Resident Evil 2 remake: What you need to know

"Who are ya? What're ya doin' here?!"

If you remember Robert Kendo threatening Claire Redfield or Leon ($175.99 at Amazon.com) S Kennedy when they stumble into his gun store from Raccoon City's ruined streets, you might be wondering what's been going on with Capcom's remake of Resident Evil 2.

We've heard nothing official since August 2015, when it was announced in a video on the series' official YouTube channel.

Rumors suggest we'll finally see more at E3 2018, so let's take a look at why people are pumped at the prospect.

The game is likely to be a part of either Microsoft's or Sony's press conference. Microsoft's is on Sunday, June 10, at 1 p.m. PT, 4 p.m. ET, 9 p.m. BST (6 a.m. AET on June 11), while Sony's event is on June 11 at 6 p.m. PT, 9 p.m. ET (2 a.m. BST, 11 a.m. AET on June 12).

We'll be embedding the livestream from our colleagues at CNET sister site GameSpot, so you can follow along in real time. They also have a full schedule of E3 press conferences.

What's up with Resident Evil 2?

Resident Evil 2 -- the second entry in the long-running survival horror franchise known as Biohazard in Japan -- first hit the PSOne in 1998 and sold 4.96 million copies (the franchise as a whole has sold 83 million units).

Since then, Resident Evil 2 has been rereleased or ported six times, with additional features like the Extreme Battle Mode, support for analogue controllers, and slight graphical enhancements.

GameSpot gave the game 8.9 back in 1998 and the game carries an average rating of 89 on Metacritic.

Resident Evil 2 tosses players into the middle of Raccoon City as hordes of virus-infected zombies take over. The players must try to survive the madness by fleeing to the city's massive police station and escaping while uncovering the mystery of how it all went down.

It might not be clear now, but Resident Evil was more ambitious and had more unlockable content than most games of the era. 

Players could choose between biker Claire and rookie cop Leon; each had their own path through the game's locations, and an unlockable second scenario offered an alternative story for each -- in all, there are four distinct ways to play through the main game.

Astoundingly, producer Shinji Mikami decided to cancel the original version of Resident Evil 2 when it was about 70 percent complete, citing general dissatisfaction from the development team.

This version -- since dubbed Resident Evil 1.5 -- featured Elza Walker in place of Claire, a very different police station and a host of different enemies and bosses.

Why bother with a remake?

The series has a history of excellent remakes and rereleases. The first Resident Evil was remade for the Nintendo GameCube ($499.00 at Amazon.com) in 2002, and an HD remaster of that remake hit the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One ($449.98 at Amazon.com) and PC in 2015 -- it remains a visual masterpiece to this day.

Since Resident Evil 2 is more ambitious than its predecessor and the series has evolved hugely since 2002, a remake is a fascinating prospect.

We got a pseudo-remake in on-rails shooter Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, which came out on Wii in 2009 and included a streamlined retelling of Resident Evil 2 as one of its scenarios, with more-realistic graphics.

It's even getting the tabletop treatment from Steamforged Games; Resident Evil 2: The Board Game got more than $1 million in pledges from its Kickstarter campaign, far exceeding its $200,400 goal, and it's due for release in September 2018.

What should I play before the Resident Evil 2 remake?

Resident Evil 2 works as a standalone experience, but the remake of the original game is widely available and absolutely excellent.

If you want to see how the series has evolved, 2005's Resident Evil 4 and last year's Resident Evil 7: biohazard are the big milestones.

Resident Evil 4 saw the viewpoint change from fixed camera angles to an over-the-shoulder style, and the gameplay became more action-oriented than survival horror. It's among the best games ever made, earning 9.6 from GameSpot and holding an average of 96 on Metacritic. 

It also came out on just about everything after a nine-month stint as a Nintendo GameCube exclusive, hitting the PS2 ($196.00 at Amazon.com), PC, Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, PS4 and Xbox One.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard shifted things back toward survival horror, with a first person perspective. It's terrifying, and the truly brave can play through the entire game in VR. It got an 8 from GameSpot and sits at 86 on Metacritic.

You can get it on the PS4, Xbox One and PC. In Japan, Nintendo Switch ($293.00 at Amazon.com) owners can stream it.

What do we know about the Resident Evil 2 remake?

Virtually nothing. The 2015 announcement video saw Yoshiaki Hirabyashi, producer at Capcom's R&D Division 1, revealing the remake's existence in a shirt that reads "WE DO IT!"

However, he also warned that we wouldn't be hearing anything about this project for a while… and he wasn't kidding.

In January, the original Resident Evil 2 director, Hideki Kamiya, tweeted his faith in his counterpart on the remake.

I heard that my friend is directing RE2 remake. Let's trust him & wait for a new information ;)

— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) January 21, 2018

I went drinking with him last year & told him "Do as you like". That's the way directors should do. I trust him & his team ;) RT @GameEvilKnight: Do you think they will do your game justice ?

— 神谷英樹 Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) January 21, 2018

"I heard that my friend is directing RE2 remake. Let's trust him & wait for a new information," he wrote. "I went drinking with him last year & told him 'Do as you like'. That's the way directors should do. I trust him & his team."

In the midst of this radio silence, some rumors surfaced in late May from fan site Rely on Horror, via a source "who's close to the project." They suggest that the remake will adopt Resident Evil 4's over-the-shoulder perspective and run on an enhanced version of the RE Engine, first used for Resident Evil 7.

If true, these factors would make the remake's gameplay very different from the original and hint at impressive visuals.

On the promotional side, users at the Resetera forums highlighted that the Resident Evil 2 web domain, first registered in 1997, was updated in April. This suggests the game will be officially revealed soon.

E3 2018: What to expect: All the rumors and early news from the year's biggest gaming show 

E3 2018 coverage at CNET: All of our E3 2018 coverage in one place

E3 2018 coverage at GameSpot: Wall-to-wall coverage of the show from our sister site, GameSpot

E3 2018 coverage at Giant Bomb: Still more commentary and news from E3, from our colleagues at Giant Bomb