Recommended Resident Evil Playing Order

Resident Evil has become the example of the survival-horror genre.  The game has some strange numbering at times, and numerous spin-offs and unrelated titles.  This is my recommended playing order, but not necessarily the best or in release order.

1. Resident Evil
2. Resident Evil 0
3. Resident Evil 2
4. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
5. Resident Evil Code: Veronica
6. Resident Evil Gaiden
7. Resident Evil 4
8. Resident Evil Revelations
9. Resident Evil 5
10. Resident Evil 6

Resident Evil (1996)

It would be obvious to start with the first one, right?  While technically it takes place second in the storyline, it would make vastly more sense to start here.

In this game, you play as either Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine.  They are both members of an elite police squad, STARS, and they are dispatched to investigate some killings that have occurred.  Bravo team has already been sent in, but nobody has heard from them.  Alpha team is dispatched and attacked by dogs, and runs into a nearby mansion...

Other Resident Evil 1 options:

• Resident Evil Director's Cut (1997): The Director's Cut is the same game with a few items and enemies moved around.  There are two versions of the Director's Cut, one with dual-analog support and one without.
• Resident Evil (2002): This is an enhanced remake for the Gamecube.  the graphics are far greater, controls are better, and each character now has their own extra weapon.  The game also slightly changes the story to mention some future game characters.
• Resident Deadly Silence (2006): This is a remake of the first game for the Nintendo DS.  It has some new gameplay mechanics and features inspired from Resident Evil 3 and 4.
• Resident Evil is available on the PSN as a PSX Classic.
• The Gamecube version of the game was ported onto the Wii.

Resident Evil 0 (2002)

Now you might think this game should come first, as it is a prequel to the first game.  I really think it works better after Resident Evil 1.  While the gameplay mechanics are going to be much better than the next few games on the list, the game is going to be the most relevant after finishing the first one.

The story is about Rebecca Chambers, a medic from the first game, and Billy Coen, an escaped convict.  Rebecca was part of the first team that went missing in the mountains before Alpha team arrives.

Other Resident Evil 0 options:

• The game was released on the Wii.

Resident Evil 2 (1998)

This is probably considered the best "classic" Resident Evil game.  It takes place shortly after the events of the first game.  To keep this spoiler free, the mansion from the first game had some zombies in it, they got out and found their way to Raccoon City.

In this game, you can play as either Leon Kennedy or Claire Redfield.  Claire is the brother of Chris in the first game.  Claire comes to town looking for her brother, not knowing their is a zombie apocalypse occurring.  Similarly, Leon is on his way to town for his first day on the job as a Raccoon City police officer. The game features two storylines, one for each character.  Their stories are taking place simultaneously, typically at different sections of the game.  The majority of the game takes place in the police station and surrounding areas.

Other Resident Evil 2 options:

• The game was ported to the Gamecube.  To my knowledge, it is no different than the original release of the game.  It's not like the enhanced version of the first.
• Resident Evil 2 is available on the PSN as a PSX Classic.

Recommended DC Comics Based Games

Last week I did a list of my recommended Marvel Comics based games, so I figured I might as well do a DC one too!  I admittedly haven't played that many DC based games that I have enjoyed, but I'll go ahead and list the ones I found memorable.

The Adventures of Batman & Robin

This was the first DC game I ever played.  I had this for the Sega Genesis, and apparently is different on the Sega than it is the SNES, so this is for the Sega version.

The game is based on Batman the Animated Series and has matching art styles.  It is a side-scrolling "shooter".  You run from the left of the screen to the right shooting batarangs at enemies.  If they get close, you punch them, but it's mainly a "run and gun".

Honestly, it isn't a perfect game, but I would play anything related to the animated series.  It is very difficult though, I just recently got passed the first level, and I've been trying for years!

Superman 64

Hahaha, no.  Just kidding.

Justice League Heroes

I played the PSP version, so I can't speak about the console version, but the portable version was great.  In each level, you battle a number of villains and henchmen, all Justice League themed of course.  You are partnered up with another Justice Leaguer and can switch between then at any time.  You have seven characters to chose from in the beginning:

1. Batman
2. Superman
3. Green Lantern (John Stewart)
4. The Flash
5. Wonder Woman
6. Zatanna
7. Martian Manhunter

Bad Game Reviews: Lord of the Rings Conquest

Assuming most people played Star Wars Battlefront, you should theoretically enjoy this game, right?  The basis of the game is simple, fight off the enemy and hold locations.  You have multiple classes to choose from: archer, warrior, mage, and scout.  Each class has their own powers and abilities.

The game made from the creators of the Star Wars Battlefront series, and plays just like one. While I had heard horrible things about this game, I'm thoroughly enjoying it.  This is the closest to a current generation Battlefront game as we can get.

The game really has the large scale battles you would imagine it having.  The game has all the battlegrounds from the game you would think, plus a few others such as Rivendell and the Shire.

The game really lacks in combat, which is probably the most important part of the game.  At times, the sword swinging feels sluggish, but I do think it brings a degree of realism.  It's tough to take down more than a few guys at once, I often feel overwhelmed.

The game also has "vehicles" like Battlefront.  Wargs, horses, ents, trolls, catapults, even Oliphaunts.

Recommended Marvel Comic Based Games

Many comic books are action packed, full of excitement and ridiculousness.  One would think they would make the perfect video games right?  Well, I can tell you one thing, there are many more bad comic based games than good ones.  This post is going to solely focus on games based on Marvel Comics properties.  This list certainly won't cover them all, just the ones I personally found to be a lot of fun.

Spider-man X-Men: Arcade's Revenge

While no where near the first, or the first good one even, this was the first Marvel game I played.  As the title suggests, the game features Spider-man and X-Men fighting against Arcade, among other famous villains.  The game is a side scrolling platformer.  Each character has their own level, starting with Spider-Man.  You go through the level collecting these little lights, but you have to get them in order.  It's not a perfect game, but for the time period, it was a lot of fun.  Plus, at the time at least, Gambit was my X-Men favorite character, and he is playable!

This game is going to be a little tough to find given its age, and I don't support piracy, but I think in this case an emulator would be okay to use.

Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage

This game is a side-scroller beat 'em up, very similar to Streets of Rage, featuring Spider-Man and Venom as playable characters.  In the game, you could also call many Marvel characters to your aid that add to the game impressive roster of Marvel characters including: Captain America, Cloak and Dagger, Deathlok, Iron Fist, Black Cat, Firestar, and Morbius the living vampire.  Carnage had his own allies including Shriek, Demogoblin, and others.  The game is generic, but if you like side-scrollers and Spider-Man, this is perfect.  Deathlok is also probably my favorite Marvel character ever for some reason.

Again, being as old as it is, an emulator might be the way to go.

Marvel VS Capcom 2

This game is exactly what is sounds like!  It features numerous Marvel characters battling against numerous Catpcom characters, including Street Fighter characters.  The game has been released on the PS2 and Xbox, and more recently on the Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Store.  It plays just like any old fighting game, so they might stray people away, but it's really great.  "I'm gonna take you for a ride!"

The original discs are pricey, I actually recently sold mine, but it can be found on the Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace and Playstation store for, I believe, $14.99.  Worth it if you are into fighting games!

X-Men Legends

This is probably my all-time favorite Marvel game.  The game follows the X-Men on various missions to fight Magneto, Sentinels, and even the Juggernaut!

Why You Should Try Castle Crashers

Castle Crashers is a two dimensional "hack 'n slash"/beat 'em up.  It has four player online and local co-op.  The game is very well received and most of you have probably played it by now, but for those of you that haven't you should really consider doing so.

The plot of the game is simple, you are a knight in a medieval land.  Your kingdom is attacked, and your multi-ethnic princesses are stolen.  You are three other knights are sent on a quest to retrieve them!

The art style is fairly unique and should remind some of your of a certain website from your childhood.  The creators of this game are creators of Newgrounds, while I don't think Newgrounds is as popular now as it was, it certainly was a major internet player in childhood.

Why You Should Try South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!

South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play is an Xbox Live Arcade title.  The game is obviously a tower defense game, but there is a slight spin on it.  You control one of the four main characters: Stan, Cartman, Kyle, or Kenny.  Each character is capable of building towers, and they all throw snow balls which deal damage to the advancing enemies.  In addition, each character also has a special move which I'll get to later.

The first few levels start out very basic, but it does get fairly difficult.  As you kill enemies, they drop money that you need to pick of to build and upgrade towers.  The towers are all fairly South Park themed, ranging from "normal" things like baseball shooters to tied up cats that "cheese" the advancing foes.

The story advances after each completed level.  It is told through stylized anime like sequences, with full voice acting from the few original actors that do most the voices.  Something terrible has happened in South Park, and now waves and waves of all sorts of people and creatures are stopping at nothing to get through!

As you progress through the story mode, you go to many South Park inspired locations.  The school, sixth grade hangout, junkyard, even the top of a mountain for an epic confrontation with the half man, half bear, half pig itself.