Resident Evil 2 is out soon! Having never played the original, I make my first trip into Raccoon City by playing the 1-Shot demo! Find out if the game made me scream like a baby!
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Resident Evil blazed the trail for horror games in the 90s. Though its hit some bumpy patches here and there, the franchise has recently regained its footing to the delight of many. The upcoming release of the Resident Evil 2 remake made me realize that I haven’t really talked about my experiences with the franchise at all on this site. Let’s fix that.
Based on the hit Japanese horror movie that got an American remake, Ju-On The Grudge: Haunted House Simulator is an idea that I think is fundamentally sound on the surface. There’s a segment of casual players that want a scary experience, but don’t have the gamer acumen to take something on as hardcore as Resident Evil or Silent Hill. If put together properly and packaged at the right price, this concept could come to life in a way that most other games in the genre haven’t. After playing a few levels of Ju-On, it’s evident that this falls well short of the mark.
Much of my time with The Last of Us wasn’t pleasant. Granted, some of that unpleasantness is by design, since this is a survival horror game in many ways. However, some of the displeasure I felt playing the game wasn’t intentional. After starting things off with a bang, the pace drags to a crawl as it establishes its core gameplay. Worse yet for me, that gameplay is primarily stealth-based, which generally isn’t my cup of tea. On top of that, I had a hard time investing into the moment-to-moment action when the gameplay and context balance just felt off during its first half.
Having said all that, it eventually hits its stride to provide one heck of a closing act.
Great. Another zombie game. We don’t already have enough of those yet, right? While I’m more than tired of the zombies in video games and other forms of fiction, I’m willing to let my fatigue slide if a particular piece of media brings forth a new twist on the trope. From Plants vs. Zombies cutesy tower defence, to the human drama of The Walking Dead, there’s still room for growth.
ZombiU draws heavy inspiration from Dark Souls, while making great use of the Wii U GamePad’s defining features to create a survival horror experience unlike anything out there. Though it has its quirks, and the overall gameplay may turn off some, it’s very cool for what it is.
The original Dead Island trailer – as amazing as it is – ultimately did much more harm than good for my perception of the game. After watching it, I had high hopes that it would have more emotional weight to it than your run-of-the-mill zombie slaughter-fest. Then the preview coverage ultimately revealed that the contents of the trailer had virtually nothing to do with the actual game. Feeling burned by the misleading ad, I refused to buy or play this until it hit the bottom of the clearance bin. Maybe the trailer did little to reflect the final product, but that’s not to say the final product is bad. In fact, I’m actually really impressed with how the game came together.
Alan Wake isn’t short on ambition. This survival horror title bookends each of its chapters with drama that could stand up against a television thriller. It’s during these points when I get really jazzed about the game.
And then it falls apart when I actually have to play it.
I normally don’t write about game trailers. The majority of the time, they’re simply CG sizzle reels that don’t show you any gameplay. As a knowledgeable (and sometimes jaded) gamer, I know better than to put a lot of weight into a video game trailer with no gameplay.
The Dead Island trailer, which doesn’t feature any gameplay, may very well just be another mediocre zombie game along the lines of Left 4 Dead. However, I can’t deny the fact that the trailer pulled at my heart strings in a way no video game trailer has done before. Click through to see it for yourself.
Steff is a huge fan of the Saw series. The first entries to the series are some of her favourite horror movies of all-time. Because of that connection, she’s wanted to play this game for quite some time. It’s not easy to find new nowadays, but I was able to pick it up for her duringone of my random trips to Blockbuster. After spending some time with her in Jigsaw’s asylum, did this survival horror game scare the heck out of us? Or will we turn Jigsaw down next time he asks us to play a game?
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With Dead Space 2 hitting stores this week, it’s easy to forget (or miss completely) the fact that Dead Space also came out on iPhone at the same time. Though the console sequel will likely get all of the hype and the love, I think this game is definitely worth some attention of its own.
In Third Person 