Most of us do not always reflect on considering 2002 an antique year in video recreation history. But it types a fundamental piece of horror canon, bringing a raft of new titles and new entries in the present sequence to the market. In some instances making history. This used to be the generation of the sixth era of consoles. Sony’s PlayStation 2, Microsoft’s Xbox, and Nintendo’s GameCube. Introducing gamers to an entirely new stage of gameplay as a way as graphics. Reminiscence and sheer scope have been concerned.
While few of us had been flash sufficient to very own all of these consoles. Most of us owned at least one, and so shared our section in what wound up being the 2nd act for horror gaming. As it transitioned from the arcades and into our homes, turning into ever-more complicated and immersive. While now not every title in this article has loved the sturdiness of its contemporaries. Everyone has earned its place, turning the ripe historical age of 20 in 2022 with grace, nostalgia, or sheer, un-abating cringe.
Dino Stalker
First-person horror shooter Dino Stalker brings collectively the Resident Evil and Dino Crisis franchises to make something. Now not pretty as appropriate as either. But it is no longer to say it is a horrific game. Players take the cost of Mike Wired. A World War II pilot transported into a dino-infested future and, in the vein of the mild gun arcade games. It should use a range of weapons which include laptop guns, rocket launchers, and shotguns to shield dinosaurs whilst progressing thru the desert, jungle, and city environments.
The 3rd entry in Capcom’s Gun Survivor collection (following Resident Evil Survivor two – Code: Veronica). Dino Stalker then again has no awesome hyperlinks with the Resident Evil series. Yet, eagle-eyed game enthusiasts will be delighted to locate two easter eggs in the shape of the lady drawing water statue from the mansion in the authentic game, and an Umbrella building. Released for the PlayStation 2, Dino Stalker additionally allowed use of an actual mild gun accessory. Which most game enthusiasts did not have and could not come up with the money for in 2002. However, which used to be truly the top of video gaming sophistication.
Demonworld: Dark Armies
It would not be truthful to make a listing of 2002 horror video games barring together with the very worst of them: Demonworld: Dark Armies. Based on the Warhammer-style German fable tabletop recreation Demonworld, Dark Armies loosely (very loosely) tells the story of Jason Klinger, Commander and Imperial Advisor to the empire, who leads the Imperial Army’s battle in opposition to Orks who threaten the destiny of his homeland. Bold and authentic stuff.
A horror-inflected 2D approach recreation launched at a time when 2D method video games had been finessed to excellent art, Dark Armies nevertheless manages to get it all wrong. With simplistic and blocky graphics, an array of laughable inventory sounds, perplexing and overly complicated controls, and AI gadgets that continually ping themselves around the map and get caught in the front of nothing, it is an all-but unplayable mess. Released solely on the PC, and in no way viewed once more since we need to thank our fortunate stars Dark Armies did not crawl its way over onto consoles.
The House Of The Dead III
One of the all-time classics of real-world arcade gaming, The House Of The Dead series’ 0.33 installment hit arcades in 2002. Giving gamers precisely what they paid for. Set in 2018. 20 years after the Curien Mansion Case of the authentic game. The zombie infestation has spread. Mainly to the crumple of civilization as we understand it and, presumably, the mass manufacturing of firearms and ammunition.
Players should palm themselves towards the zombie horde to infiltrate the EFI Research Facility, which is now below the area of a mutant regarded as Death (beginning a tarot theme that throws up such enemies as The Fool, The Sun, and the Wheel of Fate).
Developed and posted via Sega solely for arcades, the recreation used to be later ported to the Xbox in 2003, Windows in 2005, Wii in 2008, and PS3 in 2012, most of which featured their mild gun-style interfaces. And, in case you desire to get your traditional arcade gaming restored in the flesh, Sega is nonetheless growing these games, with the most current entry House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn launched in 2018.
BloodRayne
BloodRayne was once making vampires attractive in the South lengthy earlier than True Blood hit screens, and the series’ inaugural sport may additionally properly be one of the matters that re-popularised the style in the first place. An action-horror hack and slash, BloodRayne starts in Louisiana, in 1933. The place gamers take manage of half-human, half-vampire. All-leather protagonist. Rayne looks into an outbreak of an unidentified disorder in the region.
Skipping in advance to the eve of WWII, in 1938 Argentina, gamers then have the pleasure of infiltrating several aspects of the Nazi regime and killing a range of goose-stepping ne’er-do-wells to strive and forestall them from bringing Hitler into energy the use of some shady mystical artifacts. Developed via Terminal Reality, the sport was once launched on GameCube, PS2, and Xbox in 2002, and its success noticed it increase and move over to PC, comedian books, and the silver screen.
As with the majority of accurate matters from 20 years ago, the sport was once remastered and re-released as BloodRayne: Terminal Cut in 2020 and BloodRayne: ReVamped 2021 for most principal eighth and ninth-era consoles.
The Thing
While most filmmakers understand higher than to try a sequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 horror cult basic. The Thing, which was once reviled upon launch and has because come to be acknowledged as one of the biggest horror movies of all time. The video sports enterprise and developer Computer Artwork in specific. It is a completely different kettle of fish. Released for Windows, Xbox, and PS2 in 2002. The third-person shooter survival horror sport recognized genuinely as The Thing focuses on a US Special Forces crew mobilized to the Antarctic outpost from the unique movie to decide what took place to the lookup team, and of direction to combat the titular ugly.
Putting pay to the cliffhanger ending of the movie, the group discovers Childs (one of the two authentic survivors) frozen lifeless in the snow, and MacReady (Kurt Russell’s character) turns up at the game’s conclusion to assist Captain Blake, the sole surviving member of his unit, escape. While such a specific answer to the film’s ultimate questions used to be a volatile gambit, it paid off. Carpenter himself recommended the game, and followers went wild for it, buying over one million gadgets worldwide. A sequel to this sequel was once planned, possibly with MacReady and Blake teaming up, however, was once canceled when Computer Artworks went bust in 2003.
Clock Tower 3
Survival horror sport Clock Tower three stands out from many of its contemporaries thanks to a wonderful visible style. In advance of its time portraits and the sort of thorough script remedy that most video games do now not experience the advantages of. But that does not imply it is perfect. Despite its title, it is certainly the fourth installment of the series, though the recreation has little to no connection with the preceding video games anyway. The story follows Alyssa Hamilton. Subsequently a lengthy line of lady warriors destined to journey thru time to defeat the spirits of evil.
Alyssa journeys the again to Nineteen Forties and Sixties London to defeat the so-called Entities and deliver them peace, and gamers ought to work to avoid her ghostly pursuers besides the useful resource of weapons.
Co-produced by using Capcom and Sunsoft. Clock Tower three hit the PS2 in 2002 and moved matters away from the point-and-click layout employed in preceding video games in the direction of having direct management over the protagonist. Wins like this, however, have been overshadowed using the game’s extraordinarily brief size and the truth that its advertising marketing campaign virtually did not penetrate some distance enough. Main it to emerge as an industrial failure.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
A domestic video sport console launch got here instead late in the day for Buffy. Thinking about it was once curtains for the TV exhibit in 2003. Nevertheless, 2002’s Buffy The Vampire Slayer was once properly received and benefitted from the strides the enterprise had made considering that the exhibit started in 1996. Developed via The Collective, this single-player beat ’em up sees gamers take manipulate of the titular slayer again in her excessive faculty ass-kicking days. Bringing collectively fan-favorites like Drusilla and the Master, and new villains such as Materiani, the Dreamers, and Scylla.
Happening upon a plot to resurrect the Master. Buffy has to go up to Spike. Drusilla, and all manner of vampires, skeletons, and demons in her quest to stop his return. With a script written by Buffy novelist Christopher Golden. The sport feels authentic to the supplied cloth and is scored properly by gamers and critics. Thanks to its immersive storyline, Tomb Raider-esque gameplay mannequin, and enjoyable fight sequences. Unfortunately for some long-time fans, and PlayStation devotees. Buffy The Vampire Slayer was once an Xbox exclusive, no matter commencing in improvement as a PlayStation game, earlier than shifting via Dreamcast, Windows, and a touchdown on the huge black box.
Resident Evil Zero
It would not be the early noughties barring a Resident Evil video game, and the survival horror franchise delivered now not one but two in 2002! But greater on that later. Resident Evil Zero serves as a prequel to the series’ first entry (hence the Zero), and charts the story of S.T.A.R.S. (Special Tactics And Rescue Service) Officer Rebecca Chambers and convicted former Force Reconnaissance Officer Billy Coen as they combat zombies in deserted Umbrella coaching facility in the Arklay Mountains.
Though an improvement on Zero commenced for the Nintendo sixty-four again in 1998. Capcom encountered obstacles with the console’s reminiscence potential and switched over to the GameCube. The place it used to be launched as an exclusive, with a refreshed gameplay fashion that covered the capacity to swap between the two characters and use their special abilities. That wasn’t all that had changed, however, as the sport was once a little tougher, a lot scarier and a long way greater worried than preceding entries. Offering new layers of methods and puzzles.
Unfortunately, amongst all this innovation, the series’ cumbersome tank controls (up to go forward, down to go backward, left and proper to rotate) remained. Nevertheless, the sport was once remastered in 2016 and offered well. No matter the lack of updates as long way as gameplay is concerned.
Resident Evil
Resident Evil is a 2002 remake of the cult basic 1996 PlayStation sport of the identical name. Which took a whole lot of followers who cherished the authenticity and made it larger and better. Set in 1998 close to the fictional Raccoon City. The sequence of grisly murders has taken region and it is down to S.T.A.R.S. sellers Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine to investigate. Part of a deal between Capcom and Nintendo. Which was once no doubt designed to money in on the arrival of the Resident Evil film the equal year. The recreation was once launched completely for GameCube in 2002. Lots to PlayStation fans’ chagrin.
Taking manage of both Redfield and Valentine. Gamers get to return to Raccoon City with upgraded graphics. A collection of new gameplay mechanics, up-to-date puzzles, new areas to discover, and even a few new plot points. Inclusive of a complete subplot that used to be written out of the authentic game. Upon release, Resident Evil obtained vast indispensable acclaim from critics and followers alike, who to this day recognize it as one of the very best, most terrifying, and most visually wonderful entries in the whole franchise. Which is announcing a lot for a 20-year-old game. As may be expected, the sport used to be remastered for the seventh and eighth technology consoles in 2015. Receiving the identical stage of fanfare as the 2002 version.
Eternal Darkness
Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. Higher acknowledged honestly as Eternal Darkness. It is a psychological horror recreation of the absolute best order. Mixing Resident Evil-ensure survival horror gameplay with an average extra cerebral trip presenting a couple of pathways ensuing in specific enemies and outcomes. In Eternal Darkness, gamers take on the position of several special characters. Dispersed throughout 4 areas and instances from 26 BC to 2000 AD. As they conflict with an effective entity that has to be avoided enslaving humanity.
Going similarly to any recreation earlier than it. Eternal Darkness brings “Sanity Effects” to the table, a characteristic that forces gamers to hold music of their sanity meter. Which decreases when noticed with the aid of an enemy. Consequences of drop insanity consist of skewed digital camera angles and bleeding walls. As nicely as larger, meta results such as simulated mistakes of the TV and console. Many gamers have fallacious for reputable malfunctions.
Developed through Silicon Knights and posted with the aid of Nintendo. The recreation was once at first deliberate for the N64. But, like a wide variety of different video games around this time, was once switched to GameCube for development. Utilizing the new platform’s substantially improved reminiscence and pix capacity. Widely praised by using reviewers and players. Eternal Darkness received a raft of awards and has come to be regarded as one of the best video games ever made. Notwithstanding no longer being a business success at the time.
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