Reentering the survival horror.
Jan. 30th, 2015 05:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
colt_steeleGoing back down memory lane once again with the HD release of the Resident Evil remake has led me to ponder(or perhaps re-ponder would be more apt)where the genre went wrong, since it was one of the only types of game I never actually tired of, but simply stopped playing because they weren't produced any longer.
The original game was, itself, intended as a remake or spiritual successor of another Capcom game from the 8-bit era, Sweet Home. It had clear influence on the thematic presentation and overall design of RE, and appealed to me intensely because it encouraged me as a player to slow it down a pace and tackle the game with a methodical approach instead of mindlessly running around kicking down doors. It also appealed to my(perhaps a bit OCD)sense of inventory management, since it rationed out necessary items like ammo, health regen and game saves. I became such a packrat that I literally could demolish the final section of the game with magnum bullets and high-end bazooka rounds because I had used them sparingly to the point of having a plentiful stockpile.
I positively ate up the sequels and even more so the Silent Hill series that came a few years later. Most all of my game time that wasn't occupied with fighting games was spent with survival horror, at least until Halo came along. Right around the turn of the century, though, the genre seemed to start running out of steam until it almost totally flatlined around 2004. Thinking back now, I think a fair deal of the blame surrounds the events of the third Resident Evil, what Americans remember as Code Veronica. Right out of the gate, Sony stole a decent amount of the game's hype by convincing Capcom to remove the 3 from its title and apply it instead to the side story game on their system involving Jill's escape from Raccoon City(though it still kept the Nemesis moniker in its subtitle). Along with that blow which mostly only derailed some of the game's marketing, it was released as an exclusive initially only on the Dreamcast, which Americans simply never as a whole fell in love with, having gone all in with the brand of games Sony was offering on both the PS1 and 2. With the sales being probably well beneath what it was expected to do, Capcom felt it needed to shake up the series and start over from square one. A couple of years and a new DMC franchise later, RE4 arrived after much development hell and changed the genre completely, foregoing the series' horror based roots and focusing more on action and weapon enhancement over the traditional run and hide formula(I will at this time insert the disclaimer that this is in no way a bash against RE 4-6, I love those games but in a wholly different way).
This changed the landscape utterly since horror and survival was now only a peripheral element of the experience, and while tension was still present(the regenerator monsters were as terrifying as the Tyrant stalker bastards Mr. X and Nemesis)it didn't pervade the experience the way it had in 1-3, and the puzzle solving was pretty much gone altogether. Alongside this, the Silent Hill series took a strange trip off the rails with its fourth entry, featuring primarily melee based combat and the nigh-insufferable element of ghost enemies that could not be killed or even slowed down by the player(at least not without the use of special items that were so rare that there were only about 5 or 6 of them in the entire game). I personally loved it despite its flaws but the gaming public at large had had enough and moved on from the genre.
All these years later the category is completely niche, with Capcom having a hard time selling the RE franchise despite its action game turn and Silent Hill struggling to get a game out of the gate it has enough confidence in to attach a number to. I still think the genre could be great again, especially with a fresh shot of processing power on the new gen systems and/or PC platform. I can wait, meantime in the nice comfy bed in the mansion's save room.
The original game was, itself, intended as a remake or spiritual successor of another Capcom game from the 8-bit era, Sweet Home. It had clear influence on the thematic presentation and overall design of RE, and appealed to me intensely because it encouraged me as a player to slow it down a pace and tackle the game with a methodical approach instead of mindlessly running around kicking down doors. It also appealed to my(perhaps a bit OCD)sense of inventory management, since it rationed out necessary items like ammo, health regen and game saves. I became such a packrat that I literally could demolish the final section of the game with magnum bullets and high-end bazooka rounds because I had used them sparingly to the point of having a plentiful stockpile.
I positively ate up the sequels and even more so the Silent Hill series that came a few years later. Most all of my game time that wasn't occupied with fighting games was spent with survival horror, at least until Halo came along. Right around the turn of the century, though, the genre seemed to start running out of steam until it almost totally flatlined around 2004. Thinking back now, I think a fair deal of the blame surrounds the events of the third Resident Evil, what Americans remember as Code Veronica. Right out of the gate, Sony stole a decent amount of the game's hype by convincing Capcom to remove the 3 from its title and apply it instead to the side story game on their system involving Jill's escape from Raccoon City(though it still kept the Nemesis moniker in its subtitle). Along with that blow which mostly only derailed some of the game's marketing, it was released as an exclusive initially only on the Dreamcast, which Americans simply never as a whole fell in love with, having gone all in with the brand of games Sony was offering on both the PS1 and 2. With the sales being probably well beneath what it was expected to do, Capcom felt it needed to shake up the series and start over from square one. A couple of years and a new DMC franchise later, RE4 arrived after much development hell and changed the genre completely, foregoing the series' horror based roots and focusing more on action and weapon enhancement over the traditional run and hide formula(I will at this time insert the disclaimer that this is in no way a bash against RE 4-6, I love those games but in a wholly different way).
This changed the landscape utterly since horror and survival was now only a peripheral element of the experience, and while tension was still present(the regenerator monsters were as terrifying as the Tyrant stalker bastards Mr. X and Nemesis)it didn't pervade the experience the way it had in 1-3, and the puzzle solving was pretty much gone altogether. Alongside this, the Silent Hill series took a strange trip off the rails with its fourth entry, featuring primarily melee based combat and the nigh-insufferable element of ghost enemies that could not be killed or even slowed down by the player(at least not without the use of special items that were so rare that there were only about 5 or 6 of them in the entire game). I personally loved it despite its flaws but the gaming public at large had had enough and moved on from the genre.
All these years later the category is completely niche, with Capcom having a hard time selling the RE franchise despite its action game turn and Silent Hill struggling to get a game out of the gate it has enough confidence in to attach a number to. I still think the genre could be great again, especially with a fresh shot of processing power on the new gen systems and/or PC platform. I can wait, meantime in the nice comfy bed in the mansion's save room.
(no subject)
Date: 2015-02-06 11:17 pm (UTC)The feeling of isolation is kept throughout. Raccoon City is devoid of life (but filled with unlife!) in 2 and Nemesis, and in C:V you are on an island with few living survivors.
For me I think it's the being in a place that's been around a long time. For some reason it really adds to the depth of the overall atmosphere. The first game had an entire mansion. The second game and nemesis had the old police station, which was a museum at one point if memory serves. In C:V the mansion section gave that feeling and thus was my favorite bit, like visiting an old friend.
The three games that came after the first never truly felt the same. They were by no means bad, but the only thing to truly get better was the voice acting. I will say that even though the big badass monster at the end bit became clichéd, it was always done well; Nemesis being the odd one out (…well sorta). I love Nemesis, I really do, but these days I think of the potential they had to make him more terrifying than he we was. Mr. X still wins for most badass/most terrifying.
The REmake was an awesome addition that was lovingly put together and when they decided to update it again with HD textures, resolution and framerate, my arms were wide open. I hope the rumors are true and RE2 is being given the same treatment finally, I am very much looking forward to that.