Quantcast
Destructoid - EternalDeathSlayer's Community Blog




About Me





Hey guys, it's Dan or as everyone here knows me (including you, because you're looking at my blog), EternalDeathSlayer. Yeah, I jacked it from Grandma's Boy, eat me. Anyway, I love video games, but more importantly I also love to talk about video games, hence why I am here on Destructoid with you. I've got a wonderful little family of 2 kids and a wife and we all play games in some shape or form. My wife enjoys WoW (probably a bit too much) and playing Halo with either myself or her friends. My kids like kid stuff like Kinectimals or flash games on the PC. And me? I like almost everything. So long as a game is fun or has the ability to effect my feelings or emotions, I'm game.

Consoles:

Xbox 360

PS3

Wii

I play them all, but truthfully it's not in an "All Consoles are Equal" sort of way. I prefer the 360, mainly because I know more people who own one, but I do play my PS3 whenever a worthy exclusive is released. The exclusives make the purchase worth it. As for the Wii, well, it gets ignored most of the time. But I pull it out from time to time, usually when a big Nintendo game is released for it.

My Favorite Games:

10. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
9. Gears of War
8. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (Theme Song FTW)
7. Final Fantasy IX
6. God of War
5. Super Mario Galaxy
4. Chrono Cross
3. Super Mario Bros. 3
2. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
1. Resident Evil 4

And there you have it. I love Destructoid and it's amazing community. I will probably never leave.






Gamer Profile
3DS friend code:
Steam:
Battle:
PSN:
Mii:
Gamertag: Kobewan0869
Following (42)
Aerox
B-Radicate
BahamutZero
Bakewell
BigPopaGamer
bleep
BlindsideDork
Bob Muir
Bricfa
CaffeinePowered
ceark
classy
Clockwork - Avatar setup pending
Colette Bennett
Conrad Zimmerman
Eschatos
Excremento
FAILCAST
GrayFox
iplayanken
JoshDunford
JRisJunior
Justice
Maurice Tan
mix
MrSadistic
NotAZombie
power-glove
Sadie G
Samit Sarkar
ShadowXOR
shipero
Snaileb
Takeshi
Tony Ponce
tsunamikitsune
Tubatic
velcroman
vexed alex
VWGTI
Xzyliac
Y0j1mb0
The start of the affair: Resident Evil 4
EternalDeathSlayer | 4:49 PM on 06.24.2008 15 comments




For this Monthly Musing, I'm going to do things a bit different. I've always loved games with all my heart. Playing them has been my main hobby since the age of 4, when I first picked up an NES controller to play Bases Loaded of all things. It was with my father. But I'm not going to share that heartwarming and wonderful memory with you today, partly because it's not that interesting, and partly because I don't remember the details of it all.

Instead, I'm going to tell you the tale of how I actually lost interest in gaming. Not altogether mind you - I still played. But not a lot. And even when I was playing, it was usually a sports game or something of that sort, usually with a good friend. It was around 2004 when this really started. I don't really remember a damn thing from that year. Only one thing stands out.

I remember seeing numerous preview videos and images of a new chapter in one of my favorite (and seemingly forgotten) gaming franchises, Resident Evil. Obviously the title of this blog tells you I am referring to Resident Evil 4. Seeing one of my favorite characters, Leon, get chased around by a chainsaw wielding maniac sent chills down my spine, even though it was clear Capcom had ditched the zombies in favor of something new.



I had to play it. I practically counted the days until the game's release, hungrily lapping up any new images or video I could find in preparation of having my mind blown. Needless to say the hype had reached it's peak (at least in my head) right around Christmas of 2004, when I could barely touch the few games I had bothered to ask for that year. All I wanted to do was play this new Resident Evil game as soon as possible. Not even the revelation that I was going to be a father fazed me. All of that went out the door.

And then, the day came when Resident Evil 4 was unleashed upon the world, instantly racking up tons of awards and rave reviews, which only served to increase my yearning for the game. I tell you, when I popped that sucker in my GameCube and started playing, I almost crapped my pants. The controls felt amazingly smooth in terms of combat, something I could tell just from my first encounter with the Ganados. Then came The Village.

Making a good first impressions is crucial in any game, something the developers of this game clearly know. Here I am walking along, terrified enough of stumbling upon some ax-wielding villagers when I walk right into a whole damn village of them! The fear this provoked from me was and still is the most a game has ever gotten out of me emotionally. I have felt bad for characters and cared about many of them in countless different games, but no game has ever made my heart race and my hands shake like this one.

The sound of a chainsaw was just the icing on the cake for the developers, who used my fear against me in a way I'd never experienced before. Panicking like a little girl lost in the woods, I completely lost my composure for the first time in a video game. I quickly found myself the victim of the greatest video game death I've ever seen when I had my head chopped off. There are many other amazing sequences and boss fights in the game, many of which brought on similar feelings, such as "The Knife Fight" with Krauser, which are of course beloved withing the gaming community. But for me, it was The Village.



Right then and right there, I knew I was hooked again. I fell in love with gaming all over again that year. I quickly reinserted myself back into gamer culture, checking the internet sites constantly to see what the next big game was. Of course, one of my favorite games ever also came out that year, God of War. It was a few months after RE4 and only helped to reaffirm what I had believed all along through out my life: That games are an art form. They can do things no other form of media can. They can evoke powerful emotions which are enhanced by the fact that you have the control. It's up to you to save the girl or the world.

Besides all of that, there is certainly no movie or book out there that can recreate the feeling of running from a guy with a chainsaw. And with that, my affair with video games started all over again. For that, I will always love Resident Evil 4.



Is this post awesome? Vote it up!

0



Post a comment! You can also post a photo below:

Comment with Facebook





Click connect and comment instantly!

Comment with Dtoid





New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds

13 comments | showing # 1 to 13
prev next

Gibbo's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/24/2008 16:59
Gibbo
I had a similar feeling when i first entered the village. I wish i could have back that feeling.
EternalDeathSlayer's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/24/2008 17:03
EternalDeathSlayer
@ Gibbo: Don't worry. If you've seen any RE5 footage, it looks like the entire game is going to absolutely destroy the village sequence from RE4. That shit looks incredible. Definitely my mos t anticipated game.
SysiphusRock's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/24/2008 17:13
SysiphusRock
Yeah I know what you mean. Fantastic game, but I didn't play it til Wii Edition and now I have NO clue how Im going to play with sticks.
pedrovay2003's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/24/2008 17:29
pedrovay2003
@sysiphusrock

It's true, the motion controls in the Wii version were absolutely amazing. If every action game from now on had that kind of control scheme, I'd be a happy man.
EternalDeathSlayer's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/24/2008 17:31
EternalDeathSlayer
I actually prefer the regular controls, but that's probably because I had played it like 20 times with the regular way before I got the Wii Edition.
Y0j1mb0's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/24/2008 17:58
Y0j1mb0
I was waiting on this from you Whiteboy. Nice read, good stuff.
EternalDeathSlayer's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/24/2008 18:03
EternalDeathSlayer
Always a pleasure, jimbo. BTW, I won't be there for the first MGO Saturday. I just realized that I'm bringing my family down the shore that weekend.
Y0j1mb0's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/24/2008 18:08
Y0j1mb0
No problem Whiteboy. The Destructoid Clan is official open..when you log on the next time search for clans and look for Destructoid Clan. Add and join. Thanks to Toneman we are up and about alot sooner than I expected. :D
EternalDeathSlayer's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/24/2008 18:16
EternalDeathSlayer
OK, I'll do that, but not right away. My game is out on loan already - I beat it on the third day. It was amazing. I'm going to do a blog about it in the near future, but worry not - it won't be a retread about the game like I am sure you've seen a million times before.
Simmons 2pt0's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/24/2008 18:36
Simmons 2pt0
I couldn't ever bring myself to finish the game because it was so awesome.
Coonskin05's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/25/2008 00:23
Coonskin05
I still haven't beaten this game. I need to do that.
mistic's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/25/2008 01:20
mistic
Wow EDS, that was an amazing read! thanks for that! Now I'm off to bed :-)
EternalDeathSlayer's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/25/2008 09:15
EternalDeathSlayer
Yes, you do, Coonskin. It's incredible
prev next

Comment with Facebook





Click connect and comment instantly!

Comment with Dtoid





New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds

Comments policy

Destructoid is an open discussion community. You don't need to "audition" to post a comment - just speak your mind. We respect differing opinions on the site, so have at it. Be smart, funny, insightful, clueless, or cute -- but back it up with substance. Keep your cool, keep it fun. We only ask that you act respectfully and above all: don't be a troll and ruin it for everyone else. Don't bring down gamers or we'll, you know, gently shoot you in the face and stuff you into a flaming mailbox. Each comment is your opportuntity to make this community awesomer. Is that even a word?

Avoiding the banhammer only requires common sense: spamming, trolling, racism, NSFW stuff, and other forms of sucking will not be tolerated. If anyone is griefing please report abuse. Be good. Don't suck!