BD writes: MCV recently had the chance to interview Tomm Hulett, associate producer at Vatra Games, the studio that brought us Silent Hill: Downpour last month and Hulett had very some interesting things to say about the horror genre. It’s no secret that the survival horror genre, once championed by series like Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and Fatal Frame has seen some major changes over the last decade. Many of the staples of the genre like puzzle-solving and clumsy controls have evolved as studios try to find a larger audience for their games. Dead Space, Left 4 Dead, and Resident Evil — after Resident Evil 4 renovated the franchise — are perfect examples of where the genre is headed. Downpour is very much a survival horror game, and possibly one of the last major releases to follow the more traditional formulas that made the genre so appealing when it was most popular. Head past the break to hear what Hulett had to say about where the genre is headed, as well as a few words from R...
A breakdown of the best Silent Hill Characters that inspired and frightened gamers.
The sirens are sounding again, beckoning you back to the foggy ghost town as we rank all the Silent Hill games, from the chilling classics to the misguided missteps.
I mostly disagree with Downpour's position. Yeah, the game is not amazing by any stretch of the imagination but is much better than the HD Collection and Homecoming. The main issue is the performance, but that was mitigated by the patches, especially on the PS3. Personally, I put it a little behind Origins and The Room.
Having Restless Dreams as a different entry from Silent Hill 2 is also a choice.
Normally, we would not consider it a different game (Restless Dreams), but since it had a very different critical reception and had new content, it was allowed. As for Downpour, I would agree, but since that one is subjective, we let him make his case for the placement.
silent hill 2 is definitely the best one out of those.
for me personally, the whole ritual/cult stuff was always so weird to me in all the other games.
No disrespect but I put SH2 over 1. 1 is fantastic, but 2 took it all up a level.
GF365: "Is Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City worth playing in 2023? This game originally received less than impressive reviews from critics and gamers alike. You may be wondering what this game is all about."
game was ridiculously dark when i played it bk then. not sure about now.
ike you couldnt see a damn thing ha
Yeah Survival Horror... It's a shame they don't make them like they used to. Resident Evil is nothing like that anymore, you don't have to worry about surviving or about scares. Those aspects are just plain gone. Even just the horror genre itself is MIA. I mean, I used to love the FEAR series, until the 3rd game which completely threw out all scares (save for maybe one or two moments).
I want to be SCARED, afraid to go around a corner or open a door. I want to have to fend for myself and scavenge what I can to survive in a truly horrifying environment. Needing to keep your bullets and things rationed makes the tension that much more palpable. Sadly, I have yet to find a game that comes close to old school days of RE 1-3, Dino Crisis, etc. The closest we've come (in my opinion) is Dead Space.
Oh well, I can always continue to hope...
"“While many other games have gone the route of more action oriented game design, attempting to appeal to more mainstream audiences, we’ve taken a very careful approach to the pacing of Downpour to make sure it maintains that original ‘slow-burn’ and keeping the player off guard with less predictability.”
Really.....because I didn't feel anything when playing Downpour...it didn't even feel like I was playing a SH game.
"Especially for the North American market, I think the series needs to head in that [action-oriented] direction. [Resident Evil's primary games] need to be an extension of the changes made in Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5. RE4 started in that direction, and RE5 kept going in that direction. And I think that especially for the North American market, we need to keep going in that direction, and take that a step further. And that’s exactly one of the reasons that Revelations is the way it is. Kawata said. "
AND THIS....is why RE games are going down the drain
You guys have a big audience with RE, your not going to get any bigger by trying to go the "Call of Duty" action route because all you'll be doing is pushing the RE fans out and moving in the "action" audience with not much of a difference in numbers. Surival Horror is not dead, it's RE....people by it because of the name thats how popular the game franchise is, we'll buy it still and other people who aren't bothered about Survival horror will still buy it anyway because it's RE.....it's a win/win at the end of the day.
They actualy admit they are continuing down that path when the number 1 complaint of RE5 was it focused too much on action.
This is why RE6 will suck because Capcom aren't listening to their fans. I thought they were with the whole "It has Zombies in it" speech when RE6 was revealed but obviously it was just another one of Capcom clever tricks to make people they are listening when they aren't
(Fans)
"Hey Capcom we want Zombies back in RE
(Capcom)
"The fans want Zombies back because they don't like the smart Las Plagas what should we do"
"Hmmm.........Oh I have it, lets put Zombies in....but wait, get this......THEY CAN HOLD GUNS AND FIGHT BACK"
"So basicaly were masking Las Plagas enemies with the Zombie name which will make people think were listening but in fact there just improved Las Plagas we want to do "
"...exactly"
I think he should concentrate in making better games in the future. he need to realise the slow demise of the genre is because of developers don't know how to develop the games.
He should look at himself first before the notion of the whole genre in general. Hope Resident Evil 6 will be excellent.
I really do not know the fate of Capcom after all this intransigence .. maybe they will need a GAMING REVOLUTION THAT WILL SHOW THEM THE TRUTH WITH OPEN EYES !
Just reboot them both and get it done with, both series are at that point of really.. did that just happen, or did they just do that. Reboot BOTH start over in the mansion or some other huge building, send us back to silent hill looking for our child/wife. Lets drop all the guns, and ammo.
Throw some Nolan in there(NOT NORTH.)and ground both in alittle more reality. RE should have two weapons your handgun, and a shotgun sparce' on the ammo, and Silent hill give me a baseball bat for all I care, just bring the fog, static, and the feeling of being alone, I don't want or need a side kick or supporting cast. Get the original Team Silent to work on the project and maybe they can colab with some good horror directors, bring back the original creator and writter of RE1 and give him a budget and free range. Not a big MUST HAVE, but bring the gore back (RE4 was the last to have the gore.)