It's impossible for me to write about Resident Evil 5 without talking about the game's hallowed, even sacred predecessor. I had long resisted the temptation to play Resident Evil 4, despite hearing so many great things about the title. Some of the previous titles in the franchise hadn't impressed me, and I was doubtful that a GameCube title with an odd control scheme would be able to seduce me like it had to so many other horror survival fans.
But then I played Resident Evil 4. And when I was finished, I came to the same conclusion that many gamers arrived at: this was arguably the greatest horror survival title ever developed. And amazingly, it got even better when Capcom smartly released the Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition, which I consider to be the best Wii game and a 10 out of 10. This is a long way of describing how difficult an act Resident Evil 4 is to follow and how high the benchmark is for the newest installment.
Resident Evil 5 first got its prime time close-up last week during Microsoft's Xbox 360 media briefing, where Capcom showed off the game's cooperative mode and introduced a new playable character, Sheva. The demo certainly indicated that Resident Evil 5 would emulate the gameplay and style of Resident Evil 4, right down to the third-person camera view and chainsaw-wielding zombies. Later in the show, I was able play through the same demo section shown during Microsoft's media presentation.
Sheva Alomar is a new character in the Resident Evil series who joines Chris Redfield on his latest mission.
The demo begins with a brief but gruesome cut scene. Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar, a West African agent of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), are hiding in a small African town where a mysterious biohazard threat has infected the population. Chris and Sheva witness a mob of townspeople crowded around a public execution. A sinister-looking man wearing sunglasses (who seems to be pulled right out of the movie "Black Hawk Down") screams into a megaphone and then a huge, hooded fellow proceeds to behead some poor guy with a giant ax.
The cut scene concludes as the evil sunglasses guy spots Chris and Sheva hiding inside a nearby shack. Suddenly, the mob of infected villagers begin to swarm the players' position. And then the gameplay starts. Capcom had the demo running on PlayStation 3s, which was unfortunate because I prefer the GameCube or Wii control scheme for Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5 follows the gameplay style of its predecessor almost exactly. The PS3 controller required some adjustments on my part, and even then I couldn't quite get comfortable with the game's control scheme. Then again, the demo was short and I didn't have a lot of time to get a feel for it.
The good news is that Resident Evil looks better than ever. The character renders are superb, the desert environment looks fantastic, and the gory, bloody zombie action was even better than what was delivered in Resident Evil 4. But the real ace for Resident Evil 5 in the visuals department has to be the game's incredible lighting. The demo takes place in full daylight, with the intense African sun bearing down on the town, yet there was plenty of shadows and darkness inside buildings and along narrow streets. Capcom's developers did an amazing job creating realistic effects of intense sunlight such as glares while also giving darker environments an eerie feel without completely sacrificing visibility.
As the zombies began to charge the building, I quickly noticed that the old inventory system for weapons and items is gone. Resident Evil 5 sports a new system that, with the press of a button, brings up an inventory screen superimposed over the game in real-time. As a result, players won't be able to pause the game and switch from, say, sniper rifle to shotgun, which certainly made the demo more suspenseful but will likely make the full game much more challenging - and frustrating.
The zombies are also more challenging this time around. Instead of moving slowly and lumbering along, these new infected enemies are quicker, more aggressive and carry melee weapons like clubs and other items. And if they get close enough to you and grab you, their faces may split open and reveal fanged tentacles (much like the mutant vampire Reapers in "Blade II"). And if you hit blow the heads off some infected villagers, a nest of lethal tentacles will sprout up in their place, just like in Resident Evil 4. You can still fight off zombies up close with your trusty knife as well as lethal kicking attacks.
The good news is, you won't be alone: you can play multiplayer cooperative with a buddy joining you as Sheva, or you can play single player with the game's artificial intelligence controlling your female partner. So instead of running around shooting zombies with a college co-ed who can't shoot, players will have a deadly, sharp-shooting agent to back them up.
Playing in single player mode, I was impressed with how helpful Sheva was during the action. The AI wasn't the best, but it was certainly better than I had expected. Another bonus is a feature that allows players to switch characters and assume control of Sheva with the click of a button. You can also swap items and help heal your partner during gameplay (if your co-op partner dies, the game is over). You'll also have to rely on your partner to overcome certain obstacles during the game that will require two people to solve. For example, during the demo Chris must help the more nimble Sheva jump across a gap between buildings so she can open a door and let you across. But you have to keep the zombies off her with a sniper rifle or laser-sighted pistol.
During the demo I came across some imposing foes. As the action spilled out into the streets, the hooded executioner came after me, swinging his gigantic ax. I made the mistake of letting the big guy get too close to me and instead of winding up for another swing with his ax, he simply grabbed me by the throat and lifted me in the air. Before the life could be strangled out of me, Sheva came to rescue and attacked the executioner from his blindside. The executioner was hard to take down, but he wasn't very smart and seemed to wander around like a blind man. In fact, the AI for this particular villain seemed a little weak.
However, another foe proved to be more of a challenge. Later in the demo, a gruesome zombie emerges in the street carrying a chainsaw. Those familiar with Resident Evil 4 know what kind of damage these guys can do. The chainsaw zombie came charging down the street at me. I was hoping to pull a "Raiders of the Lost Ark" move and just shoot the zombie down, but he was tougher than I expected and I ran out of ammo at a most inconvenient time. Remember how the inventory system was changed? Well, I couldn't pause the screen and bail myself out. Hence, I watched as my head was sawed off in a bloody, visceral death scene.
And that about took care of the Resident Evil 5 demo. It was a visually gorgeous game that had all of the intense action and extreme gore of its predecessor. It's clear that Capcom wants to follow the formula of Resident Evil 4, and the demo shows that the new sequel is well on its way to achieving that. The question will be if Resident Evil 5 will be able to bring enough new elements to the series to step outside of the shadow of a classic.
Stay tuned for more Resident Evil 5 news on Tom's Games.
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