Survival Horror

My Summer Vacation in Neo-Ark ・・・ PARASITE EVE II (2000)

December 31, 2018 — Leave a comment

I’m currently on the longest ‘vacation’ I’ve ever taken from work (eight glorious days). I’ve only got a couple of days left, but I believe I’m slowly going stir crazy from being inside. Blame it on having to pay five weeks of rent this month, the heat rising above my tolerable 22°C or my genuine inability to make plans with my friends. I thought moving to the city would drown out the noise of cicadas, but instead it’s drowned out by the traffic and somehow taken all of my energy along with it.

So far, I’ve spent my time napping, flicking between streaming apps and replaying Parasite Eve II. It’s beginning to become a bit of a holiday tradition, since I finished it for the first time in the same stagnant heat during the January break earlier this year.

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Final Girl ・・・ Panic Horror and the Female Protagonist

May 3, 2015 — Leave a comment

I’ve had a soft spot for Survival Horror games ever since I first played Silent Hill in my first year of college. When I borrowed my friend’s Playstation 2 all those years ago, I had no idea that I was in the possession of a gateway device. While I had originally borrowed it to play Resident Evil Code Veronica X and subsequently Metal Gear Solid 3 Subsistence, it led me to a treasure trove of survival horror games. My jumping off point was Silent Hill 2, followed very quickly by Silent Hill 3 and then I gradually branched out to other series and a slew of standalone titles. I was overwhelmed by the library of titles for such a niche genre.

It probably helps if I define what Survival Horror is, since it’s been a good few years since an actual Survival Horror game was developed. It’s about being underpowered, having to be resourceful, and most importantly – bizarre fetch quests. A traditional Survival Horror game would most likely limit your capacity to fight back, either through character strength or the availability of weaponry. Resident Evil is often touted as the original Survival Horror game, despite games such as Sweet Home, and Alone in the Dark pre-dating its basic gameplay mechanics and fixed camera angles. Continue reading