This is a review of the PC version. It is a rare case when followups are as good, much less better, than their predecessors; this is one such instance. They took a long look at what they already did and what it led to, and then went ahead and kept what worked and changed what didn't. For those unfamiliar with these, think Silent Hill(if less backstory) with some Resident Evil in there. There are six playable characters, all teenagers(unlike with the five of the first one, you can't *always* choose who you use, as this is driven to a greater extent by its well-done plot), and they now have genuine personalities. While not everyone will like all of them, you can't deny that the majority of them distinguish themselves, are developed and have arcs(and yes, this time, you gotta keep 'em alive). Three are returning from the 2005 outing; Stan(think Zeke from The Faculty; a small-time hustler, and he picks locks, again... and the system for it is the best I've ever tried), Kenny(the jock; he has "strength", like Sven, one of the new ones) who did not cope well with what happened, and Shannon, who... did(she can now take the black stuff into her... and no, I don't know if she inhales). The remaining 3 are Amy(the hot co-ed; she finds patterns, or similar, including at one point, *reading a newspaper*... yeah), Mei(the tougher of two twins; she can hack) and her boyfriend Corey(a daredevil athlete, and my personal favorite; he can do a couple of Prince of Persia style stunts and can sometimes lift someone else up once he's climbed). They get assistance from the smart and calm Prof. James once Fallcreek University becomes home to numerous types(flying ones, bug ones the size of a torso, large ones) of monsters. The designs are cool, and that's goes for the nice variety of weapons(and you are granted immediate switching between four different slots that you can equip however you like; and though you do have to cycle the inventory when you're going to use an item, you can do it as you are moving around, now, using the mouse wheel) you get to use, as well. These include a crossbow, dynamite, a stun-gun and a chainsaw. The last two run on a battery, and it is rechargeable. In general, the graphics are given a considerable upgrade, with most cut-scenes being a *gorgeous* CGI(and the in-engine ones aren't bad) with expressive(if not always lip-synced) faces, the slow-motion and other filters and FX applied where appropriate(when you get hit in this, you can *feel* it) and last but definitely not least, the detailed, immersive and plentiful(and they are all different from one another) environments. Melee attacks can now be strung together somewhat, so that you can pummel the enemies(fortunate, because they now jump around and a couple have sneaky ways of getting at you), if you do not always hit them(I think they expected you to be able to). The AI is marvelous, with occasional hiccups... opponents stand still and/or can't find you, your ally gets in your way. Yes, you can get one of the people to go with you. It's marvelous that they remind you that their arsenal(they decide what to use, of what you give them) is lacking something useful in the current situation when it is so. Nevertheless, it would really help if you had the opportunity to tell this individual things like: "conserve our ammo", "attempt to avoid getting struck by those/that", "heal thyself", or even something as painfully simple as "stay here/there" and "follow me", since they do prove to not be that qualified to make that call themselves. Anyway, you will now at times be required to determine who you have to bring. Whether you prefer that or the complete freedom that the 1st gave, you get to try both in the series. This goes in a separate direction from it in other areas, too, and manages to not remove it excessively from the original *and* give us something else. I would say that the abilities are more useful here. A second player can join at any point; I haven't tried that, and the bare-bones manual makes no mention of it whatsoever, so I can't comment on it. The puzzles are intuitive and excellent. Boss fights are tough; however, they are ultimately satisfying and rather exciting, and basically all of them are memorable. This isn't terribly long, it took me a little over a weekend to complete, and there isn't a lot of replayability, and only a single difficulty setting. The camera is a loose(you can watch yourself run towards it, to left or right of it, in front of it...) third person, with a few interesting angles, and it seldom hinders you. You can reset it to behind you by readying whatever you're holding in your hands, albeit it can move in an odd manner if you can't aim it. You no longer fight what you can't see in the shot. I missed being able to direct the flashlight that everyone magically has now, especially when it's dark. Dialog can be teenage-y(and this can't hide that those who wrote it were not native English speakers), and voice acting is largely convincing. They often react verbally to what they see, and a ton of what they say is realistic and credible. There is drama in this, and it tends to deliver. The implementation of you having to repeatedly press a key quickly are part of what makes this very engaging and intense. Atmosphere is quite effective, and this is creepy and scary. The score, mainly orchestral, is impeccable. Awesome game-play, if the mechanics of it can be awkward here and there. You can save by checkpoints, and only once per each(!). There is plenty of strong, bloody, brutal violence and disturbing content and several lewd references in this, and all of the women are sexualized. I recommend this to every fan of survival horror. 8/10
