Action Hero Simulator

Considering we're in the middle of October, now is as good a time as any to talk about one of my favorite franchises in videogames, Resident Evil (Japanese people know it more appropriately as Biohazard), and why it doesn't really work under the catalogue of "Survival Horror".

Most people are probably calling BS right now. After all, Resident Evil was for most of the late 90's nothing other than the poster boy for survival horror videogames. Some other people might be agree with me, with the caveat that Resident Evil games stopped being scary after RE4. But I declare now that Resident Evil was not survival horror to begin with, and it only got lumped into that category due to how very lacking in games that particular genre was when RE debuted.

"What you mean this shit aint scary?!"

Horror in Resident Evil games is different from what you might find in something like Fatal Frame or Silent Hill because, unlike those latter game series, Resident Evil takes the Haunted House approach to horror. What this means is that Resident Evil sets up it's pacing deliberately to create situations (or scenes really) that catch the player off guard. In other words, Resident Evil understands Survival horror as momentarily startling the player with the unexpected.

It's definitely scary stuff...but it's not survival horror.

Resident Evil as a franchise has always done a couple of things that stray it from the Survival Horror genre. The first problem is that Resident Evil has always allowed you to feel in control of the situation. You'll usually find yourself annoyed and scared shitless the first time you play one of these games. But as you keep going, and especially when you go into your second playthrough, you'll find that every situation in the game has a certain method to it. And it never requires breaking the game to achieve control. In other words, if you play any Resident Evil game, horror will sooner or later by replaced situational problem solving.

Zombies are slow to react to allow the skilled player to bypass them sans penalty

The other, and more important factor, that drives RE as a franchise away from Survival Horror is its writing. Love it or hate it, the plots in RE have always lacked a certain gravitas to them. On the contrary, Resident Evil has always been a sort of B movie action hero simulation. Especially the original game as well as the 4th entry seem to revel on the ridiculousness of their settings and they are all the better for it.

Survival horror has evolved a lot since the 90's. It was easy to couple RE into the Survival Horror genre back when genre expectations weren't set by mood but by content. Since then the industry has provided experiences that truly define the idea of surviving in a world that makes us feel weak and defenseless. Resident Evil does not fit in with those games.

That's not a bad thing. Next week I'll talk in detail about why Resident Evil 4 was and still remains one of the best games ever made. In the meantime feel free to leave your comments on the subject below. Do you agree? or is Resident Evil still deserving of being called a survival horror franchise?