Resident Evil 2 review (GameCube)

The gameplay is undoubtedly the most attractive part of the Resident Evil 2 package, but it might not be enough for you to look past its utterly horrible graphics. While they look better than the original PlayStation models, Leon and Claire look horrible and have all sorts of visuals glitches ranging from clipping to flickering on their joints. The textures on the zombies are blocky and are only marginally better than those found in the game's PlayStation counterpart. Interestingly, there are also some very choppy death animations for the zombies and just about every other creature in the game. In addition, the prerendered backgrounds look pixilated and don't blend particularly well with any of the character models.

Surprisingly, the sound in the game holds up pretty well. You'll hear different sounds depending on the type of surface you're walking on. Moreover, there are plenty of environmental sounds as well as various groans and screams that help add to the overall atmosphere of the game. The voice acting is relatively poor, but it's far from being the worst in the series.

Resident Evil 2 on the GameCube may be enticing for those who have never played the game, and for them it might be worth a rental. Even so, the game offers the arrange mode (which gives you unlimited ammunition and all of the powerful weapons right off the bat), so you can easily breeze through it in a few hours. As for all of the other Resident Evil fans, there's absolutely no reason for you to buy this game.