Ben-DutkaAfter Resident Evil 6 was announced , some veteran fans got the feeling that in truth, RE6 was just another step away from true survival/horror. Those fans felt depressingly vindicated when Capcom said it just "makes sense" for the new installment to have more action.
But in looking at Ubisoft's I Am Alive , one has to wonder if this is the direction Resident Evil should've taken. Provided it's done correctly, the upcoming downloadable adventure could be an intense, white-knuckle thriller. An adventure that embraces the concept of survival in its most realistic sense, and also involves the immense amount of psychology inherent in such situations, is just crazy appealing. It's exactly the kind of progressive thinking we appreciate, so why couldn't Capcom have thought of it?
You know, instead of just mirroring Western themes, styles and settings, you could choose to flex that considerable artistic talent and give us something very new and very refreshing. Japanese developers can do it; they're just obsessed with mimicking the Western games right now. So yeah, more action. Of course. And it's true that I Am Alive suffered a development setback (it was supposed to be a disc-based title), so it may feel relatively thin in regards to refinement and gameplay options. But who knows? And besides, it's a fantastic and compelling concept.
"Survival/horror" may go the way of the dodo, especially if this new Silent Hill by unproven developer Vatra Games doesn't live up to the franchise's good name. We tolerated Operation Raccoon City as a way for Capcom to cater to those Western audiences with a squad-based shooter by SOCOM developer Slant Six, but we also counted on Capcom to deliver a traditional horror experience in RE6. And perhaps they still will; maybe the freaky, creepy elements will override the action in the new entry. But we still think they could've tried something riskier, ala I Am Alive . It could've been pretty damn interesting…
Related Game(s): I Am Alive