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CrowingJoe79

Why I think Resident Evil is dying...

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OK. So the series isn't technically 'dying' in the sense that it sells very well across multiple platforms, and that's not necessarily something to hate on. No. I just mean that, generally speaking, the series has gone way downhill, and it isn't like anything from when it first started either. But before people salivate over the upcoming RE2 remake and defend how good it looks, keep in mind that I'm not specifically speaking about that game, as it is just a re-imagining, and even if it's a good, scary, all around perfect horror experience, it's not actually intended to be a canonical entry. Even Capcom revealed that.

So, what is my quarrel about? Well, I was quite a big fan of the series back in the 90's or early 2000s era, when I had the original PlayStation. This was a period when horror games thrived, and I also used to be a huge Silent Hill fan as well, until Konami ruined the games with their later American type style. In fact, RE is my favorite series of all time and probably always will be dear to my heart, even if it ends up sucking beyond belief, because I honestly don't play a great deal of non horror games. But while I do love The Last of Us, one could argue that that game is mostly an action or drama game, just with horror stuff thrown in.

But my main issue is the change from horror to action in the RE series, and how a lot of the story doesn't make sense any longer, nor does the senseless plot go anywhere fast. The first three games are solid horror titles and the story was based around the nefarious experiments, undergone by Umbrella. Even Code: Veronica, which I feel is underrated, is one game that has one of the best stories in the entire franchise and is like the 'real' RE4 for me. Zero pretty much went over old ground, being a prequel, and was to me kind of long and boring after the section on the train ended, but it is no less like a RE game ought to be. However, 4 threw all that momentum unceremoniously into the trash, and yes, 4 still somehow gained a new legion of fans because of its emphasis on having to collect guns. However, that game had a weird story that felt out of place for some reason. It just decided to cancel 6 years of RE history in one fell swoop, with Leon not even facing Umbrella at all, and just the leftovers. But now he is going to a village located in Spain, not as a cop, but as a Tom Cruise like agent having to fight the same looking villagers, and hundreds of times. And the enemies and ideas behind 4 overall meant that it wasn't like a true RE game anymore. Not that 4 is a bad game by any means, because it's not as terrible as you think I'm making it out to be, but the enemies, like the monks and all that, are just not a proper staple of the series.

5 and 6 however, while not the worst games ever made, are certainly not a patch on the older ones, and the story in those games could have been better. The spin off games aren't worth a toss, really, but the two 'Outbreak' games at least had some interesting ideas for introducing online co-op features, and I liked how each character had certain skills and weaknesses. It was definitely a great game, that we sadly can only play online now in Japan. I think anyway. I'm not entirely certain about that. But then the co-op totally changed in the other games.

The rest of the series feels like it has relatively pointless and confusing, self-contained stories, but I did think Revelations 2 was one of the better sequels. 7: Biohazard was quite good, but ultimately, it was rather bizarre and Chris looks so dumb now. The game was also sort of like a shameless rip-off of well-known movies and the game felt like a rehash of the original, with a possessed family in place of the zombies and also with Capcom throwing in all these sludge like creatures that walk slowly, and look more stupid than terrifying. The additional mode where they are wearing party hats as you collect food, is so cringe worthy. Most of the DLC for that game was a con, in my view.

I know Chris' looks got altered due to the new RE Engine, but I digress. It really no longer looks like Chris anymore. He sounds so annoying now, and while he is the main star of the series, the game made him seem a bit wimpy during certain parts. The scene where he gets ambushed by Lucas while he tries to save his soldier friend, is kind of laughable. You'd think after 6, he would be reluctant to have more of his men die. It is perplexing, because the two games are nothing alike. Chris was certainly 'not a hero' or at least, not like his old self.

Edited by CrowingJoe79

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Resident Evil 7 did well for Capcom and the remake of Resident Evil 2 from what I've seen looks really good so I don't think the series is dying; far from it in fact. This isn't to say that the series has always been so successful in it's direction, the real question is where does the series go after the remake of Resident Evil 2 comes out. Capcom are already working on Resident Evil 8 so we will have to wait and see.

“We want [Resident Evil 7] to be the start of a new kind of survival horror and of a new series,” says Takeuchi, “We’re already thinking of various plans for the next game, but we also want to see how we can continue to evolve survival-horror itself. In the next few years, technology will continue to advance and what players want may also change but we will always want to create horror experiences where the characters overcome a difficult situation.” Resident Evil 7 Executive Producer Jun Takeuchi

https://www.gamesradar.com/resident-evil-8-release-date/

Edited by sumo73
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I don’t think an entire franchise like Resi will die any time soon. It might go bad for a while but itll just resurface again under someone else’s charge. Think of it like a Batman movie. You’ll have Adam West, then you’ll have Michael Keaton, skip a few and Christian Bale, Ben Affleck. There’ll be the good and the bad. And then they’ll take a break and then they’ll go back to basics, and then they’ll evolve and then they’ll try again... some game franchises are here to stay.

 

 

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Whilst i Love 4 and 5 as games, as continuations of the plot of the first primary four resident evil's they don't work. I think Capcom fell into the trap of wanting to continue certain character's own individual stories, but past a certain point it makes no sense for a survivor of the first games to be dropped into a new scenario in a new game without progressing the overarching story of Umbrella and its experiments. I'd have vastly prefered new entries to focus on different characters in different locations dealing with the T virus and Umbrella, they chronologically could have all been taking place at the same time.

The thing is, it started jumping the shark in 4, bringing in the worm things in people, but on its own it 'could' have worked if it was a different lab of Umbrellas. 5 is where the story stopped mattering for me, oh look another organisation with a forced link to Umbrella and a different country. Then revelations and another company....It just started to get silly.

I hold my hands up, i don't have 6 and i haven't the urge to play it

I have 7 as i got it with my VR and whilst i was enjoyiing it, when my cat jumped on my whilst i was getting attacked in game i nearly shat myself and haven't gone back

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Resident Evil 7 is the only one I've never finished due to actual fear and that's all thanks to VR.

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The RE2 remake is probably the hardest RE game of any kind that I've played in years. I have had to start it again 4 times. I'm just a bit disappointed that they made Claire's scenario almost like Leon's.

Maybe that will change for the B scenarios. I hope so. But so far, I'm just seeing the same scenes, which is stupid, because Leon and Claire would have went a different route. Right? 

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On 1/26/2019 at 10:54 PM, CrowingJoe79 said:

The RE2 remake is probably the hardest RE game of any kind that I've played in years. I have had to start it again 4 times. I'm just a bit disappointed that they made Claire's scenario almost like Leon's.

Maybe that will change for the B scenarios. I hope so. But so far, I'm just seeing the same scenes, which is stupid, because Leon and Claire would have went a different route. Right? 

Are you playing new game or new game plus?

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Assisted aim. But I still died because of not knowing where and when to use Ada's new scanner to get away from Mr. X in the sewers. That wasn't even in the original.

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