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5 lesser known Resident Evil creatures

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What do you think of when you think of the Resident Evil series? Zombies (be it man or dog)? The skinned, drooling Licker? The behemoth Tyrant variants whether it be the classic, Mr X, or the cuddly rocket launcher carrying Nemesis? Today I want to talk about some lesser known or underappreciated monsters in the franchise whether they be bosses or standard enemies. In no particular order let’s begin with…

re ustanak 1. Usternak ( Resident Evil 6 )-

Like many, I trashed the hell out of this game and while a Winter Soldier take on the Nemesis archetype, this brute was pretty cool as he hunted Jake and Sherry relentlessly with his various combat mods for his metal arm. Honestly, he was the best part of a bad game but deserves some respect.

re chimera 2. Chimera ( Resident Evil (remake) and Resident Evil 5 )-  Crossing man and animal has been a long thought of ideal, but Resident evil made these gross, grasshopper like bastards freaky and extremely dangerous.

re 0 lurker 3. Lurker ( Resident Evil 0)-

Of all the animals to dread on this Earth, who would really think a frog? Well what if this frog could brutally swallow you whole, slowly digesting you alive? I can’t say why but for the love of god that idea freaks me out but c’mon, how dangerous can frogs be?

re revenant  Revenant ( Resident Evil Revelations 2 ) – I loved fighting these things for 2 huge reasons. One, these things are the definition of “oh hell no” and they live up to that reputation. What I like is the tactical approach you need to take to kill them. These things were a healthy source of dread.

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5. Scagdead aka The Comms Officer ( Resident Evil: Revelations )-

We end this list with a boss, a notorious one at that. Slimy, slow, pathetic as it is partially conscious during the battle, crying out for help as it lumbers after you. Scagdead isn’t the fastest beast but the traps he lays surely slow you down so he can give you a big ol hug with his giant saw arm.

I hope everyone enjoyed the list I came up with and it makes some of you want to check the games out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

Resident Evil 3 (2020)

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This game was my most anticipated game of the year and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (classic) scared the shit out of me and millions of fans and arguably giving us one of gaming’s most haunting and horrific figures: The Nemesis. The first 2 Resident Evil remakes were incredible improvements over the classics, so what of the 3rd game?

Jill Valentine is traumatized after her experiences in the Spencer mansion. As the T virus outbreak is in it’s early stages, Jill is getting ready to escape Raccoon City. An assailant is after Jill, relentless and towering. Jill is on the run while trying to save as many survivors out as possible. She meets up with a rescue team fronted by Umbrella after being saved by Carlos Olivera as the dreaded Nemesis is on there tail. Can Jill and the rescue team escape or will they fall to the unstoppable Nemesis?

A lot of negative things has been said about this game since release and I’m sorry to say a big part of the claims are true. This game is really, really short. Getting lost twice and backtracking the entire hospital for loot, the game took about 6 hours. Unlike RE 1 and 2, there is one campaign only but you do change perspectives between Jill and Carlos with Jill being the main protagonist. There aren’t any bonus campaigns and just one ending; notoriously the Mercenaries mode was taken out in exchange for Resident Evil: Resistance, which is a completely separate game. Also, while the characters are more flushed than the original and the voice acting, character models, and environments, everything feels sped up and rushed. While the action scenes are a huge improvement from Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6 , much of the Nemesis encounters feel on rails and I’m sad to say he lost quite a lot of his luster and unpredictable nature. Each time you down him, he does drop loot cases and his attacks are fairly easy to predict and when you have to face him, his weaknesses are pretty damn huge. Despite the huge negatives, the gameplay is really fun and the new action focus works well off of the RE2 mechanics. The score is great and visually the game looks beautiful.  The characters and creatures look fantastic and all of Nemesis’s forms are terrifying in there own way and surpass the looks of the original. In the end, this Resident Evil remake is a fun time but far from perfection;  if this game had another year I have no doubt it would surely measure up to the other remakes. The game is worth playing but not at full price. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

Resident Evil 2 (2019)

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Resident Evil 2 ( classic) is one of the series greatest milestones, giving us two of horror gaming greatest icons as well as a truly amazing sequel. While Resident Evil (remake) took everything great about the original and touched it up, the RE2 remake was rebuilt from scratch, aiming to be the perfect fusion of old and new. Did they succeed?

Raccoon City is at the height of utter devastation after the T virus found its way into the open. Leon Kennedy, a rookie cop on his first day on the job is thrown into the madness of the zombie outbreak. He encounters Claire Redfield, a college girl looking for her missing brother Chris. Together they must face the conspiracy around the police station, waves of zombies and gruesome monsters, a unstoppable stalker, and a beast below. Will they survive the night?

The Resident Evil 2 remake soars at redefining a classic. Leon and Claire, as well as the rest of the characters, are flushed out in two lengthy main campaigns; HUNK and Tofu return as well. The graphics and score are beautiful especially on the monsters., accompanied with eerie sounds. Gameplay is a nice upgrade from the 3rd person style of Resident Evil 4 with mechanics thrown in from other parts of the series. Mr X is a force to be reckoned with and is great at adding tension. In the end, the game has plenty to offer and is a fantastic horror experience I highly recommend. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Shazam: Origins (new 52, vol.1)

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Billy Batson is a a cocky troubled pre-teen with a good heart that can’t catch a break. Being an orphan most of his life, he’s done everything he could to find his mom but by doing that he’s kept getting booted from family to family. When dropped off yet again, it isn’t long before he finds himself before an ancient wizard that bestows upon Billy the powers of Shazam, making him the ultimate hero…but Billy was not the only one ever given these power. Dr Thad Sivanna unleashed a long vanished god- like Egyptian tyrant: enter Black Adam…

Does most of this sound familiar? Admittedly, 95% of this story was carried into the Shazam movie. The book has a good mix of feels and goofy moments with some really cool art. The biggest difference between book and movie is the villain. Adam is way more badass and fitting as a villain; Adam is Shazam’s nemesis after all. My only damn issue is Adam’s end, which is clever but anti-climatic as hell and I pray this book wasn’t his only outing in DC’s new 52. Overall, it’s a great example of a origin story done right and a good book to pick up if you loved the movie. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Resident Evil: Afterlife

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Let’s face it everyone, there are plenty of crappy video game movies out there. In fact, 9 out of 10 of them suck super hard. Resident Evil (movie 2002) was a pretty decent movie that could have broken the mold but still stuck a reasonable trilogy- until a fourth came…in 3D!

Picking up where Resident Evil: Extinction left off, Alice and her clone army swarm the Umbrella HQ in Tokyo. After a huge battle, Alice escapes a fight against mastermind Albert Wesker but is injected with a serum that makes her lose her powers. Alone, she comes across a mind controlled Claire and eventually end up in a fortified prison where Claire reunites with her brother, Chris, leading up to the trio facing Wesker for the fate of humanity.

I’m pretty torn here. As a fan of the games, this is a travesty. The characters are awful and there’s stuff pulled from Resident Evil 5 that never is explained and makes no sense what so ever. However, the action is hilariously over the stop with too much slow mo and shitty 3D effects and it’s a fun crap movie to enjoy while drunk or high. This one is basically a question of what you want from it, but honestly this movie is still crap. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Green Hornet

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For years now, I’ve come to see the past decade as the age of nostalgia. It started to resonate with me when Duke asked “Jesus, why the hell is this coming back?” One of the first times I heard him say this was when the Green Hornet movie was announced.

Britt Reid is a snotty ass spoiled son of a celebrated newspaper mogul who is wasting his life away on partying and chicks. The day comes when his dad dies from his severe allergy to hornet stings. Suddenly Britt has to grow up fast and control his empire, covering the corruption swallowing his city. A calling comes as he befriends Kato, a badass genius who makes some epic coffee. Together these friends will arm themselves and get a awesome ride as they fight against a plot to rule the city from a violent crime boss and corrupt politician..

Honestly, I don’t know shit about the source material, but I don’t really get the hate this movie got. This movie was no Green Lantern by any means. Seth Rogen wasn’t bad as Hornet and had pretty awesome chemistry with John Chou who was badass as Kato.  There was a good mix of action and comedy and a overall good cast behind it. The 3D comic book visuals aged pretty lame however and while it’s a entertaining movie, there’s nothing really overly special. It’s not as funny as Deadpool or have the powerful storytelling of Iron Man (2008) . In the end, it’s a perfectly enjoyable superhero comedy worth checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Venom 2 title and release date reveal

Why am I not surprised the Venom sequel would have a title like this. The after credit scene made Carnage certain but knowing there won’t be Spider-man and this movie is going to be Pg-13, I feel like this movie has it’s legs broken from the get go. Time will tell but my hopes aren’t strong.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Man of Medan

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The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope reveal trailer genuinely sparked my interest and I have to admit, Until Dawn is one of my favorite horror games in recent years so I had high hopes that Supermassive games would deliver another awesome horror gem. Can lightning strike twice?

Four friends charter a boat captained by Fliss and venture off into the seas in search for a uncharted shipwreck. During the night they are captured by a group of pirates. During a botched escape attempt, their ship uncovers the remnants of a WW2 freighter that supposedly contains gold, or something much darker in it’s rusted halls…

So to answer my query, no lightning sure as hell didn’t strike twice here. What really killed this game is how fast this game ended, completing it in about 4 hours to an abrupt ending. The characters are fine but I only really cared about 2 of the 5 main characters and I wasn’t really into the pirates, who are basically generic bad guys. The scares are really hit and miss but admittedly, like much of the game, it feels lifted from Until Dawn. The score and atmosphere was nice as were the graphics but the facial animations bothered me and there were some frame rate drops. In the end, Man of Medan is a meh experience I’d think about at discount price. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope reveal trailer

I’m sad to say I missed the last installment of this blooming anthology, Little  Hope looks pretty promising. I’m a huge fan of Until Dawn and I’m curious to see what kind of horror we can see next. I’ll definitely keep an eye on this one. May the gaming gods bring you glory.