Tag Archives: Resident Evil

The History and Influence of Survival Horror

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Halloween is just around the corner, and what better way to celebrate than to take a look at the history and influence of the survival horror genre. The genre has undoubtedly had its ups and downs over the past couple decades, but things are currently looking about as good for the genre as they have since its golden age.

Developing games with the intent to scare people has been around since the early 80′s. Games like Mystery House and Haunted House were some of the first games to try and instill fear in players by putting them in the shoes of characters who were weak in comparison to the enemies they faced.

The Waning State of Survival Horror

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Flashback to 1996 when the original Resident Evil was released for the PlayStation and effectively coined the term “survival horror”. While it wasn’t the first game to utilize the survival horror mechanics, it most definitely was the first game to bring the genre to the forefront of the industry. Resident Evil effectively ushered in the golden age of survival horror that was unfortunately too short.

Clock Tower 2 and Overblood followed the precedent set by Shinji Mikami’s revolutionary title while adding things of their own to the survival horror scheme. With the release of Resident Evil 2 in 1998 and Silent Hill in 1999 the survival horror genre seemed to be stronger than ever, which makes its rapid decay over the next few years even more tragic. While Silent Hill 2 was a fantastic game and possibly the best in the Silent Hill series, its success alone was not enough to keep the genre at its peak.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Xbox 360 Review – I’d Rather Watch Resident Evil Movies

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Xbox 360 Box Art

Publisher:  Capcom
Developer: 
Slant Six Games
Genre:
Third-Person Shooter
Platforms:
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release Date: 
March 20, 2012
ESRB:
M – Mature

Survival horror is not viable. Resident Evil must be more action-oriented to sell more games like Call of Duty.

These are general sentiments shared by Resident Evil: Revelations producer, Masachika Kawata in a recent interview. This must have die-hard fans of Resident Evil and survival horror reeling. Hearing comparisons to the annual first-person shooter juggernaut is most assuredly cringeworthy. If Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is the direction the series is headed, we’re in trouble.

Slant Six Games was given the keys to Raccoon City. Unfortunately, this Vancouver, B.C. based developer wasn’t able to replicate the success of Dead Rising 2 that Capcom Vancouver, formerly Blue Castle Games had. Slant Six’s goal was to create a third-person action game with a focus on multiplayer that likely would’ve set the framework for future Resident Evil games, maybe even Resident Evil 6. What they succeeded in creating was a “me too” Gears of War clone that doesn’t do Resident Evil, survival horror, or the cover-based third-person shooter genre any justice.

What Do You Think You’re Doing Capcom?

Resident Evil: Modern Warfare

As a long time Resident Evil fan it’s discouraging that the series is going the route of becoming first person shooter comparable Modern Warfare, but it’s not very surprising. To the chagrin of Resident evil fans the series has become more and more action oriented over the years, and it was inevitable that it would come to this. Capcom probably figures why not go all the way, and try to compare to one of the best shooters out there.

Fans of the series don’t want it to be all about headshots and over the top setpieces. We want the series to return to its roots, and be about scares and atmosphere. We want to roam dark, quiet, and eerie hallways, and be scared about what is around the next corner. I don’t want Resident Evil to play like Zombie Mode in the Call of Duty series. I don’t think it will be quite like that, but you can’t blame me for having that fear in the back of my head.

Capcom to Release Resident Evil: Modern Warfare?

Resident Evil: Modern Warfare

An insider at Capcom, producers of the popular Resident Evil series has given a vague statement via social networking that the developers of the franchise were planning to redirect Resident Evil into a more popular market with the next installment.  Statements made by another Capcom representative in a recent interview have also suggested a potential new direction for the iconic survival horror franchise:  a shift toward more… modern… ways of appealing to the gaming fanbase.

Capcom Polishing Up Classic Horror With Resident Evil: Chronicles HD Collection

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Capcom has announced they will be polishing up Resident Evil: The Umbrella and The Darkside Chronicles in a handy HD collection that will take advantage of PlayStation Move technology and be packaged into a nice, tidy, digital download from the PlayStation Store. Xbox 360 owners, if you haven’t gotten the hint, this is PS3 only, sorry. Anymore Resident Evil games left to remake for HD collections? Survivor, anyone?

What would an announcement be without video and screenshots?

This Week in Gaming History: If History is to Change, Let it Change

Video Game Timeline

Do you ever wonder what great occurrences were happening at this time in the distant (or not so distant) past?  Sometimes it’s awe-inspiring to look back at events now indoctrinated into the history of video gaming and remember how it felt to be in that time and place, to immerse yourself in nostalgia and embrace the significance of all you’ve lived through.

And if you didn’t live through it, well, everyone should appreciate their history.  The world of video gaming simply would not be what it is today if not for the industry’s pioneering developers and the games that ushered the newly popularized idea of home video game consoles to the forefront of personal entertainment in the past three decades.

So as a testament to all of those treasured childhood memories and overlooked ancestors of modern beloved series, Addicted-Gamers is proud to take a look back at some of the most important gaming developments of yesteryear.

Resident Evil Revelations Demo Impressions

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Resident Evil Revelations is the second Resident Evil title to grace Nintendo’s 3D handheld. Unlike Capcom’s previous release on the 3DS, Revelations is a full-fledged Resident Evil experience. Capcom has recently launched a trial version of this ambitious title on the Nintendo eShop service and the team here at Addicted-Gamers have taken it for a spin. The demo is over before it even begins, but players will witness its potential before its upcoming February release this year.

Productive Weekend at Addicted-Gamers – Interviews, Guides, and Achievements Unlocked

Dead Rising 2 TwinsThe twins are satisfied.

We have had more hits in the last two days than any other days previous and are on a very encouraging pace for the next week considering the site has been up for less than three months. I’ve got a few new editors working on projects for the site. I would like to thank everyone who has visited and continues to visit the site and would encourage you to tell your friends about us.

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