DEATH OF SURVIVAL HORROR?

No review this time. But what I have is a brief editorial about my opinions on the current state of the survival horror genre. Enjoy! And, as always, thanks for reading!

DEATH TO SURVIVAL HORROR?

After years of Disney and other children video games, publisher Capcom wished to deliver something new and refreshing to the video game market. In March of 1996, the gaming community was introduced to a genre unlike any other. “Resident Evil” released on the original Playstation wowing gamers with its distinct game play. No longer could players charge into unexplored areas with guns blazing and infinite ammo. Instead, with a limited inventory, players had to contemplate on important items to carry knowing evil and danger lurked around every corner. The in game characters were made weaker than the surrounding enemies and players never truly knew when and where zombies and monsters would appear. Adding to the tension was the fact that healing items and ammo were not a supplemental value, and that the conservation of the two were of the utmost importance as well as the key to overcoming this terrifying nightmare.

Being the first of its kind, the game was placed into a new genre called: Survival Horror. Following this new craze many other companies released their own takes on the genre; one of the most famous being Konami’s “Silent Hill” franchise. Gamers praised this new type of game play as it forced them to make rash decisions in a moment’s notice. Was it better to carry two healing herbs with a pistol or take the shotgun and ammo leaving behind any sort of healing factor? Is it better to just run past the looming enemies leaving myself vulnerable or waste precious ammo to clear a safe path? These were just some of the questions players had to ask themselves while participating in these horror-filled adventures.

Yet, as the years went on many companies began to stray from the tried and true formula of the genre’s founding fathers. This is because of two main reasons: The first is that many of these games became, in a way, repetitive in the eyes of the community. The formula was not broken, but gamers desired new changes and evolutions. The second is due to a market mostly dominated by casual gamers, whereas releasing these difficult games created weary sales numbers as only the most dedicated and hardcore of the crowd were able to persevere.

As new survival horror video games are developed and released, such as the “Condemned 2: Bloodshot” and the “F.E.A.R.” series, many of them seemed to focus more on fast-paced action and explosive sequences. For the most part, conserving ammo and health are no immense task any more as each come in great supply. Even the creator of the genre, Capcom, has altered its series greatly with its newest entries to the series, “Resident Evil 4” and “Resident Evil 5.” Even though these video games are not, by any means, poorly made—“Resident Evil 4” is praised by many as one of the greatest games ever made, let alone the best in the series—they just have not been able to deliver the same tension building and terrifying atmosphere that fans of the genre are so used too. They have, instead, delivered cheap scares and thrills with simple game play.

Gamers have realized that the survival horror genre is not brimming with life as it used to be. However, all is not loss. The releases of “Dead Space” and “Dead Space 2”—even though both contain their share of simplicity and cheap scares—have been seen as nods to what the genre once was delivering on chilling atmosphere and horrific enemies and have received much praise because of it. They are not perfect but with more casual gamers turning their heads in interest there is hope for survival horror. Hopefully developers will realize this growing love and be able to resuscitate this dying genre, giving it the life the gaming community remembers it thriving upon.