Ever since it’s announcement at E3 I have been very much looking forward to Resident Evil 5. I have been a huge fan of the series for years, but I’m still skeptical about the changes they have made since Resident Evil 4, using the more action orientented approach over actual horror. Resident Evil 5 is no different, in that it looks a whole lot like Resident Evil 4.
As you will have noticed from gameplay videos and screenshots, Resident Evil 5 features Resident Evil 4/Cold Fear’s over the shoulder camera style, but it doesn’t stop there. Resident Evil 5 has the exact same control scheme as RE4, which would be fine usually since it’s a sequel and everything and it’s not that big of a deal if the controls are the same usually, but they feel so out dated now. After playing Uncharted: Drakes Fortune and games with that kind of shooting/fighting style it’s really hard to adjust to things like not being able to move the camera around in 3D and not being able to move while shooting. In addition to this the controls overall are quite stiff. Having said that though, it is rather fun to play. While the aiming seems strange at first you eventually get used to it. Uppercutting a huge monster with a giant axe is funny, but pretty impractical. It will make you laugh but on reflection it seems a bit silly, and almost gimicky.
Another thing to note is that, the demo at least, is not scary. During the introduction you are welcomed by a huge hoard of 50 - 100 zombies charging at you - and at this point I was all “Oh, ****.” but instead the zombies slowly walked into the cabin about 5 or 6 at a time, slowly climbing the fence for an easy shot. This was most dissapointing as I was expecting to be completely and utterly raped by this massive group of the un-dead, but instead they arrived in neat little queues almost willing to give my gun a licking. I do really hope that they are more aggressive and more abundant on the harder difficulty levels. The only enemy that offered a challenge were the big, recycled chainsaw/axe men from Resident Evil 4 which killed Sheba like 3 times in a row.
The graphics overall are pretty nice. Zombies, characters and environments are impressively detailed with areas like a corrgated iron roof looking almost real at times and far surpass the graphical technology of it’s main competetor Silent Hill: Homecoming. The hair graphics in SHH were appauling and sub-standard, but in Resident Evil 5 they are some of the best that gaming has to offer at the moment. I experienced a few odd graphical bugs such as a zombie doing a tripple cork-screw flip after being shot with a 9mm handgun, but the game does warn that such bugs may be included in the demo release, and since it’s not out until March this is to be expected. Other bugs included no clipping of weapons and the “stomp” action no clipping through the zombies backs. Oh yeah, and the explosions look absolutely, utterly, unquestionably amazing.
Overall the demo was pretty fun, and with the addition of online co-op you could be playing the game for a long time. This also introduces an easy path for idiots over XBL or PSN to piss you off by doing stupid, retarded things while you’re getting chomped on by a zombie. However, the recent announcement of the additon of local co-op play offers an escape from that if you don’t mind split-screen. You’ll enjoy this if you’re playing it to blow zombies brains out (Massive amounts of fun) with a large shotgun and drool over some pretty graphics. If you’re looking for a scare then what I played in the demo is not where you want to go. Best stick to Resident Evil 2.
Hell Descent (Horror gaming site)