Ashwin J. K. Santos

Meh.. Not great, not terrible. It deviates from horror and reverts back to being a generic first-person, action shooter. This is a direct sequel to Resident Evil 7, Re7 was the game that brought the Resident Evil series back to its roots, immersing the player in atmosphere, tension and true horror like the horror games of old. It single handedly revived the Resident Evil Franchise and gave it new life. CAPCOM however cannot resist the allure of a larger market and the promise of higher profits. In order to tap into the larger mainstream crowd, Capcom has dumbed down Re8 and turned it into a mediocre, first person Action-Survival shooter with non-existant horror to make it more appealing to the casual gamer. Sacrificing its title, displeasing its core fanbase by appealing to the larger market for more profits. The game is comprised of 5 main sections: -Village (MotherMiranda) -Castle (BatLord) -Estate (SpiderLord) -Fishing Village (FishLord) -Stronghold (Lycans) -Factory (HorseLord) You go through each one fairly quickly as the game is structured in a linear sequence of events with a bit of optional free roam and exploring through the village portions. The Village is merely there for an introductory sequence, it mimics and replicates the initial village encounter between Leon and the Ganados in Re4 but does so poorly. After that initial encounter you are then pushed into the next sequence encountering other survivors who are all killed in a cutscene within the first 5 mins, you retrieve some items that gains you entry into the castle. The castle is comprised of Lady D, her 3 daughters and some generic minions. There is nothing new and engaging about this castle sequence.. it's the old tired formula of Resident Evil games hastily put together to form something that even resembles a finished product. You then kill Lady D and exit the castle and never set foot in it again. The game pushes you forward in this manner. The next location is the estate where there are no enemies or bosses to fight. Merely a sequence of puzzles that must be completed in order to exit the location. Once all puzzles are completed you engage in a game of hideNseek with the 2nd Boss, upom completing the game of hideNseek you kill the boss with a kitchen knife. (Game of the year material right here.) Next Location, fishing village is merely a glorified boss arena and there are no enemies or puzzles here. You confront the fish lord by restoring power and draining water by opening the dam. Causing the fish lord to be a fish out of water. This is a passable boss fight as it requires abit of skill and strategy from the player to exploit the bosses weakness while getting the timing your opportunities right. This boss fight is reminiscent of those old House of the Dead boss fights. If after 20 years you still look forward to these kinds of confrontations in videogames then this boss fight should be enjoyable for you. You move on to the Stronghold and kill all the werewolf enemies here only to be invited to the Factory by the Final Horse Lord who has a proposition for the M.C. The Factory has unique enemies of its own and a very interesting variety of enemies here, each with different weaknesses to exploit. You navigate the factory, kill the Horselord in a glorified turret sequence and its on to the final boss. You are back in the village, you shoot the main evil baddie in the face a few hundread times and the game is over. The End.