Editorials
‘Resident Evil 2’ Turns 19 Today!
Video games have evolved so much ever since Capcom’s original Resident Evil was released on PlayStation nearly 21 years ago. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long, but it has. The game was such a success that Capcom rushed a sequel into production almost immediately. Resident Evil 2 was released less than two years later on January 21, 1998 which means it turns 19 today! Help us celebrate one of the best video games ever made on this very special day.
The reason that most sequels fail to surpass the quality of the original is because they take things that made the original so special and try to replicate them. “More of the same” is not always a good thing. The best sequels expand upon the mythology of the original and try to improve upon it while still maintaining a certain amount of reverence for the source material. It’s a tricky tightrope to walk but it has been done before (Aliens, The Godfather Part 2, and Scream 2, just to name a few). Resident Evil 2 may be “just” a video game, but with it Capcom managed to craft one of the best sequels ever made.
Picking up just two months after the events of Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2 introduces players to two new protagonists in rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, sister of the first game’s Chris Redfield. In the game’s opening moments it becomes readily apparent that the T-virus has escaped the confines of the Spencer Mansion and Raccoon Forest. The game brings players to Raccoon City itself and hits the ground running. The slow-mounting dread of the first game is replaced with a visceral assault on the senses, dropping players into the zombie-infested streets of Raccoon City. Rather than replicate the feel of the original, Capcom opted to shift the style of its franchise into a new direction, something that it would repeatedly try with subsequent sequels to varying degrees of success (Resident Evil 2 falls in third in aggregate critic scores, just behind Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil: Code Veronica). The player eventually makes it to the Raccoon City Police Station, but quickly learns that the street may have been even safer. One of the most notorious moments in the game is the initial confrontation with the Licker.
Resident Evil 2 kept the basic gameplay the same, but introduced the “Zapping System” that allowed players actions to affect future playthroughs. For example, unlocking a door while you were playing as Leon would enable you to get into the room that the door leads to when you play as Claire. It was a novel approach to gaming that helped Resident Evil 2 stand apart from its predecessor.
The game took 21 months to produce, but the initial concept of the game was actually much different than the version that was released (example: the female protagonist was a college student named Elza Walker, rather than the now iconic Claire Redfield). The production team, which comprised of almost 50 people, completed nearly 80% of the game before the producer declared the game to be too monotonous. The concept was scrapped and a near-complete overhaul was made.
Thank [insert name of a higher power here] for that! The game that was eventually released is, as previously mentioned, spectacular. It earned critical acclaim upon its release and to this day remains the highest selling game in the franchise for a single game console. It was also the fastest-selling game in North America at the time. In an interesting bit of trivia: it sold 380,000 copies, earning $19 million in revenue. That is more money than every single Hollywood movie the weekend before earned except for one (that exception was Titanic, which earned $25.2 million the weekend after Resident Evil 2 was released).
I was unfortunate in that I was not able to play Resident Evil 2 when it was released. You see, I was a mere eight-year-old when the game was released. I wasn’t able to play Resident Evil 2 until it was ported over to the GameCube (What? I was a Nintendo kid.) in 2003, almost exactly 5 years after its initial release. While I still maintain that the 2002 GameCube REmake is the definitive Resident Evil game, I still enjoy Resident Evil 2 immensely.
When did you first play Resident Evil 2? Where does it sit in your ranking of the video game franchise? Share your thoughts and memories of this quintessential game with us in the comments below!
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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