The Things That Go Bump in the Night

Imagine if you will, you had been running for days on end through jungles in South America. You've been chased by henchmen with all varieties of weapons at their disposal but you're not one to sleep on what's in your arsenal either. A micro-9mm, a Wes-44, an AK-47, the dragon sniper rifle... the list goes on. Jumping from cliff ledges, trying to avoid gunfire, and picking up treasure along the way - the sense of danger is somewhat exciting, the adventure exhilarating and it is all second nature to you. There's no worry even as you see your life fading into the grey on those occasions you've encountered just too many gun-toting enemies. Missing a jump means certain doom but that's not too worrisome either. There's no fear here at all...that is until the zombies awaken.

What is it with me and my fear of the Supernatural? I did not feel that panic in Uncharted all throughout playing the game and fighting with 'real' enemies. It was only nearing the end chapters when the zombies were thrown in there (mind you, a complete turn around in the plot I did not see coming and in fact made me scared to imagine what sort of hellish fiends awaited in Uncharted 2), that I almost threw my controller. Yes, I'm the wuss that almost did not finish Uncharted: Drake's Fortune because I am terrified of zombies. Part of it may be the crazed, rage type lack of awareness, unpredictable patterns of zombies. Part of it is the anxiety of being chased, as my sister might point out. However, I was being chased by 'real' enemies too. So what gives?

::shudder:: That right there is the stuff of nightmares. Tell me how you really feel about those clickers, everyone. Thanks to Hyper for this image!

I'm a huge fan of Naughty Dog. They're a company I have faith in to give me a consistently high standard quality of gaming, and it's why I am looking forward to owning a copy of The Last of Us some time in the future. I am eager to know the story Naughty Dog has to tell. I want to get to know Joel and Ellie. But now my problem is that I have no idea how I am even going to sit through it long enough to even finish it. Or to even get past the first hour! Or even the first thirty minutes?

Seeing this coming towards you does not give you the feeling of joy. Though, it's so over the top that it's a bit laughable too. This just became another boss I had to destroy.

Two of my favourite memories of playing a game with my brother both revolve around Resident Evil. When we first got our PSOne, we bought three games: Tekken, Final Fantasy VII, and Resident Evil. I went in the direction of becoming engrossed in everything JRPG while my brother immersed himself in the Survival Horror genre. We spent a lot of nights together playing the first RE. Back then we used to buy strategy guides and it was my duty to read to him where to go if he became stuck. If he died (and really, in hindsight, how is it we got eaten by those slow moving zombies is beyond me) he would hand me the controller, walk off and say, "Get me to the save point. And don't use my ammo." I would comply but not without cringing from an irrational fear.

"Egad! Have mercy on me! I was once like you!"

I participated by being his eyes throughout Resident Evil parts 1-3 (4 he played completely on his own without my presence). When 5 came out, I had no intention of engaging in any manner. However, he was most excited by the fact that he and I could play together. He begged me and after the second night of his asking, I finally gave in. After picking up that controller, we subsequently spent late nights playing until 3 in the morning for a few weeks. And yes, we had the best time and I had some of the most fun with RE5 than with any other game that year.

Resident Evil 5 is just not that scary. I did have a brilliant display of gaming expertise when I tried to cut a padlock with a knife (Hey, an axe wielding crazy thing was coming at me, okay? I panicked!). We shared a fine moment when a lot of lickers were chasing me up on a platform and I happily blasted them with my magnum while my brother tried to pick them off from the ground. It was quite amusing when he started yelling that the lickers had breached the ground level and were attacking him. Oh, I had such the laugh. Well, of course I did. I had a magnum, remember? You can't feel fear when that thing is in your hand.

This though, this is creepy. That coming at you from the shadows? RUN!

Atmospherically, RE 5 was designed to be anything but a survival horror. To my best recollection, there was no quiet, darkly lit room where you could hear the munching on human flesh. There was no eerie baby crying some where off in the distance. There was no lull in the music to amplify that fear of expecting the unexpected.

I've been reading the mostly excited messages back and forth about The Last of Us and took a gander at TheUnfamothableTruth's (plot spoiler free) review. Some of you are playing right now. By the time this is posted, some of you will already be done with it. I've read that the game relies heavily on stealth. I've read that it's tragic. I've read nothing good about "those *expletive* clickers". I've been told that you can be swarmed and overwhelmed easily. Yes, I know they're not traditional "zombies" by all accounts, but it's still a Survival Horror genre, right? It sounds as though the game is designed to be everything that's going to make me succumb to fear.

Daylight won't help. A blanket won't help. A hoodie to hide under won't help. Having my brother next to me might help but I doubt that. Maybe I'll play it in quick sessions at a time to ease myself into it. After all, it's just a game, right? Besides which, I should learn from my experiences with the game since all it's doing is to help prepare me for the nearing Zombie Apocalypse.