I've been playing a lot of the older Resident Evil games the past few months in preparation for a 75 hour marathon. While playing the Resident Evil outbreak games it hit me... I was having fun. Sure I died 3 times before completing one of the scenarios but I enjoyed each death, each trial, and each puzzle. Too often during Resident Evil 5 I felt it was a slog to the end. The action did not wow me and where was the challenge? Before people cry wolf yes I was playing on the highest difficulty yet at that point the enemies just took more hits to kill.

For me it boils down to what makes a Resident Evil game. Does putting the name "Resident Evil" on a title make it a RE? If the name of Resident Evil 5 was something like Zombies take over the world, or Sand infection would people have cared about it? To me a RE game has to have limited supplies and an evil corporation trying to create BOW's for profit. Zombies have to be a part of the game.... traditional ones not fast zombies, or zombies that shoot guns, but real honest to god zombies. Sure I'm jaded because I grew up with the classics, but why change the format? It seems like they changed it just to change it with no real basis other then profit. I guess the path to more video game sales is to abandon the format that got you there.

I recently bought two games both very different in design and scope. Both have history and are part of a franchise that are revered by its fan base. One is Resident Evil 6 which is cross platform and has gotten poor to mediocre reviews, but sold remarkable well. The other is Xcom: Enemy Unknown, again a cross platform game that has gotten great reviews but sold poor to mediocre. I know RE 6 is more mainstream and its franchise has been consistent with no long gaps between games, while Xcom is more of a niche market with its emphasis on strategy. It has also been years since we've gotten a game from this franchise.

Yet what drives gamers to buy one of these games over another? For me I bought both because I've been a long time fan of both franchises. I had fun with both games, granted I enjoyed Xcom much more the Resident Evil 6 but I saw RE 6's value and could enjoy it for what it was. Would I buy the game again after I had a chance with it? honestly no it is a rental game or something that I would pick up so I could play online with friends. With this knowledge I just wonder why we as gamers continue to spend money frivolously on things that, if the reviews are any indication, are not very good. I can say that after my purchase of RE6 I will not buy another Resident Evil game.

If I want any change to occur within this franchise I must show Capcom (or any business) that I will not continue to support products that I find sub-par. The only way to make business see this is by reducing their profit margin. I think we as consumers are so impulsive that we buy things before truly understanding what we are buying. If we held off for just one month we might be able to effect real change in an industry that we all love so much.

The Benefit Evil team wants to bring you a riveting story of betrayal and conquest of grand armada's that fight among the stars. Who wants to see civilizations rise and fall? well you can on September 22nd at 1pm as the Benefit Evil team plays the board game Twilight Imperium. Its a epic 6 player game where each of us picks an alien race and fights for control of the galaxy. We hope that you join us on Twitch TV as we play out this space opera. Share a few laughs, some suspense, and just a good time.

We at Benefit Evil just got in a new shipment of water bottles in. We want to share our new wealth with everyone so we decided to give away 3 of them. If you check out our facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Benefit-Evil/146541672056107) we posted a photo of some Benefit Evil brand stickers. To be eligible to win one of our awesome water bottles just snap a photo of our sticker on something cool or in a cool situation and post it back on our facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Benefit-Evil/146541672056107). In October we will vote on what we think are the top 3 photos and send out some prizes. If you or anyone you know is good at photography or would just like a sticker please message us your contact information and we will send them your way. Good luck to everyone and happy photo hunting.

It might just be me, but gamers today have it way to easy. With save functions, check points every room, and a retry function when and if you die. With web-sites like gamefaqs and google if you ever get stuck your just a key stroke away from finding the answer.

Where is the satisfaction in the journey? Where is the pride in knowing that you finished something that was challenging? Gamers today will quit at the slightest hint of difficulty. Declaring a game "sucky" or "horrible" because they can't finish it in a day. I ask you how can you truly enjoy something if you are only taking a day to complete it? I mean it took the developers months sometimes years to make it and you honor that with a day's worth of enjoyment? I will not turn this into a blog of "in my day we had to do this..." but just know things where hard! check out any youtube video of any classic Nintendo game if you doubt me.

So what if something is difficult? take your time with it, calm down try it again. sure there are games that crank the difficulty way up for no reason (yes Ninja Gaiden I'm looking at you). But most games can be won with a little perseverance.

Alright I'm done rambling now get off my lawn you meddling kids!

Is it just me or do the gamers today have it a little too good. In today's world you can't walk down a street without seeing something video game related. It seems everyone has heard of "Call of Duty" or "Modern "Warfare" and even your parents are gaming these days which leads me to my point. When I was growing up gaming was something you kept a secret. Sure Nintendo was a house hold word but really when people uttered the word Nintendo they meant Mario. When I walked down the halls of middle school I used to live in fear that it would get out that I owned and played video games. I hate to use terms such as "jock" and "nerd" but there was a real division of class when I was younger and if you played video games you where a "nerd" and it was the "jocks" mission to make your life miserable in any way they could. I think you have to admit it has been a complete and total shift from the early 80's. Don't get me wrong I'm glad that video games have been more widely accepted. Anything that gives human beings more common ground is always a good thing. I just wonder if the trail blazers where ever honored for their sacrifice or if anyone even cares.

Yes that's right there are games that we can play in real life. Back in the day we called them board games and would usually consist of a family crowding around a 4x4 board and roll some 6 sided dice. This past weekend the Benefit Evil team had a 18 hour board game marathon and we did exactly that. Its been a long time since I've had so much fun with some pieces of plastic and wood. We played for me what embodied my child hood in the classic game Hero Quest. If you have never played the game it takes 4 adventures and puts them on 14 separate quests to defeat the evil overlord Zargon. In this instance Zargon actually won. If Hero Quest is something you like look for us in December as we broad cast our (mis) adventures.

We also threw in some more modern games like Galaxy trucker and Battlestar Galactica. The former had us construct space ships and then race them, while the latter had us accuse each other of being a Cylon. It was all good fun. it has been quite a while since I've played this many board game and it has rekindled a love I thought I had lost. I will always love video games the have been a part of my life for 25+ years but before there where video games there where board games. There is just something magical about getting together with your friends and having real social interaction.

Our event is fast approaching, in 4 days we are undertaking something rarly attempted. 24 hours of board gaming on July 21-22nd. We have Power Grid, , Bang, Star Wars Monopoly, Formula De, Hero Quest, Risk, Battlestar Galactica, Shadows over Camelot, Game of Thrones, Galaxy Trucker & many more. It has been proven to be a bit of a logistical nightmare as we are still waiting on parts for the streaming component. Having a massive charity event that I've been rebuilding from the ground up has been a bit more challenging then I thought.

But it is all worth it as many sleepless nights as I've had, and with the budding ulcer that I am sure is developing I wouldn't change anything in the world. This is the fun part and I would like to invite everyone who listens to my rambling to join us.

Since the last post the zombies had regrouped and attacked our base causing no end to our misery. Around mid day we finally drove them off, surveying the surrounding chaos I realized that we needed a way to boost morale. So in two months starting July 21st Benefit Evil will be hosting a 24 hour board game marathon. To help raise the team's morale join us in all of our craziness!

Join the Benefit Evil team as we support children’s hospitals with a 75 hour Resident Evil marathon. Starting on Thursday at 6:00pm we will try to get through as many Resident Evil games as we possibly can. Along the way we will be giving away prizes for the highest donations, raffling off T-shirts, auctioning off cool swag, and all though out entertaining you with our antics. If enough money is donated you, the viewing public, get to choose from a variety of “punishments” to challenge the team. So come join us for some fun times and a good cause!