Do you think survival horror has went downhill?

[Member_of_STARS]

Do we really want a majini throwing a fire nade at you then while you're in burn stun pulling an RPG out of nowhere and quickfiring it at our feet through?

Why not?

[Dracarys]

Why not?

Because it is instant death and near impossible to avoid. Did you not play Versus?

[Code_R]

The old hardware limitations, and things like the type of controls we put up with... these are not what creates a horror atmosphere. And I don't care for limited ammo, it's an artificial way of increasing tension and leads to annoyance more than any other effect. The problem is these kinds of games just don't make the money major companies want any more. If they did we'd see Amnesia type games on consoles. Creating that sense of dread is always possible without that in the same way that it is through non interactive media like film, but why put in that effort? Widening the audience with co-op and multiplayer deathmatches is more worthy of dev time now. It's been proven popular with the masses now that online services are everywhere, and forced save points are nowhere.

[REmaster]

The last decent "Survival Horror" console game I played was Siren: Blood Curse, since then I've pretty much given up on the idea that the genre ever makes a comeback. Like others have said it just doesn't produce the kind of big money that action/adventure & FPS's make and it's fanbase has become somewhat of a minority.

What really makes a good survival horror experience? Obviously the games should involve, "horror" and "surviving" against said horror, usually on limited health/ammo. Let's take our precious RE for example. For me, a big part of what made the older RE titles special was the music. There were always great tracks to accompany certain areas and of course the save rooms that really set the tone of the situation and helped mold the atmosphere(which is partly why I enjoyed Revelations so much). Finding files scattered throughout the game was another thing I miss dearly. You could read the file right then and there once you discovered it. Some files told of other people's struggles and some pieced together bits of the plot, while others were designed to not only be informative, but to officially creep you out.

Some say in RE5/6 you go around eviscerating everything in your path like a blood thirsty warmonger. Do I like it? No. However, it makes sense from the direction they decided to go in, along with the story and character development. In RE1-CV, the characters were not in control. They were trapped in a dangerous setting that they did not choose to be a part of and did their best to simply "survive" the ordeal and escape. Even the most experienced characters were relatively new to going up against B.O.W.'s. From then on, as the characters developed and the timeline grew years ahead, the situation was changed. No longer did characters haplessly wind up in terrible nightmares-they searched them out. The characters are now experienced and prepared, fully aware of what dangers await them on their missions.

If you're purposely heading to a B.O.W. research facility, you're not going to hop out of that chopper with nothing but a 9mm and a combat knife(unless you're Claire lol). No, you're going to bring an AK-47, sniper rifle, magnum, etc. I think of it like this, the new games are what RE1 would have been like had Brad not pussied out and left with all their supplies and ammo. Otherwise, it would have been overkill with Chris and Jill completely destroying everything to shit with machine guns and the like. I'm glad it didn't work out that way, but now that the games have gotten to that stage, I understand why. I guess in the end, I just miss playing as the average joe who had to rely on his brain over firepower, someone who wasn't experienced, someone who was just as freaked out as I was- someone I could relate to. They keep trying to push the envelope by taking these veteran characters that have already experienced every nightmare imaginable and test their limits, by putting them in a new situation that's supposedly even worse than the last(Fear you can't forget, anyone?).

In my opinion, the only way the aspect of what people call "Survival Horror" could return to the series, is if they bring in new characters and put the vets on the back burner. A simpler solution of course would be to just throw Chris/Leon,whomever in to a situation where again, they are not in control. They don't have a partner, let alone an army fighting by their side. Keyword, "Isolation". Also, put them through some serious shit, make it personal, make the player fear for them.(Remember when Leon got shot in RE2? That was serious shit). Your character isn't worried about the safety of their partner the entire game, but for their own life. However, the series has become too much of a co-op experience as of late to risk losing fans by returning to isolation, which basically makes this idea void.

Some people like the new direction and some don't, just as some people didn't enjoy the older games. The only difference is, the style of the older games is likely never coming back so there's nothing that it's fans can do but sit and stew about it, or find another franchise to invest in. Anyways, that's just my two cents.

[Rancid Cheese]

Survival horror hasn't went downhill at all! The problem is no one is making it anymore . . . unless you go into the indie and arcade scene.

[Member_of_STARS]

Survival horror hasn't went downhill at all! The problem is no one is making it anymore . . . unless you go into the indie and arcade scene.

They did a fine job with Dead Space and Dead Space 2. It's still doable in the AAA market.

[Guest]

For me, this is my continuation of the RE sites thread.

Basically, I'd gone off forums and games due to suffering from a lot of stressful situations in my personal life, and I'm also staying with my family until I can get suitable accommodation again, so I really don't feel like doing much as I just find the atmosphere off-putting. Last year however, I really got into The Walking Dead TV saga, plus I acted in a zombie film, and also, I enjoyed Z Nation and Ash vs Evil Dead as well. I'd never been so hooked on a series since the days of Buffy/Angel, a good 20 odd years ago.

To be honest, RE6 was a piece of s*** and that didn't do the longest tenured fans any justice. Sure, there was plenty to do, but the game was far from "fun" and I just didn't...actually enjoy it all that much, if at all. I'm sure that killed off a lot of respect for Capcom from people that had previously gotten on their knees. You guys should really check out the video from around June last year by Art-Official on YouTube. He's got a point.

But now RE7 is here, so we're back here again. Hopefully, more users will return one day soon. Maybe you should send out a mass email saying that users that are registered here can come back now. That way, maybe some members who have somehow forgotten of the existence of The Horror Is Alive, can make their anticipated return.