" You can't instill the same dread with characters that powerful." Why not? I don't understand why you can't have fluid, stylistic combat controls instead of crappy psuedo-scary fumbling controls and then just throw in enemies who move and act just as fluidly, if not more. Just because Leon can do a suplex doesn't mean the thing's head needs to explode on contact. In fact a pissed off zombie with a now broken neck could be even scarier and grotesque, and you could make the suplex a necessary step to killing it, but it also makes it stronger and more angry in the process. I don't understand this black and white "Well COD is popular, so let's not deviate from the pattern whatsoever," you can still follow marketable trends, as much as I hate capitalism, and still keep some old flavor. It's like CEOs and marketing directors (in general too, not just in gaming) have no creativity whatsoever, but we trust their expertise because they're in a position of authority. Oh, none of it makes sense to me. Full disclosure: I hate the stuffing out of the first three resident evils. It's not scary, it's not fun, it's just anxiety induced by frustrating camera angles and poor controls, but I'm still all for injecting a horror aspect into Resident Evil, I think it should be psychological instead of "oh god my character is a slow piece of crap." Unfortunately I think truly frightening scenarios take too much creativity, which is stifled by ultra-competitive markets.