Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 are classic survival-horror games from the original PlayStation era now available on PlayStation Plus. Resident Evil 2 expanded the series beyond a single mansion to encompass Raccoon City and deeper Umbrella Corporation lore. Resident Evil 2 offers two distinct protagonists, Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield, each with separate storylines and branching paths requiring multiple playthroughs to see the full narrative. The game improved puzzles and combat over its predecessor while retaining tank controls. Both titles remain worthwhile revisits despite modern remakes.
The original Resident Evil is a horror classic that confined the action to a single location, the Spencer Mansion. Resident Evil 2 took things much further, expanding to the entirety of Raccoon City, building out the story of the Umbrella Corporation's role in the zombie outbreak, and setting the standard the series would be judged by for decades to come. Like its predecessor, Resident Evil 2 has two protagonists to choose from, in this case Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield. Both have become iconic franchise mainstays, and unlike in the original Resident Evil, each protagonist has a separate storyline with branching paths. To get the full picture, you need to fight your way through Raccoon City twice.
As much as games have changed since the original PlayStation, a handful of the era's titles did so much to define their genres that it's impossible to escape their influence today. Silent Hill and Resident Evil are foundational horror series, showing up both in intentional throwbacks like and in games without such clear connections. Even though they've received recent remakes, the earliest Resident Evil titles are still worth revisiting in their original forms, and two are now available with PlayStation Plus.
As groundbreaking as Resident Evil was, one of the biggest surprises for contemporary Resident Evil 2 players was just how much it improved on its predecessor. While its tank controls were still a sticking point for some, it felt better to play and offered greatly improved puzzles and combat. But what made Resident Evil 2 a fondly remembered hit is its
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