The original RAGE, released in 2010, was an engaging enough shooter that suffered from a poorly told story, unremarkable characters and ultimately not enough content to justify the purchase. Additionally, it also couldn’t help but seem the poorer offering when compared to the similarly-themed Borderlands which had come out the year before. Despite some entertaining moments, and slick shooting courtesy of developers id Software, the title was considered a disappointment.

Cut to 2019 and Rage 2 is here, and while it may be a sequel no one was particularly asking for, it certainly improves on aspects of the original, although misses the mark in others.

Rage 2 tells the tale of Walker, a male or female avatar (dealer’s choice) who needs to battle through an apocalyptic wasteland to defeat a race of evil cyborgs who are intent on ending what’s left of humanity. The broader idea of the premise, while a bit hacky, has potential but unfortunately the writing once again saps the story of any sense of urgency. That said, the shooting here is diabolically good. Like, it’s insane, some of the best gunplay currently around. Every weapon feels unique, every upgrade has meaning and when you launch into Overdrive – a state where damage and health are buffed ludicrously – it’s a glorious explosion of bloodsoaked mayhem that will likely have your jaw plummeting to the floor.

The problem is that Rage 2 feels like a fantastic linear shooter that has been transplanted onto the body of a not particularly exciting open world game. The moment to moment gameplay is fine, but then you’ll be forced to hop into your not very good vehicle and pissfart about on the huge map looking for the next bit of fun. It’s a good idea to have peaks and flows in action, but in Rage 2 it just feels like the best parts are too few and far between. And although the game exceeds its predecessor in almost every way, it suffers from the same problems of pacing, writing, characters and repetition.

So, ultimately, Rage 2 feels like a fantastic shooter with too much open world busywork. It’s certainly better than the much-maligned original but one can’t help but feel that this could have been so much more. Still, it’s a noisy, bloody, silly and sporadically fun time that offers the video game equivalent of above average, cheesy pizza and sometimes that’s just what you’re in the mood for.

Resident Evil 2, the game, was first released in 1998 and it blew audiences away. Although the previous installment had successfully introduced the concept of “survival horror” in 1996, part two honed the formula to a razor’s edge, delivering an experience that was scary, smart and absolutely absorbing. For those of us old enough to have been alive in that era, RE2 was a staggering achievement and managed to penetrate the ubiquitous haze of bong smoke and neglect to make an indelible impact on young psyches.

That being said, 1998 was a long-arse time ago, and time is least kind to video games. As the Resident Evil series lurched onwards it left those early entries behind, peaking recently with the somewhat divisive-but-brilliant Resident Evil VII: Biohazard (https://www.filmink.com.au/reviews/resident-evil-vii-biohazard/) which was a welcome return to pure survival horror. Still, when Capcom announced its Resident Evil 2 remaster it was hard not to get excited – but is it possible to twice catch horrific lightning in a bottle?

One thing we should get out of the way is that this isn’t an HD remaster but rather a full remake. The original RE2 featured static shots, clunky controls and graphics that were spectacular at the time but now look retina-damagingly awful. Although the game has been remastered for various systems over the years, presentation-wise it’s always looked… quaint. 2019’s Resident Evil 2 rebuilds the game from the ground up, putting the perspective in the RE4 over-the-shoulder view with a continuous camera that follows you around, not breaking for loading screens between every area. This is a welcome addition and makes the game play as smooth and immersive as your (lying) memories of the original.

Add to that, graphics as sharp and slick as any other modern release, replete with drippy, oozing zombies, genuinely scary, toothy monsters and character animations that make you actually feel for the other human characters – particularly when so many of them are viciously dispatched.

Actually, we’d be remiss not to mention the zombies at this point. In 1998, zombies seemed an amazingly fresh foe, having barely penetrated the cultural zeitgeist. In 2019, they’re basically a default option for most media, so how to make them scary again? RE2 adds a sense of unpredictability to the mix. The only way to permanently dispatch these ambulatory corpses is by destroying the head. You can do this using heavy weapons or grenades, however the zombies far outnumber your bullets so you simply don’t have the resources to kill them all. Therefore, you’ll need to leave some of the ghastly creatures lying around as potential jump scares, because they might rise at any moment (even if you’ve plugged ten rounds into their slack-jawed skulls) which adds a level of tension to an already scary game. See, Resident Evil 2 isn’t about killing all the monsters, it’s about surviving, solving the puzzles and escaping. It’s Capcom’s classic formula of puzzle solving under duress and it is edge-of-your-seat stuff, all the way through.

In 2019, video games pride themselves on being massive; the idea that more is more. Resident Evil 2 believes that to be a crock of shit, providing four of five medium sized areas to explore but you’ll know them like the back of your hand by the time the credits roll. The game also employs a map that really helps navigation, showing areas in red until you’ve solved the puzzles and collected all the loot in that area – whereupon it turns blue. This is a wonderful addition but much needed, especially as the game progresses and the character known as the Tyrant steps into view, providing a genuinely scary, seemingly invincible foe who dogs your steps like the STDemon from It Follows, and leaps out when you least expect it.

In terms of negatives, RE2 can be frustrating on occasion, particularly during boss fights where the lack of a dodge button would have been appreciated. And certainly, for some folks, the Tyrant is going to be a massive pain in the arse – although he does force you to think on your feet, which can be exhilarating. These are minor quibbles, however, in an overall experience that somehow keeps what was great about the original intact, while updating some of the wonkier aspects, like puzzles, voice acting and overall presentation.

Ultimately, Resident Evil 2 (2019) is everything a video game remake should be. It’s absolutely stunning to look at and a tense joy to play, paying nostalgic homage while improving nearly every aspect of the original. It’s scary, smart and absolutely absorbing – just like it was back in hazy 1998 – but with added levels of gore and unpredictability that will keep even series veterans on their toes. If you’ve never experienced the stories of Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield as they explore a bizarre, avant garde police station in the middle of zombie-infested Racoon City, now is absolutely the best time to do so. And hell, even if you have, 2019’s Resident Evil 2 remake is the best ever version of that iconic story.