Another game that i want to talk about is Resident Evil 4. This game deserves to be mentioned in a separate part of this documentary. It managed to bring next-gen formula to survival horror genre, and differentiate the classic survival horror games, like first three Alone in the Dark and first three Silent Hill games, from modern ones like Dead Space. The game camera this time is fixated just behind the character's right shoulder and in this way it creates a more immersing experience, but of course not only because of the camera. The animation plays a great part in this too. This game was the first next-gen prototype of this kind of games and it was released in 2004 on GC and PS2 and set the standart not only for survival horror genre, but almost for every third person action / shooter. The game featured a very long campaign with two playable characters from RE2, a lot of replayability options and a mini-game called Mercenaries in which you must survive the coming waves of infected people. The superior version of this game was on GC. It featured beautiful lighting and various post-process effects, where the PS2 version lacked any special effects, but nevertheless it was popular exactly on that platform. In 2007 was released one of the worst PC ports in history of porting. Along with Devil May Cry 3 this port is considered a disgrace and it is treated like it never existed. For porting purposes was chosen NOT the best (which is GameCube version), but the soap-washed PS2 version. But many hardcore fans of the series saw this as a challenge and finished the game many times even in such terrible state (including myself). The reincarnation of the series happened because the main creator of the series returned to his team and helped with his vision on which direction the series should take. Afterwards Capcom using Mikami's ideas developed the next game Resident Evil 5 in which they included a co-op mode and at last a decent PC port that can be considered one of the best in the industry. That's how you port a game on PC. Even the graphics were adapted to modern VGA's that worked in DirectX 10 API environment. The glitchy GFWL service gave you a possibility to play this great game in co-op by registering the game with a valid GFWL key from every game that uses the same achievement system. It's a funny glitch, working not only with Resident Evil 5, but with many other games, including Fallout 3. Buying just one game you could register with the same key a butt load of other titles. I personally for the experiment's sake played Halo 2 multiplayer on GFWL, unlocking achievements and being online. But it's a good thing Microsoft killed this service because it is poison. The fifth RE part also had an original setting. It was set in Africa where the sun shines bright and the contrast between light and dark was one of the main attractions of the game. If you are not playing in co-op, you still play in the company of a very beautiful, but very brainless character Sheva. To succeed in this game alone, you need to learn how to play with a brainless AI that controls her, because apparently she has a death wish and when the opportunity of dying in some way arises she takes it with a smile. I need to mention that some great costumes can also be unlocked after beating the game. The business-woman outfit for Sheva and Tarzan looking clothes for Chriss makes this game funny as hell. When the sixth part was developed, Capcom were focused more on bringing a big Resident Evil anthology game that has all the mechanics and situations present in the past games and enhancing all that with a blockbuster feel of a big James Cameron movie, Resident Evil 6 is the longest and biggest game in the series. It has four playable characters with four different campaigns that differ in play style and pacing. Some are more survival-horror oriented and some more "action-shootout with everything blowing" oriented. For some fans this is the bad thing because the evolution of the series stays in one place just using it's old ideas over and over that Mikami brought in 2004 with Resident Evil 4. Although Resident Evil 6 is a great game, the series needs a good kick in the future, or maybe a very long game in the vein of the classic parts. I think that it would be great to make a classic survival horror game with modern technology. Resident Evil Zero was a masterpiece in 2002. Imagine what could they do today, but it seems that for the time being, the next step Resident Evil series will take in Mikami's new game The Evil Within.
P. S.
Capcom at last brought their Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition on Steam. After beating the game you can play a very interesting additional episode. During the original campaign Chris has a flashback about how he lost his partner Jill Valentine. This episode takes place in that exact flashback. Chris and Jill are going to a big gothic mansion. The episode was made for the sake of homage to the original Resident Evil. And of course from the lore point of view, all Umbrella's mansions are similar. The gameplay mechanic is changed a bit. It feels more like Resident Evil: Revelations. With modern survival-horror presentation, but in the vein of classic one, with scattered items & puzzles. Even the doors now are opened like in the classic RE. The puzzles are exactly the same as in RE1, which brings a very heavy nostalgia about that survival-horror era. Also the game has some bone chilling moments, when you reach the basement, but i will not spoil it. There is also a new mini-game - The Mercenaries Reunion, that features Rebecca and Excella Gionne.
Comments
Post a Comment