Resident Evil 2 takes place two months after the first game but this time the action isn't limited to just a giant mansion. The entire town of Raccoon City is infested with zombies! To help save the day, RE2 features two new characters, Leon Walker and Claire Redfield (Elza, the blonde motorcycle rider from the earlier versions of RE2, has since been taken out). There's no word yet if you can choose to play as one character for the entire game, or if you can alternate between the two. Could Claire be related to Chris (who was one of the characters in the first game)?
RE2 looks stunning with detailed, pre-rendered backgrounds and awesome visual effects like zombies catching on fire as the lumber after you. The voices still retain the deadpan, B-movie inflections from the first game, but the music's eerie and goes perfectly with the horrific visuals. Every grunt, groan, and wet slap of a zombie's head being blown off are clearly audible.
Blowing away zombies has never been so much fun, and Resident Evil 2 gives you a variety of ways to destroy the deadheads. For example, with the shotgun, you can aim high to blow off a zombie's head or aim low to blow off their legs. However, even with legless, they can still crawl after you! But zombies aren't the only mutated monsters for you to fight against.
Look for Resident Evil 2 to hit the shelves as a two-CD set in early Febuary.