Deathstroke
Slade Wilson
This is going to be the first post in a series of Opinion Pieces by me (called "Deathstroke De-Classified"), where I share my thoughts and opinion on a certain subject. This is essentially like a Column, so nothing I say is a universal fact or truth and is entirely written from a purely subjective (namely mine) point of view. So this is all really just me rambling about what I think of something and why. If you´re interested keep on reading and if you´d like to comment you´re welcome to do so. But please keep in mind that there is no right and wrong here, since this is an opinion piece not the statement of facts or the discussion of facts. I also want to state in advance that these articles of mine will get very detailed and elaborate and wont be for those who are just interested in a quick read.
Before I get to the topic of Revelations, I want to recap the evolution of the series prior to Revelations and showcase my opinion on that evolution and on the previous games first. So please bear with me, this is going to get extensive and detailed and as I mentioned before these opinion pieces of mine are not really for the impatient among you.
Resident Evil - Evolution of a Series
In 1996 Capcom began the RE Series with the original Resident Evil. It redefined the survival horror genre and gave birth to a phenomenon. It also introduced us to Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and Albert Wesker - three of the most popular video game characters of the last 20 years. In retrospect the original RE is however incredibly flawed. the controls are a clunky mess, the graphics look ridiculous even for a PSOne game, it doesnt actually have much of a story and the Cutscenes and voice-acting are worse than in an Olaf Ittenbach amateur-splatter movie. No the appeal from the original comes not from its actual quality but its nostalgic meaning and its incredible legacy. It will be forever the game that started it all. That made us scared ****less back in the day, that trusted us into a zombie nightmare as we never had experienced before. It made taught us to be afraid in the dark again. Its the memories of the feelings and emotions that it evoked 15 years ago that still makes it endearing to us. But in retrospect its just a very flawed game.
Unlike its sequel. Resident Evil 2, released in 1998 showed the world what a RE game could be. That the original was just a testing ground and now it was time for the real deal. Even all these years later, RE 2 still stands the test of time and is a masterpiece in almost every way. If you could complain about anything on this game then maybe the controls which by todays standard are still quite clunky but still a vast improvement over the original. RE 2 was darker, more brutal, scarier and even today it looks great for PSOne game and has an environment and atmosphere that still sends chills down my spine. It also introduced us to such fan favorite characters as Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield or of course Ada Wong. It had also much more of a story then the original and added things like the Lickers which made RE 1 feel like a day at the beach. There is a reason why RE 2 sold nearly 9 million units on a single platform, there is a reason why nearly everyone names it as their favorite RE game and there is a reason why everyone wants a remake for it - because Resident Evil 2 was simply one of the greatest games ever made.
So naturally its both sequels Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and the next-gen game Resident Evil: Code Veronica had a tough act to follow. Both are incredibly amazing games and on a technological and gameplay-basis they are even vastly superior to RE 2. Yet they just couldnt match the atmosphere and experience that had made RE 2 iconic. Maybe thats also simply because RE 2 was such a phenomenon back then. And it looked like RE 2 might quite possibly remain unmatched for all times.
And then Shinji Mikami returned.
The Resident Evil-creator, who had directed the original and produced RE 2 returned for the first time as director when he completely remade the original RE in 2002 for Nintendos new Gamecube console. And what he pulled out of his proverbial hat made RE 2 look like a kids birthday.
I still vehemently argue that the REmake (as its often called) is still the greatest RE game, no the greatest horror game of all time. It took everything that defined the original and everything that made us love RE 2 so much, threw it all into a blender and made everything bigger, better and scarier.
To me the REmake really is the absolute pinnacle of an era. the graphics are phenomenal even today, the atmosphere is pretty much the scariest I have ever experienced in a game, the story is faithfully re-told but enhanced with more details and subplots, the gameplay is about as intuitive and fluid as it gets with that kind of controls. To me that game is essentially the endresult of 6 years of perfecting everything that defines that first era of RE and everything we loved about it. This was the one game that even trumped RE 2, it simply could not get any better than that. And I havent met a single fan yet who does not utterly love this game.
So everything after that, that would try to do the same kind of game would just flat-out fail. And it did. Resident Evil Zero (which was actually a prequel to REmake, released in 2003) was the follow-up to the REmake and felt like the typical game that tries to duplicate the perfection of the previous one but just feels like its the game that is the one that was made when they just should have stopped. REmake was perfection. You cant get better than that. Not with this kind of gameplay. The best you can do is just repeat it frame by frame but you cant top it. Zero tried to top it and failed utterly. It wasnt a bad game, it was enjoyable. But it felt like eating a microwave pizza after just eating a 5 star pizza in a noble restaurant. You should know when to stop, you should know when you reached the top. Because once you´re at the top all you can go is down. And with Zero they went down.
Luckily Capcom realized that themselves. They realized that they had reached the top and created perfection with REmake. With the old gameplaystyle, that old horrormovie-style Resident Evil there just was no going further. The only way to go from there was by doing something new. Something fresh. Something different. Something that wouldnt compare to the previous style. In a way it was like starting completely anew, like a Reboot. With the difference that characters and story wouldnt be rebooted but developed and pushed further while everything else would be rebooted (namely the gameplay) In a way much like the characters themselves, Resident Evil began a new chapter and began a new era. Which in my opinion was the absolute right decision. Many lament that the series changed after REmake and Zero, that it wasnt like before. But that to me (and obviously to Capcom) was the point. It couldnt be like before because there was nowhere to go anymore with what RE had been. You could only do that old horrormovie feel/zombie survival horror-kind of Resident Evil so many times and REmake had been the absolute pinnacle of it. It couldnt get better than that game so if there ever was a time for a change it was definitely after REmake. Because thats the highest note you could have possible ended (the first era of RE) on. RE Zero was already a step in the wrong direction and was dangerously wearing the series out. It also happens to be the lowest selling RE of all time. It was definitely time to either end the series or start a whole new and different era of it. Capcom opted for the latter - and was dead on.
the first game that introduced the world to this new era of RE was of course Resident Evil 4 in 2004 (which also was the last game directed by RE-creator Mikami in the series). More action-oriented , with completely new 3D gameplay, different enemies and a whole different kind of terror and survival with much less emphasis on backtracking and puzzles and more emphasis on adrenaline-filled cinematic horror-action, RE 4 was a MASSIVE hit in its day. Purists keep complaing about this new direction but the truth is that RE 4 sold more games then RE 1, 3, CV, REmake and Zero combined. It was praised as one of the greatest games ever made by critics and paved the way for a new style of action-game and its influence is palpable even today. It also gained the series a whole new generation of fans and lots of new fans who hadnt been attracted to the series before. In short, it began a new era of Resident Evil that made the series more popular and successful than it had ever been - despite some of the old school fans complaing about abandoning the horror-only concept.
Then there was Resident Evil 5 in 2009 which was the point when the RE Fan-Community really started to be divided because RE 5 went more into the action-oriented terror direction then ever before, essentially turning RE into a shooter with horror elements. the Addition of co-op play only added to that, even though it gained the series also a lot more fans and really opened up the series for online play. But all of this moved the series more and more away from its claustrophobic horror roots and especially some of the old school fans were (and still are) very vocal about their displeasure with that. Sometimes too vocal.
But Capcom proved in 2012 with the release of Resident Evil 6 that they can actually divide the Community even more than that by releasing what is probably the single most controversial game in the entire series. A game which tried to implement more horror elements again but at the same time also wants to stay true (and even push it further) to the more cinematic blockbuster-action style of recent games which is taken to a whole new level here. In fact RE 6 is basically like 2 or 3 very different games thrown into a blender in order to please everyone. Ironically because of that the tone of the game shifts dramatically back and forth between the campaigns which led to many critics and fans be even more critical of it than the previous games. You have very dark, scary horror stuff back in full swing during the Leon campaign or the scenario where Chris and his team go after Iluzija (the snake). Adas scenario has some pretty atmospheric horror stuff too. So yeah it is there. But then there are also entire scenarios which feel like a war-shooter akin to Call of Duty or Battlefield and shifts between atmospheric horror and massive blockbuster action straight from a Michael Bay movie.
Dont get me wrong though - I am actually one of the few who LIKES these tonal diversities. I actually like RE 6 a great deal more than RE 5 and I immensely enjoyed the game for what it was. A great balls to the walls cinematic spectacle in the RE universe. I like those war scenarios because to me they made sense. The BSAA is fighting a global war against BOWs so of course if you follow them in the story you are not gonna get put in a mansion with very little ammo and lots of zombies. You are gonna thrust into a full scale war. It made absolute sense to me, given to who I was following and where the story was at during that time. And the presentation is amazing so I actually enjoy this. I also thought the scenario with Chris team and the snake was such a cool horror/action mix like something straight from James Camerons Aliens. I loved that. Then Leons campaign I thought showcased perfectly the absolute chaos of a zombie apocalypse. We havent seen that before because we only really saw the aftermath of something like this on RE 2 and 3. We were never really thrown directly into the apocalypse itself. That was heart-pumping. I thought RE 6 showed us a great and different version of experiencing a zombie outbreak then previous games had done. Thats probably like it would be if something like that really happened instead of the more quite abandoned streets full of zombies. Thats what it would be like after everything would go to hell. I also LOVE the leon/Helena stuff in the last chapter when the C-virus gas turns all the BSAA soldiers into zombies. that is some really horrifying stuff that is also shown as very tragic. I loved that stuff.
I also absolutely and utterly love the Ada scenario because it plays basically like a best of RE 6 and has a great mix of action, horror, story and a greater emphasis on puzzles which was really nice. Probably my favorite campaign.
Its just the Sherry and Jake stuff that in my eyes tears the game down. the action isnt very fun, the shootouts (especially in the 3rd level) are so boring and nothing really feels like it should be in a RE game, not even in an action-oriented one. I dont really wanna shoot my way through some weird dudes in suits and masks in a chinese-flavored house. Not on a RE game. And the 2nd level (the snowy fields and ice cave) is one of the worst and most joyless RE experiences ever. Ustanak is also not really much fun and comes across as a second rate Nemesis clone. So while I enjoyed the horror and big blockbuster-action stuff in the other campaigns (I am actually a big Michael Bay Fan and love this kind of cinematic action) as one great spectacle , the Jake/Sherry stuff was quite a joyless drag.
But while I enjoyed RE 4, 5 and 6 immensely for what they are (And gameplay wise they are actually much more fluid and fun then the older games with their clunky controls) none of them (not even RE 4) was really able to evoke that feeling of nerve-wracking intensity and scary atmosphere that the classic REs (even the original) had. The games of the new era were a blast in their own way and lots of fun, no doubt but enemies who communicate and move like humans or are even armored and shoot at you with machineguns simply are not scary. They dont fill you with terror, they dont make you look into every corner and listen to every sound. They make you take cover, use shootout tactics. they dont make you feel like a survivor in a horror scenario, they make you feel like soldiers in a war. And fighting them is fun (especially in co-op) but it feels more like Saving Private Ryan or Black Hawk Down then Dawn of the Dead. I dont mind more action. Going around armed to the teeth and fighting for your life against BOWs is still very much Resident Evil. But it loses much of its terror when the BOWS behave like soldiers instead of being bloodthirsty monsters with claws and teeth that want to rip your guts out.
I dont mind it being less suspense and more action. A good comparison would be the Alien movies. The first Alien movie was a pure nerve-wracking horror film, set in space. It was all about atmosphere, suspense, claustrophobic feeling and the danger that could lurk in every dark corner. Very much what the original RE or REmake were like.
The 2nd Alien film (Aliens) was completely and deliberately different. Now there were hundreds of Aliens, a whole team of soldiers, armed to the teeth. It still had suspense and dark atmosphere but unlike the first film was very adrenaline-filled and action-oriented. It was very much scifi/action with suspense and horror elements but it was not as suspenseful, scary and nerve-wracking as the first. And yet Aliens was absolutely awesome and until this day its still debated wether Alien or Aliens is the superior movie despite both of them being completely different kind of films.
I always like to apply that analogy to the Resident Evil series (And interestingly enough Aliens is the favorite movie of Paul W.S. Anderson, creator of the RE films). The first era of RE was like that first Alien movie. the second era would be like Aliens - with the difference that on Aliens the monsters dont behave like humans and shoot at the main characters.
And I think thats the biggest problem many of the fans really have with the newer RE games. Its not the fact that its 3D now and more action oriented gameplay, its not the fact that its not horrormovie-style anymore its not even the fact that its not about survival horror and zombies anymore. I think its the fact that by turning the enemies into gunslinging humans, the element of monsters, horror and fear has been taken away and it fels too much like a shooter.
Imagine if RE 4 only would have enemies like the Regenerators and the insect-monsters or if RE 5 only had enemies like Lickers or Reapers. If RE 6 only had zombies and the cocoon-hatching BOWs - where you play with a shooter gameplay but there are no human enemies who behave like humans and shoot with guns at you. That would give the game a whole different feeling and would feel much more like action-oriented horror. Like Aliens. The sections in RE 4, 5 and 6 where you face monsters, not ganado/majini/Javo are definitely the best sections in these games and where it feels the most like Resident Evil - despite the shooter gameplay. Now imagine a whole game like that.....
Revelations - The perfect Blend
And this eventually brings us to Resident Evil: Revelations. And the heart of this post. I believe that Revelations is by far the best and truest Resident Evil game since the REmake. The best RE of the last 12 years. And yes that means its better than the much praised Resident Evil 4. I realize that this is a bold claim. And one that warrants explanation. To understand my position on this it was important to first tell you how I feel about the other RE games (which is why I spent much time explaining that first in the section above)
Yes Revelations suffers from its origins as a handheld game. It doesnt play as fluid and intuitive as RE 6 and its graphics are of course inferior to RE 5 and 6. Its also not as bloody and vicious as RE 4.
But Revelations is having exactly what RE 4-6 have been so desperately missing for the most part - it doesnt feel like a shooter (even though it plays like one). It has lots of action and epic cinematic presentation yet it doesnt feel like an action game. It feels like a horror game. This is the first RE since 2003 where you move slowly through the halls, look into the corners, listen to the sounds and have to wisely use ammo and herbs. Its dark and scary, there is blood and bodies, locked doors, keys, cards and items that need to be found. All of this is almost absent from RE 4-6.
But what probably makes the greatest difference is that there are no human, armed enemies that engage in shootouts with you. There are monsters. monsters that fall from the ceiling, crawl through vents and jump through windows. Even the good ol Hunters return in a major way. And instead of shooting at you these monsters walk mercilessly towards you to gut you, bite you and rip out your guts. as they walk towards you you get legitimately afraid again. THIS is a Resident Evil as we havent seen it in almost a decade. And the best part is that it does come back without compromising the modern gameplay-style. Revelations plays like RE 4 and 5, no better even. You can move while aiming, the controls are fluid and intuitive. No clunky movements like in the old days. Only RE 6 probably has an even more fluid control system. And its all 3D. No fixed camera angles. Revelations takes the best of both eras - the creature horror, survival suspense and atmosphere of the first era and the gameplay and 3D environment from the 2nd era and brings it together to create the first 3D RE that plays like an action game and feels like a classic RE.
And this is definitely the right step for a new 3rd era of Resident Evil in the upcoming future. Where you take what works in both the 1st and 2nd era and leave the rest behind. But Revelations wasnt the first time that Capcom went this route. The RE 5 DLC "Lost in Nightmares" already did that brilliantly. It played like RE 5 but it had the atmosphere, environment and suspense of classic RE. Many fans loved that DLC more than the game itself (myself included) and it proved that you can still have a classic, suspenseful horror RE without having to sacrifice modern shooter-controls and co-op. Back then I said to a friend how much I would love a whole game like that. It would be the perfect modern Resident Evil.
Then Revelations came. In retrospect it would have been much better if RE 6 would have had the style of Revelations (while retaining the controls, skill system and co-op play of RE 6). After playing Lost in Nightmares and Revelations, RE 6 almost feels like an unnecessary step back into shooter territory. Just removing any Javo enemies from the game would already have made it feel much more like Revelations and less like Gears of War.
And I am even putting Revelations above RE 4 because even RE 4 does not have this classic suspense horror feeling (Except when going up against the Regenerators and Iron Maidens - that is probably some of the scariest stuff in the whole series but unfortunately that doesnt apply to the entire game). Even RE 4 has the human-like, armed enemies who attack you with weapons and later in the game when you go up against masses of Ganado soldiers it really becomes more of a war-shooter again. Revelations never drifts into that territory. There is some big action in that game as well but it never thrusts you into shootouts or forces you into battles against legions of soldiers. It really is like Aliens. Its action and its intense but its always suspenseful,scary and the monsters dont shoot back. the monsters are being scary and horrific.
RE 4 - 6 are a lot of fun, no doubt but to me its really Resident Evil: Revelations that is the first RE in this 2nd era of the series that achieves to use the new gameplay style without sacrificing the horror, fear and suspense that defines the older games.
And thats why to me despite its shortcomings on the technological side of things, Revelations is not only the best but also the truest, purest and most satisfying Resident Evil game since Capcoms ultimate masterpiece, the REmake.
Before I get to the topic of Revelations, I want to recap the evolution of the series prior to Revelations and showcase my opinion on that evolution and on the previous games first. So please bear with me, this is going to get extensive and detailed and as I mentioned before these opinion pieces of mine are not really for the impatient among you.
Resident Evil - Evolution of a Series
In 1996 Capcom began the RE Series with the original Resident Evil. It redefined the survival horror genre and gave birth to a phenomenon. It also introduced us to Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and Albert Wesker - three of the most popular video game characters of the last 20 years. In retrospect the original RE is however incredibly flawed. the controls are a clunky mess, the graphics look ridiculous even for a PSOne game, it doesnt actually have much of a story and the Cutscenes and voice-acting are worse than in an Olaf Ittenbach amateur-splatter movie. No the appeal from the original comes not from its actual quality but its nostalgic meaning and its incredible legacy. It will be forever the game that started it all. That made us scared ****less back in the day, that trusted us into a zombie nightmare as we never had experienced before. It made taught us to be afraid in the dark again. Its the memories of the feelings and emotions that it evoked 15 years ago that still makes it endearing to us. But in retrospect its just a very flawed game.
Unlike its sequel. Resident Evil 2, released in 1998 showed the world what a RE game could be. That the original was just a testing ground and now it was time for the real deal. Even all these years later, RE 2 still stands the test of time and is a masterpiece in almost every way. If you could complain about anything on this game then maybe the controls which by todays standard are still quite clunky but still a vast improvement over the original. RE 2 was darker, more brutal, scarier and even today it looks great for PSOne game and has an environment and atmosphere that still sends chills down my spine. It also introduced us to such fan favorite characters as Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield or of course Ada Wong. It had also much more of a story then the original and added things like the Lickers which made RE 1 feel like a day at the beach. There is a reason why RE 2 sold nearly 9 million units on a single platform, there is a reason why nearly everyone names it as their favorite RE game and there is a reason why everyone wants a remake for it - because Resident Evil 2 was simply one of the greatest games ever made.
So naturally its both sequels Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and the next-gen game Resident Evil: Code Veronica had a tough act to follow. Both are incredibly amazing games and on a technological and gameplay-basis they are even vastly superior to RE 2. Yet they just couldnt match the atmosphere and experience that had made RE 2 iconic. Maybe thats also simply because RE 2 was such a phenomenon back then. And it looked like RE 2 might quite possibly remain unmatched for all times.
And then Shinji Mikami returned.
The Resident Evil-creator, who had directed the original and produced RE 2 returned for the first time as director when he completely remade the original RE in 2002 for Nintendos new Gamecube console. And what he pulled out of his proverbial hat made RE 2 look like a kids birthday.
I still vehemently argue that the REmake (as its often called) is still the greatest RE game, no the greatest horror game of all time. It took everything that defined the original and everything that made us love RE 2 so much, threw it all into a blender and made everything bigger, better and scarier.
To me the REmake really is the absolute pinnacle of an era. the graphics are phenomenal even today, the atmosphere is pretty much the scariest I have ever experienced in a game, the story is faithfully re-told but enhanced with more details and subplots, the gameplay is about as intuitive and fluid as it gets with that kind of controls. To me that game is essentially the endresult of 6 years of perfecting everything that defines that first era of RE and everything we loved about it. This was the one game that even trumped RE 2, it simply could not get any better than that. And I havent met a single fan yet who does not utterly love this game.
So everything after that, that would try to do the same kind of game would just flat-out fail. And it did. Resident Evil Zero (which was actually a prequel to REmake, released in 2003) was the follow-up to the REmake and felt like the typical game that tries to duplicate the perfection of the previous one but just feels like its the game that is the one that was made when they just should have stopped. REmake was perfection. You cant get better than that. Not with this kind of gameplay. The best you can do is just repeat it frame by frame but you cant top it. Zero tried to top it and failed utterly. It wasnt a bad game, it was enjoyable. But it felt like eating a microwave pizza after just eating a 5 star pizza in a noble restaurant. You should know when to stop, you should know when you reached the top. Because once you´re at the top all you can go is down. And with Zero they went down.
Luckily Capcom realized that themselves. They realized that they had reached the top and created perfection with REmake. With the old gameplaystyle, that old horrormovie-style Resident Evil there just was no going further. The only way to go from there was by doing something new. Something fresh. Something different. Something that wouldnt compare to the previous style. In a way it was like starting completely anew, like a Reboot. With the difference that characters and story wouldnt be rebooted but developed and pushed further while everything else would be rebooted (namely the gameplay) In a way much like the characters themselves, Resident Evil began a new chapter and began a new era. Which in my opinion was the absolute right decision. Many lament that the series changed after REmake and Zero, that it wasnt like before. But that to me (and obviously to Capcom) was the point. It couldnt be like before because there was nowhere to go anymore with what RE had been. You could only do that old horrormovie feel/zombie survival horror-kind of Resident Evil so many times and REmake had been the absolute pinnacle of it. It couldnt get better than that game so if there ever was a time for a change it was definitely after REmake. Because thats the highest note you could have possible ended (the first era of RE) on. RE Zero was already a step in the wrong direction and was dangerously wearing the series out. It also happens to be the lowest selling RE of all time. It was definitely time to either end the series or start a whole new and different era of it. Capcom opted for the latter - and was dead on.
the first game that introduced the world to this new era of RE was of course Resident Evil 4 in 2004 (which also was the last game directed by RE-creator Mikami in the series). More action-oriented , with completely new 3D gameplay, different enemies and a whole different kind of terror and survival with much less emphasis on backtracking and puzzles and more emphasis on adrenaline-filled cinematic horror-action, RE 4 was a MASSIVE hit in its day. Purists keep complaing about this new direction but the truth is that RE 4 sold more games then RE 1, 3, CV, REmake and Zero combined. It was praised as one of the greatest games ever made by critics and paved the way for a new style of action-game and its influence is palpable even today. It also gained the series a whole new generation of fans and lots of new fans who hadnt been attracted to the series before. In short, it began a new era of Resident Evil that made the series more popular and successful than it had ever been - despite some of the old school fans complaing about abandoning the horror-only concept.
Then there was Resident Evil 5 in 2009 which was the point when the RE Fan-Community really started to be divided because RE 5 went more into the action-oriented terror direction then ever before, essentially turning RE into a shooter with horror elements. the Addition of co-op play only added to that, even though it gained the series also a lot more fans and really opened up the series for online play. But all of this moved the series more and more away from its claustrophobic horror roots and especially some of the old school fans were (and still are) very vocal about their displeasure with that. Sometimes too vocal.
But Capcom proved in 2012 with the release of Resident Evil 6 that they can actually divide the Community even more than that by releasing what is probably the single most controversial game in the entire series. A game which tried to implement more horror elements again but at the same time also wants to stay true (and even push it further) to the more cinematic blockbuster-action style of recent games which is taken to a whole new level here. In fact RE 6 is basically like 2 or 3 very different games thrown into a blender in order to please everyone. Ironically because of that the tone of the game shifts dramatically back and forth between the campaigns which led to many critics and fans be even more critical of it than the previous games. You have very dark, scary horror stuff back in full swing during the Leon campaign or the scenario where Chris and his team go after Iluzija (the snake). Adas scenario has some pretty atmospheric horror stuff too. So yeah it is there. But then there are also entire scenarios which feel like a war-shooter akin to Call of Duty or Battlefield and shifts between atmospheric horror and massive blockbuster action straight from a Michael Bay movie.
Dont get me wrong though - I am actually one of the few who LIKES these tonal diversities. I actually like RE 6 a great deal more than RE 5 and I immensely enjoyed the game for what it was. A great balls to the walls cinematic spectacle in the RE universe. I like those war scenarios because to me they made sense. The BSAA is fighting a global war against BOWs so of course if you follow them in the story you are not gonna get put in a mansion with very little ammo and lots of zombies. You are gonna thrust into a full scale war. It made absolute sense to me, given to who I was following and where the story was at during that time. And the presentation is amazing so I actually enjoy this. I also thought the scenario with Chris team and the snake was such a cool horror/action mix like something straight from James Camerons Aliens. I loved that. Then Leons campaign I thought showcased perfectly the absolute chaos of a zombie apocalypse. We havent seen that before because we only really saw the aftermath of something like this on RE 2 and 3. We were never really thrown directly into the apocalypse itself. That was heart-pumping. I thought RE 6 showed us a great and different version of experiencing a zombie outbreak then previous games had done. Thats probably like it would be if something like that really happened instead of the more quite abandoned streets full of zombies. Thats what it would be like after everything would go to hell. I also LOVE the leon/Helena stuff in the last chapter when the C-virus gas turns all the BSAA soldiers into zombies. that is some really horrifying stuff that is also shown as very tragic. I loved that stuff.
I also absolutely and utterly love the Ada scenario because it plays basically like a best of RE 6 and has a great mix of action, horror, story and a greater emphasis on puzzles which was really nice. Probably my favorite campaign.
Its just the Sherry and Jake stuff that in my eyes tears the game down. the action isnt very fun, the shootouts (especially in the 3rd level) are so boring and nothing really feels like it should be in a RE game, not even in an action-oriented one. I dont really wanna shoot my way through some weird dudes in suits and masks in a chinese-flavored house. Not on a RE game. And the 2nd level (the snowy fields and ice cave) is one of the worst and most joyless RE experiences ever. Ustanak is also not really much fun and comes across as a second rate Nemesis clone. So while I enjoyed the horror and big blockbuster-action stuff in the other campaigns (I am actually a big Michael Bay Fan and love this kind of cinematic action) as one great spectacle , the Jake/Sherry stuff was quite a joyless drag.
But while I enjoyed RE 4, 5 and 6 immensely for what they are (And gameplay wise they are actually much more fluid and fun then the older games with their clunky controls) none of them (not even RE 4) was really able to evoke that feeling of nerve-wracking intensity and scary atmosphere that the classic REs (even the original) had. The games of the new era were a blast in their own way and lots of fun, no doubt but enemies who communicate and move like humans or are even armored and shoot at you with machineguns simply are not scary. They dont fill you with terror, they dont make you look into every corner and listen to every sound. They make you take cover, use shootout tactics. they dont make you feel like a survivor in a horror scenario, they make you feel like soldiers in a war. And fighting them is fun (especially in co-op) but it feels more like Saving Private Ryan or Black Hawk Down then Dawn of the Dead. I dont mind more action. Going around armed to the teeth and fighting for your life against BOWs is still very much Resident Evil. But it loses much of its terror when the BOWS behave like soldiers instead of being bloodthirsty monsters with claws and teeth that want to rip your guts out.
I dont mind it being less suspense and more action. A good comparison would be the Alien movies. The first Alien movie was a pure nerve-wracking horror film, set in space. It was all about atmosphere, suspense, claustrophobic feeling and the danger that could lurk in every dark corner. Very much what the original RE or REmake were like.
The 2nd Alien film (Aliens) was completely and deliberately different. Now there were hundreds of Aliens, a whole team of soldiers, armed to the teeth. It still had suspense and dark atmosphere but unlike the first film was very adrenaline-filled and action-oriented. It was very much scifi/action with suspense and horror elements but it was not as suspenseful, scary and nerve-wracking as the first. And yet Aliens was absolutely awesome and until this day its still debated wether Alien or Aliens is the superior movie despite both of them being completely different kind of films.
I always like to apply that analogy to the Resident Evil series (And interestingly enough Aliens is the favorite movie of Paul W.S. Anderson, creator of the RE films). The first era of RE was like that first Alien movie. the second era would be like Aliens - with the difference that on Aliens the monsters dont behave like humans and shoot at the main characters.
And I think thats the biggest problem many of the fans really have with the newer RE games. Its not the fact that its 3D now and more action oriented gameplay, its not the fact that its not horrormovie-style anymore its not even the fact that its not about survival horror and zombies anymore. I think its the fact that by turning the enemies into gunslinging humans, the element of monsters, horror and fear has been taken away and it fels too much like a shooter.
Imagine if RE 4 only would have enemies like the Regenerators and the insect-monsters or if RE 5 only had enemies like Lickers or Reapers. If RE 6 only had zombies and the cocoon-hatching BOWs - where you play with a shooter gameplay but there are no human enemies who behave like humans and shoot with guns at you. That would give the game a whole different feeling and would feel much more like action-oriented horror. Like Aliens. The sections in RE 4, 5 and 6 where you face monsters, not ganado/majini/Javo are definitely the best sections in these games and where it feels the most like Resident Evil - despite the shooter gameplay. Now imagine a whole game like that.....
Revelations - The perfect Blend
And this eventually brings us to Resident Evil: Revelations. And the heart of this post. I believe that Revelations is by far the best and truest Resident Evil game since the REmake. The best RE of the last 12 years. And yes that means its better than the much praised Resident Evil 4. I realize that this is a bold claim. And one that warrants explanation. To understand my position on this it was important to first tell you how I feel about the other RE games (which is why I spent much time explaining that first in the section above)
Yes Revelations suffers from its origins as a handheld game. It doesnt play as fluid and intuitive as RE 6 and its graphics are of course inferior to RE 5 and 6. Its also not as bloody and vicious as RE 4.
But Revelations is having exactly what RE 4-6 have been so desperately missing for the most part - it doesnt feel like a shooter (even though it plays like one). It has lots of action and epic cinematic presentation yet it doesnt feel like an action game. It feels like a horror game. This is the first RE since 2003 where you move slowly through the halls, look into the corners, listen to the sounds and have to wisely use ammo and herbs. Its dark and scary, there is blood and bodies, locked doors, keys, cards and items that need to be found. All of this is almost absent from RE 4-6.
But what probably makes the greatest difference is that there are no human, armed enemies that engage in shootouts with you. There are monsters. monsters that fall from the ceiling, crawl through vents and jump through windows. Even the good ol Hunters return in a major way. And instead of shooting at you these monsters walk mercilessly towards you to gut you, bite you and rip out your guts. as they walk towards you you get legitimately afraid again. THIS is a Resident Evil as we havent seen it in almost a decade. And the best part is that it does come back without compromising the modern gameplay-style. Revelations plays like RE 4 and 5, no better even. You can move while aiming, the controls are fluid and intuitive. No clunky movements like in the old days. Only RE 6 probably has an even more fluid control system. And its all 3D. No fixed camera angles. Revelations takes the best of both eras - the creature horror, survival suspense and atmosphere of the first era and the gameplay and 3D environment from the 2nd era and brings it together to create the first 3D RE that plays like an action game and feels like a classic RE.
And this is definitely the right step for a new 3rd era of Resident Evil in the upcoming future. Where you take what works in both the 1st and 2nd era and leave the rest behind. But Revelations wasnt the first time that Capcom went this route. The RE 5 DLC "Lost in Nightmares" already did that brilliantly. It played like RE 5 but it had the atmosphere, environment and suspense of classic RE. Many fans loved that DLC more than the game itself (myself included) and it proved that you can still have a classic, suspenseful horror RE without having to sacrifice modern shooter-controls and co-op. Back then I said to a friend how much I would love a whole game like that. It would be the perfect modern Resident Evil.
Then Revelations came. In retrospect it would have been much better if RE 6 would have had the style of Revelations (while retaining the controls, skill system and co-op play of RE 6). After playing Lost in Nightmares and Revelations, RE 6 almost feels like an unnecessary step back into shooter territory. Just removing any Javo enemies from the game would already have made it feel much more like Revelations and less like Gears of War.
And I am even putting Revelations above RE 4 because even RE 4 does not have this classic suspense horror feeling (Except when going up against the Regenerators and Iron Maidens - that is probably some of the scariest stuff in the whole series but unfortunately that doesnt apply to the entire game). Even RE 4 has the human-like, armed enemies who attack you with weapons and later in the game when you go up against masses of Ganado soldiers it really becomes more of a war-shooter again. Revelations never drifts into that territory. There is some big action in that game as well but it never thrusts you into shootouts or forces you into battles against legions of soldiers. It really is like Aliens. Its action and its intense but its always suspenseful,scary and the monsters dont shoot back. the monsters are being scary and horrific.
RE 4 - 6 are a lot of fun, no doubt but to me its really Resident Evil: Revelations that is the first RE in this 2nd era of the series that achieves to use the new gameplay style without sacrificing the horror, fear and suspense that defines the older games.
And thats why to me despite its shortcomings on the technological side of things, Revelations is not only the best but also the truest, purest and most satisfying Resident Evil game since Capcoms ultimate masterpiece, the REmake.
yeah I pretty much agree with everything you said there. You also nailed the main problem of RE 6 very accurately (trying to please all kinds of fans). This resulted in RE 6 suffering from an identity crisis and often made the game feel like all over the place. Its still a lot of fun and there is some stuff in there that I really love and I actually like the fact that its so big and has so many characters and thet it tells a story from different point of view that intersect with each other, I thought that was something really cool and fresh but all in all I agree with what you said for the most part.