A most respectable game, worthy of its name.
Graphics are great for a 1998, PS game. Much, much (and I really mean much) better than the first Resident Evil, with a more fluid gameplay.
Resident Evil series (as far as I've played them, at least) use cameras in a very smart way, and those cameras are fixed in one place, changing to another view if you move out of the first camera's range. Although I'm a bigger fan of the Silent Hill type of camera (the one that follows you around), Capcom places those fixed cameras in a very smart way: a way where you can't see where you so deseperately want to see, and where those repulsive and chilling zombie sounds come from. So there's only one way to go: step forward and face the horror. And this horror comes in a new way in this second chapter: a new type of enemy called The Licker. If you haven't played the game yet, I won't tell you what it looks like or anything... let's just say that if I'm walking alone at night and hear that distinctive sound they make, I'd just roll over and die in a river of my own tears and other body fluids (just kidding... well... not much).
Sound is impressive too. This is a game that must keep you on the verge of your seat for some hours, and the music is a very important matter to do so. Resident Evil 2 packs a great value in this department. Trust me, sound effects and stuff are meant to unsettle your fragile mind, and they do so.
The story goes like this: Claire Redfield, little sister to the Chris Redfield you played with in the first Resident Evil, goes to Raccoon City to look for his missing brother. She finds the whole city infested with rather uncomprehensive human beings that (nothing new to her, since she is absolutely gorgeous) want to eat her body/brains. At the verge of death, she is saved by the newest member of the Raccoon Police Department, Leon F. Kennedy, who just got into town and saw pretty much the same Claire did. I don't want to spoil the cool opening of the game, so let's leave it at this. The story is greatly interesting and follows the one of the first R.E., and the following ones will carry from this one. So if you're a Revil fan, you MUST play this release.
Replay value is something I've never seen before in any game. Resident Evil 2 is a 2 Cd game. Cd 1 makes you play as the oh-so-lovely Claire Redfield. Cd 2 puts you on the role of Leon F. Kennedy, the newest and freshest of all the Raccoon Police Department men. Should you complete the Cd 1 story, you'll get a full Second Scenario to play... but for the Cd 2. So, complete Claire, and you'll get the Second Scenario for Leon, and viceversa. The Second Scenario is a replay mode with a more difficult touch and new or improved puzzles. Trust me, you'll want to play it, since the real ending is at the end of the Second, not the First Scenario. Still not getting enough? Then try the two Hidden Scenarios you unlock by getting the highest rankings in the game. These two are sort of short games you can play, but they can be hard enough to keep you going (and cursing) for some time.
Overall, if you're a PS owner, you should proudly own this masterpiece. Trust me, you'll love it. And if you happen to cross it a few time after you've played it, you'll surely want to play it again. It is THAT fun.