October 29, 2008
Still Alive After All These
Horrific Years
By
Louis Bedigian
We take a look at
survival/horror’s two most enduring franchises.
Alone in the Dark may be credited
with the beginning of survival/horror (a term that didn’t exist when Alone in
the Dark was conceived), but it wasn’t until Resident Evil arrived that these
games became a part of their own genre. Resident Evil’s weird and unappealing
controls – some have compared the character movement to a tank – were somehow
appropriate within its dark and eerie, pre-rendered setting. Capcom gained our
attention with what at the time was considered to be state-of-the-art graphics
and instantly consumed us – more than five million of us worldwide – by getting
players to pick up a controller.
Scared, shaken and a little on edge,
these feelings of horror were new to gamers, even those who had spent many years
watching the very zombie flicks that inspired Resident Evil’s creation. We were
awestruck. We were intrigued. And in spite of our concern for what may be around
the corner, we would proceed to walk down every hall and explore every dark
passage – even if we had to do it with only a single herb and knife in hand.
Resident Evil (GameCube Remake)
By the time the journey was over,
there was a sense of relief. The hidden horrors had finally been uncovered. At
the same time, there was this overwhelming urge to return. It wasn’t just
because the gameplay was entertaining – any good game can deliver a bit of
replay value. Resident Evil made us want to return because, in addition to the
fun of blasting zombies with a shotgun, we wanted to re-experience the horror.
After playing through Capcom’s first
survival/horror entry, it seemed that the scare-factor delivered by games may
have been lost. Similar to the way viewers became desensitized to horror flicks,
survival/horror games can only shock, surprise and terrorize us once.
But what we didn’t know was that,
beyond Resident Evil’s first sequel – which would be much loved, achieve huge
sales, and provide many memorable thrills – was a game that would prove to be
the scariest ever made. The only game that has ever caused this writer to stop
playing and take a break: Silent Hill.
Designed to create a new dimension
of survival/horror, Silent Hill wasn’t a Resident Evil clone. Its real-time
backdrops, eerie puzzles and grotesque monsters were very cool and creepy, but
they were not what made the game scary. Silent Hill terrified players by
introducing them to the unknown – a different kind of unknown where it’s not the
worry of what’s around the corner or what pops out at you that’s scary. This
game horrifies players with the static sound of a radio that assures them danger
is nearby. As the monster approaches – or as you approach the monster – the
sound intensifies. Surrounded by darkness, your only hope is to shed the light
on these hidden creatures with a flashlight whose realistic beam created one of
the most gorgeous graphical effects created for PSone.
The original Silent Hill
Twelve years after Resident Evil and
nine years after Silent Hill, these are the two series gamers think of when
horror comes to mind. There are other good scares out there, and many games with
eerie moments, but among the existing franchises, Resident Evil and Silent Hill
are the leaders. As we anticipate these series’ next chapters, let’s look back
on what they’ve accomplished thus far.
A
Look at the Resident Evil Series
A Look at the Silent
Hill Series
Be sure to
check out our first Halloween Feature:
Horror through the Years: A Look at Some Pivotal Titles in the Horror Genre
– From Texas Chainsaw Massacre to Dead Space, the Horror Genre has seen some
change for the better over the decades.
