A remake that got an HD release whose success was the impetus for this remake being greenlit in the first place. If you don't think fixed camera angles would work, that's fine, but it's not crazy for anyone to have hoped otherwise at all.
I'd like it to retain the traditional camera as well, but RE1's success was largely due to the fact that it cost them very little to up-res the GameCube game. Just a bit of work to implement widescreen and the optional new control scheme. RE2, on the other hand, is a big investment, so I don't think it's a surprise that they want to be a bit more modern and populist in its design.