This is NOT somethin for you to use as your own homework. If you do that, you're a noob. But feel free to paraphrase.
Quote:
October 24, 2006
The Root of Resident Evil 4
One of my many favorite video game releases since the year 2000 is Resident Evil 4. The interesting thing about this particular game is that it borrowed a lot of aspects from many different movies and games that have been created throughout history. For that particular reason it not only gives an intense cinematic experience, but an extremely fun gameplay. This could be the reason why it won “Best Game of the Year” at the 2006 Spacey Awards. However, to understand the ingenuity of its many aspects, we must look at the games from which Resident Evil 4 borrowed its concepts in the first place.
In 1974, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson published a table-top game called Dungeons and Dragons, which is considered the mother of modern Role Playing Games. Since then, the RPG genre evolved a lot, and developed into many famous video game series, including Final Fantasy, Xenosaga and Shadow Hearts. Resident Evil 4 a couple of features of a common Role Playing Game. This includes the shopping system. As you progress through the game, you accumulate money and use it to purchase weapons, equipment and healing items. Just the same, in Resident Evil 4 you purchase different weapons and upgrade them to be more powerful. You also get to purchase body armor and sell various items to the Merchant character. The shopping system is very popular to the Role Playing Game genre and Resident Evil 4 adopted it.
In 1987, Konami released a video game which is typically considered the first ‘Tactical Espionage Action’ title. It inspired many espionage titles, and developed into the Metal Gear Solid series, a major money maker for Konami. However, Resident Evil did not borrow the sneaking espionage factor from it. Instead, it borrowed the communication system. Ever since the first Metal Gear, a lot of the storyline progresses through radio communication. Resident Evil 4 has radio communication aspect that, interface wise, looks a lot like that of Metal Gear Solid—two windows with the sending and receiving character’s portraits on the upper part of the screen with the text of the radio transmission on the bottom. It bears a lot of resemblance to that of Metal Gear Solid.
In 1989, Capcom released a game in Japan called Sweet Home for the NES. The game had a lot of Role Playing Game aspects, but by many, it is considered to be the first Survival Horror Game, the very genre that Resident Evil belongs to. In fact, Shinji Mikami, the creator of Resident Evil himself, confirmed that Resident Evil was inspired by Sweet Home. A perfect example of this is the door opening system that was in the original Resident Evil games, but was abandoned in Resident Evil 4 due to the fact that the game no longer needs to load the arena that leads to the next room. Either way, Sweet Home inspired the Resident Evil series, which means that Resident Evil 4 would not exist without it.
In 1991, Rare released a fighting sidescroller called Battletoads for various platforms. One of the features of Battletoads was the hover-bike system. The heroes would mount floating motorcycles and engage into a high speed chase that included fighting off enemies, avoiding obstacles and jumping ramps. In the very end, Resident Evil 4 borrowed that concept. Leon, the main hero of Resident Evil 4 mounts a jet ski and rides through a narrow water path having to avoid obstacles such as walls and stalagmites and jumping ramps in order to escape from an explosion. The fans of Battletoads should immediately recognize the resemblance. Even though Resident Evil 4 is 3D, it even feels the same as the Battletoads hover-bike chases.
In 1992 Infogrames released a Survival Horror title called Alone in the Dark for DOS. First of all, the fact that this game was the first game to use 3D characters means that it could be considered the origin of the modern 3-D game. However, to be more specific, the game was very influential in Resident Evil’s original interface. The game had no life bars or ammo indicators on screen during gameplay and the backgrounds for it were pre-rendered and did not actually consist of real time polygons. This method of interface inspired Resident Evil and many other games, including Final Fantasy, when it first entered the 3-D era.
In 1996, Capcom released a game in Japan called Biohazard for the Sony PlayStation. In North America, this game was released as Resident Evil. Although Resident Evil was not the first Survival Horror game, it was one that boosted the popularity of this ever growing genre. Naturally, it also started the storyline that has been developed into Resident Evil 4.
Many features that Resident Evil 4 borrowed from other games were non existent in the previous Resident Evil titles. However, Resident Evil 4 was when the series really took a step in gameplay. Before that, the only real progress that Resident Evil games experienced were the graphics and the storyline, along with a minor special feature in every game. However, Resident Evil 4 completely redefined the Survival Horror genre, mixing it with Action and RPG like never before.
The Root of Resident Evil 4
One of my many favorite video game releases since the year 2000 is Resident Evil 4. The interesting thing about this particular game is that it borrowed a lot of aspects from many different movies and games that have been created throughout history. For that particular reason it not only gives an intense cinematic experience, but an extremely fun gameplay. This could be the reason why it won “Best Game of the Year” at the 2006 Spacey Awards. However, to understand the ingenuity of its many aspects, we must look at the games from which Resident Evil 4 borrowed its concepts in the first place.
In 1974, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson published a table-top game called Dungeons and Dragons, which is considered the mother of modern Role Playing Games. Since then, the RPG genre evolved a lot, and developed into many famous video game series, including Final Fantasy, Xenosaga and Shadow Hearts. Resident Evil 4 a couple of features of a common Role Playing Game. This includes the shopping system. As you progress through the game, you accumulate money and use it to purchase weapons, equipment and healing items. Just the same, in Resident Evil 4 you purchase different weapons and upgrade them to be more powerful. You also get to purchase body armor and sell various items to the Merchant character. The shopping system is very popular to the Role Playing Game genre and Resident Evil 4 adopted it.
In 1987, Konami released a video game which is typically considered the first ‘Tactical Espionage Action’ title. It inspired many espionage titles, and developed into the Metal Gear Solid series, a major money maker for Konami. However, Resident Evil did not borrow the sneaking espionage factor from it. Instead, it borrowed the communication system. Ever since the first Metal Gear, a lot of the storyline progresses through radio communication. Resident Evil 4 has radio communication aspect that, interface wise, looks a lot like that of Metal Gear Solid—two windows with the sending and receiving character’s portraits on the upper part of the screen with the text of the radio transmission on the bottom. It bears a lot of resemblance to that of Metal Gear Solid.
In 1989, Capcom released a game in Japan called Sweet Home for the NES. The game had a lot of Role Playing Game aspects, but by many, it is considered to be the first Survival Horror Game, the very genre that Resident Evil belongs to. In fact, Shinji Mikami, the creator of Resident Evil himself, confirmed that Resident Evil was inspired by Sweet Home. A perfect example of this is the door opening system that was in the original Resident Evil games, but was abandoned in Resident Evil 4 due to the fact that the game no longer needs to load the arena that leads to the next room. Either way, Sweet Home inspired the Resident Evil series, which means that Resident Evil 4 would not exist without it.
In 1991, Rare released a fighting sidescroller called Battletoads for various platforms. One of the features of Battletoads was the hover-bike system. The heroes would mount floating motorcycles and engage into a high speed chase that included fighting off enemies, avoiding obstacles and jumping ramps. In the very end, Resident Evil 4 borrowed that concept. Leon, the main hero of Resident Evil 4 mounts a jet ski and rides through a narrow water path having to avoid obstacles such as walls and stalagmites and jumping ramps in order to escape from an explosion. The fans of Battletoads should immediately recognize the resemblance. Even though Resident Evil 4 is 3D, it even feels the same as the Battletoads hover-bike chases.
In 1992 Infogrames released a Survival Horror title called Alone in the Dark for DOS. First of all, the fact that this game was the first game to use 3D characters means that it could be considered the origin of the modern 3-D game. However, to be more specific, the game was very influential in Resident Evil’s original interface. The game had no life bars or ammo indicators on screen during gameplay and the backgrounds for it were pre-rendered and did not actually consist of real time polygons. This method of interface inspired Resident Evil and many other games, including Final Fantasy, when it first entered the 3-D era.
In 1996, Capcom released a game in Japan called Biohazard for the Sony PlayStation. In North America, this game was released as Resident Evil. Although Resident Evil was not the first Survival Horror game, it was one that boosted the popularity of this ever growing genre. Naturally, it also started the storyline that has been developed into Resident Evil 4.
Many features that Resident Evil 4 borrowed from other games were non existent in the previous Resident Evil titles. However, Resident Evil 4 was when the series really took a step in gameplay. Before that, the only real progress that Resident Evil games experienced were the graphics and the storyline, along with a minor special feature in every game. However, Resident Evil 4 completely redefined the Survival Horror genre, mixing it with Action and RPG like never before.
