The Evil Within 2 - Game Analysis (Major Spoilers)

I've finally finished The Evil Within 2. I was so thrilled when I saw the game's announcement trailer earlier in the year. It's been three years since the first game and I had no idea a sequel was in the works. It was up in the air if we were even going to have a sequel due to the poor sales of the first game. Sales figures mind you, that don't reflect the product: horror games are a hard sell anyway, it's a niche genre, people as a general consensus would rather watch horror than interact with it.

So, it was fantastic to see that Bethesda had commissioned a sequel and that it was to release in this very year! Very unheard of, a release trailer for a game coming out that year. No need for the hype train, I was sold as soon as you showed me.

Please note this article does include some major spoilers for the game and it's story.

So, how does TEW2 stack up against it's predecessor? The two it seems, have less in common than what you'd think. TEW2 moves away from the first, overhauling the story, tweaking the core gameplay mechanics and just going for a general different feel. TEW1 was criticised for it's characters and story but what people saw as underdeveloped I saw as mystery and intrigue. I didn't need to know Sebastian's, Kidman's and Joseph's backstory to feel any connection to the characters, you strap in for the ride and you enjoy the push and pull narrative. Learning that Kidman was secretly working for Mobius was interesting, not shocking. Joseph's seemingly shot dead by Kidman, after struggling to resist losing himself was tense not heartbreaking. Really the whole point of TEW1 is you're supposed to lose sight of what is reality and what is STEM. The ending was so poignant of this, watching Lesley walk off, turning and practically winking at the camera. I'm Ruvik, it's brilliant! Part of the fear of the unknown is not understanding and TEW1 did a good job of keeping the player largely in the dark.

TEW2 on the other hand, seeks to give complete and utter transparency to the plot and characters. Almost every minute detail is explained so that only a few elements are unexplained and of them, they are not integral to understanding the game's story.

Before I delve deeper into the story side of things however, I rather start at the very essence of any videogame - the mechanics. On the surface things look largely the same but there are lots of little tweaks, additions and removals that have fundermentally changed the game and make it different from the first. The single greatest overhaul is stealth, to be honest generally for the better as stealth is much more important this time around. TEW1 had obligatory stealth sections that were not well received for good reason, TEW2 also has these sections only they're not as glaringly obtuse as before and when you consider that stealth actually makes up the majority of this game they had no choice but to improve it.

First and foremost the "eye" that appears at the top of screen operates in a sensible manner. Before, in TEW1 the eye would appear "searching" if you were near enemies and would change into the glaring eye if spotted. TEW2 only shows the "searching" eye when enemies are aware of you. It's immediately an extra layer, there's a big difference between spotted and not spotted and TEW2 bridges the two with a mechanic that should not have been absent from the first game.
It's important to implement this as it naturally affords the player an opportunity to flee before being completely overwhelmed. Like most stealth games once you're spotted every enemy in the vicinity can pin point you exact location so having this leeway really helps balance things out. The first game didn't have this and sometimes gauging enemy sight lines and what should and should not constitute as spotted, was vague and that was the basis of peoples frustrations with the first game's stealth.

Furthermore, Sebastian can now actually go into cover, previously you simply hid out view round a corner or something and used the camera to peek. Using cover for stealth is a far better option.
In TEW2, when Sebastian is in cover, he is also harder for enemies to spot, in that parts of him can be visible out of the cover but enemies don't detect him, and you can quick move from cover to cover with additional invisible frames. You can even upgrade Sebastian's abilities so that he can stealth kill an enemy from cover which is pretty handy as the developers have been a little bit devious this time around; most enemy patrol routes are away from cover and some enemies always look at the direction Sebastian is coming from irrespective of how alert they are. It's underhanded, I don't like it and it's a cheap method of increasing the difficulty of the game.

Ammo is the next gameplay overhaul, in that there is less collecting it and more crafting it. I saw a lot of comments that people foundTEW1 really stingy in the ammo department and a fair few people were restarting the entire game on easy just to get by sections they otherwise couldn't finish for lack of ammo. That's pretty damning I'll agree, but I have to say that wasn't my personal experience. Regardless, TEW2 has implemented the crafting system which is supposed to help the player stop hitting this road block whilst also not dolling out tons of ammo. But the cost of doing so away from a workbench is pretty extortionate, especially when you consider that the weapon balancing is all over the shop here.
I personally don't think the crafting system is very good here, it does work in the open world portions of the game but the actual majority of the game is linear. Being force to have to constantly go through a mirror to get to a workbench to make ammo is an inconvenience and a time waste. They could just of easily not included the mirror in the linear portions and instead trickled ammo to the player. You can still craft away from the mirror for that ridiculous cost, but if you are that stuck then it's at least there.

Enemies are next and initially the Lost are pretty good. Outnumbered and resource poor is a vunerable position to be in and the game plays this really well in Chapter 3 where you're sneaking around the town. The tensest moments I had in the entire game come from this chapter and y'know it's almost like a completely different game from what Evil Within is supposed to be. The Lost at their core are bog standard zombies, which is their initial strength but ultimate flaw. Chapter 3 is like playing a really good zombie survival game and it's wholly enjoyable (and I actually don't like the current zombie survival games). But once you get enough ammo, abilities and resources you turn into a one man army and what you end up doing is losing the tension and it devolves into a generic zombie shooter.

In comparison to the Haunted, I preferred them over the Lost. The Haunted were genuinely creepy, even when you had enough ammo to contend with them. They took a punch, some had creepy masks, they utilised all manner of weapons and if you wasn't quick enough with the matches to burn them, they'd get right back up again. They actually evolved through the game as well, gradually becoming more powerful and smarter under Ruvik's influence, using machine guns and explosives.
The Lost do not get more dynamic, instead about two thirds in they get a  reskin, HP buff and intermittently burst into flames; granting them immunity to stealth kills. Which doesn't make them any more interesting to fight, just irritating. In fact, the game even tries to tell you that these enemies are different to the lost. They're supposed to be followers of Theodore but why would the Lost follow anyone when they're all completely driven mad by the Anima? This is the story at odds with the gameplay in essence and it doesn't do the whole thing any favours.

Onto the bosses in the game and I have to say I wasn't especially impressed. Stefano's Obscura was perhaps the prize boss of the lot being equal parts creepy and deadly, and also had interesting encounters. The laughing amass of heads, looks grotesque but is just a bullet sponge fight, but most disappointing of all is the flame thrower boss and the weaker variants of itself. The boss is an absolute bullet sponge with horrendous AI. (I was able to cheese it around a desk with no issues first try) It's more formidable in the later chapters as an enemy in the open world section and only because cover is further apart and it's flamethrower attack has some extreme range. Though the only reason to confront them at this point is to repair the broken flamethrower you can get from the aforementioned boss version.

It's grief to kill two of them,
they're both bullet sponges which makes that option out of the question (unless you want to be ammo poor for the rest of the game) and both take around three stealth kills on normal difficulty. Which is not so straight forward as to compensate for their poor AI the Flamethrower disciples will auto-detect Sebastian when he is not in cover and when they are not doing around two frames of their flame spray animation. So you can muck about for hours trying to stealthily kill them or if you had the foresight to upgrade the warden crossbow's smoke bolts, you can repeatedly stealth attack them in a smoke cloud in relative safety and it's much quicker. Again, you have to cheese them to get anywhere near an even playing field. The bosses just aren't as creepy or interesting as TEW1's to be honest, and perhaps the developers felt this also as they included them for stand-in bosses for Theodore (what a cop out! We should have been the ones to deal with him!).

Even the final boss, Myra herself isn't that interesting to battle. It is hard to make a boss in a shooting game that is 'strategical' but you can at least make it cinematic as they did with Ruvik in TEW. Myra, whilst she looks absolutely amazing, amounts to little more than target practise. Shoot the glowing parts to do damage, it's like a carbon copy of Dead Space 1's Hive Mind boss, she even grabs Sebastian prompting a short timed section to shoot yourself free just like the aforementioned boss!
I don't see why they couldn't have made it more interesting?
The first technical encounter you have with Myra in the Marrow is treated as a stealth section and I think it would have been better to have done the same with Myra, mixing the shooting moments in. They did so much with the Stefano fight that each boss after feels so weak in comparison. Stefano had layers, he changed tactics as the battle went on. You have to be mindful of where he is, what the eye is doing, where any explosives have been planted and you can even use stealth to get a breather. No other boss fight is half as complex as Stefano and it really baffles me, I get a really strong vibe that after Stefano the game design struggled to keep in tone with the story, which results in the watered down experience post Stefano.
 

And lastly, what did I make of the story? Well, once the credits had rolled I didn't sit back and think "wow". I was left a little disappointed to be honest, people will probably disagree with me but hear me out. TEW1 had a great story, purposefully misdirecting and loose with discerning what is in fact real and what isn't. I enjoyed being hurtled along with Sebastian in the warped mind of a vengeful psychopath. What people saw as plotholes and inconsistences I saw as mystery. Sometimes knowing everything is a bad thing, the mystery is what makes things exciting and scary. TEW 2 has no mystery, therefore it's not exciting. The plot twists, or rather turns are so predictable you find yourself just going through the story motions. The most interesting and enigmatic character is killed off just over half way leaving us with a conventional villain who isn't half as compelling and that's partly due to the fact that as soon as Theodore appears we are told entirely what his plan is the reasoning for doing so amounts to "because I am a psychopath so I can". Either wrap your villain in mystery or do the effort and develop them in a way that makes them a compelling figure. Personally I like my villains a little more enigmatic, as again a lack of understanding goes hand in hand with fear.

Mobius, who went by almost unheard of in the original now get revealed as some sort of illuminati, controlling society from behind the scenes for centuries. Really TEW2? This was all you could think up? Mobius is uninteresting, you're just force fed this evil powerful corporate entity drivel and expected to despise them as much as the characters. Which is hard when you don't actually get to know any of the negative effects they've had on anyone beside Sebastian.
One of the biggest issues I have with Mobius is their grand plan. If I'm understanding the story correctly, Mobius are going to have everyone in the entire world connected to the STEM where they will live in a picturesque town that's essentially perfect. Job stability, security and all that good stuff. So what's so evil about this? Outside of "they wan't to control us" they actually don't have any evil reason to be doing what they're doing and why would you even hide in the shadows with this sort of technology? People would probably cue up for the opportunity to be a part of a virtual world where life is made perfect.
The only two things wrong with STEM is that psychopaths are able to corrupt the world if they assume control of it and that for some reason, due to our own self hatred, loathing and fears we turn into zombies... It's really bizarre and the writers are trying far too hard to get us to hate Mobius.

Also the Haunted were the way they were because firstly, they were mental patients and as such were easily influenced and thus corrupted by the STEM user Ruvik, not because they were being chased by the Anima within STEM so although it's an interesting development it also comes out of a nowhere and is push fit into the Evil Within's overall story.
TEW 2 tries to clarify a lot but just creates bigger plot holes and inconsistances than the original game, but also leaves us with no real mystery. Unless you consider the end credits scene of STEM booting up again, for whatever reason it does and obviously, despite having virtually no one connected to it anymore, I imagine for the next game it will be able to wireless link people to itself, because let's face it. You haven't got any suspension of disbelief if the third game sees wafts of people heading to the abandoned Mobius facility to plug themselves in.

I know I've been pretty critical of TEW2, but that's because I'm disappointed. We have a watered down narrative that focuses on characters we don't get the time or encouragement to become emotionally connected to and the combat is fractured with a tedious crafting system that disrupts the flow of gameplay whenever you're not in a open world section which are the best parts of the whole game.
It's like an Evil Within game for people who didn't like the first Evil Within game. The highlight of the whole thing ends with Stefano's death. Replaying chapter 3 shows me another game, a more interesting game. One that could work if only it was all about survival and a zombie outbreak.

I have no urge to replay TEW2 and for me that's the measure of a truly gripping game experience, is when it's so good. as soon as it's over you want to jump right back in. We may never see another Evil Within game, which is a shame. I think at another time, people would be more receptive to a game similar to the first, which did have it's downsides. It is in no way perfect, the stealth in TEW1 is horrible there is no denying that. But being thrown around a virtual world like an aimless lemming was far more interesting and immersive than plodding through the derivative environs of the second game: Half zombie town, half Doom world and some horror laboratory thrown in for good measure.

Ultimately, I'm interested to see how the reception of the second game will influence the possible third but it would be a shame to see the series end, I think it just needs to find it's feet and then we could have ourselves a truly memorable horror franchise.

I hoped you enjoyed reading this article and if you did please leave a +1 and follow for more game analysis, opinions and nostalgia trips.

Hope you've had a great weekend!

The Playoff! Dead Space 1 vs Dead Space 2!

I'm a massive fan of Dead Space! I genuinely miss the series and every now and again I get teased with hints of an elusive fourth title. It's been over four years since Dead Space 3 was released and with the horror genre regaining it's former popularity, surely it won't be long before we get to grasp that plasma cutter and dismember some more Necromorphs?

But I digress, I want to spar off Dead Space 1 with it's direct sequel Dead Space 2 and decide which is the superior game of the two? Will it be a case of getting stronger or just a reskinning of the original? Let's find out!

I'm going to choose three categories I feel are relevant to the two Dead Space games. I will be omitting plot as DS1 is actually quite light on having it's own unique plot and is more a sort of amalgamation of homages to other sci-fi and horror titles.

It's only from DS2 that the series begins to develop it's own story and brings the Unitology organisation into the forefront.
DS1 is tentative with it's story and gives little in the way of plot other than Isaac needs to get off the Ishimura. So without further ado I will start with perhaps one of the most essential ingredients of a horror game.

ROUND ONE - SCARES!

It cannot be a horror game and not be scary and atmospheric. Dead Space would seem to have the advantage from the off if we look at things from memory. Wandering the cold, desolate halls of the Ishimura for the first time is a nerve racking experience. When Dead Space 2 rolls along we're prepared, we know the score and we know what to expect. The enemy is no longer unknown.

But I'm going to be as objective as I can. DS1 is a slower paced game, it urges caution as you delve deeper into the ever degrading Ishimura.
Necromorphs can be heard clambering through the vents before bursting out and attacking and a lot of the time you'll hear them but you won't see them, until it's too late.
Many Necros play possum and appear dead until you step too close and they spring into attack. That's right, Dead Space was doing this long before The Evil Within.

DS2 on the other hand is a more action and story related affair. Unlike in DS1 Isaac isn't actually primarily concerned with surviving. When he learns there is a Marker on the Sprawl he commits to destroying it.
The Necromorphs become more obstacle and are presented to you in cinematic ways or spawn into well crafted combat environments.

When I play DS2 I don't feel tense throughout, sure there are moments. (Hate those charging Necros that peek around corners, eesh!) But playing through DS1 is a generally unnerving game. Necros often flank you in any given combat scenario and the sense of claustrophobia is palpable. Blood written scrawling on the walls begging for help and nothing is more creepy than when you exit the transit and there are pearly white body bags littered all over the place, surrounded by dimming candles and a chilling rendition of twinkle twinkle little star starts up. It's creepy as hell!

DS2 doesn't really do this, I mean the creepiest location in DS2 is the Unitology centre and that's due to those creepy Stalker Necros as mentioned before. The rest of the game has more in common with Resident Evil 4 in how it plays than DS1.

Ultimately, I always tell people; "Dead Space 2 is to Dead Space 1, as Aliens is to Alien."
The creepy creatures are still there but the atmosphere is less isolated survivor and more one man army blasting through the hordes.
It's not even a bad thing, it's just not scary so...

WINNER - DEAD SPACE 1!

Next on my list is weapons! Dead Space has quite an interesting array of weapons, unlike say Resident Evil or Silent Hill or any other horror game of the time. Isaac primarily utilises engineering equipment to destroy Necromorphs.
Unlike zombies and the whatnot, Necros vulnerability lies in their limbs. Severing them apart is how you ultimately destroy them. Blasting ones head off is little more than an irritant to the monstrous creature!

WEAPONS

Unlike the previous segment which, lets be honest. Is relative, this a direct blow to blow. Who has more and who has the best/most satisfying to use.

Dead Space 1 has seven weapons. Starting with the humble but deceptively overpowered Plasma Cutter all the way up to Necro eradicating contact beam.

Some highlights of the arsenal are the Ripper, which in it's primary firing mode levitates a rotating saw blade in the air for a set amount of time. It's a gory weapon as you walk the destructive blade into Necromorphs and watch their limbs blast off in visceral beauty!
It's secondary is a more cautionary attack which simple blasts a blade at full speed across the room and isn't nearly as satisfying!

I'm also a big fan of this game's shotgun - The force gun! It fires out a kinetic blast that literally rips enemies apart and even if it doesn't outright kill an enemy, it'll at least knock them down for followup attacks. It's secondary attack launches a grenade that detonates a powerful kinetic blast with similarly great results!

There are a couple of turkeys in the mix here and one is the plasma rifle. You'll be punished for relying on shooter favourites here. The plasma rifle eats ammo and isn't as useful in dismembering limbs as other weapons.

The last lame duck is the flamethrower that seems to do next to no damage and doesn't even cause Necros to flinch! You're completely vulnerable whilst using it! Not very good for Necro slaying.

Dead Space 2 has a grand total of twelve weapons, if you include the secret handgun weapon. (which is a foam hand that destroys anything you point it at... told you DS2 isn't as scary).
Most weapons return from DS1 with balancing, but a couple of the new guns are very delectable when it comes to Necro hunting!

Of the new guns, I really like the javelin gun. It's quite strong and it's secondary function is an AOE attack of chain lightning that effects surrounding Necros. It's good for dealing extra damage against larger Necromorphs also. It does takes some skill and practise to optimise it for limb detachment though.

Something that requires less skill is the detonator, which fires proximity mines that do devastating damage. It's the perfect weapon for slow Necros or the Stalkers, specially on higher difficulty settings. As a bonus it's secondary function is it disarms all placed mines for retrieval!

There are still some turkeys unfortunately, the pulse rifle is buffed up and now enjoys a secondary function as a grenade launcher but unfortunately the flamethrower is still pretty meh. The new addition the rivet gun is pretty underpowered  however and is just surpassed by so much else available.

The plasma cutter is still beastly and more than capable of being your sole weapon through the main game. But then again, would that really be much fun?
Having extra weapons adds to the variety and therefore fun factor. Coupled with the weapon balancing of all the existing weapons returning from DS1 prove that DS2 has the superior arsenal with even more ways to rip Necros apart!

WINNER - DEAD SPACE 2!!!

We're on to the third category now and it's the real stars of the show; the Necromorphs!

The hideously mutated humans and animals of the Dead Space universe are collectively known as Necromorphs and they come in various forms with differing methods of killing.
Stalkers are your most standard Necro and attempt to flank Isaac at every opportunity, either by sneaking up behind him or bursting from nearby vents.

Other notable Necromorphs are the twisted Lurkers, infected toddlers really, that sprout three tendrils and fire barbs at you. Dead Space 2 introduced Pukers that well... puke at you! And did I mention their gastric insides have sunken down into their left leg! Last but not least, we have the Regenerator and it's DS2 equivalent the Uber Morph! Nothing is more terrifying than a Necro that regrows it's limbs!

One of my personal favourite Necromorphs is found in DS2 and it's the Tormentor!
This Necromorph is encountered several times in Dead Space 2 and it has one of the best intros of all the games bosses in my opinion!
Isaac falls into one of the Sprawls many maintenance tunnels and is immediately set upon by the Tormentor! It chases you up the tunnel as you blast open the maintenance doors and then bam! The Earth Gov attack craft appears and blows a hole through the colony! Isaac and the Tormentor get sucked out into the vacuum of space! It becomes almost silent, only the sounds from within Isaac's suit can be heard.
They crash into the craft, the Tormentor's powerful claws grasping for Isaac! It begins inadvertently pulling missiles off the craft and Isaac cunningly shoots one point blank in the Necros face destroying the creature and the Earth Gov forces in one blow.

What a buzz! What a thrill! DS2 is full of these heart pumping set pieces but that's not what we're here about. We have to decide who has the best roster of Necromorphs. It's undoubtedly going to be Dead Space 2. There's more bang for your back here, the Puker alone is a major boost for both disgust and horror. The chilling macabre children that chase Isaac on mass, I mean DS2 showed some truly grisly iterations of the Necromorph species. So thus...

WINNER - DEAD SPACE 2!!!

So Dead Space 2 looks the clear winner but I'm giving Dead Space 1 a chance with the wildcard category:

WILDCARD - IS IT REALLY SURVIVAL HORROR?

Here's a strange one and you may be thinking "huh"? But both games are listed as Survival Horror, which is a broad term to say the least. One of the biggest criticisms for either game is that in standard difficulty they're both pretty easy. Ammo is quite plentiful, both games challenge you to finish them using the one gun and it's quite easy!

Health pickups are also prevalent in both games and by the end I had shed loads of surplus items stored up.
It's evident we're not going to find survival in either game's default difficulty so it must lay in the harder modes. Both offer a hard mode but it's actually not that big a difference! Damage received is higher sure, but it doesn't take much more ammo to obliterate your foes and some guns are so overpowered you can laugh in the face of Necros.

However, DS2 sports a fourth mode: Hardcore. It's a perma-death mode, one fatality and it's back to the start and also affords you only three saves! It's pretty tough, in the easier modes death is virtually weightless with so many checkpoints saving you from repeating long sections.
Hardcore mode is the closest the Dead Space series gets to survival horror, truly upping the stakes. And so without further ado...

WINNER ALL ROUND - DEAD SPACE 2!!!

Sequel syndrome is a miss here, Dead Space 2 truly expands on the original and takes the series further. More and better weapons, more Necros, tighter gameplay controls and better combat scenarios all add up for one amazing rollercoaster ride that is damn near perfection. At least in my opinion any way.

Both games are worth your time and if you've never played them I urge you do. They're not as intense as other horror games like say, Resident Evil 7 or some of the Silent Hill games but definitely a joy. If you like Alien and The Thing then this is the game for you!

I hope you've enjoyed this article as much as I enjoyed writing it and remember, if you like what you read then please follow me on Google+

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

The Play Off! Resident Evil Rebirth vs Resident Evil Zero!

Back in the early part of millennium, Capcom and Nintendo joined together in an exclusivity deal. Part of the deal was three Resident Evil games: The Remake, Zero and 4.
Zero and the Remake were released very close together in the same year and, while aesthetically they look similar, the two play very differently.

The RE1 remake was created out of series creator Shinji Mikami's wish to have his definitive vision shown. He also noted that the original game had not aged well at all.
Zero, however, was in development back in 1998 for the Nintendo 64 but the team encountered problems with the limited storage of N64 cartridges. When the Gamecube was announced, the team shifted focus to the new hardware.

Where the Remake focused on improving the original game by revising the mansion layout, adding areas, polishing the script and story elements, Zero was designed to be a more difficult game to complement the partner system.
Zero took away item boxes and allowed players to pick up and drop off items on the fly.
But I'm here to judge them side by side and decide which one is the superior title. So with that, lets begin The Play Off!

STORY

First off; story. Premise for Resident Evil Remake: bizarre murders in the Arklay mountains provokes an investigation by Racoon City Police special unit STARS.
Bravo team have already gone in but have gone quiet and so Alpha team are sent in with STARS leader Albert Wesker.
Unfortunately the Bravo team has been almost completely wiped out and the remaining members of STARS are forced to fight for their survival against hordes of zombies and twisted bio-weapons.

Resident Evil always started with humble beginnings and the original PSX release emulated those cheesy b-movie horrors perfectly.
The remake cuts down on the cheese and takes itself more seriously; keeping the thematic of the series. It's an enjoyable "scary mansion" romp that functions well enough to keep the player engaged. The remake also does a good job of tidying up the plot and bringing a full cohesive history to the series but it's nothing ground breaking.

Resident Evil Zero takes place shortly before the events of ReRemake, from the perspective of Bravo team's Rebecca Chambers.
Zero is about the outbreak of the T-Virus, which is spread by a hivemind mutated Leech organism that mimics the appearance and personality of their creator.
Rebecca's journey has her cross paths with former soldier, now prisoner, Billy. Their struggle for survival takes them through the Training Facility where they learn all about Umbrella's side operations in BOW manufacture.

It's a little harder to summarise RE Zero's plot as it is a bit all over the shop and it doesn't actually really add anything to the story as a whole. Sure, we learn how the T-Virus was originally leaked and we get some back story between Albert and Wesker. Although, honestly, it doesn't really add anything to the overall plot and it feels like a half baked attempt to create an interesting story that turns out to be just a bit too convoluted and over the top.

VERDICT - Resident Evil Rebirth takes the point here, it's not a ground breaking story but it's so much more cohesive opposed to Resident Evil Zero's fan-fiction level story.

AUDIO

RE Remake's soundtrack is credited to Shusaku Uchiyama, Makoto Tomozawa and Misao Senbongi, who have done a really fine job of bring the original games pieces into the year 2002. That familiar haunting mansion piece has returned and really benefits from the update. It's even more beautifully horrifying and really suits the aesthetics of the mansion.

I like that all the music isn't blaring at your ears incessantly and just sets the mood. The composers have been very restrained in the arrangements and it's all the better for it.
Sound effects are perfect for a horror game; zombies throaty groans send shivers up your spine! Ambient sound effects do a fine job as well; there's something relaxing about wind in the trees as you travel through the surrounding woods and the drip drop of condensation in the caves.

Resident Evil Zero has only one credited composer: Seiko Kobuchi. Much like RE Remake, the music plays in only specific areas, allowing ambient effects to set the mood of some locales.
The train area at the beginning is a perfect example of letting the effects be the soundtrack; the train is wonderfully eerie, clicking and clacking along the lines and the jingling sounds of cups, glasses and plates.
On the flip side, when we get to the Training Facility we're treated to a less than ear pleasing arrangement. I get that they want it to be creepy but the Facility's theme is unpleasant and a little too loud. It doesn't add anything to the tension but just irks me and considering how long you can spend in the Training Facility it gets old and irritating really fast.

VERDICT - Tie! No one game outshines the other. Sure that Training Facility music grates me but it's a minor bit of nit picking on my part.
It's those atmospheric ambient sounds that ultimately saw these two tie break.



GAMEPLAY

RE Remake and Zero both keep the tank controls of the original PSX games but they do differ in some key areas that gives each game it's own identity.
Now, RE Remake plays very similar to classic games. One of the additions is defensive weapons; one time use items that player's can collect irrespective of inventory space. There're a great "get out of jail" card to use when cornered by Zombies and give newer players some breathing space.

They've also expanded the mansion, modified and added puzzles and changed enemy placements. The mansion has definitely seen some of the biggest alterations. It's general layout is familiar but there are new rooms and new branching areas.
You can also explore outside the mansion grounds and venture through a small portion of the surrounding woods.
Core gameplay is very familiar. You can select either Chris or Jill who have some defining differences, such as Jill has greater inventory space but Chris can take more damage.
Item crates are present throughout as previous titles allowing players to access stored items at any time.

Completing RE Remake opens up additional modes which modify the game to make it harder, such as de-linking item crates which increases back tracking and rewards forward thinking when storing items.
There is also an invisible enemy mode as well for those who have mastered the game.

RE Zero makes some big changes to the standard formula; firstly Rebecca isn't on her own. Zero debuts the first partner system with Billy. The player must utilise Rebecca and Billy's individual abilities in order to complete the game. Often they must split up in order to complete sections of the game but you can generally travel with the pair of them to tackle the hordes of zombies.

Item crates are also absent from Zero, instead players can pickup and drop items at will in any location (but there is a limit to how many items in one area).

Completing Zero opens up the Leech Hunter Bonus Game, where the player has to collect colour coded leeches to unlock bonuses for the main game.
There is an element of RNG in this mode as items and leech locations vary from play through to play through.

While RE Remake doesn't make any overhauls to the core gameplay, the expanded elements are simply sublime and create a well balanced game.
Zero's partner system is clunky at best and inconvenient at worst. The idea of dropping off items at will seems like a great idea but it lacks the convenience of the interconnected storage boxes of old. It is absolutely aggravating to back track to some many different locations to pick up the odd item and it's a real headache for first time players.
Weapons such as shotguns also take up extra space in the inventory which means even though you have two characters most of the time, inventory space can feel at a real premium.
Ultimately, the partner system and item management don't add improvements to the game, at best they're moot points at worst irritating.

VERDICT - Rebirth wins! It's a distilled gameplay experience opposed to Zero's misfire. Zero feels so clunky that I generally find it a difficult game to replay.

GRAPHICS

Rebirth and Zero look very different from their origin games and they're all the better for it. The level of detail in the pre-rendered environments is extensive and visual joy. Each viewpoint is a work of art; full of tiny details that pique players interest and urge the sense of discovery.
Both also include animations in their environments and Zero does exceptionally well here with the train environment. The level of detail is astounding.

Both games do themselves a justice visually, neither one stands out over the other and so it's a...

VERDICT - Tie! Both games do themselves a justice visually, neither one stands out over the other. When I look at these games I so wish Capcom would make another throwback RE game, we're all desperate to see RE2 get the Rebirth treatment but whether we will see that? Who knows. It'd be an instant seller, that's for sure.

And so it is decided, the winner is...

It's crystal clear that Rebirth is the better game. It's just a truly distilled experience that is enjoyable for returners and newcomers.
I admire Zero for trying to do something different and reinvigorate the brand but it just doesn't work. If there is one thing I've learnt, it's that partner system in survival horror games don't work. Having a backup immediately takes away that sense of loneliness. Having two characters naturally means double the ammo which in tandem means more enemies which makes games feel far more action oriented that they're supposed to be.
If the likes of RE7, The Evil Within and the plethora of stealth based horror games has taught us is that the element of loneliness is a key in generating fear in the player.

If you haven't played either game I seriously advise you do so; both are available in HD versions on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC and I sincerely urge you pick them both up. Even if Rebirth is the better game, Zero is worth your time and your appreciation.

The Evil Within 2: The deal breaker for this upcoming franchise!

October the 13th is the release date for Bethesda's sequel to the The Evil Within; a game that garnered mixed to good reviews from publications and players alike.
Despite this it developed a strong line of devoted fans who appreciated the engaging plot, harrowing visuals and warped symbolism.

The Evil Within is a survival horror game series that focuses on combat and atmosphere that also challenges the player with tight resource management and stealth sections.
One of the biggest criticisms to the game was it's similarities to game director Shinji Mikami's former title Resident Evil 4.

A lot of players also found the difficulty did not match the modes of play and that, unlike other games with tight resource management, The Evil Within threw the player into far too many combat scenarios with not enough ammo which forced some players to restart the game on easier modes.
That's quite a big ask and I can understand the player frustration if you're halfway through the game and running out of ammo. I can agree there are quite a few areas that require you put down a lot of ammo to get through them: such as the construction area outside of the Church where enemies infinitely respawn and you have to use the long range rifle to take out soldiers in the guard towers. Then when you approach the gates a Mad man foe attacks you (and lord does he take some bullets or clever strategies) before finally you complete the area.

I can agree; I was running pretty low on ammo here. However, I had been scouring all the previous areas for ammos and special keys (that allow you to unlock safes in the game saving hub for extra resources). I also made use of all available resources and traps that allowed me to conserve ammo. The Evil Within does have something of a tight learning curve in regards to ammo conservation but that's not to say the game never throws you a bone.
I found the more I died in one particular area the more drops I could obtain from fallen enemies. You also have to learn to be savvy and utilising the games unique weapon the Crossbow was essential to getting the most bang for your buck.

 I've watched the hour long gameplay trailer for The Evil Within 2 and the first big change I've identified is that unlike the previous game the environments are far more open allowing the player to explore a town and it's surrounding houses.
The original does play with this a little bit. Quite early in the game you come across a farm littered with enemies and you pretty much get to approach this whole area however you wish. Stealthily taking out foes or causing a big ruckus to lead them into traps.

I think having larger environments will definitely help players as it increases the options you have. They've also expanded their crafting system as you can now obtain gun powder which means you can craft specific ammo on the fly, which again helps players deal with each scenario as they see fit.

I feel ultimately The Evil Within 2 needs to be more accessible. What the previous game did was great but it's difficulty curve spikes were just too much for some and, coupled with the horror element, you'll find a lot of people interested in your game end up wanting to watch it as the act of playing it is too difficult and gated. I would definitely say change that normal mode difficulty curve because it was a bit too sharp for a standard gaming experience.
It looks like Tango Gameworks acknowledge this as in the demo Hard mode is listed as a mode for those who want a similar experience to The Evil Within 1.

Moving away from difficulty and player access, I'm glad that their strong visual flair is still intact. The original was beautifully horrific, mind bending and was a sensory treat. A real joy for the eyes, the team behind the character and environment designs know how to ramp up the creepy element and The Evil Within 2 is set to follow suit.

In the gameplay trailer the player takes control of protagonist Sebastian Castellanos who is, for whatever reason, back in the Stem system that this time is primarily linked to a serial killers consciousness.
You scrabble around a town that's infested with a revised version of the Haunted enemies. As you explore the town you can see chunks of it suspended in the air.
Moebius also plays a bigger role this time than just the shadowy figure in the background pulling the strings as you can locate and loot Moebius operatives for plentiful resources.
We also see a fearsome foe that appears as a sort of Grim Reaper that pulls Sebastian into a dilapidated hospital ward, stalks the player and is seemingly invulnerable.

Plot wise there is little revealed about what actually happened after the events in The Evil Within 1. Kidman and Sebastian are still working together in some sort of context and Sebastian's daughter appears frequently as an apparition which alludes me to believe that he may learn of who actually murdered his wife and child (an event that occurred before the first game).

I'm sure we'll get some answers this time around as well as some new questions. The Evil Within 2 has a lot resting on it's shoulders. The Evil Within 1 did sell well and is generally well received but I feel the success of it's sequel is going to solidify it's place as a new franchise. I sure do hope it does as The Evil Within is possibly one of the best visually striking horror games out there with a deliciously deceptive and complex plot.