I'm only making one post on this subject so this thread doesn't derail, but where in the definition of survival horror is the clause that stipulates that you have to be a weakling little teenage girl or out-of-shape schlub for a game to be considered SH? Alone in the Dark is one of the granddaddies of the genre and yet you're quite capable of kicking ass against most enemies, and Sweet Home lets you power level through enemies - what's the difference (asides from the inherent silliness) between those and being able to suplex enemies to death? You're still vulnerable and can be taken down easily enough if you screw up, you've still got limited resources, you're still facing horrors that are quite capable of scaring the shit out of you. Looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, tastes like a duck, the only difference is that this version of the duck has the ability to take flight and bombard you with shit for a little while instead of flapping its wings lamely as it runs around.
Silent Hill 1, 2, 3 and 4 and the Fatal Frame trilogy are excellent starting points.
Also consider: Clock Tower 3, Haunting Ground, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, Siren 1 or 2 and maybe Kuon.
If you're gonna' go there, then I want to add Clock Tower PS1 and Clock Tower: The First Fear. And I just remembered Echo Nights: Beyond, which I found quite pleasant.
I'm only making one post on this subject so this thread doesn't derail, but where in the definition of survival horror is the clause that stipulates that you have to be a weakling little teenage girl or out-of-shape schlub for a game to be considered SH? Alone in the Dark is one of the granddaddies of the genre and yet you're quite capable of kicking ass against most enemies, and Sweet Home lets you power level through enemies - what's the difference (asides from the inherent silliness) between those and being able to suplex enemies to death? You're still vulnerable and can be taken down easily enough if you screw up, you've still got limited resources, you're still facing horrors that are quite capable of scaring the shit out of you. Looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, tastes like a duck, the only difference is that this version of the duck has the ability to take flight and bombard you with shit for a little while instead of flapping its wings lamely as it runs around.
It's the action to puzzles/exploration/desolate atmosphere/scares ratio. RE4 is much more an action game than a traditional survival horror. There are very few trademark RE scares in RE4. Puzzles are mostly optional. Enemy attacks are near constant, there's no dead period (lolol) in between encounters to get you feeling safe only to scare the bejesus out of you. Ammo is fairly abundant as well.
It doesn't have a lot of the things that made RE, well, RE. Or a lot of the things that made RE a suvival horror game. But that doesn't mean I love it any less. Its different, but its still really good within its own genre.
This is by far my favorite game in the series, with a much more epic or at least cinematic feel than the 1st one. The Gamecube port of the Dreamcast upgrade of the PSX original (say that three times fast) might be hard to find but should at this point be dirt cheap-ish. I think it even made it onto the PC as well.
And to throw another big log o' fun onto the "is it Survival Horror?" bonfire, if you're looking for a more action-oriented take on the genre, Left 4 Dead is a whole boatload of fun. Even though (or because) it avoids some of the now-standard aspects of survival horror gameplay.
Be warned that Siren is fucking hard. It's very stealth oriented whereas the Silent Hill games aren't so much.
All of the Resident Evil games (except 2 and 3) can be had with your Wii, so I'd pick up RE 0, 1, and CV. Then play 4 and then get 5 when it comes out.
Dementium: The Ward for the DS was terrifying and really survival horrorish.
I'm going to plug Obscure and Obscure 2, but really ONLY buy them if you can find them for cheap. Very B-level game but gruesome and survivaly. (Obscure 2 is also 2 player co-op)
Not true, 2 and 3 had Gamecube ports as well, but I don't know if they're easy to get your hands on. They're not bad ports, either, just nothing special.
I would definitely recommend the REmake, though. That was an excellent game, I would say the second scariest game I've ever played next to the SH games.
Is Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth good? I've been reading a decent amount of Lovecraft lately and I've kind of been hankering for some Mythos games.
Be warned that Siren is fucking hard. It's very stealth oriented whereas the Silent Hill games aren't so much.
All of the Resident Evil games (except 2 and 3) can be had with your Wii, so I'd pick up RE 0, 1, and CV. Then play 4 and then get 5 when it comes out.
Dementium: The Ward for the DS was terrifying and really survival horrorish.
I'm going to plug Obscure and Obscure 2, but really ONLY buy them if you can find them for cheap. Very B-level game but gruesome and survivaly. (Obscure 2 is also 2 player co-op)
Not true, 2 and 3 had Gamecube ports as well, but I don't know if they're easy to get your hands on. They're not bad ports, either, just nothing special.
I would definitely recommend the REmake, though. That was an excellent game, I would say the second scariest game I've ever played next to the SH games.
Is Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth good? I've been reading a decent amount of Lovecraft lately and I've kind of been hankering for some Mythos games.
Dark Corners of the Earth is good if you enjoy Lovecraft. On it's own merits, it has a lot of flaws and the gameplay is pretty unforgiving, but it's so rich in Lovecraftian lore and atmosphere that you can ignore the flaws.
Edit: Also the GC ports of RE2 and RE3, from what I hear, were hard to find and priced accordingly. Things may have changed in the past few years, but I know they had a short shelf life when they first came out.
Not exactly survival horror but there were some effing freaky monsters in that game.
I think we can safely say that a survival horror game should require an all but impotent protagonist. Without tools provided throughout the game, essentially, you would be toast. I don't think we can call a game where you play as some kind of supernatural warrior or demon hunter or ghost buster a "survival horror" game simply because you're not nearly helpless. Outnumbered, maybe. Otherwise, you're not ill-equipped for the task.
Be warned that Siren is fucking hard. It's very stealth oriented whereas the Silent Hill games aren't so much.
The first Siren (PS2) is stupidly, obcenely hard. And I don't mean that like a challenge - it's not God Hand hard, where it's tough, but satisfying and rewarding. Beating a rough level in the original Siren never brings a feeling of accomplishment - just the simple relief that you won't have to suffer through the attempt again. It was very original, very smart and had some really cool ideas, but its arbitraily impenetrable difficulty (and other issues) prevented it from being a Really Great Game.
Siren: Blood Curse (PS3) is much more accessible, and fixes every single complaint about the original. It's arguably too easy for the first two-thirds of the game, and never approaches the ridiculous difficulty of the original. It's also a helluva lot shorter at around ten hours, but on the bright side none of it feels like padding.
Chance on
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
I want to throw the Penumbra series of games into the mix. After seeing the LP that started I decided to buy the pack off Steam.
Playing with the lights off they were very creepy games. Some excellent use of sound especially. A bit short considering the episodic nature but possibly worth a look. Steam has a demo of Overture.
Yep, the PC port of RE2 is fairly decent. It's what they based the DC version off of. Controls are wacky though.
A little configuring and they worked just fine for me. But then I'm a longtime PC gamer, so I'm used to solely keyboard based hijinks.
Actually now that I've got a gamepad, I wonder whether it would work with that now.
The PC port of RE2 was actually really good. Higher res graphics made things a bit better, and unlike every version except the Dreamcast it had the Battle Mode (what eventually evolved into RE4's Mercenaries mode). There's also an exclusive "Arrange" mode which randomises where items are.
The PC port or RE4 was an absolute travesty until the incredible mod communtity sprang up and made it the game it was supposed to be.
Wii RE4:
PC RE4:
Modded PC RE4:
That's right, Depth of Field Mutha Trucka's! There are also some pretty groovy shader mods and things as well, like the custom laser sight.
There was also this series, 3 games for the ps2....what the hell were the names i cant remember. But you were a photographer and esentially got trapped in the past in this Japanese village (I only played the second one.) and it was really atmospheric and freaky. All you had in the game was a Camera, and it was sort of survival horror but also mystery since you sort of had to take pictures and figure out what happened to certain entities.
I remember being extremely hooked on it, but the name of the games escape me....they are pretty old now.
Are Silent Hill 2 and Call of Cthulu backwards compatible on the 360? Or the Fatal Frame games? Because I could use some good horror gaming, but I've only got a 360 and a Wii.
JihadJesus on
0
Dr_KeenbeanDumb as a buttPlanet Express ShipRegistered Userregular
Unless you limped through Medium, I'd recommend skipping straight to Impossible.
Well my end-game had about 6 large healthpacks in storage, and I just kept selling off extra's for cash after that.
Guess I'll give Impossible a go. It's a shame Dead Space never got a PC modding community, we never got any of those extra skins and weapons and stuff that the 360 / PS3 version did.
Also, the complete lack of any Anti Aliasing option is annoying.
They aren't strictly or even mostly survival horror games, but anyone that can put up with the graphics of the older games should shit their pants playing all the Thief games.
Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse (2008)
The game was released in Japan on July 31, 2008.
are we gettin' dis?
I wouldn't hold your breath on it. Neither Namco nor Nintendo seem too concerned about releasing it in North America. I think Europe is getting it at some point.
Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse (2008)
The game was released in Japan on July 31, 2008.
are we gettin' dis?
I wouldn't hold your breath on it. Neither Namco nor Nintendo seem too concerned about releasing it in North America. I think Europe is getting it at some point.
Be warned that Siren is fucking hard. It's very stealth oriented whereas the Silent Hill games aren't so much.
The first Siren (PS2) is stupidly, obcenely hard. And I don't mean that like a challenge - it's not God Hand hard, where it's tough, but satisfying and rewarding. Beating a rough level in the original Siren never brings a feeling of accomplishment - just the simple relief that you won't have to suffer through the attempt again. It was very original, very smart and had some really cool ideas, but its arbitraily impenetrable difficulty (and other issues) prevented it from being a Really Great Game.
Siren: Blood Curse (PS3) is much more accessible, and fixes every single complaint about the original. It's arguably too easy for the first two-thirds of the game, and never approaches the ridiculous difficulty of the original. It's also a helluva lot shorter at around ten hours, but on the bright side none of it feels like padding.
Of all the things the PS3 has, the remake of Siren makes me want one the most, I think that should speak for something.
So I want to try a survival horror game, but I have not really played any in the past. I have a 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, DS and PC. Any recommendations? I think I am looking for something with a great story if that exists.
This friday grab RE5
Then grab RE4.
I'm too tired to read the thread and see if anyone else has mentioned this but NEITHER of these are survival horror games, not even sure I'd classify them as horror games, they're action games. Go get RE1, 2, 3, Veronica X, Silent Hill 1, 2, 3, even 4 and 5 I guess.
Yeah they are kind of niche, and it's been a super long time since i played it, but i remember being totally sucked in. It was a really different experience for a survival horror game as well, not only were you surviving but you were tasked with aiding certain supernatural entities at the same time. The camera part of the game was really cool and different too.
EDIT: Also i second the Condemned games, at least the original. I havn't played the second one, but the original was fantastic.
So I want to try a survival horror game, but I have not really played any in the past. I have a 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, DS and PC. Any recommendations? I think I am looking for something with a great story if that exists.
This friday grab RE5
Then grab RE4.
I'm too tired to read the thread and see if anyone else has mentioned this but NEITHER of these are survival horror games, not even sure I'd classify them as horror games, they're action games. Go get RE1, 2, 3, Veronica X, Silent Hill 1, 2, 3, even 4 and 5 I guess.
Yeah I think it was a few posts after that. And yeah, listen to this man.
urahonky on
0
CindersWhose sails were black when it was windyRegistered Userregular
Posts
Also consider: Clock Tower 3, Haunting Ground, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, Siren 1 or 2 and maybe Kuon.
It's the action to puzzles/exploration/desolate atmosphere/scares ratio. RE4 is much more an action game than a traditional survival horror. There are very few trademark RE scares in RE4. Puzzles are mostly optional. Enemy attacks are near constant, there's no dead period (lolol) in between encounters to get you feeling safe only to scare the bejesus out of you. Ammo is fairly abundant as well.
It doesn't have a lot of the things that made RE, well, RE. Or a lot of the things that made RE a suvival horror game. But that doesn't mean I love it any less. Its different, but its still really good within its own genre.
This is by far my favorite game in the series, with a much more epic or at least cinematic feel than the 1st one. The Gamecube port of the Dreamcast upgrade of the PSX original (say that three times fast) might be hard to find but should at this point be dirt cheap-ish. I think it even made it onto the PC as well.
And to throw another big log o' fun onto the "is it Survival Horror?" bonfire, if you're looking for a more action-oriented take on the genre, Left 4 Dead is a whole boatload of fun. Even though (or because) it avoids some of the now-standard aspects of survival horror gameplay.
You were almost a Jill sandwich!
Not true, 2 and 3 had Gamecube ports as well, but I don't know if they're easy to get your hands on. They're not bad ports, either, just nothing special.
I would definitely recommend the REmake, though. That was an excellent game, I would say the second scariest game I've ever played next to the SH games.
Is Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth good? I've been reading a decent amount of Lovecraft lately and I've kind of been hankering for some Mythos games.
Dark Corners of the Earth is good if you enjoy Lovecraft. On it's own merits, it has a lot of flaws and the gameplay is pretty unforgiving, but it's so rich in Lovecraftian lore and atmosphere that you can ignore the flaws.
Edit: Also the GC ports of RE2 and RE3, from what I hear, were hard to find and priced accordingly. Things may have changed in the past few years, but I know they had a short shelf life when they first came out.
Not exactly survival horror but there were some effing freaky monsters in that game.
I think we can safely say that a survival horror game should require an all but impotent protagonist. Without tools provided throughout the game, essentially, you would be toast. I don't think we can call a game where you play as some kind of supernatural warrior or demon hunter or ghost buster a "survival horror" game simply because you're not nearly helpless. Outnumbered, maybe. Otherwise, you're not ill-equipped for the task.
The first Siren (PS2) is stupidly, obcenely hard. And I don't mean that like a challenge - it's not God Hand hard, where it's tough, but satisfying and rewarding. Beating a rough level in the original Siren never brings a feeling of accomplishment - just the simple relief that you won't have to suffer through the attempt again. It was very original, very smart and had some really cool ideas, but its arbitraily impenetrable difficulty (and other issues) prevented it from being a Really Great Game.
Siren: Blood Curse (PS3) is much more accessible, and fixes every single complaint about the original. It's arguably too easy for the first two-thirds of the game, and never approaches the ridiculous difficulty of the original. It's also a helluva lot shorter at around ten hours, but on the bright side none of it feels like padding.
You can also throw in the first Dino Crisis, as it's heavy on the Resident Evil formula.
Playing with the lights off they were very creepy games. Some excellent use of sound especially. A bit short considering the episodic nature but possibly worth a look. Steam has a demo of Overture.
A little configuring and they worked just fine for me. But then I'm a longtime PC gamer, so I'm used to solely keyboard based hijinks.
Actually now that I've got a gamepad, I wonder whether it would work with that now.
The PC port of RE2 was actually really good. Higher res graphics made things a bit better, and unlike every version except the Dreamcast it had the Battle Mode (what eventually evolved into RE4's Mercenaries mode). There's also an exclusive "Arrange" mode which randomises where items are.
The PC port or RE4 was an absolute travesty until the incredible mod communtity sprang up and made it the game it was supposed to be.
Wii RE4:
PC RE4:
Modded PC RE4:
That's right, Depth of Field Mutha Trucka's! There are also some pretty groovy shader mods and things as well, like the custom laser sight.
I remember being extremely hooked on it, but the name of the games escape me....they are pretty old now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_Frame
Yup you win. Fatal Frame, thats the one. I played the second one and thought it was spectacular.
You will tell me how to go about this rightthefucknow.
3DS: 1650-8480-6786
Switch: SW-0653-8208-4705
This.
Medium is Action.
Hard is Survival Horror.
Make sure to turn the lights off and crank up the volume. Dead Space won awards for sound design for a reason.
I played through on medium first time and still think it was awesome.
Considering whether to retry now on either Hard or Impossible. Thoughts?
I'll warn you now, It's a long and complex process if you want to do it properly. No hex editing or anything but there's a lot of stuff to download.
Anyway, I wrote a guide on how to do it ages ago, hopefully everything in it's still valid:
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?p=5954371#post5954371
Well my end-game had about 6 large healthpacks in storage, and I just kept selling off extra's for cash after that.
Guess I'll give Impossible a go. It's a shame Dead Space never got a PC modding community, we never got any of those extra skins and weapons and stuff that the 360 / PS3 version did.
Also, the complete lack of any Anti Aliasing option is annoying.
are we gettin' dis?
I wouldn't hold your breath on it. Neither Namco nor Nintendo seem too concerned about releasing it in North America. I think Europe is getting it at some point.
grrr... :x
that character correlation chart on the wiki page just fills me with desire...
i mean, that's something i could get in to.
Of all the things the PS3 has, the remake of Siren makes me want one the most, I think that should speak for something.
Handmade Jewelry by me on EtsyGames for sale
Me on Twitch!
I'm too tired to read the thread and see if anyone else has mentioned this but NEITHER of these are survival horror games, not even sure I'd classify them as horror games, they're action games. Go get RE1, 2, 3, Veronica X, Silent Hill 1, 2, 3, even 4 and 5 I guess.
Hahaha yeah no kidding. I swear everytime I look at my collection I notice a trend focusing on survival horror.
Not EXACTLY survival horror -> Condemned 1 and 2. I loved these games to death, and they can be pretty terrifying at times.
EDIT: Also i second the Condemned games, at least the original. I havn't played the second one, but the original was fantastic.
Yeah I think it was a few posts after that. And yeah, listen to this man.
Goddamn spiders. You think you're safe, and then you hear that hissing noise.
Also if you get it, the game doesn't like multicore processors. You can work around that by disabling any extra processors you might have though.