The Wii Survival Horror libary expands this month, introducing ``Calling,`` the FIFTH Flashlight Horror Adventure title to hit Wii.
But in fairness to reality, Survival Horror, as we used to know it, is dead. It's been long dead, made apparent by the volume of "survival horror" titles that've made their home on Wii this generation. It feels like Wii has the largest and most diverse (haha?) line-up of horror titles among all current platforms, but the climate feels... different... from previous eras of video games.
Here's the definition provided by internet nerds:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival_horror Here's what I see in "classic" Survival Horror:
- odd Japanese adventure gaming, wacko puzzles/locks/gates, nonsense barriers/obstacles
- limited firepower, scarcity of resources, "flight" over "fight" leads to greater success
- **** controls, awful combat, but not absolutely "broken"; mechanics otherwise worked well enough that progression appeared straightforward
- laffable presentation, acting/script so bad it's legendary
- despite the above innovations, the experience of these dark scary adventures manages to be engaging on some level
- sometimes unexpectedly likable, like bad horror or sci-fi you happen to catch on TV while flipping channels
Now let's see how see how our view of the genre has changed, using the Wii library perspective. A brief look at each game, pointing out things of significance.
*Guided shooters left out for obvious reasons.
==THE OLD GENERATION==
1. Escape from Bug Island (Necro-Nesia) -- An ambitious "true" survival horror game cashing in on the Wii craze. Terrible on every front, just as survival horror dictates, but the empty forests and giant insects don't prove to be as charming as the undead. Includes necessary and broken waggle combat, and the innovative feature to move around a flashlight, whose light can attract hostile bugs to attack the player. A real trailblazer for the Wii.
2. Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition -- The apparent pinnacle and standard of "modern" survival horror. Is it really survival horror? It might feel like it at first, with some ammo running scarce and being chased/cornered a few times. But the controls are fantastic, the presentation and game system are solid, the acting is DECENT, and progression isn't setup as a puzzle-filled map with circular paths of locked doors. Since the controls are fantastic, your comfort level rises over time, and you soon accumulate so much firepower that you unleash yourself like some John Rambo, putting your enemies in the position of trying to survive YOU instead. This is so UN-survival horror!
3. ObsCure II: The Aftermath -- A surprise gem that's not worth wearing, yet acknowledged. It one-ups RE Zero's buddy system by allowing 2-Player local co-op for the entire adventure, and shows a surprising amount of polish while still retaining key survival horrible qualities. Given the worse AI of the buddy character, completing a solo game is practically unpossible! Graphics are surprising, sporting solid 60fps performance with environments and characters more detailed than those in Eternal Darkness. The camera reminds you of Eternal Darkness, trying to independently flow with your travel. But the camera is ****. It follows your characters, sure, but doesn't reliably position itself for important stuff, like interaction with enemies. Melee combat is handled decently via waggle gestures, any friendly damage incurs a small health penalty, and the IR pointer aims firewarms anywhere on the screen, tho the camera tries to follow the cursor in a frustratingly wacky way. When things get dangerous, fleeing is a viable, strategic option. Puzzles and backtracking are true to the genre. The MTV-ish midwest teen-horror-movie celeb-inspired characters, acting, and presentation are sickening. An inexpensive trainwreck that should be witnessed with a brave, open-minded friend.
4. Alone in the Dark -- Ugly Wii multiplatform biproduct that's unfortunately broken beyond repair and playability. The product seemed obsessed with presenting "immersive" movie-like suspense-action situations while forgetting to include lasting core gameplay underlying the adventure. By being a bad game, it had the makings of a classic surival horror title, but turned out too horrible to survive its key flaws.
5. Fatal Frame 4: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse -- Hawt chicks, ghosts, naughty photography, nice visuals, and no violent combat; one of the "alternative" survival horror properties leftover from the previous video game era. It's the second flashlight horror adventure on Wii; Hell Yes. But Tecmo's apparently poor handling of the control scheme and their refusal to fix it in any way led Nintendo to not embarrass themselves letting this game outside Japan; aw Hell Naw. Bad controls intact, this was the last "survival horror" title released on Wii. All "horror games" that followed would further illustrate the extinction of the genre.
==THE NEW GENERATION==
6. Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop -- ahahahahahaha so much control, so little to actually kill. There isn't much to threaten you, so there isn't much to survive from, you just coexist with other un-lifeforms in this strange, sad, empty mall. More Horrible than actual Horror, a product that doesn't know what it's trying to be.
7. Deadly Creatures -- The honorable mention. An action-platformer in a natural setting without the intention to be survival horror, yet is presented thru a unique atmosphere that provides noticeable horror traits. Monstrous BUGS like to show up in various survival horror titles, with a particular "island" title not faring as well as others, while here the "monsters" are life-size according to the perspective, including the ones you control yourself. Oddly, bugs versus bugs reminds us there's SURVIVAL in NATURE being illustrated in this game. The desert setting is hostile and sometimes haunting, and the "character" animations provide the creepy-crawly personality some phobia sufferers would prefer not to witness. Does the bugs justice.
8. Cursed Mountain -- Surprisingly, and unfortunately, the only RE4 Wii Edition derivative to arrive so far. An action-adventure horror title that plays reasonably well, taking inspirations from RE4 Wii's movement and aiming controls. The high-altitude, cold-weather, Himalayan setting sets it apart from many "urban" horror titles, using the elements to create survival situations as well as a threatening, unforgiving atmosphere. Unhappy ghosts and demons get in your way to the top of the mountain, with combat centered on weapons with supernatural properties. Victory over the ghosts relies more on mastery of your various spiritual arts (motion control rituals have key benefits over 100% shooting), rather than an arsenel of bullets and boompowder; there's no ammo to collect, and infinite spiritual lasers aren't exactly rapid-fire. It's nowhere near the National Lampoon's Ass Kicking provided in Resident Evil 4, but it plays too well (relatively) for typical survival horror outings.
9. Ju-On: The Grudge --
10. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories --
11. Calling --
Topic: Wii Survival Horror Franchises (Read 33202 times)
