Resident Evil Vs Silent Hill: Video Game Showdown
Round 1: The Plot
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In 1996, Capcom’s Resident Evil placed gamers in the role of a member of a special task force trapped in a mysterious mansion filled with zombies. Later installments had the outbreak spread to the nearby city, before a new parasitic form of virus overtook European and African villages. Konami began producing its own survival horror franchise in 1999, with its installments centered on those who have ventured to a small eerie town caught within multiple dimensions. These are filled with monsters created from nightmares, as well as the members of a cult. While Resident Evil pioneered the genre, Silent Hill did it a solid by taking survival horror in a completely psychological direction. Honestly, we’re more invested in the tale of a town that targets sinners than sunglass wearing Albert Wesker and his little experiments. (Score: RE 00, SH 01)
Round 2: Gameplay
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Survival horror games are less about combat, and more about puzzle solving and evasion. In both, players must ration their inventory to survive. Both also unfold with a sense of isolation, and the discovery of things like journals. It’s all about the tone and pacing. Unfortunately, Resident Evil throws a wrench in these mechanics by featuring awkward controls spurred by its use of pre-rendered backgrounds. Sure, the newer games may be fully three dimensional, but the characters continue to control like tanks. What, you want to walk and shoot? EF OFF. Silent Hill escapes this particular design flaw by having a fix camera that occasionally switches to new angles for dramatic effect. However, your character dies way too easily, gasps for air after sprinting, and has terrible aim. Sure, it’s more realistic and is clearly there to add to the tension, but Resident Evil ends up being more fun. Despite its awkward controls and the inventory system disaster from #5, it still takes the point. (Score: RE 01, SH 01)
Round 3: The Characters
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Resident Evil has always placed you in the role of law enforcement and skilled survivors, complete with B-movie dialogue. Silent Hill places you as an ordinary person, who is neither trained, nor prepared for combat. As a result, players put themselves into the role of the Silent Hill protagonist. However, while Resident Evil’s characters may be pretty one-dimensional, characters like Leon Kennedy and Chris Redfield have become memorable icons. Okay, maybe just Leon. (Score: RE 02, SH 01)
Round 4: The Creatures
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In terms of the creatures, most people recognize the majority of Resident Evil’s monsters from popular culture. It even includes the dude from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre! And oh look, the final boss who appeared human at first has morphed into a grotesque flesh creature halfway through the battle…what a surprise! Silent Hill on the other hand has you face entirely original ghouls that are unpredictable and beyond frightening. These include the likes of corpse spiders and a human centipede. In fact, the town itself is a character, punishing those who deserve it, seek it, or are along for the ride. (Score: RE 02, SH 02)
Round 5: The Scares and Atmosphere
Every Resident Evil Setting Ranked
Both are scary and suspenseful, but Silent Hill is purely psychological, and really gets under your skin. The game is also a lot more intense and horrific; with radio bursts of static letting you know that you’re not alone. Sometimes your best weapon is a lead pipe. It is beyond creepy to roam those foggy streets with not much more than your wits. It gives us the chills just thinking about it, or its chilling soundtrack. The best Resident Evil can do is throw human and animal zombies at you. Sure, that gives us the heebeegeebees too, but after a while it’s all the same thing. This point goes to Silent Hill in a big way. (Score: RE 02, SH 03) By a Score of 3 to 2, Silent Hill takes the win. While Resident Evil was the first official game within the subgenre, it has become an all-out action game. Silent Hill on the other hand continues to terrify us with its unexpected twists and monsters that come from truly sick minds.
