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A post from Wookie Monster and the ongoing thread about games influencing behaviour got me thinking about the genre of “Survival Horror”.
I for one am a huge fan of these games and feel that they are an often overlooked entry into video gaming.
I started on these games with Resident Evil for the PSX, never played anything like it before and loved it.
It wasn’t really a scary game, there were odd moments that made you jump (the hands through the windows anyone?) but it was more gore than nerves.
And Res Evil 2 came out, a vast improvement on the 1st if nothing else in terms of voice acting.
I can remember laughing myself into a headache at the awful, awful acting in the 1st one, “Barry?….where’s Barry?…..(10 second pauses) He must be in trouble”. Imagine a group of drama students on valium and you might be approaching the level of suckage this had, it almost ruined the game for me.
The 2nd was an improvement, moments that made you jump (the big thing smashing through the wall and chasing you stands out), the graphics improved and the acting wasn’t straight from kung-fu dubbed movie-hell.
Then Dino Crisis. Same game engine but with Dinosaurs.
Hmmm…it was ok but the odd not-very-fast-asorous lumbering behind you didn’t give you a sense of urgency.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.
Once more, little improvement, better acting but still “Run about, get ammo, solve puzzle, shoot undead” grew wearying.
And then was Silent Hill.
This, for me, stands as the definitive gaming exercise in terror. Still does, after a repeated playing.
Yes this is gory, yes there are “things” that chase you.
But Silent Hill concentrates on mood, atmosphere and moments that made two 27 year olds turn the light on and wipe sweaty palms on the dog, swear at the cat for leaping onto the couch behind us and take pauses to reassure ourselves that nothing was hanging outside the door.
I’ve never experienced anything like this game, and I don’t think you can match it.
Gruesome, but genuinely disturbing in most places.
The school, evil imps burst out at you, children crying, locker doors SMASHING open as you walk past…so many moments to make you cry like a big girl (not me obviously…er…guns and war and other manly things).
And soon we have Silent Hill 2 on PS2.
I’m anticipating it greatly, yet fearing it immensely because I’m not sure nerves can handle an improved, even more adult excursion through some twisted Japanese mind.
The developers admitted “We toned the 1st one down, but we gave them free reign with this one”
Christ…do I want this or not?
Yes and no.
I for one am a huge fan of these games and feel that they are an often overlooked entry into video gaming.
I started on these games with Resident Evil for the PSX, never played anything like it before and loved it.
It wasn’t really a scary game, there were odd moments that made you jump (the hands through the windows anyone?) but it was more gore than nerves.
And Res Evil 2 came out, a vast improvement on the 1st if nothing else in terms of voice acting.
I can remember laughing myself into a headache at the awful, awful acting in the 1st one, “Barry?….where’s Barry?…..(10 second pauses) He must be in trouble”. Imagine a group of drama students on valium and you might be approaching the level of suckage this had, it almost ruined the game for me.
The 2nd was an improvement, moments that made you jump (the big thing smashing through the wall and chasing you stands out), the graphics improved and the acting wasn’t straight from kung-fu dubbed movie-hell.
Then Dino Crisis. Same game engine but with Dinosaurs.
Hmmm…it was ok but the odd not-very-fast-asorous lumbering behind you didn’t give you a sense of urgency.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.
Once more, little improvement, better acting but still “Run about, get ammo, solve puzzle, shoot undead” grew wearying.
And then was Silent Hill.
This, for me, stands as the definitive gaming exercise in terror. Still does, after a repeated playing.
Yes this is gory, yes there are “things” that chase you.
But Silent Hill concentrates on mood, atmosphere and moments that made two 27 year olds turn the light on and wipe sweaty palms on the dog, swear at the cat for leaping onto the couch behind us and take pauses to reassure ourselves that nothing was hanging outside the door.
I’ve never experienced anything like this game, and I don’t think you can match it.
Gruesome, but genuinely disturbing in most places.
The school, evil imps burst out at you, children crying, locker doors SMASHING open as you walk past…so many moments to make you cry like a big girl (not me obviously…er…guns and war and other manly things).
And soon we have Silent Hill 2 on PS2.
I’m anticipating it greatly, yet fearing it immensely because I’m not sure nerves can handle an improved, even more adult excursion through some twisted Japanese mind.
The developers admitted “We toned the 1st one down, but we gave them free reign with this one”
Christ…do I want this or not?
Yes and no.
Page:
Goatboy wrote:
"genuinely disturbing in most places. The school, evil imps burst out at you, children crying, locker doors SMASHING open as you walk past…so many moments to make you cry"
And this is a good thing?!....It makes be bloody sick how anyone nowadays can be impressed with a game that shows such horror and suffering...
GIRLS CRYING?! I like you Goaty, Your posts are great but to think that ANYONE likes this sort of thing makes my skin crawl with disgust!
"genuinely disturbing in most places. The school, evil imps burst out at you, children crying, locker doors SMASHING open as you walk past…so many moments to make you cry"
And this is a good thing?!....It makes be bloody sick how anyone nowadays can be impressed with a game that shows such horror and suffering...
GIRLS CRYING?! I like you Goaty, Your posts are great but to think that ANYONE likes this sort of thing makes my skin crawl with disgust!
I hate survival horrors, they show almost everything that is wrong with the world -
Hate, Fear, Death, Pain, Suffering, Murder, Evilness, they might be fun to play for some people but in my eyes they are just sickening. From the lovely worlds of Mario 64 to a sewn-up one-eyed nemesis monster...and do you notice that Mario 64 is a much better game....Resident Evil lives purely on the fact it is a horror game, the gameplay is nowhere near as good as the things we have seen from Rare and Nintendo and even from other Non-Nintendo affiliated companies. I like Nintendo so much because they provide good games without throwing blood and guts at the screen...
I just hope that survival horrors don't survive because the thought of seeing one of these (Res 0) on the Gamecube scares me and although I am not a dad (Surprise @ 17) I won't let my 10 year old brother go anywhere near Res 0 or the like.
They are a bad influence on children nowadays, and anyone who believes that chilren should be able to play games like Resident Evil, Alone in the Dark or Whateveritis Dead need a good slap! House of the Dead is just as bad....these sort of games should be completely phased out of the industry that once proved to be a 'whole-family' pass-time and has now turned in to a cause for concern.
To be honest, although I don't think that games are to blame for the killing of the american Children I think that the games like Resident Evil and Quake could have had an effect on the kids...and probably did some time that day.
I just hope that the reputations of these violent games making companies are hurt enough to lure them into makeing more morally sound games acceptable for the whole family.
games should always have been rated on difficulty never about violence because that shouldn't have come into it!
Horror Games Suck! End of story, they may be great graphically or have great gameplay attributes but on the whole with the effect and ideas they have and portray....THEY SUCK!
The Game
Hate, Fear, Death, Pain, Suffering, Murder, Evilness, they might be fun to play for some people but in my eyes they are just sickening. From the lovely worlds of Mario 64 to a sewn-up one-eyed nemesis monster...and do you notice that Mario 64 is a much better game....Resident Evil lives purely on the fact it is a horror game, the gameplay is nowhere near as good as the things we have seen from Rare and Nintendo and even from other Non-Nintendo affiliated companies. I like Nintendo so much because they provide good games without throwing blood and guts at the screen...
I just hope that survival horrors don't survive because the thought of seeing one of these (Res 0) on the Gamecube scares me and although I am not a dad (Surprise @ 17) I won't let my 10 year old brother go anywhere near Res 0 or the like.
They are a bad influence on children nowadays, and anyone who believes that chilren should be able to play games like Resident Evil, Alone in the Dark or Whateveritis Dead need a good slap! House of the Dead is just as bad....these sort of games should be completely phased out of the industry that once proved to be a 'whole-family' pass-time and has now turned in to a cause for concern.
To be honest, although I don't think that games are to blame for the killing of the american Children I think that the games like Resident Evil and Quake could have had an effect on the kids...and probably did some time that day.
I just hope that the reputations of these violent games making companies are hurt enough to lure them into makeing more morally sound games acceptable for the whole family.
games should always have been rated on difficulty never about violence because that shouldn't have come into it!
Horror Games Suck! End of story, they may be great graphically or have great gameplay attributes but on the whole with the effect and ideas they have and portray....THEY SUCK!
The Game
Good post Goaty - I love survival horrors!
Darkness
Darkness
A post from Wookie Monster and the ongoing thread about games influencing behaviour got me thinking about the genre of “Survival Horror”.
I for one am a huge fan of these games and feel that they are an often overlooked entry into video gaming.
I started on these games with Resident Evil for the PSX, never played anything like it before and loved it.
It wasn’t really a scary game, there were odd moments that made you jump (the hands through the windows anyone?) but it was more gore than nerves.
And Res Evil 2 came out, a vast improvement on the 1st if nothing else in terms of voice acting.
I can remember laughing myself into a headache at the awful, awful acting in the 1st one, “Barry?….where’s Barry?…..(10 second pauses) He must be in trouble”. Imagine a group of drama students on valium and you might be approaching the level of suckage this had, it almost ruined the game for me.
The 2nd was an improvement, moments that made you jump (the big thing smashing through the wall and chasing you stands out), the graphics improved and the acting wasn’t straight from kung-fu dubbed movie-hell.
Then Dino Crisis. Same game engine but with Dinosaurs.
Hmmm…it was ok but the odd not-very-fast-asorous lumbering behind you didn’t give you a sense of urgency.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.
Once more, little improvement, better acting but still “Run about, get ammo, solve puzzle, shoot undead” grew wearying.
And then was Silent Hill.
This, for me, stands as the definitive gaming exercise in terror. Still does, after a repeated playing.
Yes this is gory, yes there are “things” that chase you.
But Silent Hill concentrates on mood, atmosphere and moments that made two 27 year olds turn the light on and wipe sweaty palms on the dog, swear at the cat for leaping onto the couch behind us and take pauses to reassure ourselves that nothing was hanging outside the door.
I’ve never experienced anything like this game, and I don’t think you can match it.
Gruesome, but genuinely disturbing in most places.
The school, evil imps burst out at you, children crying, locker doors SMASHING open as you walk past…so many moments to make you cry like a big girl (not me obviously…er…guns and war and other manly things).
And soon we have Silent Hill 2 on PS2.
I’m anticipating it greatly, yet fearing it immensely because I’m not sure nerves can handle an improved, even more adult excursion through some twisted Japanese mind.
The developers admitted “We toned the 1st one down, but we gave them free reign with this one”
Christ…do I want this or not?
Yes and no.
I for one am a huge fan of these games and feel that they are an often overlooked entry into video gaming.
I started on these games with Resident Evil for the PSX, never played anything like it before and loved it.
It wasn’t really a scary game, there were odd moments that made you jump (the hands through the windows anyone?) but it was more gore than nerves.
And Res Evil 2 came out, a vast improvement on the 1st if nothing else in terms of voice acting.
I can remember laughing myself into a headache at the awful, awful acting in the 1st one, “Barry?….where’s Barry?…..(10 second pauses) He must be in trouble”. Imagine a group of drama students on valium and you might be approaching the level of suckage this had, it almost ruined the game for me.
The 2nd was an improvement, moments that made you jump (the big thing smashing through the wall and chasing you stands out), the graphics improved and the acting wasn’t straight from kung-fu dubbed movie-hell.
Then Dino Crisis. Same game engine but with Dinosaurs.
Hmmm…it was ok but the odd not-very-fast-asorous lumbering behind you didn’t give you a sense of urgency.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.
Once more, little improvement, better acting but still “Run about, get ammo, solve puzzle, shoot undead” grew wearying.
And then was Silent Hill.
This, for me, stands as the definitive gaming exercise in terror. Still does, after a repeated playing.
Yes this is gory, yes there are “things” that chase you.
But Silent Hill concentrates on mood, atmosphere and moments that made two 27 year olds turn the light on and wipe sweaty palms on the dog, swear at the cat for leaping onto the couch behind us and take pauses to reassure ourselves that nothing was hanging outside the door.
I’ve never experienced anything like this game, and I don’t think you can match it.
Gruesome, but genuinely disturbing in most places.
The school, evil imps burst out at you, children crying, locker doors SMASHING open as you walk past…so many moments to make you cry like a big girl (not me obviously…er…guns and war and other manly things).
And soon we have Silent Hill 2 on PS2.
I’m anticipating it greatly, yet fearing it immensely because I’m not sure nerves can handle an improved, even more adult excursion through some twisted Japanese mind.
The developers admitted “We toned the 1st one down, but we gave them free reign with this one”
Christ…do I want this or not?
Yes and no.
Page: