 Original North American cover art (Wikipedia) The Resident Evil franchise, a staple among zombie culture and survival-horror fans, began in 1996 with the original video game: Resident Evil. Since then, the massive franchise has, much like the Umbrella Corporation antagonist throughout the story, grown and dug its roots in across the globe and media platforms including movies, animated features, books, comic books, merch (I have an Umbrella Corporation BioWeapons Division ID Badge hanging not two feet from me), you name it. My first foray into Capcom's world of corporate espionage, bio-terror came via Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, originally released for PlayStation in 1999, effectively making me ten when it came out. Since then, I've played the gamut, watched the movies, absorbed the in-depth (although convoluted) lore, and generally been an enthusiastic fan of the series. Then in 2012, Capcom released Resident Evil 6 to a wave of criticism and poor reviews. The beloved horror franchise had delved into something it wasn't: an action series. Now let's be honest: Resident Evil was never on par with say Outlast or Amnesia, but the game was horror, had scary moments, and was dripping in an atmosphere filled with dread. Unfortunately for fans of the series, the sixth installment was so far from horror and into action it would have made Michael Bay giddy. God help us. Then something else happened... Capcom took the fans' words to heart and delivered us the Godsend that is Resident Evil VII: Biohazard. Our franchise was back and on the I'll-hunt-you-while-you're-sleeping legs it was built on. That historical tangent aside, 2019 and 2020 saw HD PS4 and Xbox One remakes of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 respectively.
The concept of remakes isn't anything new. They've been happening across entertainment and media since well before I was born (this isn't the first remake of the RE Series either). Seriously though, how many iterations of the same movie can they do? Just because you add cell phones and a new vernacular doesn't make it worth the money ...Anyways... I picked up Resident Evil 2 last year because, well, it looked bloody fantastic. And it was. In an instant I was transported back to the world of Raccoon City with characters I knew. There were new things thrown in and a few tweaks and changes, but the game played well and it was a lot of fun. That brings me to the RE3 remake I'm currently playing through. This game was released to mixed reviews with the general consensus among them falling into two camps: it was great or it should have just been an add-on to the Resident Evil 2 remake. So, I shrugged, waited until it went on sale and jumped in. Here's the thing: the atmosphere is amazing and being back in Raccoon City again, chased by Nemesis, and shooting zombies in the face, is awesome. But the nostalgia feeling that I was looking for, that I found with RE2, is oddly absent. Maybe that's the thing with remakes and remasters though... sometimes they just don't hit home. I'm not naive to think that remakes aren't done as somewhat of a cash grab. I say this not knowing, in any capacity, what it takes to make a video game remake, but I would imagine, perhaps ignorantly, that remakes and remasters serve two purposes: to introduce a new audience of gamers (usually on a new platform) to a beloved series, or to give hardcore fans of a franchise something to latch onto and, well you know, buy.
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News, politics, and zombies. If I struck the last word and replaced it with covid-19 infections, you could safely assume I was talking about any of today’s headlines, not Feed, the 2010 post-apocalyptic zombie novel by Mira Grant. Like all good fiction, despite the fact that the novel is a decade old, it reads true, is relatable, and thoroughly enjoyable well into the shitshow year that is 2020. You know, if you feel like you can handle a disease-focused bit of writing in the age of coronavirus. Feed follows Georgia ‘George’ Mason, her brother Shaun, and their intrepid tech expert fictional, Buffy as they land the biggest job in their blogging careers: prime press corps to the presidential campaign of republican senator Peter Ryman. The campaign trail brings them across the pandemic-ravaged United States while they aspire to bring truth and validity to the blogging world, while traditional news sites, and more conservative politicians continue to shun their perspective.
Mira Grant’s narrative is fun, intense, and filled with great dialogue, amazing characterization, and a fantastic balance of expose, development (both plot and character), and action. As the story progresses, it becomes evident that not everyone is keen on bloggers (or journalists in general) and that includes parties additional to the flesh-hungry infected rummaging through suburbs and cities looking for food.
The CDC is fully funded; money flows into political campaigns from special interest sources, and a fictional history since the rising is fully and expertly developed on the page. Feed is a hefty novel. The mass market paperback edition comes in at 571 pages. Despite the length, it doesn’t drag, and even the slower parts of the narrative are so carefully exploring the way the post-Rising United States operates, they keep you turning the pages well into the next chapter. Feed has been on my list for a while, and is one of the many critically acclaimed works by Mira Grant (also writing under Seanan McGuire where she is well known for her successful Wayward Children novellas). The series is followed up with two subsequent novels: Deadline and Blackout, both of which are stacked high on my TBR pile. It may be infection-based, but at least it’s not COVID. Though at this point, if we’re being honest, who’s ready to trade Coronavirus for the Zombie plague? Cheers and be safe. Also: Wear a mask. Survive the Apocalypse |
