was Resident Evil 6 because RE2 Remake is the one to play.

Resident Evil 2 Remake is highly recommended even if you are not an RE fan.

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resident Evil 2 remake demo observations

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I recently played the 6-gigabyte demo of the Resident Evil 2 remake on my Xbox One downloaded via Xbox LIVE. It was a one-shot demo limited to only thirty minutes of play time.

So how was my experience? I focused mainly on exploration of the Raccoon City Police Station and orienting myself with the game’s controls (and the 3rd-person view on exploration and shooting).

Having played RE2 on PlayStation way back in 1998, I found it stunning that the in-game environment rendered in full 3D polygons the look of the police station from the old game. Of course, not everything is 100% replicated. There are noticeable changes like re-arrangements of the certain furniture, items and even parts of the layout of the interiors. Clear to say, if you are a very avid RE2 gamer who pretty much memorized the placings of items in the 1998 video game, do not expect to find them the same in the 2019 remake.

Regarding controls, in my view RE2 feels very similar to that of Resident Evil 6 which was the last RE game I played. The 3rd-person view approach on movement and shooting are there. That being said, I find RE2’s shooting-and-moving mechanism inferior to that of Gears of War games with regards to response and precision. Not necessarily a bad thing and I do understand that the lack of response and precision is meant to enhance the claustrophobic feel for gamers. Resident Evil 2, after all, is Capcom’s attempt to revive survival horror seriously.

More on shooting, there is a balance between precision, impact and movement. There I was as Leon aiming at an approaching zombie while slowly walking backwards (to keep a distance). I took a shot at the zombie’s head while moving, the shot did not affect him. When I stopped moving, aiming became more precise (I noticed the on-screen target mark adjusting) and my shots hit the zombie better on the head and body.

Speaking of zombies, they are slow moving but are noticeably faster compared to their 1998 counterparts. Once near you, a zombie can take a sudden move forward to grab and bite you.

What I found intriguing is that when I was caught between two zombies, they both grabbed me and attacked me at the same time causing further damage to Leon’s health. I wonder what would happen if, let’s say, Leon got caught between two Lickers in a similar situation.

On exploration, the move into the dark portions of the police station using only a flashlight to see ahead is a nice touch. I ended up moving cautiously as I explored the rooms and other things to search for useful items like a key, first aid spray, etc.

And then there is the discovery about what happened to the police station. One police officer I tried to save died losing half his body as zombies from the other room grabbed him. Then there is another police officer who helped Leon survive from suffering the same death.

Because I focused more on exploration and getting used to the controls, my 30 minutes ran out without reaching the end.

So how do I feel after playing the one-shot demo? Personally I am not keen on buying Resident Evil 2’s release on January 25. I will observe first how the game will perform critically with the game review writers, the bloggers and of course the feedback of the many gamers who play it.

I do remember the overall feel of Resident Evil 2 on PlayStation in 1998. The first part was all about orientation, exploring the police station and finding out how Raccoon City got overwhelmed with zombies caused by the deadly, artificially made virus. Then as the game progressed, locations changed and more characters entered the plot, the pace quickened, the action became more intense and there was that sense of adventure as well. It remains to be seen if such things will happen in the overall narrative of the RE2 remake.

Thank you for reading. Please share this article to your fellow gamers and Resident Evil fans. Feel free to comment below and if you enjoyed this article, please press the like button below. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is available for ordering in paperback and e-book format.