In 1996 Capcom introduced gamers to the world of survival horror with Resident Evil. The game about S.T.A.R.S. trapped in a mansion has evolved into the top selling franchise for Capcom. The developers have worked hard at changing the formula to maintain it's dominance. The series continues to be a success as it's most recent entry Resident Evil 5 has sold over 2 million units in the United States. With all of the success Resident Evil has had over the years, it has not gone without its fair share of competition.
Silent Hill for example tried to scare its audience by giving you the impression that your trip through the town was going to be a bad one. The place is very foggy making the visibility of things really tough at times. Guess they wanted to scare you with what you couldn't see. The atmosphere is strange, confusing, and filled with dead ends.
Eternal Darkness is another series worth noting. I think it could have evolved to be better than Resident Evil if more people were aware it existed. Easily one of the best Gamecube exclusives, Eternal Darkness scared it's audience by playing with your characters sanity. You play as various characters throughout time who have very different issues. One thing they have in common is they all at some point experience crazy events that affect their sanity. The more you filled your sanity meter, the crazier your enviornment became. Fill the meter up, and you'll find yourself trapped inside your mind with a bunch of beings attempting to kill you. It's up to you to find your way back to reality. Genius if you ask me...
After a few sequels, Resident Evil began to feel the pressure of maintaining it's run at the top. The developers went back to the drawing board and decided to make the series a bit more action oriented. Resident Evil 4 was the first to show this new style. They took away the fixed camera angles, and replaced it with an over the shoulder camera view. The signature zombies had been replaced by the Los Plagas who are basically a cult of infected humans. That and many other changes resulted in a more intense, but less scary Resident Evil. Resident Evil 4 was met with huge success both from critics and consumers.
Fast forward to 2008. The next generation of 360's and PS3's is now around, and there's yet to be that survival horror game to scare the entertainment out of players. That was until October when EA released Dead Space. The adventure of Issac on the USG Ishimura brings back the survival horror that Resident Evil seemed to abandon. The level of polish Dead Space has showed it wanted to be taken serious. Every sound in that game sets up a scary atmosphere. It's really cool when you enter a vaccum and the only thing you can hear is Issac breathing. The sound of a window breaking off in the distance followed by footsteps coming toward you is another thing. Zero Gravity reminds you that yes indeed you are in space. Dead Space took the survival horror genre and expanded on the idea instead of changing it like Resident Evil did. Dead Space aimed to scare and entertain the whole time your playing it. Hope you played it in the dark...
Resident Evil 5 is released in March 2009, and proves that it wants to be an action game. It follows the same action formula as Resident Evil 4. They aimed to make the gamer feel like an action hero instead of the bright spot in the darkness. Resident Evil is so far gone from the house that they built, and I'm not sure they want to come back. As an action game, Resident Evil doesn't stand a chance against heavy hitters like Gears of War or Grand Theft Auto. Sales might say otherwise, but I know for sure I'm not the only person who was disappointed by the lack of imagination Resident Evil 5 has.Good thing there's Dead Space...
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