Having been a fan of this series seemingly forever, I've learned to generally accept that the new direction will never be akin to the older formula. Then I pop in Rebirth and ask myself, why not?

The first apparent issue is that the series current formula lacks freshness. Sure, in 2003 when Biohazard 4 was first shown, it was mind blowing. But having Biohazard 5 release so far after, it already feels dated in certain areas (not as a whole). Biohazard 4 literally opened up the window for many third person shooters, though in that time the genre became refined and such refinements were not present in Biohazard 5. The obvious and perhaps safe choice here would be to refine the engine in order to meet current third person shooter standards. However, this leaves the series in the middle of other games that play similar mechanically and have already grew to fame.

I see two problems with the above. For one, there is far too much competition and similar titles. It won't stand out. And two, it is an over trampled genre, why subject the series to something so overdone this generation? For games like Gears of War the answer is simple, the series can't do anything else. This is why you see games like Halo Wars being made, developers try to fit in elsewhere and fail. Biohazard has this unique option and it is one of the few that could successfully re-create something unique.

So now we're at a new page, wondering what the Biohazard series could do in order to stand out. The answer is simple, look to the past for inspiration. The old premise is what put Biohazard on the map and led it to fame, not taking cover against Majini with machine guns. This generation gamers are becoming more open minded and giving games like Heavy Rain and Alan Wake a chance. This is mainly due to the immense amount of marketing and successful campaigns that go into advertising the games. What needs to be focused on is the selling point, in this case something that would make the games stand out. For that I look nowhere else other than Rebirth. The game came out in 2002 and is still near photo realistic, it had an amazing atmosphere and is legitimately scary at times. Take these aspects, buff them beyond belief and make them the games selling point. The new title could literally look photo realistic this generation. Static backgrounds (with incorporated layers of lighting and movement) in 1080p would not only look amazing, but leave a ton of processing power for detailed character models. A game that never looked this good mixed with actual terror would make for something unique, something that everyone would have to see. Market this in the right manner and the series could easily reinvent itself, instead of fading away into the land of generic shooters. Tell me which one you'd be more excited for?

On the downside, the old engine was difficult to pick up and play for many, but that doesn't mean it couldn't be refined. New controls surely would not break the formula, in fact 3D and 2D controls could easily work simultaneously as one could use the d-pad and the other the analog stick, similar to Outbreak. Another selling point by the way. There is no flaw that couldn't be ironed out, the only thing that would come of this is a unique title, tons of sales and the demand for a sequel. Simply put, the old would be new once again.

You can keep the current gameplay style and still bring back horror. I think the problem is less with the gameplay and more with the fact that the development teams lately just fucking suck at horror. BH4 and BH5 had great set-ups and even better potential, but the execution was terrible and worse with each game. The gameplay style is hardly ever the reason horror is rare, it's just that everything else about the game isn't designed for horror. Over-abundance of ammo, plentiful health items, bad AI, bad choice for scenery/bad lighting/bad shadows etc all contribute to it.

And lets face it. Enemy design in the series lately is utterly hilarious. There's nothing scary about the majority of the enemies from BH4, UC, DC and BH5.

^ Well said. I think Dead Space 2 does demonstrate that action doesn't have to be light in order for the horror formula to work. The AI in the game isn't shabby and the the use of lighting and shadows among other things did give life to the typically lifeless sci-fi locales.

My take is a bit different now than before. I agree that a step backwards is essentially a step forward all things considered, but graphically, not so much. I replayed Zero recently, on a CRT properly no less, and it has aged well but the realtime aspects do stick out in the visuals and there is a loss of coherence. Still love the work they put into the backgrounds though. Without going into a lot of detail, just picture what a game would look with say, Uncharted 2's engine, but rendering very small areas like RE of yesteryear. They would likely be able to match their artwork with relative ease (ND has with U2 for sure).

Dead Space 2 really opened my eyes to a world of possibilities of horror done right with modern controls and presentation. The same can be done with RE; add some clever, streamlined action based puzzles like Shadows of the Damned and you've got a classic.

As much as I enjoyed RE5 and played the hell out of it, it does feel very dated at this stage (even graphically in my view). I can't see myself replaying it years down the road, especially not offline (the only choice by then no doubt). I'd much rather play RE4 as an "action RE", so the HD version is certainly a blessing for years to come.

On a side note, I'm desensitized to horror in general but I can appreciate the quality of the work done to create the ambiance and RE5 lacked that. Even to horror rookies, the game wasn't scary by any stretch. The friend who introduced me to RE avoided the series since CV because he was too much of a pussy, yet he breezed through RE5 AND thought Dead Space 1 was scary. Go figure.

PS. Didn't Alan Wake tank? I know HR did very well however, surpassing Sony's projections.

Wake is admittedly a poor example, as it isn't that unique in regards to gameplay. Regardless guys, I'm not saying that a blend of old and new formulas couldn't work on the bigger screen (similar to the idea behind Revelations), but instead a revitalization of the older formula could prove to be profitable and successful. Even if it were not a mainstream entry in the series, bringing back a similar presentation could easily stand out and sell very well in my opinion. It'd definitely food for thought, especially this generation.

Unfortunately I attribute this change in direction to a dumbing down of gamers as a whole, we've become dependent on regenerating health models, cover systems and grenade indicators. Everything has been made too casual, Call of Duty being a key culprit here. Those games are churned out every year yet they sell amazingly well, not because they're good games but because of the brand. Biohazard is falling into the same trap, becoming something that isn't necessarily good but something that is easy to play, simple to get into and through lack of a better word, casual.

The original games required a lot more thought, you had to rationalise your ammunition and healing items, you had to have a strategy and it was very easy to fuck up and leave yourself with a dead save simply because you lack the healing items necessary to make it through the upcoming hoard of enemies. BH4 changed this, it streamlined gameplay at the expense of making it more casual and BH5 has continued with this, dropping ammunition and healing items with practically every enemy you kill. As a result the series has become bland, it fails to stand out in a market that is already saturated with better games in the same genre.

A return to the old is exactly what the series needs at this point, to return to what made it so compelling and original in the first place. Plus no-one is doing that kind of thing anymore, in a market overwhelmed with shooters and cover systems I think it would be a wise move to throw out a return to the old school games.

We really have to make peace with the fact that the original series' signature core gameplay (the methodical supply conservation style and puzzles) will never return. RE is Capcom's cash cow so I don't see them resorting to bringing back the old formula, but a mere fusion of new and old (Revelations). Ironically, back in the 90's, that style of gameplay was, to me, a sign of the maturation of the games medium. It brought in a whole dimension of realism that made me consider other genres other than fighters post 1996.

So you can only imagine my initial distaste of RE4, while acknowledging what it was, a great game on its own. I do blame it for kick starting the whole streamlining design direction of today's games, which is something I doubt will ever go away. Still, it's ironic that a "mainstream" action series like God of War has puzzles while RE had pretty much none for the past 6 years.

Revelations' success or lack thereof will dictate the main series' direction. We'll see how it fairs.. though I'm a bit worried given the 3DS relatively slow start.

First time I played RE1 on the PS my friend had left the console at my house cause I was playing Tomb Raider. When I got bored I stuck RE in and spent about 7 mins playing before turning it off deeming the game retarded. Only After beating TR twice did I get bored enough to put RE back in and forced myself to play it and the clunky controls.

Ten years later Resident Evil still ranks #1 in my all-time favorite series, RE2 ranking #1 in my favorite RE game ever. I loved the Zombies and the controls and still do, I swallowed CV's active camera idea because it was still Resident Evil. RE4 imo was the worst thing to happen to the series, While the over the shoulder camera gave a new perspective the removal of zombies really pulled me away from the series as a whole.
Then RE5 came out and it completely lacked the thrills I had back playing RE1 at 2am on a school night.

Keep the camera, thats cool, keep the characters, Thats awesome......Gimme my Zombies back, creepy atmosphere and shock thrills. And if they got rid of the virus turning people into Superheroes, I certainly wouldn't complain. ^_^

RE5 is sadly too close to a 3rd person Action-Shooter for me, Socom fills that role perfectly. Remake RE2 and RE3 like they did RE1 on the Gamecube, Not an onrails shooter, Darkside made me lose my mind when it was announced, then cry myself to sleep when I found out is was a rollercoaster ride of RE2.

All of that provoked me to try and recreate my most beloved game in Fallout 3's engine. Hopefully Capcom will finally realize their errors and Remake the Best games the way they should have been, Then I can stop working so hard on my mod. ^_^
Oh,

And stop making the movies, they're just disgusting. I hate you milla, I hate you Righteous Nemesis(Wtf was that about) That is all...
-End Rant :P

Lets face it, the old formula is dead. Shortly before RE4, I remember a huge outcry for change, because RE's game play was becoming "boring and stale".

Did you even read Yama's post? He gives some good examples how the classic formula could work today given the saturation of the current formula in the market. People already feel the current style is overdone in most of today's games and is getting stale, just like 10 years ago.

I think a completely classic Biohazard could work. It's a risky route but so was Bio4. The safe route being over-the-shoulder and slower pacing, horror atmosphere ala Revelations (but with a better mix of action, which from what I've seen so far that title is lacking) would be a good way to get the series back on track.

But risk was something that the gaming industry could afford back then. Today if you release a game that does very poorly it could cost you your job.