Resident Tightwad: The Evil Within

Scariest. Monster. Ever.

Well this was an unexpected surprise. I had rented Resident Evil 7 (which is excellent by the way, but not cheap), and while browsing strategy guides, came across comments comparing it to "The Evil Within". I came to find out that this game was directed by Capcom legend Shinji Mikami, who had left the company after Resident Evil 4.

Two things: Not only is this game amazing, it's also really long. It's easy to spend 20 hours on your first playthrough. You're getting a tremendous value for the price. I played the PS4 version, which as of today is $19.96 at Amazon. It's even cheaper on Xbox One, and PS3. For a 3 year old game, the graphics have held up very well. Gameplay bares more than a passing resemblance to resemblance to Resident Evil 4, which is by no means a bad thing.

The lead protagonist, Detective Castellano controls very similarly to Leon Kennedy. However, the difficulty level is ratcheted way up, with ammo being extremely scarce, and boss fights making you want to cry from the number of times you'll die. Completing the game unlocks even more difficult versions. The last fight with Laura (The long-haired spider woman in the picture above) is so difficult that there is a save point halfway through it.

I do have a couple of pieces of advice for new players, though:

• Shoot the monsters in the legs instead of trying for headshots. It's a great way to conserve ammunition. Once they're downed, throw a match on them to instantly kill them. This is an especially efficient way to manage groups of monsters, as you can ignite multiple badguys when they are nearby.
• Spend the time to locate the small statues hidden throughout the game, as these contain keys to open up special lockers containing extra ammunition, and huge green gel bonuses. 
• Don't spend any upgrade points on melee ability, as even maxed out you still do almost no damage. Instead, save as many points as you can towards upgrading your agony bolts. You should be able to get your harpoon bolts up to level 5 before your first encounter with Laura, and using fire against her is extremely effective. You'll run into her a total of 4 times in the game, and without flame bolts, you'll have no choice but to run. If you can kill her in the first two fights though, you can score an extra 16,000 green gel. 
• After upgrading your bolts, work on the ability to hold more bullets and matches. You'll be glad you did that later in the game.

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