Residents evil.
Resident Evill VII marks a strong contrast with the games that came before it, not only does it play in first person... but it's also the scariest entry in the series, as well as the only one I'd say is actually Survival Horror instead of an action game with horror elements. And they managed that by very early introducing the player to the Baker family, a three-member family unit of zombie-like psychos. You can't defeat them, not at first, but they'll roam the house you are locked into, so you have to learn to avoid them while collecting what you need to solve the puzzles and survive the house. Adding to this are the new enemies, the Moulded. These can be defeated, or avoided if you mean to conserve ammo, and the game did a great job at making you feel powerless. If you aim to their heads you can bring them down faster, but the audiovisual feedback makes your shots feel weak, and in a game like this, that does wonders to the horror element.
Despite the first-person camera, despite the new enemies being a new brand of virus... the game does keep some traditional REvil elements, such as herbs and item chests. Heck, your starting inventory is pathetically small, but you can slowly upgrade it as you play. That said, as scary and as weak as you feel at first, heck, I was scared I was using too much ammo and healing items... the more you play, the stronger you get. By the time I was facing the second Baker family member, I had a pretty decent armory, and a decent stockpile of healing items. I felt strong, for a change. Heck, when I finished the game I had a ton of spare ammo for all of my guns, a ton of items with which to make healing items, and the final boss was pathetic. That said, I had unlocked the Magnum and didn't use the grenade launcher before, so maybe I was equipped with the best weapons when I face it.
All that said, even when I was at my strongest, the ambiance was still scary as hell. And not to worry, as two thirds in, you briefly get to play as another character, and you lose all your inventory, so at first, you'll only be able to evade enemies as you solve puzzles. It was a rather neat way to bring you down a size or two for a short while.
The game has a TON of personality. All three Bakers are very memorable, for very different things, since despite being psychos, they still have their own personalities. The Baker family house is also very well designed, and is easily the best part in the game. Not to say that the subsequent areas are bad, but the game is at its best when you are exploring the house. That said, the game is relatively short, playing on the Normal difficulty setting I finished the game in just shy of 7 hours... but, y'know, it didn't feel bloated, and it kept me wanting for more. It's that good. I'm surprised to say this, but I enjoyed 7 more than VIllage, that said, I should probably give VIllage another try.
This 'Gold Edition' includes almost every piece of DLC. For whatever reason, Chris' DLC 'Not a Hero' is not included in the disc, and must be downloaded. Sure, it's free, but it's not in the disc, and that sucks. Plus, one of the DLCs that IS included in the disc takes place AFTER that DLC, so what gives? The DLC includes three mini-campaigns, one in which you play as a mysterious fourth Baker Family member, as well as a few mini-game style pieces of content, one is a randomized 'Ethan Must Die' short run through the game, in which you lose if you die, no saving, and there's another one, like Jack's Birthday in which you must... find food and feed it to Jack Baker. Your mileage may vary on these ones, but considering how short the game is... they are alright.
DLC:
Nightmare: It's a Survival mini-game. Turn on trash compactors to generate scrap to try to survive the whole night while trapped in the Baker House's basement. It gets hard real fast, but it's a nice diversion. The more you play, the more points you amass and the better benefits you get for each subsequent playthrough!
Bedroom: This one is super scary, you have to escape out of the bedroom by solving puzzles, problem is... Marguerite comes back when she hears noise, so you have to put everything back in its place.
21: This one sucks, it's a sort of card game, hosted by Lucas Baker. Clancy is forced to bet FINGERS against another victim. It's interesting, but ultimately not as involved as the others.
Daughters: This one is scary and heartbreaking, you play as Zoe Baker, and you get to see how her family turned the way they did firsthand. It's brief, but pretty good, as you try to evade your family members with just a lighter and your wits.
End of Zoe: This one... is sort of a mini-campaign, but what makes it stand out... is that in this one you play as Joe Baker, Jack's brother, and his way of dealing with the molded is... punching them to death... yeah, it's kinda weird. New assets were made for this one, including a new type of Molded and a new recurring boss. Is it a lot of fun? Yes, definitely. Does punching molded and Swamp creatures fit the game? No, not at all.
Jack's 55th Birthday: This one is super silly. You get to pick from different parts of the house, and you must search for food for Jack. Food occupies space, so you have to make various trips, and can't carry too many weapons if you want to carry more food. Weapons shoot confetti and molded... wear party hats. I am not making this up.
Ethan Must Die: This one is a super challenging run in which you can't save and items are randomized.
Can't believe I'm gonna say this, but Resident Evil VII is probably among my favorite REvil games. It's quite different from what came before, but it worked, and it worked so well. The entire game is a hell of a treat, and I don't mind Capcom moving forward in this direction, I mean, VIllage was really great too, so if this is the new direction for the series... so be it.
9.0
No comments:
Post a Comment