The Crossroads of Reality

Feeling like I’m siting on a helicopter after surviving a zombie apocalypse…or a failed dinosaur park experience.


Low key convinced any of the endings involving
Resident Evil games with peeps tiredly escaping in
helicopters were inspired by Jurassic Park.
Inspiration, uh…finds a way

Another week done and dusted, and one that has left me feeling tired…but the good kind of tired. Didn’t discuss a wide variety of topics on ATE this week, as I was mostly replaying and elaborating on my own thoughts related to the Resident Evil 3 remake, which had a delightfully surprising amount of philosophy that spawned from the games deconstruction, which is pretty much as good as it gets in my world. I kind of wanted doing even more run-throughs of the RE3 remake, as there were still a few final trophies for me to get, involving some of the harder difficulties, but I had already played through the title several times in as many days, and having already spent a week writing on the subject material, it felt as if I should put the matter to bed.


Not unlike some other recent adventures I have recently had

I’d posit the notion that this splendiferous slide into some savory surival horror insantiy has lit a fire under me, and will kickstart a campaign of interest to commence a death-march through any number of other Resident Evil titles much like I have in the old days, but I genuinely don’t know if that is the vibe currently bubbling under the surface. As mentioned, though I am the good kind of exhausted, I do think I must spend some time with my thoughts and ponder the way forward, whatever it may be. If I do end up leaving the topic of Resident Evil alone, now would likely be the last best time to mention bloodydisgusting got some of the actors together who starred in the live action opening of the original Resident Evil game, and needless to say it’s pretty awesome, so go give it a look.


Starring: ALBERT WESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSKER

I love how that mother fucker is just wearing sunglasses in a forest at night on a police murder investigation and everyone around him is like “yup, checks out.”. No wonder the S.T.A.R.S member all got took. Nice investigative deduction skills, dipshits, wonder if something is off about this guy?

T’would be there ruin, as fate would so rule.


Wesker even wears his sunglasses in his work photo, he’s a fucking
scientist my dudes.

Putting aside the perfectly over the top absurdism of 90’s villians, I do find that I suffer some bizarre version of what feels like the not-as serious equivalent of a postpartum depression of sorts when finishing a game, especially when it becomes more herculean of a project involving writing and trophy hunting. Even after I’ve reached my conclusive work on the topic at hand, this mood tends to set in where I reflect with melancholic repose on what has passed, the feelings and thoughts I may take away, and the fleeting nature of impermanence, in all of it’s bastardly abstract formats. I’m reminded of Schopenhauer’s thoughts on people who read, and how some may be too voracious in their habits, in not taking the time to digest, comprehend, and self-reflect on what they’ve just consumed, but mindlessly filling the void without any meaning or understanding attached to the experiences. I would tend to concur that people don’t give themselves enough time to appreciate and sit in their own thoughts on any given matter before moving on, so I think what I’m feeling is for the best, however somber in nature it may be.


Contrast is key in illustrating both the human condition and
good storytelling, though both concepts may be codependent
on each other

I think in the spirit of taking a moment for one’s self, I’ll leave it short and sweet for today. Remember to always give yourself some time to ponder and process, so you may have a chance of moving forward an enriched individual. Till next time.

~Pashford

Encyclopedia Muranica: The Absent Rain Theorem

Sometimes, you’ve got to look at the absence of what’s not there for the deepest, relative value you care about, and the lack observed thereafter will help put into perspective what matters most.


For example, not pictured: Fry

After a nearly week long romp of raging through Raccoon City, I’m more or less at ease with my adventures through the abhorrently infested zone of nightmarishly ghoulish proportions. As predicted, I took a second to size my unofficial review of the game up, and I think I more or less hit all of the notes of importance I wanted to. “Back in my day”…so to speak, when I was writing reviews in a more official capacity, they use to be far more long winded, maybe even taking a fine toothed comb of the entire process to a certain detrimental nature of sorts. I gladly leave that structural approach behind, as it feels a bit too outdated at this point, and perhaps leaned too heavily on magnifying the nitty gritty details almost obsessively, to the point of being OCD about the most frivolous of nonsense.


Much in the vein of: 0MFG! NEMESIS DOES TENTACLE THINGS TO
MONSTERS IN THE REMAKE! HE NEVER DID TENTACLE THINGS TO
MONSTERS IN THE ORIGINAL!!!11!

One important takeaway I feel of my overall thoughts involving the RE3 remake, was in regards to a notion I mentioned awhile back…which is ironic, cause I don’t even remember what it was initially in reference too, but the idea was sound I think I initially used a different name for the happening as well, but I’m reutilizing it again with the new dubbing “The Absent Rain Theorem”, as it deals with the concept of seeing value relative to what isn’t present. I initially posited it in terms of focusing on how much it isn’t raining when I ride my bike, as opposed to how much it is raining, to help frame my own perspective on the moment itself, and I ended up reusing the very same idea for my review on the RE3 remake, in all of the excessive absences that make up it’s quality.


Another good example: this wall has now enhanced in quality,
because of the massive fucking hole Jill just blew through it. It’s the
absence of material that makes it so god damn metal. The theorem
works in many ways of detailing quality.

To wit; the A.R.T (Absent Rain Theorem) I ended up utilizing was extraordinarily helpful in focusing my perspective involving the RE3 remake by what wasn’t present, more so than what was, and then parsing through whether or not that was good or bad….or just, different, relatively speaking. That doesn’t necessarily mean it drove me down a mad path of delusion involving said quality, or kept me in denial about the inherent “-ishness” (that’s right, I used that idea a little while back, too) of the game, as it in fact lacked too much in most regards, failing it’s own “-ishness”, both in what was absent, and what was present, but I think my approach with A.R.T in mind was a useful philosophical approach that has now worked in a couple of different applications, and I think will get a lot of use out of me moving forward.


Pictured: Nemesis, trying to get (a) value (meal) out of a
Jill (Sandwich)

With all of that said, and the post mortem on the event more or less done and dusted, I figured I would mirror the game a bit in it’s machinations…or at least, the original release of Resident Evil 3, by having my last focus on the game be about what comes after the escape from Raccoon City, and ironically, fits in with my mention and usage of A.R.T, in distilling the nature of what the RE3 remake fundamentally lacks, and one of the core absences that degrade the entire process after the fact.

And that’s the Mercenaries.


Absence makes the heart grow fonder

To be concluded…

~Pashford

Raccoon City Limits Pt.3

When it rains, it pours.


Umbrella Corp: redefining unregulated capitalism, one city
at a time

For anyone who hasn’t been following along, I’ve basically been using the last week as a platform to discuss my thoughts on the Resident Evil 3 remake, in all of it’s monstrous glory. The whole thing started as a send up to my regularly reoccurring replay of the title, which usually starts on September 28th, in conjunction with the start of the game itself, and Jill Valentine’s last ditch efforts to escape Raccoon City. I alternate years it seems, between my autumn getaways located in Silent Hill and RC, depending on where the time shares happen to be cheaper any given year.


Cratering infrastructure has Racoon City real estate at rock
bottom prices, you see

I ended up writing “The Save Rooms” as a moment of respite, which aligned quite well with the theme of the article itself. The write up happened as a result of what would appear to be some sort of trepidation in writing my final thoughts on the RE3 remake, inspite of having played through the game a couple of times in as many days. I think I’m so used to focusing on “meatball writing”, the fast and dirty approach to get the job done, that the act has left larger scale pieces outside of my regularly flexed muscles. Though I honestly don’t like content that is gargantuan in scope, whether it be video essays or think pieces. The internet works best in small bite delights, I find.


So sayeth the memes

So yeah, I’m going to finally Frankenstein my thoughts together, involving some of the pieces I’ve already written, and finalize my reckonings on the RE3 remake, before getting back to headlines as usual on ATE, as dwelling on Raccoon City much longer will likely leave me in a similarly devastated state as the city itself. To wit; and in reiteration: I do think the game feeling as if it is “speedrunning” itself, in terms of story structure and pacing, does butcher some of the finer elements of what made the original RE3 something special. As noted, Brad’s involvement is too minimal, you meet Carlos too quickly, and Nemesis’ debut is far too sudden, with no build up of suspense at all before his big reveal. I know the new remakes are trying a balancing act of maintaining the old school feel of survival horror, while trying to keep the gas pedal pressed down in the vein of RE4, but the first third of the game feels way too compacted narratively speaking to be seen as an improvement, which is further impacted by the remakes lack of branching choices during the non-present live selection outcomes that made the original that much more fleshed out.


The meter maid situation in Raccoon City is completely out of
control

In reference to recalling my next point of interest, I mentioned a disappointment in the re-canonization of events for the RE3 remake, which is definitely more of a preference thumbs down on my behalf than a complete necessity in making the game a better experience. The series has this weird mix of leaning on the background lore to prop it up, while also playing fast and loose with the story elements at the same time. On some level: I get it. People came here to shoot zombies, not read books, but the amount the fanbase seems to care about finer details, and the small care the devs look like they’re trying to put into background stuff is apparent, but it does feel like the bare minimum to check a box. You also have to consider, between originals, remakes, additional content etc, just how much regular and expanded canon exists, the amount of info you could play with, and or the expansion of it in beefing up the story elements of RE3 would go a long way, but alas, nothing of the sort can be said for the remake. With the way they do nothing to add new elements, but on top of that, take away old ones by remixing the game so much, I feel as if we are left with a reduction of points of interests involving the S.T.A.R.S member and Raccoon City in general during it’s final days, and we’re all worse off for it.


We even lost Carlos’ accent in the remake , dammit!

We of course have the gameplay to talk about, which there is plenty to discuss, acknowledging I have only registered complaints with what the title doesn’t have thus far, but the absences are too brutally obvious not to mention (a little more on that later, even). The RE3 remake definitely has a lot of thanks to give to the RE2 remake which proceeded it, as the game makes use of the Re Engine that made 2 look so damn good and feel so nice to control in, so both aesthetically speaking and from a control standpoint the RE3 remake passes muster with luster. The audio design is a bit touch and go, as the gun effects fail to carry any weight, and the new OST kind of seems to just blend in instead of standout and accentuate the experience, save for the old audio cues they use from the original interspersed throughout the experience, which is telling, I think.


Can’t go wrong with a save room theme

Obviously, the RE3 Remake has moved on as the series has, and therefore tank controls are a thing of the past. Aiming, shooting, moving, dodging throughout the environment, all feel non-challenging, which is what you want to hear with any game, especially one where you’ll be fighting for your life on a regular basis. The series has expanded in terms of difficulty both ways: there are plenty of options to make the game both easier and harder, though the baseline difficulty level honestly feels maybe a bit too generous, as auto saves, excessive ammo, and even just regular save points, which felt like they were almost every other room, makes this feel like a very user friendly survival horror experience. One can of course pump up the difficulty and or go for some of the more limiting trophies to spice up your experience, (S rank, no healing, playing on Inferno), but I still feel as if the core gameplay involving Nemesis himself should be far more tense and challenging, given the supposed nature of the beast.


Nemesis always did take laser tag a little too seriously

For all it lacks, and as noted, the amount it does lack feels ample, (no Mercenaries, guys? so brutal), there is plenty of still “good enough” gameplay to get down on here. I think as a remake, Resident Evil 3 fails quite significantly, in basically bringing nothing new to the table, and even taking a lot of what worked off of the table in the process. This is underlined in stark contrast to just how much work they seemed to put into the RE2 remake to make it really feel like a complete reinvention of a classic game, which is an amazing feat. The RE3 remake is a pale shadow in comparison to it’s predecessor, both in terms as a follow up to the RE2 remake, and in reference to it’s original outing. It lacks greatness, but doesn’t skimp on the fun, and acts as a respectable salute to the end of Raccoon City.



~Pashford

The Save Rooms

About to shoot the shit about safe areas in the Resident Evil series. Stay awhile and listen…


Oops, wrong game.

Same energy though, you know? I was sitting down to attempt to Frankenstein my thoughts together involving the Resident Evil 3 remake, and figured it would be appropriate to catch a breather, so to speak, in the spirit of the energy the save rooms of Resident Evil fame have to offer, and the magic imbued within. Obviously, other games have similar moments of respite, the encampment from Diablo 2’s first area springs to mind, and even something like Mario 64’s Castle act as moments of relief amidst the chaos that ensues when exploring the madness found within.


“Wow! What a mansion!”

The Save Rooms from the Resi series probably maintain such a warm place in my heart due to the contrast between what they represent, and the gameplay inherent within the titles themselves, especially pre-Resident Evil 4, as the series morphed into something else entirely from that point on. The Save Rooms (great band name, by the way) come equipped with calming themes of atmospheric backdrops that let you know everything was going to be alright for a few brief moments, reinforcing the notion you were completely safe from harm or needing to make any life or death decisions for a few precious minutes. Of course, the save rooms also came packing with the good old reliable safe box, which housed the breadth of your saved inventory, healing goodies, key items, badass weaponry galore, but also the typewriter (of legend), which allowed one to save their progress, so they could safely reload and live to fight another day once more.


*Slaps ink ribbon* You can fit so many gruesome
realities in this baby

While I am not usually on the generational vibe train that comes with waxing philosophical while looking back at the nostalgic feels of yesteryear, it behooves me to mention that The Save Rooms in all of their ambience inducing glory, are indeed strong with the force of 90’s energy. I find that, at least in the realm of video games, those strong kind of feels are really all one needs to win over the adult kids now a days, as drudging apathy and inane monotony of the everyday howls so relentlessly, any reminder of an enjoyable summers day gone by that may be evoked from something like the sound of a save room theme is all one needs to find chill in this hectic, chaotic mess we call existence, just to give ourselves a well needed moment of zen.


Both Redfields and Valentine agree: Save Rooms
are the way to be! (Leon unavailable for comment
as he was too busy being a real police dude at the time)

Plus, the save rooms also totally ruled when you were summoning the last of your energy, montage style, in getting all of your best equipment out of the safe box, gearing yourself up in a moment of excited rally to take down the final boss at like 5 in the morning while getting totally hyped.


Groovy

So yeah, there’s a little bit of a revelry of warmth from yours truly. I get carried away sometimes with an intense focus on being perhaps, too methodical in my approach to deconstructing games or overly analytical in breaking down their finer components in relation to design or the overall ethos at large that dictates form or fashion, but for once, I figured I would think with my heart and feel with my brain, and reminisce about the cozy feelings found within The Save Rooms.

~Pashford

Raccoon City Limits Pt.2

When life imitates art…


We all see bad box art Mega Man in the mirror

During my recent attempts at writing about replaying the Resident Evil 3 remake, in regards to my annual observation of the significance involving September 28th, I’ve been detailing elements of the game I feel just don’t quite hold a candle up to the original. Not because I dislike the game on any real level, mind you, but the fondness I have for classic Resident Evil throbs in my veins to this day, and that sort of energy is harder to beat into submission than a Nemesis that just won’t take the hint.


It sucks when someone misses out on hints of subtleties

While I have enjoyed the bite sized addresses to the elements I speak of, and they have fittingly run alongside the track of the days involving the demise of Raccoon City itself, it also comes at a time when my schedule has turned completely upside down, with me waking up mere hours before midnight to complete a list of activities I prefer to have done by midnight, so my time conjuring thoughts on Jill Valentine and her heroics involving tenure as a S.T.A.R.S member have been not unlike the nightmare of keeping a schedule in order while fighting against the hordes of the undead.


The textbook definition of no chill

I plan on doing some compartmentalizing of my thoughts into one super-cut article here in the next day(?) to tidy everything up a bit, given that I’m nearly out of time to write anything of long winded merit here, but I will leave you with yet another point of disinterest related to why the remake of Resident Evil 3 was kind of a step down from the original in another regard, as the game reduces a players autonomy by dispensing of the branching story options of emergency the original provided. While some were of small note in their implementation, others provided large deviation to the overall pacing of the narrative at hand, and in terms of how you went about navigating the back alleys of Raccoon City.


I hate when they don’t include the relevant number
of self-defenestrations needed when navigating a map

Just another element I’ll have to roll up into the eventual equivalent of a Resident Evil 3 Remake burrito for your enjoyment. To be continued…

~Pashford

The Triangles That Have Two Obtuse Angles In The Night

The realities of the everyday tend to be far more impossibly horrifying than anything that goes bump in the night.


Unless you’re a resident of SIlent Hill, in which case,
they’re actually the exact same thing

That segway is only just slightly jumping the gun a bit in preparing for the absurdity that now seems like the month long celebration of Halloween, but the spoopines of the season tends to lend itself to a fetching atmosphere, and is far and away the least annoying of the holiday fanfare, so I will allow it. In the spirit of that notion, I revel in the idea that a “new” Silent Hill game is right around the corner, and I have barely discussed anything related to the matter.


Not like there is a curious absence of crazy bullshit
to discuss when considering Silent Hill, mind you

In some respects, the name drop to news involving the new remake for Silent Hill 2 reminds us just how much is riding on the new project by Team Blooper, the developers who have teamed up with Konami to try to revitalize the gaming public’s faith in the once iconic survival horror series. The news comes to us via IGN, who shares a report that the team over at Blooper had to push “very hard” to get Silent Hill 2 to see the light of day as a PC port, which is kind of a big deal when you think about reaching a massive audience:

“Definitely Silent Hill 2 is a game that has been associated with the PlayStation brand from the very beginning,” the CEO said (as translated by DeepL). “At the very beginning, we had to push Konami very hard to lean on the PC topic. For them the main market is PlayStation, while looking at the interest on Steam, it seems that it should also be a successful launch.”

There has been an understandable amount of bluster involving the remake to Silent Hill 2, as the game represents such a high point in our gaming history, the success of the upcoming remake is vital for the possible revival of both Silent Hill, and perhaps a resurgence of a new wave of survival horror in general. Fans were initially skeptical early on when they saw gameplay footage from a couple of years ago when the game was first announced, but the doubts were understandable. With a combination of an early build, the unfortunately tarnished legacy of the games remaster that fell below standards that was released in the HD collection, and the dormancy of the series for so long, I think SH fans are just being very careful not to get their hopes up for what could be another broken heart just waiting to happen.



The games release is fast approaching, with an October 8th launch date set for anyone lucky enough to have a decent PC rig to play it on, or a PS5. This upcoming release is one in what has now become a growing number of titles forcing the realization I am in desperate need of a PS5 at this point. Soon enough.

~Pashford