Resident Evil : Deadly Silence, Some thoughts. Options

[AC9breaker]

I've been reading several reviews for this game and Its kind a pissing me off. Probably becuase I"m a Resident Evil fan, but none the less, I wouldn't feel so adamantly about this game and be a fan if it wasn't good. So I still think my view holds validity.

Now there have been several iterations of the original Resident Evil game. From directors cut, to the remake on gamecube, to the current Nintendo DS game. I think anyone who plays a fairly good amount of games, and has played a Resident Evil game can agree that no game is as entertaining to watch for both player and someone else as Resident Evil is. Resident Evil is the only game I know that has made someone with no interest in games, actually sit down and watch somebody play. But why is this so? I'll tell you why, becuase Resident Evil was one of the first CD format games that could be argued as art. Lets look at everything from a macro view. Resident Evil in reality is a homage to George A. Romaro zombie films. In fact George A. Romaro was originally suppose to write and direct the Resident Evil movies, but we all know how hollywood is. (He was dropped) From the black and white intro, to the various abstract and vague forms of symbolism that could be interpreted in many ways, to the awesome camera angles. Watching someone play this game is like watching a film by George A. Romaro.




I do not see how any other control scheme could have worked. Foward is always up no matter what angle your character is in. I'm sure many of us here have played the freshest crops of Grand Theft Auto games and, have messed around with the camera views. As cool as the dramatic view may be, you can't play the game like that for too long becuase you have almost no control of the character. The developers of this game had alot of foresight when this control scheme was inplamented. In fact, even the critically acclaimed RE4 uses the same control scheme most Resident Evil games have in the past. Up is always foward, down is always back. The only difference is the perspective. Therefore when reputable forms of videogame journalist review this game and complain about their "outdated" control scheme, a fire lights up inside of me. There are also the claims of, "Capcom just milking the Resident Evil cow." That may be so, but lets stop and think for a minute. How many game companies AREN'T doing just that. From Konami with all their music oriented titles and Metal Gear games, to Squaresoft and its stranglehold on RPG games. (Even if they have a different name most are all just the same) What about super giant EA and their sports titles as well as Need for Speed, Burnout, Medal of Honor, whatever. The fact is everyone is milking each and every one of their franchise's becuase this is actually a business. So the claim can't solely be made at Capcom with out pointing out the whole industry.





Finally for my last point. Some may say, "But there is already a remake of the first game on the Gamecube which is far superior so why even bother picking this up?" Well as stated before, Resident Evil is more then just a game, It's an interactive film. I feel that they are both great in their own respects becuase they both have different directions. The original Resident Evil is done in the spirit of Old B Movies. While the Remake further explores the lore of the Resident Evil world and adds more depth to the World/mansion we came to know. They both have 2 very distinct directions. Its kind of like Texas Chainsaw Massacre. There are a lot of people who loved the remake, there are even more who loved the original, and there are also a few who loved both.

But meanwhile a trite RPG like Final fantasy 4 for the GBA recieves a far better general and some stellar reviews for, less of a job then what was done for Resident Evil: DS.

Thoughts?

[Crushinator]

I love RE, and I agree with your points on it being a cinematic experience, and how it even draws in non-gamers.

But I think DS is just a wierd medium for the game. The screen is too tiny to get a cinematic or scary feel. The game has been played many, many times, so there isn't really anything unexpected to even put an edge to the game. Any "audience participation" is lost because, hell its hard to even have ONE person watch you play a handheld game.

Even with the classic gameplay intact, and some funky new stylus features/puzzles, the major cache of RE seems to be just a little less dazzling on a handheld.

[unitself]

I just started playing RE:DS last night... so far, it's an exact port of the original. Everything about it is the same! It's really weird because often Jill is very tiny on the screen and you almost have to guess at where the door or typewriter or whatever you're going for is. They did throw a stylus knife fight right at you within like 2 minutes of playing and it was actually kinda cool.

I do agree with you guys by saying that a lot of the RE cache is the fact that others can watch your "B movie" game play and it is all but lost on the small DS screen. I did, however, jump when the dogs broke thru the windows. Even though I totally knew it was coming.

The main reason I bought it is that it's still fun to be somewhere (lunchtime work play, something bad on TV that your wife wants to watch, etc) and play a "scary" game. Plus, it's a nice contrast to all that Animal Crossing.

[Crushinator]

Have you been able to try the multiplayer mode yet?

From what I understand, you can't see the other players. What's up with that?

[unitself]

I have not tried multiplayer yet.
I wasn't really sure that you could play multi online or simply DS to DS.
What's up with not seeing the other players though? That seems odd.

[AC9breaker]

The game has a Rebirth mode and a Classic mode. The Classic mode is an exact port or ths ps1 version. Rebirth mode is the Resident Evil 1 port with the extra features added. Also the characters are also notably smoother then in Classic mode while the pre rendered backgrounds still have the feeling as if the colors where dropped down a bit.Senor Crushinator was right when he said that their is no reason to purchase this if they have already played the original. As entertaining as the new features are its not enough to draw someone who mearly cruised the game to take it for another spin.

But like SCU said, its still fun. I took my DS with me to the car dealer with my brother to get stome stuff done on our car. While I was playing it in the waiting area I too jumped when the dogs jumped out the windows. Kinda embarrasing to be seen just spazing out for no reason all of sudden. One thing though, Rebirth mode gives the original RE a more intense feel to the game by giving you extra ammo and extra baddies. You could unload on zombies John Woo style and still have enough clips to supply a small insurgent group in the Middle East.

I don't know how multiplayer is since nobody else I know with a DS bought it.. I did however unlock a character for it. Apperantly you can play as all of S.T.A.R.S. Bravo and Alpha team members. Even Joseph!

[Crushinator]