Uninspired sentience

So the thought crossed my mind after Avatar hit Blu-ray and DVD, that every single idea of extraterrestrial, sentient life is tightly bound by existence as we know it on Earth.

I don't think I have ever read a book, seen a TV show or watched a movie that doesn't have humanoid aliens. If the aliens aren't humanoid, the way they do things is very similar, an example I can think of right now is Jimmy Neutron. The alien race they meet in the movie are sentient slime balls in floating robotic suit things. They have robotic arms and hands, all technology and behavior is all human-like. Take a look at Avatar and all you have are tall, blue people with tails, pretty uninspired and uncreative. Take a look at just about any form of media that involves aliens and you will most likely see this : A head (occasionally two), two arms (maybe a second pair), fingers, feet, eye(s), boobs. For some reason we think that the only intelligent life out there will look like us. It may be the case, but probably not.

Two examples where the above ideas do not apply that I can think of are in the old 90's cartoon Dexter's Laboratory and Star Wars. I recall a certain episode of Dexter's Lab where sentient, parasitic gooey things fall to Earth from a meteor and use his family members as their hosts. Next comes the Hutt race from Star Wars, they're giant balls of fat. I don't know if that's what they are, or else they are extremely obese humanoids.

Sprint = Perk?

I've done some reading about Halo Reach. This game grants the player a new level of customization that is more than just your armor and if you are a spartan or elite. Certain game modes that make you choose a certain class of soldier much like in Star Wars Battlefront. Separate classes will be armed with different weapons and a certain special ability, which I like to think of as perks in CoD. An example would be the jet pack, which is one of the special abilities your spartan can have.

One would think that by this time, Bungie would catch on to the entire idea of sprinting. Well, they've kinda caught on, kinda like how Nintendo caught on with online multiplayer. (Really bad.) One of the many perks spartans wield is one to sprint...yup, you've got a jet pack, a power overload that makes you invincible but doesn't allow you to move, a ton of other cool stuff, and then you can sprint...

You would think a triple A series like Halo would catch on with must have game play features of a game, but they didn't. They kinda caught on, but sprinting in an FPS is just a given nowadays. Especially since many FPS in this generation are a bit slow paced, I remember there was no need for anything like sprinting in Unreal Tournament 1999, it was fast enough as it is already.

Halo: Reach Beta

May 3rd is coming up, and that means the beta for Halo: Reach will soon be released. There probably won't be another post until the beta is released. The next post will probably be regarding the beta. I've got high expectations for this game.

Survival Horror

I've never spent too much time with this genre of videogames, but I thoroughly enjoyed Resident Evil 4 and 5. RE 5 was very disappointing when it came to scaring you, there are some intense parts in the game, but I would hardly call it scary. RE 4 hit the right buttons at the right time and manages to scare you and keep your palms sweaty from beginning to end. RE 4 serves a as a prime example on how to make a survival horror game both scary and fun.

The most important factor in any game that makes or breaks any game is controls. RE 4 and 5 nail controls keeping a distinct Resident Evil kind of feel, but doesn't make you feel like you are controlling a tank. Some say that the controls for these games are stupid and flawed, but I personally think it adds to the intensity of the game and makes the game what it is. It's like Maria without the jumping. I think the same would apply to a Resident Evil game without stopping over-the-shoulder aiming.* What ever the critics have to say, the shooting mechanics work out well and is easy to get used to. Because of the fact that you have to stop and aim to shoot, it leaves a sense of urgency because there is usually always more than one enemy advancing towards you. This forces you to move quickly and think fast because by the time you manage to take out one, your next enemy will be a few steps away from you, making you always keep in mind the distance between you and the enemy.

RE4's setting always sets a foreboding mood always making you paranoid about what lies around each corner. From the run down houses of a Spanish village to the outer walls of an old castle, there was always a sense of danger no matter where you were. This eventually leads you into a fake sense of security, because after feeling like you are in danger for so long, you begin to suspect that nothing bad is going to happen and the music and lighting is just there to freak you out. Right after that false sense of security is set in place, something freaky happens after you've let your guard down.

And example of such would be when you are playing as Ashely Graham, the daughter of the president who you must protect, all alone. You are trying to get back to Leon and must go through a mini maze to reunite with him. This maze has a dark, terrorizing feel; it is lit only by your flashlight and there are many dark corners. There are several places where you think an enemy might pop up, several items you suspect may knock over, and you think the suits of armor you pass by are going to turn to life and try to kill you. All of this happens while eerie music is playing, making you think that at any moment something hazardous might occur. After so long, you begin to think that it's all just a ruse to try and freak the hell out of you, and you just run along the rest of the way not afraid of anything. You get to the end and get the key item you need to obtain to unlock the door reuniting you with Leon, but suddenly out of the darkness you hear rhythmic clanking. WELL I NEVER HEARD THAT BEFORE!!! Before you can get your head together, you see a suit of armor walking towards you in the light of your flashlight, you are now terrified out of your mind and you begin running away. Unfortunately, there are 3 other suits of armor chasing after you along with the first one. You run away and think you're home clear, then those items you thought would drop and hurt you begin to drop and you have to dodge them. Wonderful.

It situations such as those that really make you scared. When you are unarmed, and you are driven into paranoia making you scared to turn each and every corner.

Not to mention, that if you were Leon Kennedy or Chris Redfield; your arms would

probably be shaking faster than a six year old that just took a caffeine pill, at the sight

of a horde of zombies trying to kill you. Running and aiming probably wouldn't be the

best idea in the world, so you actually might want to stop and aim. Makes sense if you

ask me.

Sure, it's still like controlling a tank, but it's not like it's a bad thing. I have always taken the

game's controls as a challenge, but it's not a broken challenge, because it's not impossible. It's not

Ninja Gaiden where you must know how to do things through hours of trial and error. Resident

Evil's controls force you to strategically create space between you and the enemy, know when

and where to use what kind of weapon, and keep a cool head as enemies advance upon you.

Though after playing for so long, you begin to expect where something scary will happen; to learn

false threats and pick out exactly when and where a frightening event will happen. All of that is

part of the Resident Evil formula, and eventually I just becomes a survival game without the

horror. Eventually new IPs are released such as Dead Space that create new, different

environments and exciting new foes with unheard of twists that actually get you scared.

The survival horror genre is all too predictable and in time loses its sense of horror. There comes

that game every now and then that makes a break through or makes a courageous attempt at

something new that might work out that puts the horror back in survival horror.