When you first start playing Resident Evil 6, it looks like it might almost be a joke, perhaps a stealthy parody of big-budget action videogames. It begins in the aftermath of an explosion, seen from a first-person perspective, and the entire introductory sequence is littered with quick-time events. There is a helicopter. At first, things [...]
The next time someone has the gall to tell you the desktop is dead or starts talking about the so-called post-PC era, feel free to slap them in the face with a trout. Who knows, Lenovo might be right there with you. The OEM builder did, after all, just unveil the latest addition to its [...]
Illyriad has begun its 6th server-wide tournament today. The "Dark Harvest" tournament marks the celebration of the "Festival of the Dead," and will last until October 31. Players must join with their Alliance to compete for control of 37 land squares throughout the world map to capture and harvest the souls of the dead. [...]
According to the Chinese media, World of Warcraft China players were the fastest in the world to hit level 90. The new level cap was added along with the Mists of Pandaria expansion update at 0:00AM (GMT +8) on 2nd October, with the first sighting of level 90 happening at 07:30AM (GMT +8) on the [...]
I can only imagine how intimidating FIFA 13 must be for someone new to the franchise. The numerous game modes hidden within menus and sub-menus; the constantly-updating tickers, info bars and widgets all over the place calling out to you – it can leave newcomers a little lost. Even for someone like me, who plays [...]
The latest patch notes for Guild Wars 2 have been published on the official site (and the launcher). The update brings a long list of bug fixes to the game and some interesting changes to several dungeons including the reduction of monster difficulty and addressing the "speed clearing" of dungeons.
Often times when someone really loves a game, they are negatively accused of being a "fanboi". This isn't always a fair assessment as most fans of a game can also see its flaws. In today's Guild Wars 2 column, we take a look at some of the things that raise our eyebrows. See what you think and then add your thoughts in the comments.
Trion and the Syfy Network have released a new video that shines the spotlight on the upcoming MMO and television show, Defiance. In this particular video, creators of the series talk about designing sets for the show as well as how they have gone about imagining a post-apocalyptic world. Check it out!
Raptr users who are ranked "hardcore" and above in specific RTS titles are eligible to snag a code for End of Nations. The code grants three days of beta access, a special skin and an experience boost.
Hi-Rez Studios has announced via the SMITE Facebook page that the team is preparing for a live stream event starting in approximately thirty minutes (3:30 p.m. EDT / 12:30 p.m. PDT). During the event, anyone asking for a beta key in the stream will be given one. The team will also be giving away gem codes.
Trion Worlds and the Rift team have announced that the first Storm Legion expansion closed beta test will commence on Friday, October 5th and run through Sunday, October 7th. Players who have preordered Storm Legion are automatically eligible to be closed beta testers.
The Marvel Heroes Online Facebook page has been updated with an unofficial announcement that the first round of closed beta testing will begin shortly. While the post is "unofficial", it does indicate that the "official" word about closed beta testing will be coming shortly.
With Vanguard: Saga of Heroes' recent transition from a subscription based title to a hybrid F2P-subscription revenue generator, interest has been renewed in the game. We've put the F2P version of Vanguard to the test to see how it fares. Read our review and then let us know what you think.
Vanguard has reached a venerated age of "seasoned MMORPG". In a new retrospective article, we take a look at the history of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes from its earliest days to today. Check it out!
We're recording a special Resident Evil episode of Games, Dammit! and we'd like you to be a part of it. Send us a link to your 90-second SoundCloud clip. In it, explain why you love RE or tell us a story about your favorite moment in the series. One lucky winner will receive an Astro Gaming A40 Audio System courtesy of Capcom.
After last year's PlayStation Network breach, some questioned whether Sony could regain the confidence of PSN users. Surely anyone in their right mind wouldn't dare to buy anything from PSN or trust it with their personal information, some said. Yet here we are, not even two years later, and PSN sales are higher than ever before. Not only that, but Sony is doing the best job of any platform holder to encourage users to spend money on their online service.
Sony Computer Entertainment America's Jack Buser recently shared some impressive facts about PSN sales with Joystiq. In the quarter spanning April through June, PSN saw more content sold than during any other quarter since the service's launch. On a similarly positive note for Sony, "membership sales in PS Plus almost doubled" during E3 week in June.
1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF OCTOBER 1 | A DARK DESCENT INTO RESIDENT EVIL
Resident Evil WTFiction!? v2.0
Cover Story: Catch up on all the characters, plots, and virus code names with our handy reference guide.
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ny 16-year-old asked to sum up his or her life story from birth to present would undoubtedly have a lot to say. While not an actual human, the Resident Evil series has existed for an equal amount of time, producing a universe filled with characters, secrets, conspiracies, and "revelaitons" that only the most dedicated can keep track of. Going into RE6, here's a dose of what keeps the central plot of RE together.
1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF OCTOBER 1 | A DARK DESCENT INTO RESIDENT EVIL
Before Resident Evil, There Was Sweet Home
Cover Story: Capcom's Famicom horror classic paved the road to Raccoon City.
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f you were to map the genome of the Resident Evil series, the most obvious starting place would be George Romero's seminal horror film Night of the Living Dead. The cinematic masterpiece created the language that nearly all zombie fiction after it adhered to. But as you continue to delve into the RE series looking for the roots of its horror, many forget that there was a Famicom title that deserves as much recognition as Romero's movie. In 1989, Capcom released Sweet Home, and though it never made its way out of Japan, a fan translation exists on the internet that makes playing through the title a breeze. In doing so, you quickly realize that its influence on Resident Evil's concept, setting, and mechanics is absolutely staggering.
Anyone who boots up Sweet Home will immediately see why it's viewed as Capcom's precursor to Resident Evil. Both games begin with a group of characters wandering through a dense forest and stumbling upon a massive, ancient mansion. While the S.T.A.R.S. of RE1 are government agents, the five adventurers in Sweet Home are treasure hunters on the search for valuable loot that supposedly resides in the decrepit mansion. But in typical horror fashion, both titles take a quick turn for the worse as the evil spirits and creatures that haunt the respective mansions set out to make quick work of the intruders.
1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF OCTOBER 1 | A DARK DESCENT INTO RESIDENT EVIL
Interview: The Resident Evil 6 Masterminds on Zombies, Remakes and the Nature of Horror
Cover Story: We talk to the dev team at Capcom to learn more about trajectory of the series.
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uring TGS 2012, we had an opportunity to sit down with the Resident Evil 6 team and pick their collective brain on all matters of survival horror. In our interview, executive producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi, director Eiichiro Sasaki, and producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi answered our questions about the early days of the series and the team's approach to freshening up zombies for their recent reappearance in RE6.
1UP: The zombie genre has become really big in the past few years, but when Resident Evil first debuted, you didn't see a lot of that in video games. Can you talk about, if you know, some of the original inspirations behind the Resident Evil concept and the direction that the game took?
1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF OCTOBER 1 | A DARK DESCENT INTO RESIDENT EVIL
A Dark Descent into Resident Evil
Get ready for a weeklong look at the most important name in survival horror.
Step into the dark, musty corners of a setting in Resident Evil and you won't quite know what to expect. Is that constant moaning a zombie patiently waiting to bite into your flesh, or is it a much more horrible creation hell bent on your destruction? As you creep closer to the door that stands between you and the unknown monster, the true fear sets in after a quick count of your ammo. The low number means you'll have to run past it, but what if what's waiting behind the door can run even faster than you?
The great games of the Resident Evil series know exactly how to scare you. They find ways to defy expectations and create an unpredictable type of fear you won't ever see coming.
1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF OCTOBER 1 | A DARK DESCENT INTO RESIDENT EVIL
Resident Evil 6 Review: A Case of Identity Crisis
Cover Story: Capcom's latest iteration on survival horror shows off the fundamental problem with inclusion.
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he Resident Evil series has played an instrumental role in establishing, popularizing, and evolving the concept of survival horror, but a quick glance at the 1996 original can make it hard to remember exactly why. After witnessing its laughable live-action opening and campy dialogue, it's difficult to think anyone would think jump scares could play a significant role in the original Resident Evil -- but, to be fair, they actually didn't. As often as folks credit the hallway scene where the zombie dogs smashed through the window as a sure sign of RE's creep factor, the real fear it created didn't always trace back to a rotting zombie or giant spider but rather to the situation itself. As a member of the Raccoon City Police S.T.A.R.S. unit, the player had to use a finite (and often dwindling) set of resources to stay alive in order to explore every room of a monster-filled mansion. Don't get me wrong, atmosphere had plenty to do with the fear created by the original Resident Evil (especially in the excellent 2002 remake), but the real terror came from the idea that irresponsibly wasting the little ammo you had could lead to being ill-equipped for an even bigger fight later on.
When the concept of survival in the survival-horror genre quickly became predictable, Resident Evil 4 came along and completely changed the stakes. Instead of slow-paced battles with brain-dead zombies, awkward controls, and fixed camera perspectives, the developers at Capcom found intelligent ways to correct RE's problems and significantly ratchet up the game's speed and intensity. A player could aim and shoot with increased precision, but they had to stop and dig into the ground to do so. And nothing spelled fear quite like performing a 180 degree quick-turn to face an angry, heavily armed mob of oncoming villagers. RE4 sold the impression that no corner provided safe haven from the nightmarish creatures found in its world, and even if ammo became a plentiful resource, a player caught with their guard down would end up eviscerated by the pitchfork-wielding locals within seconds.
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