Intensive Gaming Diary

The blog about videogames.

Tag: horror games

Resident Evil 2 Is The Most Significant PS1 Game for Me

Posted on by Viljami

What a game Resident Evil 2 was and still remains to be. It was released in 1998 for Sony PlayStation 1. My first game for this system was Gran Turismo. So, I cannot tell you that Resident Evil 2 would have been my first PS1 game. I did have a demo disc that featured this survival horror game. I remember playing the demo. Resident Evil 2 had a time limit. I don’t remember how long you could play the game. I think it was maybe fifteen minutes or something like that. That was enough to get me hooked to this game. I had to buy the game.

PS1 had been released already some years ago and game developers were already comfortable to design games for this console. This wasn’t among the first games that were released for PS1. Actually the first game in the horror game series was available for players back in 1996. Resident Evil 2 continued and expanded the story line. It actually represents the view of happenings from the perspective of two different characters that belong to the police department of Racoon City.

I can still clearly remember how the game starts. I remember more clearer the beginning with playing as Leon (Leon S. Kennedy). You can choose the character that you play in the start of the game. The other option is Claire (Claire Redfield). Leon starts his journey after a car collision. He is surrounded with zombies. There are burning flames all around. The best option seems to be to run away and maybe try to kill some zombies that are trying to bite Leon. The story progresses and Leon heads over to the police station trying avoid attacks of zombies.

I think the plot is a good one. So, I am not going to spoil it for you in case you want to play this game. I think Resident Evil 2 is still today something that a gamer that’s interested in retro games can pick up and play. You do have to consider that it is almost 30 years old as a video game. The graphics aren’t as sharp as with some modern video games. I especially recommend it for someone that likes horror games as it is a pioneer in this field. I also recommend it to someone that wants to get an idea of what kind of games there have been made for the Sony PlayStation 1.

For me this was a very significant game. It hit me even harder than Gran Turismo or a game like Metal Gear Solid. It was so good that I wanted to play the first Resident Evil game also. Of course I played also the third game in this survival horror game series. I enjoyed the grim environment and the limitations of ammo, saving points and camera angels which were causing me an interesting mix of anxiety and a deep interest in the world that was presented through this game. There have been some more scarier games released later but Resident Evil 2 was a true pioneer in the field of survival horror. All this was introduced to video game hobbyists already in 1998.

There were actually three games released in the main series for PlayStation 1. There were also a light gun supported spin-off, Resident Evil – Survivor. You can also count the first games release with “Director’s Cut” added to the title but I think the point is clear here. There were many sequels because these games were popular. The game series went on to get many new games for many newer systems.

You can actually see some more recent episodes for this series in some recent games like Resident Evil 7 or 8 and there is also a new game coming that is titled as Resident Evil 9. It is currently in development and it might get released in 2026 which isn’t so sure because it would be a huge release. For me it is actually something very big like GTA VI or something. We are dealing with a major video game release that is continuing the series that Resident Evil 2 is a part of.

I Finally Got To Add This Game To My Collection

Posted on by Viljami

I am a huge fan of survival horror games. I especially enjoyed first two and maybe also the third game in series of Resident Evil games. Resident Evil 2 was my first touch to this genre back in 1998. I remember first playing the demo that had this time limit in it. It really made an impression. I had to soon buy RE2 for the first PlayStation.

RE 2 is definitely, at least in my opinion, best out of the first three games. But RE1 isn’t a bad game. It isn’t even a decent game. It is actually something very nice. This is also where the story of Resident Evil games starts.

RE 1 was released in 1996. It is a kind of a remake of an early adventure/horror game Sweet Home which was released in 1989. So the roots of this game are deep in video gaming history. RE 1 also takes lots of influence from Alone In The Dark series. The game also brings horror games to the era of 3D environments.

This game only cost me 30 euros. It is a platinum version which might lower its price a bit. Otherwise it is in a great consition. There is not one scratch on the disc. The case is also clean and shiny. The cover leave is also in good consition. You might not expect this for a game of this age.

I had this game when I earlier owned PS1 and tens of games for it. I have several times complained about my decision. I shouldn’t have sold my PS1 and my game collection. I didn’t get so much money. I just couldn’t figure at that moment what kind of a role would video games have later on in my life. Now, as you can witness, I am a serious game collector and also a player of video games.

I somewhat like how games where back in this generation. It takes about 7 hours to beat this game. This is very nice. I don’t like every game to be such a marathon. I mean some games have to be lengthy but I can also appreciate a shorter game at times. I might play latest NBA2K for hundreds of hours but I am not a serious fan of lengthy role playing games. In this era I also finished almost every game I bought.

What else can you say about the first Resident Evil game? If you aren’t familiar with the concept of survival horror games I can tell you that there is a limited amount of ammo. This isn’t actually an action shooter game. There is also limited amount of opportunities to save your game. Music is very important. I can already hear the background track playing when you enter a safe room which is a room that you can make a save in.

Also camera angles and views are somewhat, how to say it, well…evil. This kind of arrengement causes a bit of an anxiety. And it makes you also a bit nervous. I have read that the person that was responsible for the vision of the game had encounteres some very depressing and violent moments, even a trauma, in childhood and this game is some kind of a way to handle these experiences. That would sort of make a sense. I don’t confirm this so this is only a rumor.

There is also a book that I have some deep interest to some day get into. I think it was called “Itchy, Tasty” and it describes how this game came to be. When I last time checked this book was sold out. It would be interesting to read it.

So, you probaply get the picture. This is a game for me that left a serious impact. I had to get it once again to my collection. This is also a good game for you if you want to get intoduced to this genre called survival horror games.