Shinji Mikami, and the Producer behind God Hand both created Phoenix Wright. Amazing! I love you Mikami-san!

This whole week I've been staying up till all the way to 12 o clock in the after noon just playing God Hand & ROTK XI. (Well mostly Romance of the three kingdoms XI, but God Hand gets mention, because it's good enough to drive moi away from the cocaine known as ROTK.) Actually thinking about it, while I was playing Street Fighter III 3rd strike it occurred to moi... Fighting games would have never evolved as much as they did if it weren't for Capcom's innovation & influence with Street Fighter 2. Till this day, there still has not been one 2-d fighter that could go toe to toe with SF III 3rd strikes fighting engine. Sure there are games that come quite close (Garou Mark of the Wolves) & there are others that I love more than Street Fighter (Samurai Showdown/Samurai Spirits & Killer Instinct.), but never have I seen a 2-d fighter that was as complex (But actually fun) as SF III 3rd Strike. I guess the main reason why I don't like Capcom now is because I'm not a fan of their other majour innovation to the game industry. (Resident Evil & Survival Horror.) I think it's kinda funny how the only RE I dig (I played them all except the gun survivor series & Outbreak 2 - seriously they actually made a sequel to Outbreak. I'm glad I just traded Onimusha 3 for Outbreak - Although Oni 3 was the better game..) is the one that doesn't play like a survival horror game. (RE 4)

RE4 is the game that really got me into the Resident Evil games again, there were always so many things that I hated about them, (almost) all of which they fixed for 4. Tank-like controls combined with a fixed camera seems like one of the worst ideas ever. The gameplay for the last gun survivor game wasn't that bad when compared to other Resident Evil games, but was way too short. Outbreak annoyed the hell out of me, the AI of your partners was so bad, you got pissed off to the point where you wanted them to die. Why the hell would you trade an emblem needed to finish the stage for a broken stick? You already have three fucking sticks!

I personally have loved all the Resident Evil games I've played (0,1,2, and 4) Sadly I haven't played 3 yet. I WILL get it when I find a cheap one for the Gamecube though.

I have enjoyed RE from beginning to RE4. Yes I am exicted for RE5, and yes I keep my ears and eyes open for details about the RE wii title. And yes I will agree that the series has its flaws. But did you expect? The first RE was so popular Capcom had no incentive to make the gameplay any different from the first one. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Unfortunetly that control scheme did not age well and it has become the biggest gripe about the early games. That and the awful VO/script of the first game, which to me, is just damn classic. I can't get enough Jill sandwiches, they're my fave. But the series has lasted due to graphical changes, more monsters which equals more gore/violence, bigger plots with more twists and more characters, and the whole "survival horror/scare factor" of the early games. Plus RE4 helped, ALOT. However it is a series filled with poor titles also. But I can still see some merit to them. RE Surivor may have worsened the controls/graphics/character scripts/character VOs, but it was fun to play the game from the 1st person perspective. After all it did end up in Code Veronica as an unlockable, and RE4's excellent targeting is a 3rd/1st person perspective hybrid. Thank God the sequel was better. Yeah thats right I've played Gun Survivor 2. Wanna know more? Sure! Well its a light gun game only in arcades (rare as ish), and its based off the Code Veronica theme and game engine. However its not a traditional light gun game. The light gun is actually fixed on the cabinet. You move the character (Steve or Claire) voluntarilly with the gun being a directional pad. Push the gun forward to run, press the button on the barrel for action, etc. The gameplay involves the player in a fixed room trying to find a key to unlock the area's exit and move on to the next. There is an on-screen map that shows your location and the key's location. During this time the entire game session is timed. The island (Rockfort Island) is set to blow and you gotta get your ass off it. On top of that the game add on the pain by torturing you with the Nemesis. If you take too long to unlock the room you are in, another countdown will be initiated for the Nemesis' release (I will note that I have swiflty dodged this nightmare each time I played). There are boss fights, like the Tyrants and giant spiders, and the game is two player co-op. I will be happy to answer any further questions. Going back to topic I will stand up for the Outbreak series with this opinion: It was atleast cool to play older RE enviroments from the classic games in a new look on the PS2. Like the Police Department, and the underground Raccoon city Umbrella lab. This and you got to experience the classic plot from a different character's eyes. But the load times were AWFUL long, the inventory system sucked a$$, the partner system was retarded, and even thought the classic plots came back so did the classic controls - that EVERYBODY hates, and yeah I will make this statement, try to prove me wrong. So if you can't see already I am a RE "veteran" and afficianado. Like Topdrunkee is asked K7 questions you can remember me when you have RE questions! Yes that sounds arrogant, but I feel very strong about these statments. Plus in Suda 51's most recent IGN interview, he stated Mikami-san as being one of his well-respected game developers.

The first one has always been the scariest, a creepy mansion is a lot scarier than a deserted city, and even the common slow-moving zombie's a lot scarier when in a narrow hallway than in an open city street with plenty of room to maneuver around. That and the awful VO/script of the first game, which to me, is just damn classic. I can't get enough Jill sandwiches, they're my fave.I loved the first one's dialogue. http://youtube.com/watch?v=avjjZk4bEIY I think every Resident Evil fan has heard this before, but it never gets old. Best ever use of Jill Sandwich. You're missing out. 3 had friggin' NEMESIS & Jill Valentine. Though 3 wasn't as classic as RE 2.3 wasn't as good as 1 or 2 in my opinion, though it did have better gameplay and was definitely one of the better games in the series. I mean look at Leon, he was actually likeable in RE 2, because he was just an everyday guy, in RE 4 they turned him into a pretty boy that tries way too hard to be badass. Sure we can say that Leon hardened up over the years, but if he hardened up... Why the hell is he bleaching & blow drying his hair? Leon kicks ass in the mafia outfit in RE4. I love that costume. But the load times were AWFUL long, the inventory system sucked a$$, the partner system was retarded, and even thought the classic plots came back so did the classic controls - that EVERYBODY hates,What ruined Outbreak for me was the shitty AI you had to work with. I bet it'd be pretty fun online, with partners who aren't retarded for a change, but I've never played online games before. I want to see more of the mercenaries mode, I thought it was alright in the older games, but with RE4's great gameplay, it's one of the funnest things I've ever played, I'm addicted to that thing.

Yeah I dont know why they made Leon into a stereotype, but Lisker has it pinned: Mafia Leon is BADD-A$$. And Ada did get mad hot. And wow, Topdrunkee, I want a HUNK RE game too. Ever since his kick-a$$ debut in RE2 I've hope for his return - plot wise. It was great playing as HUNK in RE4 Merc mode. I knew that he was supposed to make an apperance in Code Veronica Battle game, but Wesker too his place. And, of course when the first rumors of RE4 came out, it was supposed to be all about Umbrella's downfall with HUNK playing an important role in the plot. But the only thing those rumors had correct was that Leon was coming back. Heh, I loved the alternate outfits for Leon in RE2. The biker set-up was awsome, and the casual police suit was ill. That, and the way he could hold the handgun sideways was straight up Ill. RE3 for me, was the series entry with the most action gameplay and plot wise. But that was the problem. The plot was useless. Useless in that, the only real theme is Raccoon City was destroyed. Jill lives, and most others die. Cept for bad-ass Barry, and wimpy Carlos. There is almost no character development, and the epilouges help by giving more questions. Okay, so Jill goes on to find Chris, well according to the plot Chris went after Umbrella with a side quest to find Claire, yet Claire, after RE2, went looking for Chris. Code Veronica answered those qustions with the reunion of the bro and sis zombie destruction team. So that leaves Leon, Ada, Barry, Sherry, and Hunk. Well Leon, and Ada were finished with RE4. With not mention of any other characters. We assume Barry is ok, still holding guilt for betrying his comrades in RE1. Hunk is still the mysterious bad-ass that he is. The question I have is what happened to him after Umbrella fell? Then there is Sherry. Haha, little useless Sherry. My guess? New RE game starring Sherry as lead. Of course shes grown, and Capcom gives her plenty of sex appeal. Who's she fighting? Beat me. I wonder what happened to the G-Virus. And the new favorite mysterious bad-ass (still fails in comparison to HUNK): Billy. Yeah that marine guy from RE Zero. Oh, speaking of that game, what about Rebecca? So even though we are four games in, character plot-wise, we have 4+ characters that still need finding. Number one being the 4th Survivor! HAHAHAHAHAHA! So whats next? RE Wii, and RE5. Very little is known about each. Except rumors. RE Wii might be a RE4 re-make tailored to the Wii control, and Chris might be the lead in RE5, or Billy, some think that guy is Billy. Alright, to go back to what I started to say about RE3, it was entirely action based. Tons of monsters. Tons of zombies, TONS OF GUNS. That was sweet about RE3, so many freaking guns, and with the unlockable infinite ammo case, you were guranteed a fun time. I loved the custom M37 shotgun. Felt like the Terminator. Great to see the chaingun come back from RE2, as well as the standard rocket launcher. The other sweet thing was beefing up your regular gun ammo. Handgun was wimply at first, but load those custom black powder rounds, and you've got a shotgun in yo hand punk! And the same goes for the shotty. Load those big blaster shells and poof, zombies/dogs/crows/brain suckers/hunters be gone in two shots or less. So finally, RE3 was great, but it was more tailored to the action than plot.

I'll third the hot Ada statement.

I completly forgot about the mafia gear. The only problem that I have with that outfit is that whenever you turn it on. Sherry is always wearing that god damn suit of armour. I always pretend that I'm young Harman Smith when I play as Leon with the mafia gear & the Chicago typewriter. (Fool still needs to slick his hair back though. Thank god the fedora kicks so much ass that it negates his gay haircut.) RE3 for me, was the series entry with the most action gameplay and plot wise. But that was the problem. The plot was useless. That's when I started to lose interest in the RE franchise, although RE 3 was fun. It's what happened after, that turned moi off. (RE had the Street Fighter 3 syndrome. It took capcom for ever to finally make RE 4. So they just rehashed the same game over & over under a different name.) I'm just not into survival horror games. I hate the slow gameplay, the tedious menu screens, (hah hah this is coming from a Romance of the Three kingdoms fan, a game where the only thing you do is navigate through menu screens.) the inane implausible puzzles,etc. Basically Survival Horror is everything that I hated gameplay wise about Killer 7. Except K7 actually did have fast gameplay, but the menu screens were a bitch to control (The damn pause button would never work when ever I wanted it to.) & the puzzles were beyond retarded. IMO they're the second most pretentious genre of games out there. (Most pretentious being Japanese Rpgs.) The main thing that both Jrpgs & Survival horror have in common is horrible gameplay with more focus on story. The problem is, most survival horror games have shitty ass stories, though no where near as bad as Jrpg plots. I can actually claim that some survival horror games have pretty decent plots for a video game at least. RE 1 & 2 being one of them. (Unlike Jrpgs, most of which is,are just full of god awful writing all together. Emo angst is pretty much the main focus for the plots of Jrpgs.)

I never got why everyone loved Code Veronica so much, it offered nothing new, in fact it took away many of the new ideas introduced by 3. It was just another entry into the series with little relevance to the games. That was such a hyped game.

Well as for me, I don't tend to look at a company so much. Although I might be more inclined to check a game out if it was made by the same company who made another game I like. Capcom can be trusted, Activision can sometimes be trusted, EA can be trusted ONCE in a while....just don't wave any sports liscenses in their faces, they'll buy em up just like the NFL...oh wait! They DID do that! :O My point is that I look at the game itself to see if it's going to be any good. I read EGM EVERY month and they give great reviews for games. Although there are times I disagree with them (Killer7 being the BIGGEST disagreement of all time of course, haha). I'm more inclined to play a game I am seeing cool things about. Killer7 had some major sweet stuff in it so I checked it out. Turns out it's a masterpiece, who woulda thought? Freedom Fighters is a great game nobody played, and it's a great game BECAUSE EA tried something new. Shadowgate 64 was a great game because the environments and the puzzles were a lot of fun figuring out. Hey, even though Ubisoft has run with the franchise since then, I got Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time when it first came out. I thought the game was great! The first one wasn't so popular but Ubisoft knew they COULD make a franchise out of it with some more mainstream aspects (hero with a tude and just general blood and gore). I love Metroid Prime 1 and 2 because they aren't like any other adventure games I've ever played. Retro Studios reinvented the whole series and made it something new...t just happened to work REALLY well! I think the problem is that people find a forula that works and build a game on that. Resident Evil is a great example, so are most First Person Shooters just in general. They work because it worked before. Come up with a completely NEW formula (GTA2 to GTA3 or RE3 to RE4), and you can still have a fantastic game. It just is more risky now since development cost is so much higher now. Eh, enough of my blabbing. There will always be those great games no one plays...just as long as we keep each other updated on which ones those are! Haha. :D

Freedom Fighters was cool, but too damn short. And the game had some new ideas, but the gameplay still wasn't that different from all the 3D shooters, I wouldn't go as far as saying that EA has a single original person working for it.

EA didn't make Freedom Fighters. IO Interactive did. EA only published Freedom Fighters. Trust me I know, they're one of my favorite development teams of all time. I bought & own every single one of their games, except the first Hitman on PC. (The only other games they've made is the Hitman series.) BTW I've just heard that ex members from Clover studios are now working on Resident Evil 5. Shit, now I'm stoked for that game. Although I was kinda hoping for some Clover studio rejects to jump ship to Grasshopper Manufacture since the two developments teams have the same m.o.

So there is no reason why Resident Evil could fail! Hahahaha... Well that is good news. I'm curious to see if Viewtiful Joe will see a third game. Not the Super smash bros rip off: Red Hot Rumble. And I want a God Hand 2.