Gaming Memories- Resident Evil: Part IV

Hello dear readers, welcome once again to game room. Today I'll finally be concluding something I started months ago and have been desperately meaning to finish- my wonderful retrospective of the Resident Evil franchise.

These will probably contain spoilers, so if you’ve never played any of the Resident Evil games, go play them right now. And then come back.

Part 4

Next up was the legendary Resident Evil 4, which turned the entire series on its head and altered the core concept of what a Resident Evil game could be. It proceeded to throw out the window many elements of the survival horror genre in favor of more action-oriented sequences and flashy gameplay; gone was the subtle, creeping and atmospheric experience of its predecessors and in its place was something that felt a little more like Rambo mixed with Dawn of the Dead. There are certainly some horror elements sprinkled in which I’ll discuss shortly, but for the most part it is a flat out action game.

The story follows fan-favorite Leon Kennedy in his first starring role since the second game (if you don’t count Gaiden, at least). Now working for the U.S. government, he is dispatched on a top secret mission to locate and rescue the president’s daughter, who has been kidnapped by a mysterious group somewhere in Europe. However, it turns out this group is actually a highly dangerous cult bent on releasing an ancient parasite called “Las Plagas” that turns people into mindless slaves and also happens to create horrific monsters as well. Also thrown into the mix are some old and not quite dead friends named Albert Wesker and Ada Wong, who are after a sample of the Plagas in order to revive the now-defunct Umbrella Corporation.  

RE4 definitely did something right in bringing back Leon, one of the most popular characters of the entire series. 

The graphics are well enough, though not quite as on point as those for the remake or 0, which were on the same console. The biggest changes RE4 brought to the table however were not so much in the stylistic changes, but in the alterations made to the gameplay. The fixed-camera, tank-control schema of the all the previous games (save Survivor, Dead Aim and Gaiden) was abandoned entirely and in its place was a new over-the-shoulder 3^rd person POV. There’s also a good deal of diversity in the gameplay, from the various boss battles to certain action sequences in which you’ll have to input the correct button combination that flashes quickly on the screen before you die in some horrible way. It does quite well for the game, but it was most definitely a departure from what we expected out of a game with the title “Resident Evil”. And I think that sums up my general feelings toward RE4- don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great, fun game that I’d play over many, many other games any day, but it just represents the point (in my mind, anyway) where Resident Evil slowly started sliding away from its survival horror roots and changing into something different.

Again, none of this is to say that I don’t get any enjoyment out of playing it, or that it even doesn’t have some pretty tense moments reminiscent of the good old survival horror days. For example, one part that sticks out in my mind the most is the part where you find yourself in the bottom of a dungeon area, playing as the defenseless Ashley in order to solve a puzzle. Upon doing so, you’ll be immediately ambushed by giant, axe-wielding suits of armor that had previously been standing still as you fiddled with the puzzle- a pretty scary moment. Another moment is when you must go up against the regenerators, which are big, gangly B.O.W.s that can actually stretch their arms out to grab you from far away…AND can regenerate their limbs unless you destroy specific parasites embedded in their bodies by using an infrared scope on the sniper rifle. The buildup to the first encounter with one of these nasty guys is done very well, once again evoking the survival horror spirit of the original games.

The regenerator encounters definitely injected some much needed horror into the game, which was much appreciated by me.

In sum, I do really enjoy RE4 for what it is, though I have to raise an eyebrow when people claim that it’s the best of the entire franchise. To each their own I suppose, but in my humble opinion, it doesn’t even come close to original classics.

As I mentioned previously, RE4 represents the point at which the series started really changing into something different. And if RE4 were the link somewhere between with elements of both survival horror and straight up action, then Resident Evil 5 didn’t even really try to be anything more than a purely action-driven shooter.

The first Resident Evil game on the next-gen Xbox 360/Playstation 3 consoles, RE5 follows in the footsteps of its predecessor not only in being largely driven by action, but in bringing back fan-favorite characters for a 3^rd-person POV adventure. The story follows Chris Redfield, now working for an anti-bioterrorism group called the BSAA (hell if I know what it stands for and I’m too lazy to look it up). He’s received intel on a possible bio-terrorist organization in Africa, and travels there to meet another agent named Sheva Alomar in investigating. And here is where RE5 once again changed things up, and to my knowledge, all games in the series have followed suit since then: there’s a huge emphasis placed on co-op play in this game. There’s literally no option for single player- you’ll either be playing with someone else or an AI partner. And that’s fine, I understand that this is the direction all games are pretty much heading in, but it still didn’t really sit well with a Luddite like me. 

Not to mention, there just wasn’t that much of a reason to make it an essential feature of the gameplay. Nonetheless, the game is very similar to RE4 gameplay-wise, as well as with the various action sequences and weapon upgrade system and whatnot. In that sense, it is a fun game. But then you have the more ridiculous moments like Jill, who has suddenly (and obviously, I might add) been shoe-horned into the plot, being mind-controlled by some kind of gizmo attached to her chest. Oh, and she also has super powers too for no reason. Also, the new virus (now called Ouroboros or something) can turn anything into a gigantic, pulsating mound of flesh with spikes and tentacles. And Chris punches a boulder into lava.

Yup, this is part where RE5 jumped the shark.

Look, I know the series has never really been grounded in realism since the start, and even the concept of Mr. X in 2 was kind of pushing the limits to what I might feasibly accept, but RE5 just took it to a completely different level. I liken it the recent string of Fast & Furious sequels- it’s basically like a big, flashy cartoon and you just have to take it for what it is. And for the record, that doesn’t really make either of them any more artistically credible.

Anyway, I do enjoy RE5, much the same way that I enjoy RE4. However, I feel like I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more if it was called something else other than Resident Evil. When I think “Resident Evil,” I think of the classics. I think of zombies, T-Virus mutant monsters, and most of all, horror. It’s like comparing the original Night of the Living Dead to a movie like World War Z.

RE6, however, I think can wholeheartedly say that I just did not enjoy whatsoever. 6 arrived far past the point of me having hope that the series would go back to what made it so great in the good old days, but despite that I still decided to pick it up out of sheer curiosity, and also because I had just bought a PS3 and the only game I had for it was Metal Gear Solid 4 and I wanted to feel more like I was justified in buying it.

Anyway, this will honestly be a bit of a half-assed review because I don't really remember much of it, but that's just it- I really didn't think any of it was all that memorable whatsoever. So the story is split into three different acts, each of which following a different set of protagonists: Leon and uh…a girl I don’t remember and once again am too lazy to look up, Chris and his military partner Piers, and, get ready for this one, Wesker’s son Jake and Sherry Birkin. Yes, that annoying little girl from the second game that we all forgot about now all grown up . Now, it may just be me, but I really felt like they were scraping the bottom of the barrel when they started rolling out long forgotten characters and long lost son clichés like that. I mean, hell, why don’t we bring back Ark Thompson from Survivor while we’re at it?

The plot for all of the characters converges around Ada Wong, the mysterious spy woman who should’ve just stayed dead in 2 but keeps getting caught up in the plot of every game, and a new virus that has been developed called the…C-Virus. Yep, just oozes creativity. The previous two games at least got a little original with it, what with the introduction of Las Plagas and Ouroboros, but again, I felt like they were getting pretty desperate at this point. 

The primary thing that made me hate this game much more than 5 was not the action-driven gameplay, not the absurd plot, but the controls- unlike the previous games to this point, I thought the controls were dreadfully bad. It’s one thing to have a mediocre game, but when the basic playability of it is compromised by poor controls, that really leaves a bad taste in your mouth from the get-go.

Another thing I remember hating was the fact that every boss is basically Godzilla now. Leon’s act concludes with him and Helena (is that her name? I think so…) fighting what basically amounts to a virus-infected tyrannosaurus. And during the entire fight, all I could think about was how intimidating the tyrant seemed in the very first game and how much I felt like this really cheapened everything about the earlier games in the series.

Where's the goat? Wait..I'm thinking of something else...

Remember facing off against the tyrant for the first time? Or Mr. X, or Nemesis, or any of the big bad intimidating monsters from the first few games? Those were truly tense and terrifying moments, but when you are going up against something that’s the size of the entire building while it throws jeeps at you…ugh. It all just seemed so uninspired. The same goes for much of the other scenarios, where you’ll also have to do battle with other huge, ridiculous monsters.

If the remake represented the top of the mountain when the series reached its pinnacle, then RE6 would be the dirt at the bottom, as far as I’m concerned. Up until this point, I still actually enjoyed the games I was playing- I can’t say the same for this one, though. Anyway, so that about leaves me where I am now as far as Resident Evil is concerned. I haven’t played the newest ones in the series, namely Operation: Raccoon City and Revelations 1 and 2, and I don’t have a whole lot of interest in them.

As I’ve mentioned previously, a remake of 2 is apparently in the works right now, but I think it’s one of those things where I will believe it when I see it. However, with the recent release of the remake in HD for the newest generation of consoles, I’m remaining hopeful for it and I would most definitely be one of the first people standing in line to pick it up. And if they start bringing the series back to its humble roots, maybe then my interest will be rekindled a bit too. 

Until then, I know I’ll continue to enjoy the original games for many years to come. Resident Evil will always be one of my favorite video game franchises of all time and one that I will have fond memories of forever, if this four-part retrospective didn’t attest to that fact enough already.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and long live Resident Evil!

Dead Space Trilogy Review

*Warning- this will contain massive spoilers for the Dead Space trilogy...so if you haven't played through any of these games yet...what are you reading this for? Get out there and check them out!*

Hello dear readers and welcome back to the game corner once again. I apologize that it’s been quite a while since the last time I updated- the pursuit of my Master’s degree often takes precedence to the more fun things I’d rather be doing with my life. At any rate, during my short holiday break these past few weeks, I decided to sit down and play three games I had previously played at different time points over the course of the past 6 or 7 years: the Dead Space trilogy. To my recollection, these three games are the most recent games I’ve played and actually enjoyed, given that I usually stick to retro games.

These games are awesome, 'nuff said.

So what is it about these games that makes them so damn awesome? Playing through all three of them again in succession has given me plenty of time to think about why that might be, and I think the answer has less to do with the actual game and more to do with the smaller elements that the game was built from. But first, let’s discuss the premise of the series. 

It’s a pretty simple set up to start off with; in the distant future, a deep space mining ship called the Ishimura, which is designed to break apart planets and harvest the leftover metal ore, has dropped out of communications and a small crew is sent in to reestablish contact and fix any problems the ship may be having. Among them is a hapless engineer named Isaac Clarke whose only job is to make a few repairs to the massive spaceship, though he does have a bit of extra incentive- his wife Nicole is among the crew of the Ishimura. However, upon boarding the seemingly derelict ship, the crew is attacked by horrific monsters that can slice a human to pieces faster than Jason Vorhees in a summer camp full of teenagers. Isaac is separated from the other surviving members of the crew and must fight his way through the onslaught of monstrosities to reunite with them, find out if his wife is still alive, and escape the nightmarish ship.

Along the way, Isaac acquires several engineering tools to use as weapons to fight back against the creatures, and luckily for him, their weakness lie in severing their limbs and then stomping the ever loving shit out of them. The monsters, termed “necromorphs,” can attack in a number of ways- slashing, climbing on walls, firing projectiles, and even blowing themselves up to damage you. 

Isaac is no Master Chief- just an ordinary guy caught in a bad situation. Thankfully, he's got a number of engineering tools at his disposal to deal with the problem.

As you’d expect, the monsters become stronger and harder to kill as you progress through the game, so you’ll have to rely on obtaining items called power nodes in order to upgrade your weapons, which you’ll either find in small quantities scattered around the ship or available (at a very high price) in numerous stores where you can also purchase new weapons, ammo, power suits, and health items. You can also use nodes to upgrade your suit’s air capacity, stasis and telekinesis abilities (used to slow down and shoot objects at monsters, respectively), and hit points. 

Through the 12 chapters of the game you’ll have to complete a variety of objectives such as repairing the ship’s vital functions, protecting it from a wave of asteroids, sending out an S.O.S. beacon, and destroying huge necromorph infestations. You’ll also have to navigate zero-gravity environments, dodge malfunctioning machinery, and even trek through the vacuum of space as you progress.

As you approach the end of the game, it is discovered that the necromorph outbreak seems to be stemming from a strange alien artifact that was discovered during the planetary mining operation and brought aboard the ship. The object has been deemed the “marker” by a group of fanatical religious zealots called scientol- er, I mean, unitologists, who intend to bring forth their version of judgment day by unleashing the necromorph scourge upon humanity. Isaac comes close to returning the marker to the planet it was found on, only to be betrayed by Kendra, a member of the crew he came aboard the Ishimura with who he’d also been working together with over the course of the entire game. Kendra intends to bring the marker back to Earth for the government; however, Isaac at last finds his wife, who helps him take back the marker and return it to the planet once again. 

In the last act, the biggest twist of all occurs when it is revealed that Nicole has actually been dead the entire time and Isaac has been hallucinating every encounter he has had with her since boarding the ship. As the planet starts to come apart beneath him, the marker summons the biggest, nastiest, ugliest necromorph of all, which squashes the traitorous Kendra like a pancake and traps Isaac in its grasp. Once you slay the beast, you escape the planet safely and all loose ends are tied up…right? No sir- just like all the great horror movies, a cliffhanger occurs before the credits roll when a bloody vision of Nicole jumps out from behind Isaac inside of the ship he has escaped in.

Nicole was dead the whole time? *M. Night Shyamalan voice* What a twist!

In all, I love this game. It actually seems like it was tailored to fit my personal list of science fiction/horror favorites. Looking at everything together, the game on a whole seems like what you would get if you threw Resident Evil, Doom, and the movies The Thing, Event Horizon, and Alien into a blender, which just so happen to be some of my favorite video games and movies ever. There’s enough challenge to keep you satisfied, enough backstory to keep you interested, and definitely enough horror to keep you on your toes while playing late at night with the lights off.

Next came Dead Space 2, which was certainly a worthy sequel of its predecessor. In the years following the events of the first game, Isaac has been captured by a secret government organization and brought to Jupiter’s moon Titan, where he is forced to constantly relive the visions in his head in order to build a new marker. The markers are seen as sources of unlimited energy, and the organization strives to harness that energy by having those exposed to the power of the markers reconstruct new ones based on certain neural codes that become embedded in their brains. A bit of a confusing plot, yes, but it doesn’t detract from the overall game.

As you’d expect, another necromorph outbreak puts a damper on everything, and Isaac must once again fight his way through waves of monstrosities in order to escape the city on the moon and destroy a marker once again. The same gang of necromorphs is back, as well as some new ones thrown into the mix. The same goes for weaponry and power suits. Isaac himself is also given a bit more characterization, actually speaking and interacting with other characters, unlike in the first game when he was a simple silent protagonist. 

You’ll find yourself wandering the abandoned city on Titan, going in and out of train terminals, a Unitology church, and even an elementary school where you’ll have to fight off some necromorphed children. Also, in the latter stages of the game, you’ll even have to board the Ishimura once again! In addition, the zero-gravity mechanics have been revamped, allowing you to freely float through space as opposed to having to jump to predestinated spots like in the first game.

The zero-G mechanics were just one of the many improvements made in the 2nd game.

The terrifying atmosphere of the first game is back with a vengeance as you are stalked (literally, in some instances) by bloodthirsty necromorphs.  Isaac is also constantly tormented by bloody visions of Nicole, who repeatedly reminds him that he let her die and his sanity may be slowly slipping away under the power of the marker. In the end, Isaac comes to terms with his wife’s death and storms the government complex, where he destroys another marker and once again puts an end to the necromorph outbreak.

It’s pretty hard for me to choose whether I like the first or second game better, as I enjoyed them both so much in different ways. I’d probably go with the first one for nostalgia’s sake, but 2 just does everything a great sequel should do and more. However, Dead Space 3 took the series in a much different direction, which leaves it as the black sheep of the trilogy and does not quite live up to the shining example its predecessors set.

This time, Isaac joins of team of military insurgents and scientists who have discovered the home planet of the original markers, where hundreds of years earlier a team of archaeologists discovered it and unwittingly released an outbreak of their own. Together with his team, Isaac crash lands on the snowy planet and embarks on a mission to end the scourge once and for all.

As opposed to the first two games where you’ll have to fight through the confined and claustrophobic corridors of ships and space stations, you’ll mostly be running around in the wide open landscapes of the alien planet you land on..which…doesn’t translate well for the type of game we grew to expect from the first two. You’ll periodically have to venture through buildings, especially during the various optional missions presented throughout the game, but a good chunk of the game is spent running around outside- definitely more than I'd like to, at least.

You're gonna be looking at a lot of this in the 3rd game.

Another major complaint I have is what they did with the weapons/rig upgrade system. As I mentioned previously, the first two games have you very gradually upgrading your setup by collecting power nodes as the games progressed. Each weapon had its own individual set of ammunition and required a substantial amount of effort to acquire enough nodes in order to upgrade them completely. The third game, however, threw this system completely out the window in favor of a new one in which all the weapons in the game are constructed from various raw materials (for example, scrap metal) that you’ll find all over the place. These replace the concept of credits, the currency you find and spend at stores in the first two games.

This time around you can only hold two weapons at a time, as opposed to the four you could carry previously which is a pretty big downer right off the bat. Also, every weapon consumes the same ammo, and depending on how much raw materials you’ve collected, you can construct different add-ons for each weapon to take out enemies in different ways and deal extra bits of damage to them. You can also find upgrade circuits, of which a maximum of 4 can be added to constructed weapons in order to increase damage, clip size, reload speed, etc. You have the option to construct weapons entirely on your own or do so based on pre-set blueprints you’ll find along the way. 

In theory, this system seems pretty cool- being able to construct a multitude of weapons to deal with necromorphs in different ways, exploit different weaknesses, use in different areas- the applications had a lot of potential. However, the entire thing was not implemented very well, in my opinion. For starters, I only found myself really needing to construct two weapons over the course of the entire game, which handily did away with enemies with little effort. After I was set and maxed out with the two of them, my inventory became tremendously packed with an excess of raw materials and upgrade circuits I had absolutely nothing to do with. In the first two games, maxing out a weapon felt like a real accomplishment after grinding away in order to get your grubby hands on one little power node; by contrast, the third game just made it feel way too easy and cheap. True, it does take a little while to accumulate enough raw materials, but not nearly as long as collecting many power nodes.

Also, the universal ammo didn’t really sit well with me either. Extra ammo and health can easily be constructed at any time and with little effort, even on the higher difficulty settings. Compare that to the first two games, where on the harder levels, both are extremely scarce and you’ll be struggling the entire way just to keep one weapon fully loaded and your health full- it really felt like a tough challenge.

There are a few new enemies, but it's mostly the same entourage we've gotten used to, and by the third game, it's gotten a little bit old. The second game had a lot of the same enemies as the first, but it made improvements with newer enemies- the third can't quite say as much. You'll also periodically have to fight other humans- yeah, humans! Some crazed unitologists follow you to the planet and occasionally pop out to fight you, which is just pretty lame if you ask me. I mean, if I wanted to shoot at other people, I'd go play one of the 9 million Call Of Duty games that get crapped out every year.

Lastly, another big thing that bugged me about 3 was the story. It’s just so convoluted and uninteresting. True, the previous two got confusing at certain points, but they were captivating and really drew you in, whereas the third one just feels more like a chore of getting through. And they really got drama-happy in the 3^rd one- Isaac is now stuck love triangle between a woman he met in the 2^nd game and some bland, uninteresting military guy whose name I honestly can’t even remember, and the rest of the characters are just as forgettable.

These characters...are...not interesting.

And just one last little nit-picky detail...all the standard versions of the game are called "Limited Edition," and a regular edition doesn't seem to exist at all. Not really a big deal, but for someone like me who likes to very specifically categorize the games they own, just a minor annoyance. Yeah, I know I have a problem.

In all, 3 still manages to be a good game and worth a playthrough…it’s just very sub-par compared to the excellent example the first two set. The series has been on hiatus for several years now, but I'm holding out hope that it will make a comeback one day. I just hope they don't needlessly reboot it like so many different games have been as of recent years. On an unrelated note, I just hate that word "reboot" so much.

Anyway, so that does it for my review of the Dead Space trilogy, hope y’all enjoyed. And if you haven’t played any of these games, get out there and pick ‘em up- they’ll be well worth your time.