Sony PlayStation, £49.99
Few games have been anticipated with as much relish as Resident Evil 2. Capcom's original game has no peers in this genre.
Once again, the residents of Racoon City are infested with a virus. The latest dose, the G-virus, has turned the population of this sleepy little town into flesheating zombies. Humans aren't the only ones infected. The local canine population has also gone barking mad as have the birds, bees et al. In Resident Evil (the T-virus was the in-thing then) Chris and Jill were the heroes. Chris has left town and rookie cop Leon is left to save the day with Claire, Chris's sibling.
In the original you decided the difficulty level by choosing to play as either Jill or Chris but now the new characters have easy and normal settings. To complete the game you must play with both characters, one at a time. The game is played as if both characters co-exist - so if you play as Leon, then Claire is theoretically running around the game too, but you'll never actually see her until the end. That completed, you can now start the game again as Claire. The second time, the game is different and there are new enemies, weapons, objects and FMV. The story is also further explained. For example, the first time you play, you'll find a burning helicopter. The next time around you'll actually see how the helicopter crashed and you will be able to find explosives to the clear a doorway the helicopter was blocking. While the plot remains more or less the same, there are several improvements on the original. For the impatient out there, the door-opening times have been reduced dramatically and the game world is approximately eight times bigger. Your characters' movements reflect whether they have been injured or not, from holding their side to a full-blown stagger. On the visual front, smoke and fire effects can now been seen on background objects and zombies. And, although you mightn't think it's possible, Resident Evil 2 is even scarier than the original and definitely not for the squeamish. If you are not faint-hearted, Resident Evil 2 is one of the best games available. Attention to detail is evident everywhere and the edge-of-your-seat-shocks will, undoubtedly, keep you coming back for more. One day all sequels will be made like this. Be afraid, be very afraid! Graphics:
Top 10 games
This week's 10 top-selling Sony PlayStation games at Virgin Megastore are:
1 Gex 3D - £39.99
2 Star Wars: Masters Of Teras Kasi - £39.99
3 Death Trap Dungeon - £44.99
4 Grand Theft Auto - £44.99
5 Formula 1 97 - £39.99
6 Tomb Raider 2 - £44.99
7 Newman Haas - £39.99
8 TOCA Touring Car Championships - £44.99
9 VR Power Boat Racing - £39.99
10 Final Fantasy VII - ££44.99