RE7 - Best Resident Evil Ever?

2017 has been a great year for gaming already and it's only two months in. So far, we've had a serious Game of the Year contender in Nioh, Yakuza 0, Kingdom Hearts 2.8, Tales, Halo Wars, the list goes on. The first game that was released in 2017 that I finished was Resident Evil 7, the seventh main series entry in the long time horror franchise. While the last two have gone away from its survival horror roots, RE7 is a return to form, giving fans everything they could want from a game in this series. The only thing is, it's doesn't take the form of RE 1-3, where awkward camera angles were present or it doesn't take the popular behind the shoulder style of RE 4-6 and Revelations 1-2. It takes the first person approach and is compatible with the Playstation VR.

When they first announced a first person Resident Evil game, I was taken aback. I like first person games, mainly stemming from my love of Breakdown as a teenager. Don't remember Breakdown? It's fine, not many do but anyway, I'm not always the biggest fan of the first person horror games, only because in most of the ones I've played, you're pretty defenseless so the true horror comes from not fighting back. I get that is what SURVIVAL horror is suppose to be, but games like Dead Space 1, RE4 and Bioshock have scared me even when I felt all powerful. Amnesia, Soma and Outlast are all fantastic first person horror games but still, I feel like you can be scared while still being able to defend yourself. RE7, thankfully, has a nice balance of this aspect,

Ethan, RE7's protagonist, is not a fighter. He's not a cop or a mercenary. He's a regular guy looking for his wife so there are no crazy melee moves, epic knife fight or uppercuts to a boulder in this game.

While you do get the usual RE weapons in the game, knives, pistol, the traditional shotgun, grenade launcher, etc, you never feel truly safe in this game. There's always an uneasy feel in the air throughout its 10 hour journey. The only time I did feel somewhat safe was near the end, when I had a massive 90 bullets for my pistol and even still, I died multiple times on my way to the ending. Speaking of which, the game has two different endings. There is a choice late game that will decide what fate you get. Good to see a return of the multiple endings for the franchise.

The game is genuinely scary. Yes, there are the obvious jumpscares that got me a couple times but the entire atmosphere is creepy. I hate giant bugs in games. It's a phobia and RE7 has them in hives. They are disgusting. Some of the most tense moments I had with the game was trying to open doors. You never know WHAT is waiting for you on the other side and with the first person view, it makes it that much scarier. The creatures, which aren't many, are disgusting mutations and seeing them up close and personal sent shivers down my spine every time. IGN said that RE7 is like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series and the comparisons are undeniable. There's a real backwater feel to Dudley, Louisiana and the areas explore give off that glow. Bayous, woods as far as the eye can see etc. It doesn't feel like a traditional Resident Evil game and that's not necessarily a bad thing. It does start to get that feel near the end as you figure out exactly what is happening in the game. The ending was good too. You are saved by an unknown group of people and the leader refers to himself as Redfield and the helicopter they're in as the Umbrella logo on it. WHAT DOES IT MEAN!?! Well, there is going to be DLC coming out starring Chris Redfield soon so we'll find out soon.

Resident Evil 7 was a fantastic horror ride, filled with a great story, a likable main character and more scares than the previous three main entries. Don't let the first person change fool. This is still a great RE game at its core and one of my favorite in the series. Granted, I haven't delved into the originals as much but as a person who's played each game, this is definitely one of the shining points for the series. I would rank this up there with 3 and 4 as my top games of the series.

What did you think of Resident Evil 7? Too much change or did you welcome it?

Scared for Wrestlemania

I've watched Wrestlemania live for the past 15 years. I missed 17 but I also saw 14-16 as well. Never before in the history of the build towards the shows have I felt this nervous about Wrestlemania. I've gotten through the trek that was Wrestlemania 27 but I was never nervous about it being bad. It just ended up being that way because The Rock stole so much time from everything. But this card, it just has me scratching my head. Maybe I'm just being paranoid but I just got a bad feeling this year.

The rumored Wrestlemania card is as followed and it's basically the one I talked about in the post Rumble post.

WWE Universal Championship
Goldberg (c) vs. Brock Lesnar (confirmed, whether it's for the title will be determined at Fast Lane)

WWE Championship
Bray Wyatt (c) vs. Randy Orton (CLOSE to confirmed as Wyatt is WWE Champion and Orton is Rumble winner but he relinquished his title shot apparently)

RAW Women's Championship
Charlotte (c) vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax (Bayley won the title on the 2/13 Raw but we all know Charlotte is heading into the show as champion)

Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker

Seth Rollins vs. Triple H (in serious jeopardy due to Rollins' injury suffered by Samoa Joe)

United States Championship
Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho

AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon - No Holds Barred

John Cena &Nikki Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse

The Big Show vs. Shaquille O'Neal

Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal

OK, so I'm good with the Raw Women's Title match, Reigns/Taker, Rollins/HHH, Owens/Jericho and yes, even Big Show/Shaq. The ATG BR is a stable of Mania and needs to take place. EVERYTHING else though, is a head scratcher.

Let's start with the current WWE Champion John Cena. How does he go from winning the title in the Alammodome to a filler Total Divas tag team match? Against The Miz and Maryse of all people? It would have made more sense for it to be Nattie and Tyson but I know, Tyson is basically retired. This is NOT the way to use John Cena at Wrestlemania. Last year, he couldn't even compete. Cena has had MAJOR matches at every Mania he's been apart of. Who the hell came up with this idea? Cena needs to be facing a fresh face, like Baron Corbin or Samoa Joe or hell, even Braun Strowman. Yes, he's on Raw but it's Wrestlemania for goodness sakes! Make something up for them! Cena in a freaking mixed tag match at the biggest show of the year is a waste of time. Scrap it freaking immediately. Miz deserves to be in the IC Title Ladder match, which is something else that needs to be added to the card but it looks like Ambrose will be facing Baron Corbin following the events of Elimination Chamber. Not a bad decision./

Next up, AJ Styles VS Shane McMahon. No, no, no. Just no. Does anyone remember the last time Shane got into the ring? Reigns almost killed him. Come on guys, it's not smart! Not only that, Styles just had one of the best rookie years ever. Why the hell would they put him in this match? This would be another fall from grace for another former WWE Champion. I'm not the biggest fan of Orton/Wyatt. I love the idea of Wyatt being WWE Champion (I really went crazy when he won) but their match at No Mercy didn't really do anything for me. They should really just do a Fatal Four Way between Styles/Cena/Orton/Wyatt. Unless they plan to give Styles and Cena their rematches on upcoming Smackdowns. (which they did) I just think that would be a better Mania match for everyone. The wrestlers and the fans. And if they gave Wyatt the nod to go over, it would make him a bigger force to be reckoned with, beating the three top stars on Smackdown.

The main event is the biggest problem of them all. Goldberg VS Brock Lesnar III. One, it's a god darn rematch. Two, the other two times they wrestled, not impressive. AT ALL. Three, you have two part timers battling over Raw's World Title. Fourth, whoever wins, will DISAPPEAR. And if they do a title change to Lesnar, which they should since Lesnar has lost all his damn luster since losing to Goldberg, that means the A Show will be WITHOUT a World Title. Does anyone see all the bad in this match or am I just crazy? Seriously. I understand, they have to sell the arena with a big match but Vince has to stop relying on part timers like this. The third match can happen, hell it can main event, but for the love of God, not for the Universal Title. Please. It's just not a good move. Let Owens and Jericho battle over it. Or Balor. Or Joe. Or literally anyone not named Goldberg and Lesnar.

Am I overreacting? Most likely, yes, but come on, there are better ideas out there. Rollins' untimely injury also hurts the card. His long awaited match with Triple H may be off. He re-injured the same leg that made him miss Wrestlemania 32. Reports indicate that Rollins will be out for 8 weeks. Wrestlemania is in 6. (Old sentence) Crap! If Rollins can't compete, it will take away the match I'm probably looking forward to most. If he's not able to compete, Triple H's back ups include Samoa Joe and Shane McMahon. While I'm against Shane/AJ, Shane/HHH is OK by me. Mainly because it's one of those McMahon family drama type matches that I like. That would free Styles up to do something worthy of his fantastic year.

Just please...give John Cena and AJ Styles other things to do. Hell, put them in the IC Title Ladder match!  Just DON'T put the two top names on SD in horrible matches. If any authority figure should face Styles, it's Daniel Bryan and we all know what a pipe dream that is! Here's the card I would do!

Goldberg VS Brock Lesnar
Bray Wyatt VS Randy Orton VS Luke Harper - WWE Title
Kevin Owens VS Chris Jericho - Universal Title
Seth Rollins VS Triple H
The Undertaker VS Roman Reigns
Charlotte VS Sasha VS Bayley VS Nia
John Cena VS Braun Strowman - Inter-promotional Match
AJ Styles VS Samoa Joe or Finn Balor - Inter-promotional Match
Dean Ambrose VS Baron Corbin - IC Title
Big Show VS Shaq
Andre the Giant Battle Royale


Pre-Show
Raw and Smackdown Tag Title matches
Smackdown Women's Championship Match
Cruiserweight Championship Open

14 matches, 2 more then last year. Really 3 because that Rock/Rowan match doesn't count. They really should start a 6PM, have the pre show start at 4PM. 4PM-11PMish is a lot of wrestling but to do all 14 matches and give them enough time, you need to do it. We'll see.

I'm going to go into the show with an open mind. Regardless of position, Owens/Jericho should be very good as well as Rollins/HHH. The women's fatal four way will steal the show if done right.

Still a long ways to go to Mania so anything could happen....

Elimination Chamber 2017 Predictions

Elimination Chamber is on Sunday. 7 matches, including three women's matches, three title matches and a couple of huge opportunities missed. Let's breakdown the matches.

American Alpha will defend their Smackdown Tag Team Titles in a Tag Team Turmoil match against basically every team Smackdown has in The Ascension, Breezango, The Vaudevillians, Heath Slater and Rhyno and The Usos. Hmmm...6 teams. You know what else has 6 spots? THE FREAKING ELIMINATION CHAMBER! Why..How...What is WWE thinking? This was the PERFECT show opener inside the structure. It feels like a wasted opportunity you know? Unless, WWE has something else planned. I can see AA having to start the match and run the gauntlet. They wanted competition so why not have them run through the 5 teams? They could either face The Ascension or The Usos last and have either team focus on Gable's knee. Once AA wins, or so they think, have one more team enter; THE REVIVAL. SAY YEAH! Revival comes out, taps out Gable and you have new tag champs! That's the fantasy scenario but in reality, AA will last through the five other teams and retain their titles but The Revival VS American Alpha for Wrestlemania would do wonders to its already lacking card. American Alpha wins.

Another missed opportunity is for the women. In the last year, we've had women main events, cage matches, Hell in a Cell matches and Iron Man matches. With three different women feuds right now, wouldn't it have made sense to put all six ladies in the chamber? Barbaric, yes but it's 2017. I'm all for equal rights! Anyway, it would have been great. The first one I'm focusing on is Nikki VS Natalya, a feud that's been going on since last year. This should be a nice little match and it will hopefully give the payoff from the feud, with Nikki going over. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a little backstage interaction with Maryse and Nikki afterwards either.

Dolph Ziggler will face Kalisto and Apollo Crews in a two on one handicap match. I like each man in the match but I just wish there was a mid card title they could all feud over...Oh, the champ is getting a break by trying to become WWE Champion? Cool....These three will definitely be apart of the IC Title match at Wrestlemania so a winner here doesn't really matter. I'm going with Ziggler to back up his great heel turn though.

The 2017 Royal Rumble winner Randy Orton will have to take a little pit stop before his Wrestlemania title match as he faces Luke Harper. This is a filler match. Yes, there's an ongoing story here between the Wyatts and such but a RR winner doesn't lose a singles match at the PPV before his big title shot. Randy Orton wins in a great match.

In my second most anticipated match this PPV, Becky Lynch will take on the returning Mickie James in their first ever meeting. This has me pumped. One of the greatest women's wrestlers from the past decade VS one of the current greats of this decade. This is going to steal the show, if given enough time. Seriously. This is one of the first dream matches Mickie can have as being apart of the women's division now. It will be a hard fought match but Mickie needs the win to back up her return. While I'm talking women, let's also talk the Smackdown Women's Championship match between Alexa Bliss and Naomi. I'm glad Naomi is getting an opportunity. Smackdown's women division is so much more giving than Raw's. They have been using each woman effectively and each have been making the most of the screen time. That being said, Naomi has already pinned Alexa twice in tag matches. It won't be a third time. Well, not here. Alexa will retain the title here. I think the plan is to do a Fatal Four Way at Mania ala Raw and Naomi will be in here hometown, so, who knows? Maybe it will be there but at EC, Mickie and Alexa will stand tall, maybe even helping each other.

The main event is the first Elimination Chamber WWE Title match in 3 years. 16 time World Champion John Cena will defend against former champion AJ Stlyes, Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose, The Lone Wolf Baron Corbin, The A Lister The Miz and The Eater of Worlds Bray Wyatt.  Let's look at it. The winner here has to face Randy Orton at Wrestlemania. You can start eliminating names like that of potential winners. The Miz? Nah, they tried Wrestlemania main event with him before. Baron Corbin? That's definitely a main event for the brand one day but not for Wrestlemania. John Cena? Yes, a John Cena VS Randy Orton match is what Wrestlemania is all about but they've literally wrestled each other 30 times on television, including once this past week. Is that really the way to go. That leaves just three guys; Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles and Bray Wyatt.

Ambrose/Orton is another one I think will main event a PPV between Mania and SummerSlam but it won't be at the Show of Shows. AJ Styles VS Randy Orton is definitely a Wrestlemania worthy match that could go on as the actual main event. It would be the first ever meeting between the two and could even go down as a Match of the Year contender when it's all said and done. The obvious match would be Bray Wyatt VS Randy Orton. They've been feuding since around SummerSlam, when Wyatt stared down Orton. They wrestled at No Mercy, in the main event and then teamed with each other, giving them the Smackdown Tag Titles very briefly. It's the match that makes sense the most. I have been a Bray Wyatt fan since he debuted into his new character and I have been waiting for the day that Wyatt finally wins a World Title. Others have come after him and won World Titles before him, guys like Kevin Owens and Finn Balor but I just said to myself, one day. That one day, is Sunday.

Bray Wyatt will FINALLY win the WWE Championship on Sunday, eliminating John Cena last. I would not be surprised if Styles won either as Orton/Styles is literally a match I need to see soon. My only question is this; if Wyatt wins, Styles and Cena would both be owed rematches. Would they get them on Smackdowns leading to Mania? My suggestion is to put all four guys into one match but hey, that's just me.

Sunday's event, though quickly put together, looks pretty good. Becky/Mickie and the Elimination Chamber match will definitely be what everyone talks about on Monday morning. Let's go Bray Wyatt!