The clearer sound effects of the Dreamcast port were received well by Game Revolution's Shawn Sparks, who also remarked that the character models look slightly sharper. However, Steve Key of "Computer And Video Games" disliked the Dreamcast release's low-resolution backgrounds, which he thought made the characters stand out too much from the environments, and thus lessened the game's atmosphere. GameSpot staff writer James Mielke did not believe that the Dreamcast port was "an essential purchase", but still called it a "great game" at an attractively low price. The GameCube release was heavily criticized for its high price and dated graphics. However, "Four-Eyed Dragon" of "GamePro" noted its superior in-game visuals of any version of the game. Davis and 1UP.com's Mark MacDonald were disappointed by the port's lack of features that were included in the Nintendo 64 release. Peer Schneider of IGN found the 2.5D version for the Game.com to be frustrating and only "partially faithful" to the original release of "Resident Evil 2". Although he believed that its graphics and sound effects managed to recreate the original game's atmosphere to a certain extent, he thought that its controls were too "sluggish" to allow for an enjoyable experience.