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Welcome back! Today's post is going to feature two dark action games; Resident Evil 5 and Dark Souls III. I have quite a bit of feedback for both games, so check it out.  Let's begin with a brief plot synopsis for Resident Evil 5. You play as Chris Redfield who was a major character in earlier Resident Evil games. The protagonist is a government agent who fights against bioterrorism and he's facing a parasitic virus called Uroboros that could spread across the entire globe. He encounters his arch nemesis named Albert Wesker and fights a multitude of enemies in Africa. Chris also finds a familiar individual from the past who was presumed long dead. The situation is very similar to previous Resident Evil games with an onslaught of mutant enemies and survival horror elements. This isn't one of my favorite Resident Evil games, but I'm noting some positive components. It has plenty of action with a variety of monstrous enemies, including elaborate boss fights. Strategy is very important. It's more about fighting enemies the correct way, rather than emptying tons of ammunition. Even the single player mode has decent co-op play. Chris has a new partner named Sheva Alomar and she's a really good companion. She hands out health and ammo when Chris runs into trouble. You'll also do the same for her. The characters can also exchange their inventory to even things out. I'm kind of surprised at the story. It's pretty solid with some unexpected twists. Usually, Resident Evil games have generic plots, but this one has a decent amount of substance and intrigue. There's several villains, subplots, and the primary virus is quite strange. We've come a long ways from the run and shoot loop from Resident Evil: Nemesis. Luckily, healthy and ammunition is plentiful and that's important because the player uses tons of it. Some of the Resident Evil games are frustrating because health and ammo is scarce, but this installment takes care of the players. You can also find different kinds of ammunition for various weapons. I like most of the characters. Chris Redfield is the right type of guy for this job. If you want a commando who can take down an army of monsters, Chris will blast through it all. Sheva seems like a good addition to the series, even though I don't think we'll be seeing her in more games. She makes a good supporting character, both in the gameplay and story. We don't see Albert Wesker often enough, but his henchmen were pretty cool. Excella Gionne is a classic femme fatale and a rare female video game villain. Ricardo Irving brings back elements from Resident Evil 4 with the Las Plagas parasite. He's basically a mob crony who joined the bioterrorism fad. In general, the characters are fun. Unfortunately, I also have a lot of criticism for this game. Resident Evil 5 appears to be a reimagining of the franchise, but certain elements don't work very well. It's more like an action-adventure game than true survival horror. I was a little bit disappointed because the game isn't scary. The Revelations games are super creepy, but this one is basically Rambo with zombies and mutants. Here's the most annoying and difficult element. The player must be stationary to attack. You can't attack on the run. That means the player has to stand still and shoot at hoards of monsters. It makes the game really difficult. You can't even move to stab enemies. That's unrealistic! The protagonist should at least have the ability to stab and slash on the move. It's also incredibly easy to run out of health and ammo. Yes, the game leaves a lot of health and ammo for the player, but it goes down really fast. Bosses and even some regular enemies can absorb huge amounts of ammo. They also dish out a lot of damage. Inevitably, the player will get injured all the time because the fighting style is stationary. You're literally a sitting duck. Ironically, the characters are slow runners. They just lumber around. Maybe they seem slow because everything else is super fast. Nearly all of the creatures are quick and some of them have really far reach. I find it odd that trained soldiers are way slower than walking corpses and mutants that are practically falling apart. Overall, Resident Evil 5 doesn't work for me, but some gamers will enjoy it a lot. It brings some action elements to the series while retaining the original fighting style. If you're looking for a new spin on Resident Evil, try it out. You can find both new and used copies on Amazon.  I also played Dark Souls III. The protagonist is an undead warrior known as the Ashen One who's wandering through a dystopian Medieval land called the Kingdom of Lothric. The First Flame is dying, ending the Age of Fire. A new era called the Age of Dark is near and it will bring forth legions of undead creatures upon the kingdom. Ultimately, the Ashen One must rekindle the flame before the entire kingdom becomes a living nightmare.
Dark Souls III is a very well made game with several positive elements. It has a beautiful and haunting graphic design. The environment is dark, masterful, creepy, mysterious, and awesome. It's almost like a post-apocalyptic version of the Dark Ages with supernatural monsters. The role-playing system is great. You'll pick up better weapons and skills along the way, including new weapons, magic skills, ammunition, shields, etc. The protagonist becomes really powerful along the way, if the player has enough patience to keep moving forward. There's a smorgasbord of cool and strange enemies. You'll face all kinds of undead creatures, demons, dark knights, witches, golems, and other nightmarish beings. You could probably play through the entire game without running into every enemy. It's the perfect challenge for hardcore gamers with a competitive streak. This game isn't for newcomers. I would say it's one of the toughest games on the market. Some people are looking for a good challenge and this game should be a satisfying experience. Here are my critical views. This game is way too difficult for me. In fact, Dark Souls III is almost inaccessible for casual gamers. It's great for competitive gamers who enjoy playing on the hardest modes. But a lot of gamers are less experienced and don't spent that kind of time to become ultimate masters. It also takes a long time to level up, which is a problem because most of the game's enemies are incredibly hard to defeat. Spending extra time to explore the environment helps, but leveling up is a real grind. It's pretty frustrating. I don't even know how to explain the boss fights. They're insanely difficult and even a lot of expert gamers will be frustrated. A good challenge is a positive thing, but this is too much! The player can literally get killed in one or two hits. You need to have the right equipment and skills to fight a lot of bosses too. Here's my verdict for Dark Souls III. It's not for everyone, but this game might be an excellent choice for players who are looking for the ultimate challenge. This game is a truly unique experience for both gameplay and visuals. It's definitely a better game than Resident Evil 5. That's the end of my critique for Resident Evil 5 and Dark Souls III. I promise to write more game reviews very soon. Have you played either of these games yet? What did you think? Right now, I'm getting ready to watch the Academy Awards. I can't wait to see who wins. Have fun on Oscar Sunday and I'll see you next week.
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Good afternoon! It seems like most of my favorite genres are struggling in the literary and cinematic world with the exception of superheroes. Even Star Wars is receiving some animosity. The post-apocalyptic and dystopian genres were incredibly popular for many years, but a sharp turn occurred in 2018. Suddenly, Barnes and Noble carried fewer dystopian books on their shelves, post-apocalyptic films bombed at the box office, and it generally seemed like people were tired of the genre. Is this the beginning of the end of apocalyptic stories? I'll give my thoughts below.
First of all, I'm not sure what people want to watch or read anymore because a lot of genres appear to be losing popularity. I guess superheroes, horror, and Disney's animated films are in demand, but that's about it. You might completely disagree with me, but I'm having a hard time finding popular genres outside of those narrow exceptions. There hasn't been demand for Medieval fantasies since the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies concluded. Space operas don't have a huge following anymore. Even the Star Trek films were axed recently. The Han Solo movie also flopped hugely in theaters. Rom coms seem to be a thing of the past, even though studios try to release them periodically. It's pretty rare to see authentic Westerns in theaters. I don't see many Noir films on the big screen either. So, the post-apocalyptic genre is in good company. It's just another genre that's fading out. Luckily, post-apocalyptic video games are still popular and A Quiet Place made a really good profit last year. Apparently Bird Box had a lot of viewership on Netflix as well. I'm pretty sure audiences want to see something different. They're probably tired of the YA dystopian formula with rebellious teenagers who overthrow a corrupt government or monarchy. The formula worked for The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The Maze Runner, but releases in 2018 like The Darkest Minds and Mortal Engines failed to obtain substantial revenue. The zombie craze is dying out too. I'm surprised AMC keeps renewing The Walking Dead because the show's ratings go down every season. When are we getting a sequel to World War Z? Never! I heard the project was cancelled. If post-apocalyptic media is going to thrive, it needs to bring something new to readers and viewers. That's why A Quiet Place was successful. It was a unique concept with blind, nearly indestructible aliens that used their keen hearing to hunt. Therefore, humans learned to live in complete silence or risk being slaughtered. It's a very similar concept in Bird Box. Alien creatures took on the form of people's worst nightmares and caused a series of mass suicides. Survivors covered their eyes to manage their new reality. We don't see these types of concepts in post-apocalyptic and dystopian media very often, so it's very refreshing. Why do post-apocalyptic games maintain their popularity? Honestly, familiarity works quite well in gaming. You have an avatar with a multitude of weapons and he or she kills a bunch of enemies. This formula works for most types of games, including military, steampunk, Medieval fantasy, cyberpunk, survival horror, etc. Therefore, the same formula works for post-apocalyptic games as well. It doesn't need to change. Overall, I don't think 2019 is going to be a successful year for post-apocalyptic and dystopian works. I might find a couple exceptions, but there's definitely a lack of interest from mainstream audiences. Alita: Battle Angel came out this weekend and it doesn't appear to be a box office smash. It will make more money than Mortal Engines, but I'm still not expecting much. At best, it might make a decent profit outside of the United States. I'm still a huge fan of post-apocalyptic fiction, but a lot of people are disinterested with the genre. What about you? Are you a fan of post-apocalyptic and dystopian works? Leave a comment. You can support my own post-apocalyptic work by purchasing it on Amazon in either paperback or ebook formats. My books tend to get buried underneath a lot of other post-apocalyptic works, so you're better off finding my series titled The Post-Apocalyptic Society on my Amazon author page. I'll leave a link for you guys. Thanks for visiting and come back next week for another cool post. Bye! |
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May 2019
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