Survival Horror: Origins
Survival Horror: Origins
By Stephen Heller
Resident Evil 5 has finally hit the store shelves and has had gamers sweating their palms off as they push forward into the frightening campaign that it offers. For many Resident Evil 5’s tried and tested mechanics would have been reminiscent to the days of Survival Horror of the late 1990’s, but for those who didn’t get a chance to experience the golden era, let’s take a step back and see where Survival Horror has come from, and where it is heading with the current generation of consoles.
The term “Survival Horror” was coined in 1996 for the landmark title from Capcom Resident Evil which single handedly kick started the genre. While Resident Evil was the first true Survival Horror title, many of the gameplay staples of the genre can be traced back much further.
Survival Horror titles always share similar conventions that are essential to make the title fit into the genre. Unlike action games or first person shooters, Survival Horror games place the gamer in a vunerable space, totally un-prepared and often focus on themes of being alone. More often than not the character controlled by the player will be someone who is just an ordinary person, very rarely will you find a Survival Horror title with a big burly Marcus Fenix at the helm.
Game design is also an integral part of creating the world in survival horror. To create the sense of being alone, claustrophobia and feeling as if there is no way out, level designs will often feature tight winding corridors, dark sections, and of course scripted sequences that will leave you needing new underwear. Borrowing from horror films, games will usually feature flickering lights, enemies crashing through windows or falling from the roof, and shadows often play a big part. Weapons and ammunition are sparse, so the player will need to conserve ammo to survive, unlike your standard action or shooter title.
Alone in the Dark was one of the earlier titles that pioneered many of the staple gameplay elements that we have become accustomed to in modern survival horror titles. Along with other titles such as Sweet Home (1989) and Clock Tower: The First Fear (1995) conventions that would be used by survival horror titles were all in place, they just needed that one title to catapault it to the masses.
1996 saw the release of that title, Capcom’s Resident Evil for the Sony Playstation. Featuring a top notch story, slick graphical presentation and a true sense of fear while moving through the games mansion left fans not only scared, but blown away. This was truly a tense and frightening experience, something up until this point, had never been provided from a video game.
The success of Resident Evil spawned a sudden influx of survival horror titles, mostly influenced on Japenese horror movies. We saw the release of such titles as the Silent Hill series, Dino Crisis, Siren, The Suffering and many others that would truly cement the gameplay style as a genre of its own, away from action, away from adventure, a truly unique experience.
While Resident Evil focused on scares and blood lust, Silent Hill truly pushed the envelope with a more psychological horror approach. The series is renowned for it’s story telling ability, and with gameplay mechanics to match, we saw some diversity in the genre.
Survival horror seemed to lay dormant for a few years, at least in this country but slowly but surely some truly excellent titles have started to appear on current generation consoles, some games brining a new take on the genre all together.
Condemned: Criminal Origins tool the genre in a bold new direction by introducing us to a first person survival horror epic that featured everything from the genre, and upped the ante on each level. Playing out as a detective story about a serial killer, and propelling us into a world of split personalities, it took us to a new level, borrowing elements from such classics as Silent Hill and Resident Evil to create a unique experience that truly changed how we as gamers, should think about survival horror.
This was followed up by Capcom’s ambitious Dead Rising in 2006, which stuck the gamer in a mall surrounded by thousands, upon thousands of zombies. Adding in some minor RPG elements, Dead Rising gave the gamer free reign on an entire shopping mall, allowing us to use standard weapons such as Guns, Swords, Knives and Chainsaws, right down to totally ridiculous items such as park benches, CD’s, Golf Clubs, Soccer Balls and beach umbrellas. The title pushed the boundaries, and created an experience that really had the gamer sitting on the edge of their seat.
"Resident Evil spawned a sudden influx of survival horror titles, mostly based on Japenese horror movies."
Fortunately in the past twelve months we have been lucky enough to have been delivered two top notch survival horror titles that truly show us that the genre is still kicking, and is still just as exciting and relevant today as it was back in 1996. EA’s surprise hit Dead Space truly excelled in each and every avenue, creating a truly frightening experience aboard a space craft. Level design, audio presentation and story to match, Dead Space is easily the best survival horror title we have seen in a long, long time.
Follow this up with the recently released Resident Evil 5 for the Xbox360 and Playstation 3 and you will see that not all is lost. Resident Evil 5 proves once again that the Resident Evil franchise started it all, and is still the leader when it comes to the survival horror genre. At the same time you have to wonder where will it go from here?
"Condemned: Criminal Origins tool the genre in a bold new direction by introducing us to a first person survival horror epic that featured everything from the genre, and upped the ante on each level."
With vastly improved technology, developers now have the platform to create some truly horrifying experiences for gamers across the globe. Enhanced interactivity between gamers and their consoles could see a totally new, and terrifying movement in the survival horror genre over the next few years. There are some great titles in the works already, Sadness being one perticularly interesting one in development for the Nintendo Wii. Based in the early 1900's and presented entirely in black and white, Nibris have actually employed a team of psychologists to help pen the story. One would have to imagine that this will be one frighing, and pyschological game.
To finish up this article, I’m going to leave you with my top five survival horror titles, along with a short review on each
Heller's Top 5 Survival-Horror games
1. Resident Evil 2 - Capcom – 1998
Resident Evil 2 is the pinnacle of conventional survival horror titles. It penned in a cast of loveable, believeable characters, featured a storyline, that while a little far fetched, was solid and some of the most memorable battles and scary antics that a title is likely to throw at you. This was and always will be the best survival horror title in my books.
2. Condemned: Criminal Origins – Monolith - 2005
Monolith followed up the blockbuster F.E.A.R with Condemned: Criminal Origins as a launch title for the Xbox 360. It pushed the boundaries of conventional survival horror, putting it into a first person perspective, and featured one of the most compelling storylines I have had the pleasure of experiencing in a long, long time. This game will scare the wits out of you, and is a shining example of where the genre could be heading in the next few years.
3. Dead Space – EA - 2008
It’s not every day a new IP shows up in the survival horror, and it’s not very often that it is executed as well as EA’s surprise hit Dead Space. This game is as creepy as it gets! Featuring some fantastic visual design, backed up with a decent storyline this game will keep you busy for 8 pants shitting hours. Did I mention this game has the best audio ever conceived in a video game? Scary stuff!
4. Dead Rising – Capcom - 2006
This has to be mentioned purely for it’s creativity. Capcom borrowed from Dawn of the Dead and decided “Hey, let’s stick our players in a mall, fill said mall with thousands of zombies, and let them find fun and creative way to kill them”. Dead Rising was ambitious, but it paid off with one of the most fun and frightening experiences you will ever have with a videogame.
5. Silent Hill 2 – Konami – 2001
The original Silent Hill set the scene for a psychological and terrifying series but Silent Hill 2 cemented the series as a pants wettingly scary experience. Featuring more emphasis on story telling than straight out zombie shooting mayhem, Silent Hill 2 is one of the better games when it comes to being scared shitless.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Siren
Left 4 Dead
Resident Evil 4
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