Y'know, back in March, I didn't really think much of the GameStop/GameInformer Magazine promotional subscription gimmick I paid into. For 10 bucks I received a brand-spanking new membership card that entitles me to 10% off any used games I decide to indulge in from GameStop, plus a spiffy year-long subscription to GameInformer Magazine. The last time I followed a video game magazine regularly was back in my junior high school days. Back then, I was a hardcore Apple IIe mark and spent hours playing games on 5 1/4 floppies while staring at my green/black screen.
Now let's get out of this time-warp and back to the present. So when my first ish' of GameInformer arrived I fully expected to simply flip through it and check out the flashy adverts and that's about it. I'm really not sure what prompted me to turn to the review section, but whatever kismet crossed my path at that moment, changed my attitude regarding this game mag completely.
The reviews department is by far my favorite section of the magazine and I now look forward to getting my monthly fix of highly informative, yet highly entertaining and practical reviews put together by the magazine's hard-working editorial staff. I'm telling you, people, working as an editor is a tough gig (take for example, my consistency in being inconsistent with my updates on this site).
So now that I've admitted to being a GameInformer Review Section mark, I'm going to geek out even more and spill the beans on who my favorite reviewer is...
It wasn't until I read Lisa Mason's reviews on Capcom's 'Clocktower 3' and Konami's 'Silent Hill 3' that I realized I had become a full-fledged Mason mark. Both reviews were right-on and after having completed both games,
I felt that I had to give Ms. Mason some proper KUDOS! for her work- then it dawned on me that it would be really rad to get her opinions on survival horror games in general.
Having recently finished 'Silent Hill 3' I decided to pick her brain regarding the 'SH' franchise. Eventually, other survival horror titles came to mind, so I figured it wouldn't be too far of a stretch to drop in some questions regarding other popular titles in the genre.
Hi, Lisa, so have you been a fan of the 'Silent Hill' franchise since game 1?
I have, although I thought that 'Silent Hill 2' was more exploitive than scary. I felt like 'SH3' corrected the balance between the creepy psychological madness of the first and the gory horror of the second.
Were you playing any other survival horror games during this time?
I have always played 'Resident Evil' games. I also started 'Fatal Frame' during this time.
So how did they compare with 'SH1'?
I think that each of these series are scary, but for very different reasons and with very different results. 'RE' is surprising and tense. 'Silent Hill' is more thoughtful and brooding and less obvious. 'Fatal Frame' has the best sound of any out there, and it makes the game infinitely more terrifying.
Were you looking forward to the release of 'SH2' when it was announced?
I was, definitely. The first one stuck with me and I wanted to see what they would try to put me through with the second one.
Did 'SH2' deliver as far as progressing the 'SH' storyline and furthering the player's exploration of the town and its happenings?
I felt like the story of the first was extremely convoluted, but creepy and engaging. I didn't find myself as involved
in the second. I felt like the goal to make the town more open to exploration overrode
their desire to further the story.
Are there things in 'SH1' that weren't a part of 'SH2' that you feel should have been?
Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything....
Now we've another addition to the franchise in 'SH3.' Does 'SH3' push the survival horror genre to another level, or is it just a prettier version of the last two games?
I think that 'SH3' is a nice median between the first two games - there's more freedom than the first, and better pacing and storytelling than the second.
So how long have you been playing survival horror games, and what was the first title you played?
I think that the first survival horror game I played all of the way through was 'Resident Evil 2.' I had fiddled with them before that, but 'RE2' really captivated and scared me. I guess that that would have been some time in '97, then.
Has the genre come 
a long way since then?
Indeed. I think that developers are playing with the genre now, trying to illicit different forms of fright from gamers and using different methods to get there.
'Resident Evil' seems to be the preeminent franchise in survival horror. Is this due to clever marketing and mass market exposure, or are all the 'RE' games just that damn good?
The 'RE' games are consistently scary and solid. The continuing character tie-ins don't hurt the franchise either. I think that the basic premise of people fighting the terrors of the undead will always be a scary basis for a game.
So do you think
that there could possibly be room for another franchise to become the next 'Resident Evil' as far as sales and merchandising goes?
I think that 'Alone in the Dark' (actually a precursor to 'RE') might prove that there isn't room for a similar survival horror game right now. That franchise hasn't been selling nearly as well as 'RE,' and the methods they use to scare gamers are very similar. Then again, 'Silent Hill' and 'Fatal Frame' are very different games that fit into the same genre and are doing quite well.
In your opinion, how do the 'Clocktower,' 'Silent Hill,' and 'Fatal Frame' games measure up next to the 'RE' series?
'Clock Tower 3' was fun, but the very episodic nature of it separated gamers from the main character. It did surely scare the crap out of me, though. Like I've said before, I think that they ('RE,' 'Silent Hill,'' and 'Fatal Frame') are different enough to coexist and serve their very different purposes in the same genre.
Very well stated, I couldn't have said it any better (well, really, I know I couldn't have said it any better, this chick makes a living reviewing video games- man, what a great gig). If you haven't read any of her work yet, I suggest getting outta your house, heading to your local magazine retailer and picking up a copy of GameInformer Magazine. I swear you won't be disappointed and it's promising to see that cute chicks are hardcore gamers too!!!
Lisa Mason is one of the hard-working editors of GameInformer Magazine and is said to be a key figure in an ongoing movement to cover up the origins of the strange utensil known as the 'spork.' Some believe that it was originally to be named the 'foon' until certain governmental factions intervened. To this day, Ms. Mason denies knowing anything regarding the subject.
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