Resident Evil - then and now

Let’s take you back, way way back to 1998 when Resident Evil 2 was first put into our humble Playstation (1) consoles and a fresh generation were fed to the unstoppable onslaught of awesome that would become the Resident Evil franchise.

Who could forget that intro – Leon and Clare crash to escape the zombie in the backseat, the truck rears its headlights, a mad dash to escape the imminent fireball. “Head to the police station, I'll meet you there” yelled across the blaze and then GO! Oh crap have we started? No tutorial we’re straight in there but I’m walking backwards, ah shit no time, zombies are a-shuffling, how do I pull out my gun?! Just run – RUN!! It was terrifying and I loved it.

Resi 2 is THE reason for my penchant for scary ass survival games and 14 years on they still look to be bringing the goods. Just check out the new trailer for Resi 6 released at E3 this year and look at Hiroyuki Kobayashi and Eiichiro Sasaki. Those guys don’t have to say much, they can stand in silently humble satisfaction, safe in the knowledge that their product is good – DAMN good and that it speaks for itself.

I’m not the most unbiased writer in the world when it comes to Resi because heck I was a fan of it when camera angles were in weird corners of the room and I was still a fan when they tightened the camera over the shoulder. But what I love is that 14 years on, though some of the logistics may have been altered to move with the evolution of gaming technology, we still have a series that stays true to its original roots and that retains the core elements that make it scary.

You’ve still got Leon picking himself up from the debris, an inferno in the background with zombies swarming around him as he dashes down an alley. Those integral ingredients of an all surrounding, relentless horror that leaves no time to relax, having to keep moving forward to escape and the challenge posed in the need to survive - they used it then and are using it now – why? Because it just works – it’s scary as hell and that’s what we want – a non stop adrenaline ride that keeps building to a crescendo. Bravo Resi, Bravo.

Posted by Angelic Rogue