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Resident Evil fans endure a lot. Not only do we slug and blast our way through some of the scariest and most harrowing games ever made, but then we’re subjected to the overly rancid live-action movies. Apparently slapping themselves in the head for previous licensing blunders, Capcom and Sony Entertainment have teamed up to create Resident Evil: Degeneration, a CG animated film that features characters culled directly from the games. Unfortunately, the results are worth viewing by Resident Evil players and probably no one else.

Degeneration starts off with Claire Redfield (voiced by Alyson Court), the heroine of Resident Evil 2 and CODE: Veronica, arriving at the airport to meet some characters apparently sent her way from India by her brother Chris. They are apparently survivors of a T-virus outbreak there. The dreaded T-virus is what turned everyone into zombies in the games. But notice that I keep saying “apparently,” because none of this is explained. These could be vague references to the upcoming Resident Evil 5. So while Claire’s just smiling and enjoying the chance to play “action mommy” to another small girl, other scenes show protesters outside the airport booing a shady Senator who allowed whatever happened in India to happen. A terrorist who wants the government to tell the truth behind what happened to Raccoon City in the games unleashes the T-virus in the airport. Chaos breaks out, zombies start munching on people, and it’s up to Claire to screw up as usual while trying to save everyone. But lucky for her, Leon S. Kennedy (voiced by Paul Mercier) of Resident Evil 2 and 4 fame, goes in to save her.

This sets up the action for the rest of the movie. The action sequences are spectacular, but unfortunately few and far between. The zombies get shortchanged for screen time, as well. The movie spends most of the time trying to develop the relationships between the characters. While any writer would agree this is a noble pursuit, the development consists mainly of a lot of long pauses and facial muscle flexing. Still, kudos on the try. Good elements include a resurfacing of the G-virus, which turns people into hulking monsters with big eyeballs on their shoulders. Leon finally finds a girlfriend, as she’s always pissed off just like him. But again, you probably have to play the games to spot these things and appreciate them.

The CG animation is on par with Final Fantasy VII - Advent Children. But with that film coming out several years ago, you’d think CG would have reached a new benchmark by now. The lip synching of characters at times is inconsistent, at times dead-on but mostly way off. The voice actors from the video games bring some credibility and continuity to their characters, but they also sound like they’re reading a script that was translated from Japanese five minutes before they entered the studio. The key to success in CG movies like this is action, action, more action, and then finish off with–you guessed it–action. Dialog and advancement is more appreciable when it occurs during action, as seen in Shrek or The Incredibles or any of a dozen other CG movies. What the film tries to do is make you feel something for these characters through long, continuous stares and CG “acting,” and that’s just not the way it’s done. We might feel some more empathy with the characters if they just kept doing what they were doing, and let us understand their feelings about it in the aftermath. I felt like the film kept stopping to let me know this character felt one way, while another character felt the other. And since all the characters are CG, I really don’t care.

In short, Resident Evil fans are probably going to agree that this is tons better than the live-action movies, and that Capcom/Sony probably should have done these films in CG from the start. It’s definitely not a date movie or something you can watch with non-gamers. But for Resident Evil fans, there’s no better segue into Resident Evil 5. The DVD is out now in Japan, and releases stateside on December 30th.

View the Trailer

Screenshots:

Left 4 Dead is a unique game where 4 players truly have to work together to survive. As popular as zombie-blasting games have been for the last several decades, it’s really surprising to me just how few people seem to understand squad combat and the concepts of teaming up to survive. I mean team-based multiplayer has been around for what, fifteen years? At least. In the last few days online I think I’ve been killed more often by my teammates than by the enemies.

I’ve put together a set of solid strategies everyone playing this amazing game needs to read and practice. This isn’t me griping, I just want us all to have a good time. After a few days of multiplayer, I can see that many players out there need some help. With all the complaints about rage-quitting at the L4D community forums affecting multiplayer, I thought maybe I could offer some tips. Hopefully all the books I’ve published about zombie killing will cause someone to take me seriously. =)

1. Watch Your Friendly Fire: If you can see your teammates, then you’re facing the wrong direction and possibly standing in the wrong place. Stay near your fellow survivors, but spread out in a diamond shape: one man in front, two behind him to either side, and one person taking up the rear. The man in back needs to turn around frequently to make sure a horde, smoker, or hunter isn’t charging from behind.

2. No Blind Fire!: Boomers vomit bile onto characters to blind them and attract the horde. I was in a game last night where I watched another player get covered with it. And even though he was blind, he started shooting! He shot the Boomer, for one thing, which caused it to blow us all up. Then he fired blindly into the horde. He hit me several times, and I was only trying to cover him. I had to restrain the urge to throw a Molotov at him. When you’re blinded by bile, the best thing to do is start swinging. On the PC version, just keep clicking your right mouse button to perform melee punches. This will keep the horde off you, and you won’t hurt your fellow teammates. Next time you fire blindly, someone like me might just light you on fire…

3. Use Pipe-bombs!: Those hordes are scary, huh? Best way to deal with them, hands down, is to toss a pipe bomb behind the horde. The beeping device attracts the entire horde, who gather around it and get blown to grizzly bits. I took out an entire small horde with one, and one of other players started texting how amazed he was, and how did I know to do that. The answer is simple: I watched the opening movie, which shows this exact tactic.

4. Avoid Witches: I admit to leaving a game because the other players insisted on startling a Witch. Witches are tough enemies who can down a character with 1-2 hits. They’re meant to be avoided. Last night in the train yard, three of us went into a station house for ammo while the guy playing Francis went on his own around the train and startled the Witch. This was a boxcar without a ladder, so we had to run around the entire train to get to him. By the time we got there, he was dead and the Witch was long gone. Startling a Witch accidentally is understandable, especially since the AI Director sometimes puts them in a doorway you must go through. But going after a Witch just to start a fight, lame the game, or get some Xbox Achievement isn’t cute, especially when your squadmates already said not to.

5. Keep Moving!: I’m not sure what fun there is in sniping lone zombies with the hunter rifle. Well, I do, but I don’t want to stand around while you have your fun. The game generates a horde to attack out of nowhere if you stay in one place too long. If you want to snipe dormant zombies, please do so offline. I don’t want to keep getting horde-attacked because you want to stand just outside the safe room and snipe.

6. One-hit Melee Kills: Relating to the above, one player complained that we had to shoot all the zombies before we moved forward. This is simply wrong. Not only is staying in one place too long likely to draw a random horde, but shooting at zombies from a distance is more likely to warn the other zombies that you’re around. Dormant zombies take time to notice survivors and attack. The best tactic in the world is to run up behind them and whack them in the back with a melee. This one-hit kills them instantly, and you can just keep running. This is the best tactic in the world for getting through the forest areas of the game quickly without worrying about zombies hiding in the brush.

7. Practice in Single Player: I didn’t go online for a few days after I bought the game for one reason: I wanted to go online knowing what I was doing. I want to have a good time, be helpful, and most importantlyI want to SURVIVE. So for the first several days, I played the entire game offline. I familiarized myself with map layout, ammo locations, and good places to make a stand in an emergency. The fact is, if you go online ten minutes after buying the game, you’re doing yourself a major disservice as a gamer.

8. Take the High Ground: One guy was asking why all the boxcars along the rails had ladders if you couldn’t jump between them. The reason is that there’s no better place from which to fend off a charging horde of zombies than from high up. Zombies have to climb in order to reach you, giving you time to shoot and bash them away. If you’re playing the Blood Harvest campaign and a horde charges, climb up onto the boxcars. Sometimes you’ll find Molotovs or gas cans up there, and we all know how fun it is to play with fire. If you’re in the hospital corridors, retreat to the stairwells. Zombies and monsters seem to have trouble with stairs (until an update, at least) so you wouldn’t believe how well this works.

9. Step Back from Tanks: Figure this out as soon as you can: if you’re not facing a Tank, it will run up behind you and knock you on your butt. If a Tank moves toward you, stay facing it, back away a few steps and fire. When the Tank stops to swing its arms, back away a few more steps and fire. It stops attacking to move toward you again. When it swings its arms to attack, back away again and fire. You can literally do this all day long (unless VALVe removes this exploit with an update). This doesn’t work against Tanks in Versus mode, of course.

10. Have Fun: Not much of a strategy, I know. But I thought it would be nice to get this list up to ten tips, and I just can’t think of anything else. I will say that it’s important to remember this is a game, and not to take things too seriously. People make mistakes, especially in a game like Left 4 Dead where the tension is high and you never know when an enemy is going to pop out. If you can’t handle other people making small and sometimes funny mistakes, then you’re probably better off sticking to single-player.

Playing Left 4 Dead made me recall what a great game Half-Life was. I had severe troubles playing Half-Life 2, some of which I blogged about long ago. The posts were lost in my conversion to WordPress, but the gist of the problem was that I could only run HL2 with Windows in Safe Mode, which is a pain. But now that my PC includes a Geforce 8800 and a sound card, those problems have vanished. I played Half-Life 2 again recently, and the experience is superb without the frequent crashes. I can now finally agree that this should have been my favorite game of 2004 or whenever it came out, which is both satisfying and “meh” at the same time. I can only hope that one day Vista works just as well.

My rekindling interest in Half-Life caused me to check out what if anything has been going on in the mod community. Yes, end-users still utilize developer toolkits to create bonus content for PC games. I was surprised too. Then again, Half-Life mods always got a bit more publicity thanks to support from HL developer and publisher VALVe. My research brought me to the recent news regarding the Black Mesa mod. Does anyone remember that VALVe re-released the original Half-Life with Source engine upgrades, such as better textures, effects, and physics? Yeah, I didn’t think so. Half-Life Source was an extremely crappy recomposite, and not worth buying Half-Life over again. But from the info on the Black Mesa mod devblog, it appears as though these guys hope to achieve what VALVe failed to deliver. Black Mesa claims to be a complete remake of Half-Life using the Source engine, HL2 models, physics, and scripting. And if the video below is any indication of what’s in store, I’d say it’s time for everyone to buy a Source engine PC game like Half-Life 2 or L4D.

Now that all that nasty election business is behind us, it’s time to put aside our partisan preferences and purchase presents! Every holiday season, friends are always asking me what hot games to get. This year, I thought I’d preempt these queries by creating a list of suggested games for every system and taste. I’ve divided this year’s hottest games by console and ordered them by quality, with #1 being the best title of the season. But since these are all sure to fly off shelves, hurry to your retailers and plop down some money on these titles quickly.

Xbox 360
1. Fallout 3 (Rated M for Mature): A long-awaited title with fantastic graphics, dozens of hours of game play and complexity. Parents: Intensely gloomy, somewhat gory, no parental controls.
2. Dead Space (M for Mature): A favorite of critics and fans, Dead Space is a quality horror adventure that gets the blood pumping and includes plenty of boo-scares. Think of the film Event Horizon meets Doom 3, and you get the idea. Parents: Dead Space is designed to invoke horrifying nightmares in grown adults, so your kids don’t stand a chance.
3. Gears of War 2 (M for Mature): An action shooter that anyone can sit down and enjoy, with friends or alone. Although repetitive and short, online modes open up extra hours of social fun. Parents: Although there’s plenty of gore, parental controls help tone it down.
4. Guitar Hero World Tour (Rated T for Teen): Designed to bury EA Games’ Rock Band, World Tour comes with a drum set, guitar, and microphone. You can now sing, play guitar, bass, and drums. With the ability to record music and share tracks online, it’s the ultimate creative gift this holiday season. However, I move it down the list because of the high price and general unavailability in stores.
5. Braid (Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and older): Braid is a 2D platform-jumping game you can buy from Xbox Live Marketplace. The game features challenging puzzles, beautiful graphics, and an imaginative story. No one should be fooled into thinking this is just a kid’s game; Braid is a title anyone will love. I believe there’s a way to gift it to someone if you know his or her gamertag.

PlayStation 3
1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (M for Mature): Since many games can be enjoyed on the cheaper Xbox 360, MGS4 still remains the best reason to buy Sony’s system. A stunning conclusion to a story-heavy series spanning the past decade, MGS4 features more tension and action than in all the James Bond films combined. The online mode is great fun, allowing players to try to sneak up on each other. This is a great package and a technical marvel. Parents: The political and adult themes may be of even greater concern than the violence.
2. Grand Theft Auto IV (M for Mature): Another early arrival this year is still one of the best PS3 titles this holiday season. The first GTA game with HD graphics, IV features a better story, better missions, and much better controls than previous games. And the online mode is a blast. Parents: Surely by now, the title alone is warning enough?
3. LittleBigPlanet (E for Everyone): Creativity abounds in this cute game with graphics brilliant enough to astonish anyone of any age. Although the “story” mode is short, the variety of play in this game is unbelievable. Smarter kids can even create their own characters and levels to share with friends online.

Nintendo Wii
1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Rated T for Teen): This fighting game released early in the year still ranks high on Santa’s list. The roster features all of Nintendo’s loveable characters and some surprising guests kicking each other’s butts on platform-like battle arenas and stages. The online multiplayer is a lag-free technical feat. Up to four players can get in on the fun. Parents: Contains animated non-realistic violence.
2. World of Goo (E for Everyone): This physics-based puzzle game is innovative, addictive, and charmingly weird. Players of all ages can appreciate its humor and fun. World of Goo is a WiiWare game available through the Wii Shop Channel for 1500 points. You can gift it to a friend if you know their Wii code.
3. Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels (T for Teen): Though not released at the time of this article, Lightsaber Duels is shaping up to be a big title this holiday season. Waving the Wii Remote enables characters from the CG animated series and movie to fight. Game play goes deeper with a challenge mode. Parents: Contains animated violence.

Sony PSP
(Note: Most of these games were released very early in the year, meaning the gamer on your shopping list may already own one or more of the following.)
1. God of War Chains of Olympus (M for Mature): An excellent and easily controllable action adventure set in ancient Greece, Chains of Olympus is a visual benchmark for the system. A bit repetitive, but fun for the bloodthirsty. Parents: The blood flies during battles, and the themes are suggestive and adult.
2. Patapon (E for Everyone): A unique rhythm-strategy game in which you, as a drum-beating god, control an army of cute little creatures called Patapon. By pressing various buttons in rhythm, you command the creatures to march, attack, and pick up items.
3. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Rated T for Teen): Although the combat system is repetitive and overburdened by a randomized burst system, Crisis Core is a fun adventure with pretty graphics. Expanding the backstory of Final Fantasy VII, one of the greatest games of all time, Crisis Core features tons of game play. Parents: Some minor violence and dark themes might be startling to toddlers, but there’s nothing truly objectionable.
4. Star Ocean: First Departure (Rated T for Teen): Old-school RPG goodness. Check my previous article for more detail. Buy the guidebook, while you’re at it. Parents: Contains some sexy and sexist humor, and drinking of alcohol.

Nintendo DS
1. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (Rated T for Teen): Since Castlevania: Symphony of the Night released 12 years ago, I’ve become something of a series addict. Order of Ecclesia is getting rave reviews and word of mouth, for being one of the more innovative titles since then. The story line is also the best in recent years. Parents: Game includes monsters and some animated blood of the cartoonish variety.
2. Final Fantasy IV (E10+ for Everyone 10 and older): The game that made Final Fantasy popular on the SNES is remade with 3D graphics and touch-screen controls. The only problem is that it’s been re-released so many times that it might seem old-hat by now. Parents: The story is a bit darker than you might expect, but contains nothing objectionable.
3. Professor Layton and the Curious Village (E for Everyone): Gorgeously drawn stills and animation combine with puzzles to provide one of the more entertaining and educational experiences on the DS. And when the game is done, additional puzzles can be downloaded through an Internet connection.