With the release of The Last of Us, Naughty Dog has proven itself in the survival horror genre. They made their game atmospheric, frightening, moving, and all around delight to play. Hopefully The Last of Us is the rebirth of the survival horror craze many of us remember from the late 90’s early 00’s. With the current sequels of survival horror mainstays just not cutting it, we’ve decided on 5 survival horror games for Naughty Dog to reboot.
5) Cold Fear – Last seen May 17, 2005 on PC, XBOX and PS2, published by Ubisoft and developed by Darkworks Long before Chris and Jill were on a boat in Resident Evil: Revelations, Coast Guard Tom Hansen was fighting baddies on an abandoned Russian vessel. The stormy weather and cramped spaces made this game a real nail-biter, plus the fact that ammo was extremely limited and the monsters were hard to put down made this a definite survival horror title. Sadly we haven’t seen to much of Darkworks after, they released Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfare in 2006, then in 2012 released the long awaited title I Am Alive. The game that they were currently working on, Black Death, has been cancelled. This makes this IP a perfect choice to swoop up and save. We’ve seen what Naughty Dog can do with boats in Uncharted 3, so imagine them making the hallways dark and grimy with moans and shuffling surrounding the character. Hopefully Ubisoft and Naughty Dog can cut a deal, then we can all get out our flippy floppies and jump on a boat.
4) Obscure – Last seen April 6, 2005 on the PC, XBOX and PS2, published by DreamCatcher Interactive and developed by Hydravision Entertainment This survival horror game is one of the first to have same screen co-op play and has one of the best opening scenes in any last gen game. Let’s just say Sum 41 and the cut scene are awesome. The premise is a simple one: five high school students search for their missing friend and get locked in the school overnight. Then the horror ensues. They must survive the night and must discover where all the monsters are coming from. This game, however, doesn’t end like a Scooby Doo episode. Lots of blood is shed and not all may survive the night. Hydravision made Obscure II and then Alone in the Dark for the PS2 and Wii. They finally closed their doors in September of 2012, but they re-opened as Mighty Rocket Studios. They plan on remaking Obscure as a next gen title called Final Exam. Naughty Dog could easily make this into a blockbuster, the over-the-shoulder view, the creative, humorous writing, and the close confining areas could make this rival The Last of Us in scariness.
3) Dino Crisis – Last seen November 7, 2003 on the Xbox, published by Capcom and developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 Another survival horror outing that was lead by Shinji Mikami which puts the players in the shoes of Regina as she and her team attempt to kidnap a doctor that has been thought dead for 3 years. Instead they find an island of dinosaurs trying to make them their afternoon snack. Naughty Dog has shown us that they can craft the outdoor environment, so why not let them craft a Jurassic jungle? This game also has a third person over the shoulder view which is becoming one of Naughty Dog’s trademarks. Add in their superb storytelling, amazing graphics, and dinosaurs and we’ve got ourselves another blockbuster game.
2) Silent Hill – Last seen March 13, 2012 on the Xbox 360 and PS3, published by Konami and developed by Vatra Games A little over a decade ago Silent Hill was the creepiest most atmospheric game franchise out there. Konami has a great franchise on their hands with the first two installments. Sadly during this generation Konami has not been able to rekindle the magic that was first games. They tried motion control, they tried new western developers, and neither have hit the nail on the head. Naughty Dog was able to give the player the feeling of extreme isolation and loneliness in The Last of Us, which is what Silent Hill is all about.
1) Resident Evil – Last seen October 2, 2012 on the Xbox 360 and PS3, published by Capcom and developed by Capcom Resident Evil used to be the game that survival horror fans would look to for solace when other so-called survival horror games weren’t cutting it. Shinji Mikami created this masterful series, and even rebooted it a decade later to make it fit into the current generation. Unfortunately Capcom has begun to sully the king of survival horror with Resident Evil 5 and 6. Instead of sticking with the survival horror bible, Capcom went the action game route in Resident Evil 5, opting to throw out the scares for huge set pieces and explosions. Capcom tried to redeem itself with Resident Evil 6, but they fell a bit short. Instead of deciding to go with one particular genre, they picked four: an action campaign, a stealth portion, a brawler, and a vague attempt at survival horror. Leon’s campaign was the closest survival horror fans got to old school Resident Evil, but it just wasn’t enough to satisfy their thirst, Revelations also attempted it, but also just not quenching enough. If Capcom handed the reigns over to Naughty Dog for the supposed upcoming reboot it would be unprecedented. Not only has Naughty Dog shown us they can do zombies, they’ve shown us that they understand survival horror. Limited supplies, death lurking around every corner, that feeling of isolation, even the crafting system they brought to The Last of Us would all make the Resident Evil reboot amazing. When you think about it, if Capcom can’t get Mikami to reboot his series for a third time, maybe it’s time for Naughty Dog to take a stab.
What survival horror games do you think Naughty Dog should get their hands on? Let us know in the comments.
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