RE Anniversary

Normally anniversary puts me in a good mood and today is RE's 20th anniversary. I dusted off my old dioramas and games for the occasion but somehow this 20th anniversary feels especially hallow for me.

That means Capcom has not made a good RE game for more than 10 years. It's been more than 10 years since RE's best creative minds left the series after RE4. All Capcom does these days is basked in the old glory days and put out remasters of the RE classics.

The last RE game, Revelations 2 looked like junk compared with today's modern games. It scored pretty decent reviews but I honestly thought maybe RE6 is actually better. Revelation 2 was good enough to be heralded as the best RE game since RE4. Problem is we are still waiting for something better than RE4 that would set a new benchmark for the series.

 

That would never happen I fear. At least not in Capcom's offices.

2015 recap: PS3

It's nice that Sony knows how big of a deal earning trophies is from this email. I have played quite a number of great PS3 games in 2015,

1. Grand Theft Auto IV
2. The Evil Within
3. Resident Evil Revelations 2
4. Grand Theft Auto V
5. Yakuza Zero

Almost all of these games are available cross-gen but I made peace with getting the older versions. Some I could see myself upgrading to the current gen version when an enhanced version is available. I'm talking about Yakuza Zero in english and The Evil Within with all the DLC content. I probably won't waste anymore money on Revelations 2,  the game is just not worth the money or time anymore.

I would love to try all the new online features Rockstar added to GTA Online with the current gen but too bad Rockstar don't intend to sell GTA Online separately.

A Zap from the Past

Now I already pointed out that Revelations 2 is very similar to Zero in terms of gameplay. That nostalgic call back is ultimately its main downfall. 

As RE fans are aware, there are two types of RE games – the early fixed camera angle games and the RE4 styled games. Zero lets you control your both characters at the same time which works well in the early fixed camera angle games. You could separate both characters and place them in in different rooms. You determine where each character goes and does what. In that aspect, the game is light years ahead of RE5 or Revelations 2. The two characters never felt like they were attached at the hip like in the latter games.

In Revelations 2, you can’t separate the two characters and one of them is helpless but not completely unarmed. You have separate inventory for each character even though they can never be apart and one don’t actually use firearms.Online co-op would have be nice though it’s hard to imagine how much fun it is controlling a character that doesn’t fight. Using the second character to wave the flashlight around is as boring as it sounds.

Capcom wisely put the RE0 remaster on hold as they didn't want to saturate the market with another game. In retrospect they should have just remaster Zero and forget about the lame Revelations sequel. 

What A Revelation

When playing Revelations 2, I knew it was going to be a very nostalgic game and so far the quiet nods to the series past games hasn't been as cringe-worthy as say, Resident Evil 6. But I was surprised that the game resembles Resident Evil Zero the most as you can zap between the two characters just like Zero. I always thought that the character zapping mechanics from RE Zero was a relic from the past, made redundant now that games have advanced to the point where you can have a second player play together. Certainly Capcom must have other ideas about this or simply couldn't be bothered to rework the game engine around to include online co-op.

The game looks almost exactly like Revelations HD and it's pretty sad because past RE games are usually heralded for it's cutting edge graphics. The first Revelations was able to push the boundaries of what was thought impossible for the 3DS system and now Revelations 2 looks remarkably less impressive than RE5 or RE6. The series deserved better and certainly so do the long time fans but it's hard to see a resurgence with the exodus of talent Capcom experienced over the years.

Talking about My Revelations

With Revelations 2 is almost upon us now, I thought it would be a good time to reflect back on the first Revelations game and what made it so great. I first played Revelations shortly after getting a Nintendo 3DS so the experience is a little less than a year ago and still pretty fresh in my mind. I find Revelations' acclaim a little unwarranted, I mean sure it was miles better than Resident Evil 6 but let's not make it sound like the second coming of Resident Evil 4. I do want to point out what made Revelations better than most recent RE entries

1. No More Umbrella
Let's face it, the original storyline that spans across the first 3 RE games is now a convoluted mess thanks to the many different writers who pitched in over the years. It's hard to make an sense of the Umbrella legacy anymore or tie up the loose ends which Capcom so clumsily attempted to in RE5. Thankfully, Revelations told a new story much like RE4 did without much ties to the original storyline aside from the iconic characters appearing. No silly homages to the series like what happened in RE5 Gold or RE6, it was a servicable story with nice twists and a brand new villain.

Remember the feeling when you first got the Colt Python?

2. Simple Guns
The RE games has always placed a strong emphasis on the guns used but in the early games, you are able to figure out which weapon works best against which enemies because the weapons were slowly introduced into the game as you play. That way you formed a strong bond with the weapons because you become very familiar with the ones you are using before you get a new toy. In RE6, I actually lost track of which ammunition goes to which weapon when I was clearing the character inventory. Too much awesome weaponry was clearly not a good thing and Revelations wisely scaled back on the number of weapons deployed. It doesn't introduced the weapons into the game as masterfully as the old games but at least, it was manageable and fun.

Aside from this, there are some aspects which makes RE Revelations not so great like the annoying new side characters and episodic chapters. In the end given the dire strait predicament of the series right now, the first Revelations certainly did more right than wrong but it still pales in comparisons to the early RE games under Mikami's supervision.

Digitally Yours

I would like to talk about a gaming trend that has became more and more prevalent over the years, digital distribution of games. Some say it will spell the end for brick and mortar game shops eventually though maybe not in Japan where they still love their game box arts and so fore.

The reason I'm bringing this up is because it's starting to affect me, several of my favorite series have recently announced digital-only distribution of their new releases. Unlike some other fanboys, I don't feel less ownership of the game if it's digital, it's just I would like to have some tangible to add in my proud collection. I do enjoy the convenience of not having to get up and swap discs when it's digital but to me, it's just a minor annoyance I would gladly put up with to own the physical copy.

Now developing games are becoming more costly and putting out a physical copy isn't as cheap as one may think, there are logistics involved and not just the mere cost of writing the actual disc. I get all that but I really wonder for the case of Yakuza 5, is Sega allowing the fate of the series to continue down this road? It's really a chicken and egg dilemma, are you going to able to foster new fanbase if you don't spend the money to put physical copies in stores and promote the game? Rebirth HD and Revelations 2 will sell on their own even if it's digital only as the Resident Evil franchise is huge so in Capcom's case, it's just a matter of Capcom trying to save some bucks by going this route (to be fair, Capcom did distribute Rebirth on disc in Asia region and also give a significant discount for the digital version of Revelations 2).

Yakuza is a series on its last legs in the West, each sequel has seen diminishing sales so it's almost like Sega is doing this just for the fans and not hoping to reach out to new fans. While I applaud Sega (and Sony) for doing this, I'm also sad that Sega is no longer interested in investing in this franchise overseas though it's probably been that way for some time now. Well I guess I will always have my Asian copies and now not have to worry about ugly box art on the western version anymore.