Resident Evil – Bringing Back the Survival Horror?

Resident Evil is a franchise I hold very close to my heart. Ever since I was a child, I have been terrified by the intense scares of this survival horror, creeping through the corridors of the infamous mansion of Resident Evil’s debut entry, and I’ve survived the horrors of Raccoon City. From the moment you press start at the opening menu, the creepy guy who tells you what Resident Evil you’re playing in that sinister voice, makes you want to run to your mama. No game has come close to making me feel as tense, scared and excited, which is why I have been saddened by the series’ change in direction.

The last two Resident Evil games have left a sour taste in the mouths of long-serving fans of the series for a number of reasons. Resident Evil 5, the last outing on home consoles, although being generally well received by critics with a mid-80 score on Metacritic across both consoles, didn’t really feel like a Resident Evil game. Considering this is a series which is proudly defined as the birth of survival horror, Resi 5 felt much more like an action game with much less scares. With the new focus on co-op play, the very thing that made these games scary was gone – the feeling of being totally alone in a world where everything wants to eat you.

Even when playing in single player, Sheva (your sidekick) was a far too overwhelming presence. When your back was against the wall, you never worried because she would always be there to save your arse. Resi 4 became the defining game of not only the series but of a console generation and because of this Capcom seemed pressured to stick too close to its formula.

Resident Evil: Mercenaries was a personal low point of the entire series, and should be regarded as a mistake that people don’t like talking about the morning after. This jumbled mess of maps from Resi 4 and 5 in an arcade style hi-score chase truly showed that the game was no longer a survival horror, but just part of the overpopulated field of mediocre action games.

Now it seems Capcom have finally started to listen. At a recent preview event, one of the developers working on Resident Evil: Revelations discussed in detail how this game will be a journey back to the series’ roots, with a true emphasis on the horror that made these games so great. We will be creeping through eerie corridors where everything creaks and you wonder if those footsteps you hear are indeed your own. Getting a chance to play the game, I finally feel like I’m playing classic Resident Evil, letting out squeals of fear as I pump the last bullet I have into an enemy that refuses to go down, turn to run for safety, only to be met by more terrifying creatures.

The sound of this game, or more accurately, the absence of it, makes the game even spookier. What this game nails where the previous entries have failed is the unnerving sense of anticipation, the fear of what’s around the next corner. Where Resi 5 and Mercenaries failed to freak you out was because of the constant barrage of enemies and overwhelming supply of ammo to deal with it. Revelations truly has you on edge because you’re slowly walking around a narrow hall, with only one bullet left, just waiting for your face to be chewed.

Even though Revelations uses an AI partner like Resident Evil 5, the AI seems to take a back-seat approach, leaving you one again feeling isolated which adds to the sense of fear. I can’t wait to play more of this game so you can expect to read my review very soon. Back in November I previewed the new Raid mode for GameSpot – this two-player co-op mode had some flaws but is definitely worth a look.

Yesterday Capcom released a trailer for Resident Evil 6 and my overall reaction is somewhat mixed. Capcom’s viral “No Hope Left” campaign has culminated in the worldwide release of the debut trailer, which confirms Leon S. Kennedy and Chris Redfield as playable characters, as well as a new, unnamed mercenary. Sources close to the developers claim that this game seeks to find the middle ground between Resi 4 and 5, as leaked in a report by VentureBeat, attempting to find a balance between action and horror.

Looking at the trailer, it seems that this will be achieved with Chris’ campaign being more action based and Leon’s more akin to his time in Raccoon City, but it still looks more like an action game. Certain scenes involving Leon invoke memories of the very beginning of Resident Evil 2, while Chris’ moments are very Resi 5, with Chris part of an elite SWAT team based in China. While the game does look stellar, I fear we will once again be venturing more towards fast-paced Michael Bay-esque action than the intense scares of old. That said, I couldn’t help but be impressed with the trailer, which showed characters finally being given the ability to sprint, dive for cover and fire from the hip, all of which are blessings in a zombie apocalypse.

There are some very interesting story peaks given in the trailer, which I won’t spoil for you here, but the game seems to take place on a much larger scale this time around. Rather than being set in a single city or town, each character will be dealing with the outbreak in a different city. Leon is dealing with the 70,000 infected citizens of tall Oaks while Chris and his team are in China, and the mercenary is taking on the Nemesis-like brute in a rural town. He is also partnered with Ashley, the President’s daughter who Leon rescued in 4.

Check out the trailer yourself and let me know what you think in the comments. Will this be the sequel 4 truly deserves? Or a continuation of the series’ fall from grace?

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