Well! It seems that The People in Charge of That Sort of Thing read my diary, because yesterday saw the release of "Lost in Nightmares", a downloadable scenario that plays directly to my fangirlish desires.
There's a flashback in Resident Evil 5 where we see Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine heading back to the Spencer Mansion...thanks to "Lost in Nightmares", we now get to play through those events. Yes, Chris and Jill are reunited and yes, it feels rather good. Traipsing through the dark, dusty halls of that familiar mansion, low on ammo, killing zombies and reading journals (fellow RE nerds, you'll understand that I was happy to see "itchy...tasty" makes a return appearance)...it's like being in the days of yore. It's scary, and it's awesome. Unfortunately, it's only a scenario. Me want full game!
I understand that franchises need to change and grow to stay relevant, but it's tricky. Don't change enough and you end up like Silent Hill- I still suck those games up, too, but even I admit it's feeling a little stale. But if they change too much, it then feels too unfamiliar. I love this little throwback, though, and I hope The People in Charge of That Sort of Thing continue reading my diary and we see a full game that returns to the series' roots. Resident Evil is the king shit of survival horror, and "Lost in Nightmares" reminds me why that's been true for a decade.
4 comments:
I used to be a pretty big RE nerd, too (even if I absotivolutely sucked at the games themselves--I had other people beat them for me :(). Hearing that they're getting away from the puzzlin' aspects of the game is kind of sad. Hearing that "itchy...tasty" makes a return is freakin' awesome. That's one of the absolute best lines in the whole franchise, Jill sandwich excluded.
Speaking of Silent Hill, did you ever get a chance to check out the latest installment, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories? I've noticed a love it-hate it dichotomy attached to it among the fans, who are arguably the most nitpicky (sp?) out of any fanbase, but (call me crazy if you hated it) I liked it. What about you?
I got to play some Shattered Memories over Christmas (I don't have a Wii) and I thought it was really fun. It was a kick in the pants for the series, changing up he gameplay enough to make it interesting again.
Before I'd played it, I was thinking about picking up the PS2 port, but now that I HAVE played it, I doubt I will- it seems custom tailored for the Wii, like it would be nothing special on Playstation.
I mean, I dig Homecoming and Origins, sure. They're just a little dull compared to 2 & 3- maybe too much of what I've seen before? I don't know. Maybe it's not meant to be a franchise!
I'd like to see a zombie game that really tries to simulate the action and tension of the original "Night of the Living Dead." Flee across some barren landscape. Pick a dwelling (from a few possibilities) and then the first half of the game becomes a puzzle-type game where you have to fortify your dwelling as more and more undead gather around your abode. There could be a few other survivors pop up around you; they might have different ideas about what to do. You could agree or disagree with them, maybe via those in-game flash decisions you had to make in RE3. Then the second half of the game could be more of a final war against Z, with your level of difficulty based upon how well you had fortified yourself and set things up for survival in the first half of the game. It would be cool if there was a big-time sandbox, open-world aspect to the game, like Grand Theft Auto. Call it "Resident Evil: All Bets Are Off"
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