Own the HD ports of Silent Hill 2 and 3 on your Xbox 360, but frustrated with the string of bugs? Well...prepare for further disappointment. Konami have revealed that the patch, which was expected to correct the bugs, including audio problems, frame rate and visual effects issues, has been cancelled. The games were ported over to the console with incomplete code after Konami lost the final release version of the game. The company have apologised to any players experiencing issues with these HD ports. All in all, quite rubbish really!
Tecmo Koei have revealed that they are re-launching Project Zero 2, exclusively for the Wii.
Project Zero 2: Wii Edition will feature new two player modes and all new motion gameplay, and will be released in Europe on the 29th June. It is a remake of survival horror title Project Zero II: Crimson Butterfly, where you play Mio as she explores a cursed village with her twin sister Mayu.
The Wii motion controls promise to make players feel even more immersed in this scary title than before, whilst the Wiimote will act as the players flashlight.
Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami has revealed that he is working on a new survival horror title. Famitsu reported that Mikami is currently working on his first game with the studio he founded-Tango Gameworks.
Codenamed "Zwei", details are pretty vague at this current time. However, we know that Mikami will be Executive Director on this survival horror title, and the game will be apparently coming to HD consoles. No platforms have been confirmed as of yet.
It's early days, but no doubt some more information on Zwei will be released soon.
16 Years of Resident Evil: Counting down the fifteen most frightening
moments of Capcom’s successful zombie franchise.
Sixteen years ago,
Resident Evil shambled onto the scene, and is ever-popular. Fans love the
creepy, often terrifying feel. Here are fifteen of the most frightening moments
in the series’ history.
15. Mr X Smashes the Camera. (Resident Evil 2, 1998)
Just when you thought
that the enemies in your immediate proximity had been cleaned out, you stop to
view a live camera feed, just to check. Of course, something is lurking there; the
gigantic Mr. X. As he gets closer to the camera, you realise that it is
actually the corridor just around the corner from yourself. Confrontation is
inevitable, so cue the panic!
14. Unexpected Zombie in the Train’s Refrigerator. (Resident Evil: Zero,
2002)
Walking through the
train, a zombie suddenly breaks out of a refrigerator to the side of you. Fan
Lewis Terry, 23, stated that “it’s made me jump on every single play-through of
the game”, a sure sign that even the briefest of moments in Resident Evil retain their scare factor
time and time again.
13. Dogs Jumping Through the Corridor Window. (Resident Evil 1, 1996)
A tactic used regularly
throughout the series, the sudden enemy appearance routine works incredibly
well in the moment where some infected dogs jump through the corridor window in
Resident Evil 1. Snarling, ravenous and horrific, it’s hard not to jump when
they smash through to face you.
12. Appearance of Doctor Salvador in the Village. (Resident Evil 4,
2005)
What’s not scary
about Doctor Salvador? Not only is he shambling towards you wielding a
chainsaw, but his sack face is somewhat disconcerting. Fan James Stayte, 30, agrees
that the scariest moment for him was “whenever you heard the chainsaw man
coming in the Resident Evil 4
mercenaries’ missions, where he appears in giant form, wielding two chainsaws.”
11. The First Glimpse of Nosferatu. (Resident Evil-Code Veronica X,
2001)
Nosferatu is the
mutated form of the Ashford Twin’s father. Held captive for 15 years, he
manages to break free when Claire Redfield and Steve Burnside are escaping the
building.
The duo makes it to
the helipad to escape, but Nosferatu unfortunately arrives just in time to stop
them from leaving, resulting in one of the series most intense showdowns.
10. The First Appearance of the Executioner. (Resident Evil 5, 2009)
The Executioner
appears towards the beginning of Resident
Evil 5, when the locals become hostile towards Chris and Sheva.
What the Executioner
lacks in agility is made up in his hulking physique and silent movements. Panic
rises rapidly when he appears, and the terror is created by the constant need
to evade his gigantic axe and vice-like grip.
Rachel works as a
cross between Lisa Trevor and Nemesis, two previously terrifying enemies from
past titles. This combination creates a laughing, lanky and hardy antagonist.
You can often tell when Rachel is about to appear by the sudden creepy
laughter, which gets louder the closer you get to her.
8. Birds in the Gallery Corridor (Resident Evil 1, 1996)
Birds may seem rather
tame when compared to many of the others who have made this list, but they
provide one of the most chilling moments of Resident Evil 1. Perched along the
top of the gallery corridor, players had to press the buttons under parts in
chronological order to unlock the puzzle. Make a wrong choice and these birds
attacked the player. Being attacked by these birds was very frightening, and
left many players dreading the moment they may go wrong.
Jill Valentine and
her partner hear a faint voice repeatedly saying “may day”. As you get closer,
you realise that the voice turns loud, distressed and increasingly deranged, until
finally, you reach the shaking, bolted door in which the voice emanates.
At this moment, the
fear comes from the inevitably of conflict once you realise that the “person” inside
will be released.
6. The First Zombie of Resident Evil. (Resident Evil 1, 1996)
The infected are
crucial to the franchise. There is no forgetting that moment when players
encountered the first ever zombie in Resident Evil 1. Fan Michael Powis, aged
47, said it was “the view of the first zombie feasting on fresh meat and
turning to face me” that really instilled some dread into him. I’m sure that most
Resident Evil fans will look back at this moment and agree with him.
5. First Encounter with a Licker. (Resident Evil 2, 1998)
First encounters with
an enemy can also provide some of the scariest moments in the series. The
Licker encounter is by far one of the most disturbing first introductions. Lickers
are agile, strong and incredibly creepy.
4. The First Appearance of Nemesis. (Resident Evil 3, 1999)
TheResident Evil 3 antagonist, Nemesis is sent to Raccoon City to
take down the surviving the members of the S.T.A.R.S team. Nemesis claims
S.T.A.R.S. pilot Brad Vickers as his first victim. Cornering him outside the
front doors of the Raccoon City Police Department, Nemesis impales Vickers
through the mouth, breaking his neck as Jill Valentine watches in terror.
From then on, Nemesis
appears regularly. He’s a tough enemy to defeat, uses rocket launchers, and
breaks the boundaries set in Resident Evil 1 and 2. Shudder.
Crimson Heads are
much more powerful than normal zombies. They take more ammo, are quick, deadly
and disturbing. Crimson Heads distil a sense of dread in even the most
experienced players of Resident Evil.
2. Lisa Trevor. (Resident Evil: Directors Cut, 1997)
Lisa Trevor becomes a
lot more terrifying when you have heard her back story. As a 14 year old girl,
Lisa and her parents are captured by Umbrella and tested on. Separated from her
parents and with help from the drugs, Lisa’s sanity deteriorates, and she becomes
a walking corpse. Wearing the faces of her parent’s look-a-likes, sent in an
attempt to subdue her, Lisa becomes increasingly violent.
She re-appears
several times before she is finally defeated, but her appearance is scarier
than her persistence. Not only is she wearing the flesh of her victims, she is
horribly disfigured by years of virus tests, and is genuinely scary to
encounter.
1. Encountering the Regenerators. (Resident Evil 4, 2005)
Regenerators take the
top spot because they are utterly creepy. The terror comes first in hearing
their ragged, shallow breathing get increasingly closer, leaving players to
wait for their appearance. Their first appearance is by far the most
terrifying, as the horrid breathing paints a picture in the players mind of
what to expect. Imagination sometimes is a far scarier tool than the reveal
itself, and this is certainly true here. Regenerators are incredibly hard to
kill, and will often deal significant damage. A form of regenerator is now
present in last month’s Resident Evil
Revelations, which proves that these horrible creatures are just as scary
as they were back in 2005.
After releasing a rather excellent debut trailer, Dead Island rapidly built up a surge of hype for it's September release date. With promises of 4 player co-op, combined with an idyllic island setting and plenty of gruesome zombies, there was already enough reasons for players to get excited about it. The trailer may have already successfully heightened expectations, but now that the game has been here for a few weeks now, was this hype justified?
Well, to put it shortly, mostly. Whilst the majority of the game is excellent, it just does not feel completely polished. Dead Island follows the same fun co-operative gameplay that has been seen in Borderlands and Left 4 Dead respectively, but thankfully, it is not a straight forward copy. Sure, inspiration has definitely been drawn from other RPG titles, but Dead Island thrives frantic survival element. Combine this with great combat, and a variety of intriguing missions, and you've got a well-packaged game here.
The storyline is simple enough. A zombie outbreak has hastily spread through the idyllic island of Banoi, leaving a trail of distraction in it's wake. Many of the inhabitants have joined the hoard of walking dead, but thankfully there are some who were lucky enough to avoid the virus. You play as one of the four key survivors, who, somehow, is immune from this infectious disease. The game follows your chosen character as he or she help out the fellow survivors, whilst searching for a way off of the island. The story is prone to predictability at times, but the story is not what matters here. What matters is the gameplay itself.
Combining the typical elements of an RPG (levelling up, looting items, etc) with the type of frantic and intense game play found in other zombie games such as Left 4 Dead, Dead Island's gameplay is incredibly fun. Bashing in decomposing zombie brains is satisfying, to say the least. What works the most is the feeling of survival being held constantly by a tether. Weapons constantly break, leaving players searching for more, first aid kits (which are very similiar to Fallout 3's Stimpacks) are at times very sparse, and other factors definitely add to the "fight or flight" format that is being adopted here. This survival element is what makes Dead Island so appealing. It adds a touch of realism, as even though your chosen character is immune, this does not stop them from being taken down by the intense infected.
Players are free to explore the island as they wish, and the map adds a little structure for this exploration. The game is broken up into a series of maps, which divide the island into different explorable areas, such as the resort, city and jungle. Each area allows the player to discover new survivors, who, for the most part, have a few missions for you to complete. Players can stick to the structured storyline only if they wish, but the real fun comes in the exploration. Several surprises lie in exploring, so missing this opportunity seems like a real shame.
Missions range from the typical collecting quests which so many RPG's have dealt with before, to clearing zombies in particular areas, helping the survivors to rig up explosives or communicative devices, and then, unfortunately, there are a few escort missions. I for one have never been a fan of escorting missions, and I know there are many that agree with me here. The escort missions provide a few frustrating moments in the game which tarnished the experience a little for me at times. NPCs have a habit of getting stuck during journeys at times, and refuse to follow the player as they are guiding them to their destination. I had to restart a mission due to one of the characters I was supposed to be guiding refusing to climb a flight of stairs, for no particular reason. Upon researching this, it appears that the escort missions seem to provide the same frustrations to many people.
Dead Island's combat is primarily melee based, which forces the player to get up close and personal to the undead. Melee weapons are found all over the island, and there is a large variety to choose from. Players will start with the more basic weapons of paddles and broomsticks, but they will gain the ability to combine or create weapons as more objects are collected. The challenge comes in the constant need to repair or replace melee weapons. You cannot go through the whole game holding the same broomstick you picked up at the very beginning. Due to this, players will constantly be on the lookout for new weapons. Weapons breaking during a fight with a bunch of zombies creates an incredibly intense, and at times, scary game.
Those who are used to blasting zombies away in games such as Left 4 Dead will be surprised to see that firearms are overshadowed by melee weapons here. Guns and ammo are available, but they are much more sparse, and tend to deal damage much slower than most of the melee weapons do anyway. Taking on the role of a blades specialist, I found the game to be much easier when relying on knives and sharp melee weapons than the handguns and shotguns found later on in the game.
Unfortunately, where Dead Island suffers a little is in the single player mode. It is evident that this game is aimed more towards co-op players. The missions seem far more challenging when played alone than when completed with a friend or two. Also, the fun gets a little stale after a while when beating it solo. This lack of split-screen single console co-op is also a downer, as playing it on the same TV screen as a room-mate, friend, partner, etc, would have been excellent.
As previously mentioned, there is a feeling of Dead Island not being completely polished. The graphics can at times be a little poor, especially during the cut-scenes, where the characters look expressionless, somewhat lifeless. Zombies or NPCs often get stuck on scenery (something which makes completely certain quests a complete challenge at times). It is hard to ignore the glitches when they hinder the completion of a quest. I had to reload my game several times over the course of the game in order to complete a quest. The game also suffers from an anti-climatic ending, which is a little disappointing, especially as the game builds up to what should have been an action-packed crescendo.
Dead Island can be fully completed (achievements and all) in around 30 to 40 hours. Playing it solo may be a little boring by the time these hours rack up, so it's definitely recommended to find a friend or two to plow through it with. There is no denying that Dead Island was designed as a multiplayer game first and foremost, which successfully manages to be an enjoyable and satisfying experience. The mission related glitches sour the experience somewhat, so I only hope that these are patched up soon enough, but overall, the game is a joy to complete.
I am currently reading the Dead Island novel. Stay tuned for a review soon!
