Horror

Becoming frightened by videogames always seemed like a strange prospect to me when I first started playing them, mainly because gaming technology just didn't allow developers to create realistic enough images to invoke fear. Now that I've experienced genuinely spooky games like Silent Hill 2, which mixed cutting-edge graphics with disturbing imagery and storytelling, I've started to actually seek out these kinds of games. After all, getting spooked every now and again is great fun and videogames are getting better and better at provoking those emotions.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Mature Sexual Themes, Violence

I think Matt and I expected different things when we popped Resident Evil into our GameCubes. Whereas Matt was hoping for something "new," I was merely expecting a remake of the old survival horror classic that I loved so much back in the day.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Violence

Resident Evil for GameCube is a perfect example of creative impotence masked behind an engaging sense of style. Its not a bad game. Or, I should say, the cumulative experience it offers isnt bad. As a slick remake of a popular classic, it has its virtues. Gameplay, however, isn't one of them.

Game Description: Resident Evil, the game that is often credited with starting the survival-horror genre, is being reinvented for the GameCube. For those unfamiliar with the series, a mysterious corporation has secretly been performing ungodly biotech experiments in the sleepy little town of Raccoon City. When reports of gory attacks come in from nearby areas, two crack military squads are sent to investigate. Players take the role of either sharpshooter Chris Redfield or demolitions expert Jill Valentine to track down the source of the town's problems—specifically, something in a decaying mansion that's mutating animals into grotesque killers and turning humans into bloodthirsty zombies. Supplies and ammunition are scarce, so players have to know when to fight, when to run, and how to keep their wits about them. Players can't afford to waste their shots and expect their characters to survive.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Violence

Game Description: You are the vampire Kain, the most evil figure ever to appear in a video game. Cloaked in stealth, you will move through crowds unseen, travel stories above the peasant herds on which you feed—leaping from rooftop to rooftop—and use mind control to overcome vampire-proof inventions. The combat choreography in Blood Omen 2 unfolds with dancelike precision as Kain engages armies of demons and humans alike.

While being a reviewer isnt always easy, sometimes its even tougher when youre also a fan. Its our job to look at games objectively, but were still human. We all have our preferences and tastes, and theres nothing more miserable than seeing a series you love go down the drain with a rotten sequel. As if that wasnt painful enough, reviewing such a game forces you to thoroughly examine every single aspect of it, instead of having the luxury of deluding yourself into thinking it really isnt all that bad.

It pains me dearly to score a Tecmo game so low, but in all good conscience I just cant let them slide. Theyve always been known for extremely fun, solid and original games despite (generally) not having cutting edge graphics. Breaking with that tradition in Fatal Frames case, the graphics arent that bad but they seem to have gone astray when it came to the gameplay department. Very, very disappointing.