Survival Horror

[Johnny McNasty]

They have to be my favorite genre in video games. There is nothing like a game that can pull you into it so much, that it legitimately makes you frightened to go around that next corner, or into the next room where you heard that creepy whispering. I love those type of games, as I love horror movies, but I feel video games take everything a next step when it comes to horror. You are the one in constant danger trying your best just to survive.(to that next save point) When watching a film it is easy to become disconnected from what is going on. Plus I feel games are a lot more innovative then their horror movie counter parts these days.

So what has happened to this genre? Use to seem like one or another survival horror title was coming out all the time back on the PS2. Resident Evil series, Silent Hill series, Parasite Eve 2, Fatal Frame, Clock tower etc. Now it is ages in between any sort of survival horror games. I did recently got a hold of Dead Space, and it reminded me why I love this genre so much. Now that I've finished it I won't to jump right into another experience like that, but I really can't find any other true survival horror title. Maybe its because I only have one console this generation that it seems this genre is drying up. I don't know.

Anywho if anyone has any suggestions about some good games I could try that would be sweet. Plus you can talk about why your a fan or not of these types of games.

[.44 Magdalene]

I liked the original Parasite Eve more than Parasite Eve 2 to be honest, but they're completely different games from each other. PE2 felt more like a Dino Crisis / Resident Evil knockoff, while PE1 bordered on revolutionary.

Anyway, survival horror is going the way of the dinosaur. While RE4 still maintained alot of its roots while pushing the genre forward, RE5 was a co-op third person shooter with barely any survival OR horror. Not that it was a bad game, but what little of the survival horror elements remaining were promptly squashed in favor of something vastly more... action-y.

Silent Hill, likewise, has started to peel away what made it what it was. Silent Hill Origins and Homecoming were more action and combat-heavy than previous installments and Shattered Memories, while certainly psychological, eliminated alot of the actual fear by segregating the thinking parts from the fighting parts. Instead of a constant state of uneasiness, you'd at designated sections switch from perfect calm and a feeling of general safety to absolute panic--which I guess is survival horror in a way, but at a more basic, less game defining level.

Fatal Frame IV never made it to America because people are fuckasses. It was Wii exclusive and we just never fucking got it.

With people demanding more action and immediate gratification these days, it's hard to pull of a game that's firmly steeped in survival horror and still a high quality experience. Very few games are willing to drown themselves in the sort of unsettling, uneasy air of vulnerability that survival horror really requires without giving way to modern gaming conventions. Dead Space pulled it off masterfully, and created an experience I can scarcely compare to anything else. Resident Evil was doing well at 4, but I think it gave too much ground in 5--there's barely any part of it I can describe as survival-horror, while 4 (while still certainly action heavy) had a laundry list of "holy shit" moments and areas of uneasiness, where you felt isolated, alone, vulnerable. There was still that sense of mystery, that sense of being pinned down that I just frankly did not get from 5. Maybe it's just me, I don't know.

They're making a new Parasite Eve but I think it's for PSP.

[.44 Magdalene]

Though supposedly, Shinji Mikami (the force behind most of the good Resident Evils, among a shit ton of other amazing games), Akira Yamaoka (a major influence on all of the Silent Hills hence far, specifically the music), and Suda51 (Clock Tower, Michigan and Fatal Frame IV, also No More Heroes and Killer7) may be working on a single joint project. Given that these three are absolute fucking geniuses at their business, and all easily the fathers of survival horror, whatever they cook up could be absolutely incredible. Not much has been leaked about it.

And there is a Deadspace 2 coming out, so who knows? Survival horror still has a little gas in the tank.

[Johnny McNasty]

You described my feelings toward the new Resident Evil games perfectly. 4 was innovative yet it still kept its survival horror charms to a degree, while 5 was just an co-op die hard with zombie like baddies. Never had the chance to play the original Parasite Eve unfortunatly. I just remember the second one fondly as it had quite a few cool things going for it. Man Dino Crisis was like a wet dream come true for me when it first came out. If I could have any series rebooted so to speak in this current generation of games Dino Crisis would be it.

Yeah I was excited to see that Dead Space 2 is coming out soon. Will be awesome to play that while having the first still fresh in my memory. Also been anxiously awaiting Alan Wake for what seems like ages now, and it drops next week. So hopefully it does well and gives this genre some lime light it desperately needs.

[D Mac]

Borrowed my niece's Gamecube so I could play this again.


http://wire.ggl.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/residentevil.jpg

It's still too bad they didn't remake RE 2 like that.

[The Jayman]

F.E.A.R. has some survival horror elements

[Johnny McNasty]

The Resident Evil remake for gamecube was really fun. It was the same game really with vastly upgraded graphics, plus the new red eyed zombies where intense to deal with. My favorite out of the Resident Evil series has to be 3. Jill was back and Nemesis was a beast.

Also another one of my favorites for the x box is the Condemned series. The second one probably has some of the most frightening aspects ever in a game. The mannequins still give me nightmares.

I've never tried F.E.A.R. either, so thanks for that one. It is a 1st person shooter right? Meh. Those are the types of games I'm growing sick of, but I'll probably give it a go anyways.

[alvarado52]

RE3? Seriously? RE2 had to be the best one, story wise. The RE remake was fucking rad because it made you fear the zombies again, and added the Trevor subplot and a little mix of 'man thats fucked' elements like the Lisa Trevor experiments,

Silent Hill 2 and Parasite Eve i have fond memories of, but i agree with .44 that the general population today seems to care less about character development and plots and more about immediate gratification. You look at a game like Silent Hill 2, and the story was wonderful, but unraveled slowly...most people today wouldn't stick through it to see the end and would complain about the combat mechanics (which were never good, but that wasnt the point of SH games).

[Johnny McNasty]

Nemesis and Jill that is all. Yeah 2 probably was the best story wise, I just found 3 to be a much more better overall experience. I would probably rank them as follows RE3, RE1(remake), RE2, RE4, Code Veronica, RE zero, and then RE5. Plus add in all the others in there somewhere as well.

[Russenmafia]

Resident Evil 2 was the first survival horror game ever made and still the best one I have played. Scariest moment in the game is below, this nearly gave me a heart attack.

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[Lara Emily]

Resident Evil 2 was the first survival horror game ever made and still the best one I have played. Scariest moment in the game is below, this nearly gave me a heart attack.


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Huh? RE2 was not the first ever survival horror game.

[The Jayman]

gotta have a Resident Evil before you have a RE2

[.44 Magdalene]

And even Resident Evil was based on a much earlier horror game called Sweet Home.

[The Jayman]

the list goes on and on

[Johnny McNasty]

Found this online and thought I'd share. First 30 mins of actual game play of Alan Wake.

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I only watched the first 10 mins or so, as I don't like things to be spoiled. The part where he is in the trailer looks absolutely bananas. Can't decide which game to get first this or Red Dead.

[.44 Magdalene]

Yeah, I keep hearing about how fucking nutbars the storyline is (and how "meh" the gameplay is). Really wish I had a 360 so I could at least give it a whirl.

[D Mac]

Found this online and thought I'd share. First 30 mins of actual game play of Alan Wake.

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I only watched the first 10 mins or so, as I don't like things to be spoiled. The part where he is in the trailer looks absolutely bananas. Can't decide which game to get first this or Red Dead.

Red Dead hands down.

[Johnny McNasty]

Yeah I'm sure Red Dead will be the better game and all. I just think I could easily blow through Alan Wake in a couple of settings, and have it out of my way. Can't say I will do the same with Red Dead Redemption. Probably be playing that game this time next year.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Is Clock Tower available on PSN? I swear that game was underrated. I never played any of the sequels, though. Scissorman still haunts me to this day.

Well, not really, but the game was sweet. I've never played anything like it.

[Anybody Thrilla]

OK, so it looks like they have Clock Tower 2 and 3, but not the first one. What the fuck?

[El Tigre]

http://wire.ggl.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/residentevil.jpg

It's still too bad they didn't remake RE 2 like that.

Completely agree with this. I've actually played every RE game (with the exception of RE5 and Dead Aim) and they've always filled me dreadful suspense. I just wish Capcom had kept the horror in these games. The 1st time I played RE4 it gave me bad dreams (it didn't help that I refuse to play any RE game in the daylight, only after hours) but from I read about RE5 it is more action than horror. A darn shame.