Resident Evil 2 is a 2019 survival horror game developed and published by Capcom. A remake of the 1998 game of the same name, it was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on January 25, 2019. Players control rookie police officer Leon Kennedy and college student Claire Redfield as they attempt to escape Raccoon City during a viral outbreak, that transforms the citizens into zombies and other creatures.
Capcom first considered remaking Resident Evil 2 following the release of the remake of the first Resident Evil in 2002, but was delayed as series creator Shinji Mikami did not want to divert development from the then-upcoming Resident Evil 4 (2005). Capcom announced the Resident Evil 2 remake in August 2015 and released the first trailer and gameplay footage at E3 2018.
Resident Evil 2 received critical acclaim, with praise for its presentation, gameplay, and faithfulness to the original and was nominated for several awards, including for game of the year. As of 2021, the game had sold over eight million copies, outselling the original.
Plot[]
The game is set in Raccoon City in September 1998, two months after the events of Resident Evil. Most of the citizens have been turned into mindless zombies, due to an outbreak of a viral bioweapon known as the T-virus, manufactured by Umbrella Corporation. The game begins at a gas station outside of the city, where rookie police officer Leon Kennedy (Nick Apostolides) meets college student Claire Redfield (Stephanie Panisello), who is looking for her brother Chris.
After being separated following a car accident, Leon and Claire agree to meet up at the city's police department. The building is infested by zombies, and other monsters, including the "Tyrant", who is dispatched to hunt down and kill any survivors. The creatures and various obstacles prevent Leon and Claire from actually reuniting as they are forced to find a way to escape the city. Leon and Claire will arrive at the station at different times depending on the scenario.
Leon scenario[]
In the machinery, Leon is ambushed by a horrifically mutated Umbrella researcher Dr. William Birkin (Terence J. Rotolo), but survives the encounter and forces the monster into falling off a ledge.
Making it back up to the surface, Leon is saved from an infected dog by FBI agent, Ada Wong (Jolene Andersen) in the police station parking garage. They find reporter Ben Bertolucci in the holding cells; imprisoned by corrupt Police Chief Brian Irons (Sid Carton) for investigating Umbrella. As Ben tries to convince Leon to release him, the Tyrant kills Ben. While attempting to escape the police station, Leon is intercepted by the Tyrant but is again saved by Ada. After an encounter with gun shop owner Robert Kendo and his infected daughter Emma, Leon pledges to help Ada retrieve a G-virus sample to prove Umbrella's corruption.
In the sewers, Annette Birkin ambushes the pair and shoots at Ada; Leon takes the bullet and passes out. Ada pursues Annette but is knocked into a trash compactor. Leon rescues her, and they descend to NEST via cable car, where Ada kisses Leon.
Ada, injured, requests that Leon obtain the G-virus sample. In Birkin's lab, Leon obtains a sample but is attacked by a now much more deadly William. Annette tries to kill him, but is mortally wounded. Leon defeats William and tends to Annette, who claims that Ada is a mercenary and will sell the virus to the highest bidder.
Leon confronts Ada as the lab's self-destruct protocol begins, where she admits to being a mercenary. Ada demands the G-Virus sample from Leon at gunpoint, but Annette shoots Ada before succumbing to her injuries. As Ada falls off the bridge; Leon catches her, letting the virus sample fall into the abyss. Leon loses his grip and Ada seemingly falls to her death.
As Leon attempts to escape the lab, he is ambushed by the Tyrant, now transformed into the larger and more powerful Super Tyrant, and engages it in a final battle. Ada, having survived the fall, tosses a rocket launcher to him, which Leon uses to finally destroy the Super Tyrant. Leon boards the evacuation train, discovering Claire and Sherry already aboard.
Claire scenario[]
In the Machinery, Claire encounters Sherry Birkin (Eliza Pryor), a young girl being pursued by the mutated William Birkin. In the police station parking garage, Irons abducts Sherry, and locks her in an abandoned orphanage. Claire soon receives a call from Irons to trade Sherry for a pendant she had dropped during the abduction, threatening to kill the little girl if Claire does not comply. Reluctantly, Claire agrees to do so.
Sherry tries to escape on her own, but is soon cornered by Irons. Before Irons can harm her, the creature that had been chasing Sherry returns and implants Irons with a G-embryo. When Claire arrives to save Sherry, a larva bursts out of Irons' chest and kills him. As Claire and Sherry attempt to leave, the Tyrant arrives and chases the pair into an elevator, but is killed by the creature stalking Sherry. The creature then tries to attack Claire and Sherry as it mutates, but accidentally causes the elevator to fall into the sewers. Claire is knocked unconscious, and Sherry is forced to abandon her to escape.
Claire is found by Annette (Karen Strassman), Sherry's mother, who reveals that the creature after Sherry is William (Terence J. Rotolo), her husband and Sherry's father. The Birkins developed the G-virus for Umbrella; however, William planned to sell it to the U.S. military. Umbrella sent its paramilitary force to confiscate his work, leading to William being fatally shot. To avoid death, William had injected himself with the G-virus. As William takes his revenge on the Umbrella soldiers, sewer rats infected by shattered vials of the T-virus carry their infection to Raccoon City. Now a mindless mutating beast, the G-virus drives William to infect Sherry, as she is the closest genetic match to William and thus the most suitable host to spread the infection.
Claire finds Sherry trapped in a trash compactor by Annette. Upon reaching her, however, Sherry falls ill. Annette realizes William has already infected Sherry and has Claire bring her to an Umbrella lab called NEST, where a vaccine is stored. Once there, Claire uses Sherry's pendant to unlock the vaccine, but William attacks after mutating again. Claire sends Annette to administer the vaccine while she fights William. After seemingly killing him, Claire reunites with Annette, who has managed to cure Sherry before dying from internal injuries. Sherry tearfully bids her mother goodbye. As the facility enacts a self-destruct protocol, Claire and Sherry make their way to an evacuation train. William returns yet again, now mutated into a much larger monster, and Claire defeats him just as the train prepares to leave. Upon boarding, Claire discovers Leon there as well.
Ending[]
After Leon, Claire, and Sherry reunite, William attacks the train, having mutated into a gigantic horrifying mass of fangs and flesh. Leon and Claire are almost killed in the fight, but manage to uncouple the carriage occupied by William. The carriage falls behind and is consumed by the exploding lab, destroying William once and for all. As the three survivors finally escape Raccoon City, they vow to continue the fight against Umbrella. Meanwhile, USS operator HUNK (Keith Silverstein), completes his G-virus retrieval mission.