Well, only if you don’t take me too seriously either. I can certainly be, uh, strident at times. :)
Most videogames are power fantasies, and that’s often at odds with the objective of horror storytelling, which is to play on the audience’s fear, anxiety, dread. So in most videogames, you’re running around shooting horror-shaped targets. I’d say the Resident Evil series is a classic example of this. So to my mind, it’s already a “monster killer action series”, as you say. Consider the awkward attempts at invulnerable monsters, and how they force you to play Resident Evil in a completely different way. Normally, Resident Evil is about shooting monsters. That’s its primary gameplay, and that’s the progression loop that drives it forward. You guns are getting bigger, better, harder hitting, more stocked with ammo. The narrative stuff has plenty of horror-shaped things, but invariably you will shoot them to death. Invariably, you are playing a monster killer. Invariably, the chief genre is action.
It was like a completely separate game, right? Five Nights at Beneviento’s. :)
Excellent point, Calum, but I’d argue – and I think you’d agree – that unknown and unseen don’t require darkness. But the main thing I was pointing out is that bright and sunny is a fascinating juxtaposition with horror, and it’s the primary aesthetic in Resident Evil 5, which is partly why I enjoy it so much. It’s different. For a guy who plays a ton of horror games and watches even more horror movies, different is especially appealing to me.
RE5 was a dramatic shift in gameplay progression and especially aesthetics. Those are the two elements that really appealed to me, and they were both unique in RE5.
What was superior about the gunplay in RE4? I remember very little about it, whereas I played a ton of RE5 just yesterday. What am I missing by not going back to RE4?
But if you’re dead set on playing a Resident Evil on the Wii, you’re playing the wrong game if you’re playing Resident Evil 4. Here’s the game you’re looking for.
And I mean, House of the Dead Overkill is pretty great, but you don’t have to go back to the Wii to play it when you could be typing Shakespearean verse to shoot those zombies in Typing of the Dead Overkill, on Steam. (Also it does include the original House of the Dead Overkill as a game mode, not sure it’s quite the same with mouse and keyboard though.)
It’s a light gun rail shooter, though. You’ve played a light gun rail shooter. We’ve all played a light gun rail shooter. It’s whatever. There are better light gun rail shooters, and there are better light gun rail shooters than House of the Dead Overkill on Wii.
But you’ve never played Resident Evil on a Wii, and it’s better than a light gun rail shooter. It’s also better than any other Resident Evil you’ve played.
If you want light gun rail shooters on Wii, go for House of the Dead 2 & 3, the real ones. Now that’s some arcade fun. Better than Overkill.
You can also go for the Sega one. Ghost Squad. That’s great too.
Overkill is derpy, but you can get it after those two.
Also, Tom, missed opportunity to plug the actual Resident Evil rail shooter that came out for Wii. It’s also fine. But obviously Resident Evil 4 is better than that, too.
I thought you were being less literal that that. Jaws doesn’t need darkness because the (dark!) water stirs all the same fears and serves all the same functions, so they didn’t get away with not having “darkness,” just placed the burden of it on the ocean.
Again, my point is that horror can be effective in sunlight, which is where the majority* of Jaws takes place. Are you disputing that or are you just explaining Jaws to me? Because I’ll talk Jaws with you until the cows come home!
-Tom
* in fact, all the outdoor nighttime scenes – except Ben Gardner’s boat – were shot day-for-night
Speaking of shark, I remember Brandon expressing his love for an FPS called The Conduit on the Wii on the Jumping the Shark podcast.
He also didn’t enjoy the sequel.
And even though I loved reading him, I almost always have opposite taste to Brandon’s. Tom doesn’t manage that that systematically. I probably wouldn’t go hunt for that one, DiveCubed. But I’m still curious.
I’m neither disputing not explaining, just opining that the sunlight is irrelevant because the water takes the place of darkness in the fear-inducement and hiding-the-monster departments. Otherwise I agree with your sunlight horror thesis I just feel like Jaws is a poor example of it because the “darkness” is present in a mechanical sense.
I mean, there’s really two tracks to Resident Evil - action schlock and survival horror.
In survival horror mode, there’s the focus on a single location and making hard decisions about whether to burn resources and engage enemies, or finding a way to circumvent them. They haven’t completely abandoned the survival horror aspect of the series - part of the reason RE7 resonated with so many was that it leaned into the single location roots. And they went even harder with the RE2 Remake.
Village tries to do condensed versions of it in the castle and factory, but the resources are too abundant, and the sections are a bit too short for it to really stick the same way.
Personally, I way prefer RE in survival horror mode - the remakes of RE 1 and 2 are the masterpieces in the series.
I mean, you really should go back to RE4. It controls the same way, RE5 lifted all its setpieces that aren’t a co-op puzzle from it, and it even starts off with daylight horror!
Also, it’s far less sloppily tuned, and it doesn’t have the arcady in-between mission shop, but instead uses it as a pacing mechanism. (Although I guess the arcadeiness is something that resonated with you?)
Edit: Going back to RE4 will also highlight how much Village is riffing on it.
I have a very weak spot for RE 4. It was one of the first games I played to the end on my Gamecube. The controls were perfect. They added to the horror. Getting headshots in was satisfying. But sometimes they failed and terrible things happened. The very start in the village was pure horror. I think they captured that feeling very well in RE5 in the start section in broad daylight.
The RE2 Remake was really, really good, just the right amount of horror and survival. I skipped RE7 because it did not look like a RE game to me.
So, will I like REVIIIage on my PS4? I would have liked 3rd person more. RE4 was in the final 3rd also very, very shooty. You could argue that it went too much into action. But I was okay with it.
You’re killing me Tom, are you seriously saying that the RE series as a whole isn’t a Horror series?
RE back in 1996 took the HORROR genre into 3D up until RE4 is all about trying to instil some fear, indestructible MR X or Nemesis chasing you as you don’t have the power to stop them, You are supposed to fear meeting them knowing you have to try and get away or die.
the above two are exact examples with how past RE games fit your definition of horror. Anxious to run into them again fear and dread doing so. So yea like you have said most games are power fantasies, in which you don’t really have moments where you are powerless but to run from the enemy you simply can’t kill. In Horror games it’s used often. So like Jack or other members of the family from RE7 even Lady D and any of her Daughters +various others later in RE8. there are moments you are powerless and can only run RE7 is invariably a Horror game it certainly spends time trying to build tension and anxiety better than 90% of horror films I have seen. I don’t think you having the eventual showdown with the enemy, once too strong to face, makes it suddenly action, in Jaws they do eventually have the showdown with the great great white, but you yourself referenced it as horror.
Don’t get me wrong i’m not trying to say that RE8 executes Horror really well, i’m just saying its trying to give you horror. to say its invariably its “chief” genre is action, isn’t right I think there just trying to give a good balance Give you fun gameplay loops in a horror game.
Resident Evil is the classic example of horror gaming, if you asked a laymen, name a horror video game series, what answer you think we may get. Forgive me for presuming I’m just under the impression that as somebody that enjoyed RE5 above the rest in the series you want more of the same. RE5 is a monster killer action game, it being your the one you enjoy you may want more of the same, but that doesn’t make Every other RE release not Horror. RE7 is trying to scare you… the use of the dark, jump scares all the tension building moments. RE8 is trying to do the same just less to appeal to a wider audience because some feedback received from RE7 was that it was too scary.RE8 is trying to get a bit of the tension loved in RE4 if you can’t tell by the music alone once an enemy is around you. That tense continuous build up music, it was literally designed to make you feel tension.
I can’t say I have watched lots of horror films and I’d defer to you even if I had as they seem like a passion of yours, and your clearly have a brain on you. Horror games it would be hard to find a popular one I haven’t at least started. To say that RE as a series isn’t a Horror series? is an interesting take. I think RE5 + 6 are outliers, in a Horror series. also sorry for my long posts.
Also yes to the guy out there suggesting people play RE4 on Wii, It was 100% the best way to play it. It made a great game even better! would recommend.
