Resident Evil 5 Preview
While few games have been amassing as much hysteria and controversy recently as Killzone 2, there is one game that's got a fair amount of its own controversy, and that is, of course, Resident Evil 5. Now, I'll be blunt and up front, but I'm one of the few who thought that Resident Evil 4 was one of the most overrated experiences of the past generation. Aside from the gorgeous visuals, I've always hated the controls and not having the ability to move and shoot. Having to constantly run away, stop, turn around, shoot a few bullets, and then repeat the same tactic became extremely annoying. The extremely conservative number of ammo you're given also felt unsatisfying, and it's one thing if Leon's hand-to-hand techniques were powerful, it'd have made playing without a gun better, but they weren't. Sure, you could take a few swipes at an enemy, run away and repeat the process, but that made the game extremely repetitive and monotonous. In short, along with GTA: San Andreas, RE4 was personally the most overrated experience of the past generation.
So if you've kept tabs on the status of Resident Evil 5 and it's controversy, you can probably predict that I'm not too happy with it, thanks to Capcom's decision to maintain RE4's control scheme, albeit with one tiny enhancement: the ability to strafe. I've been playing Resident Evil 5 for close to a month now, and unfortunately, I couldn't shake my gripe with the controls. My last hands-on take featured impressions from my playthrough at E3, and there I regarded that the controls still required you to stop-and-shoot, but that Capcom was looking into working on the aspect for the final release. Clearly, this never happened, and the final release has largely the same control mechanics. And that means...
...shooting off a few bullets, running away, turning around, shooting some more, running away, rinse and repeat. I thought, 'okay, maybe I'll get used to this.' But as the chapters went on, I found myself more and more frustrated with every death and restart. Moreover, I begin to hate the fact that the camera in the game is completely locked on, so you don't even have the option to switch shoulder views or pull it up just a tad. Why is this a problem? Because, as chapter two is evidence, often times you will find yourself in very confined areas where peripheral visibility is important, but alas you are limited to barely seeing what's to the right of the screen. This means, you'll find yourself to be the victim of being blindsided, which can sometimes lead to an unexpected death.
Now, as much as I love co-op, I equally hate having to care for a partner. Resident Evil 5 commits one major flaw that is extremely common among co-op titles, and that's having to constantly save your partner Sheva. Caring for your partner becomes a large burden eventually, as Sheva constantly asks you to save her, to heal her, or to spare her ammo. This becomes extremely tedious when you're fighting off a barrage of enemies and you need to keep moving around to reposition yourself so that your opponents can't attack you. So if you're going to play through the game, I highly urge you to have a buddy handy, because playing with a friend changes the experience of a computer controlled partner from being a frustrating one, to actually being quite enjoyable.
The co-op will also help you forget about the controls a bit, seeing as how you'll be able to work strategies out, allowing one partner to shoot from a distance, with the other closer-up, and then alternating as you see fit. I will admit that co-op gameplay is certainly the biggest draw of the game, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that it's anywhere near as exciting and engaging as Gears of War 2, and that's largely due to the game's speed and controls.
Those who loved Resident Evil 4 will love Resident Evi 5, but if you don't enjoy caring for a partner frequently, you may find yourself frustrated in some bits. Furthermore, the story is also pretty enjoyable, so if you're a devout fan of the franchise, there's a solid reason to engage into RE5 next month. Visually, this is some proper next-gen stuff, with a magnificent graphics engine that's performing lighting work that's some of the best we've seen this generation, on top of marvelous character detail, and very polished texture work.
By now, many of you have probably played the demo of Resident Evil 5, which was likely enough to convince you whether or not you'd like to buy yourself a copy of the game in the coming weeks. If you're still not sure about RE5, stay posted for the full review coming March 13th.
2/21/2009 Arnold Katayev
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Date |
Game |
Reviewer |
 12/03/08 |
Resident Evil 5 | Arnold Katayev |
Comments
ps92117
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 6:12:06 PM
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PS. now plz don't cry but Fumito Ueda has been confirmed to be at gdc.
2 up, 0 down
Godslim
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 6:28:31 PM
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2 up, 0 down
wano
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 7:19:30 PM
0 up, 0 down
Godslim
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 11:03:43 AM
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Im The Man
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 12:22:34 PM
Last edited by Im The Man on 2/22/2009 12:29:29 PM
1 up, 1 down
Im The Man
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 12:26:48 PM
What exactly are you talking about?
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Reccaman18
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 6:30:13 PM
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4 up, 0 down
Randomhero1
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 6:35:25 PM
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4 up, 0 down
city96
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 6:37:54 PM
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The graphics are great just not for a game. It looks more like the Movie
Ben i tried uploading a theme or 9 but it wouldnt do any.
LOL i just realised at the top where it says PSXEXTREME.COM you put "now covering games for ten years" or was that already there
Oh well well done i'd say this is the best freshest gaming site ever!!!! :)
Last edited by city96 on 2/21/2009 6:41:19 PM
2 up, 0 down
booze925
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 6:56:13 PM
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0 up, 0 down
booze925
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 6:58:03 PM
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0 up, 7 down
ArnoldK PSXE [Administrator]
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 7:09:48 PM
And if you want a more "factual" article, read the original preview which is based entirely on what Capcom's told us in their fact sheet. This is a hands-on preview, this is meant to deliver MY thoughts and feelings.
Last edited by ArnoldK PSXE on 2/21/2009 7:11:25 PM
5 up, 1 down
wano
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 7:26:10 PM
Last edited by wano on 2/21/2009 7:27:51 PM
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kreate
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 7:31:47 PM
how many times did game magazines gave negative reviews about video games? Arnold just pointed out that certain mechanics and aspects of the game was annoying.
i'm not a fan of RE4 (i liked RE0-3), but i think every game should give us full customization of the controls.
Last edited by kreate on 2/21/2009 7:34:55 PM
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fundando
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 8:00:13 PM
Last edited by fundando on 2/21/2009 8:00:33 PM
2 up, 3 down
Aftab
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 6:34:23 AM
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NiteKrawler
Monday, February 23, 2009 @ 8:43:43 PM
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brighat1971
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 7:27:57 PM
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Yes, San Andreas was overrated, too. Thankfully, GTA4 blew all other GTA games away.
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Break_The_Mould
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 8:27:15 PM
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Then it got slightly repetitive and I found little replay value (multiplayer was the 'little' I found, but that didn't last long), unlike GTA:SA which I used to pop into my PS2 after any stressful day or times of extreme boredom and I wouldn't get off till my fingers ached or fell off (that never happened, thankfully). That game for me is timeless and although slightly overrated, was still one of the best of the last generation in my opinion.
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brighat1971
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 9:36:36 PM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 11:02:59 PM
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Im The Man
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 12:31:29 PM
Last edited by Im The Man on 2/22/2009 12:33:08 PM
1 up, 2 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 10:44:37 PM
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Riku994
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 9:31:50 PM
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CaptRon
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 9:48:38 PM
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Jamaican_Heat
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 11:01:00 PM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 11:09:13 PM
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I will not disagree that they seem exremely antiquated and rusty, but I found them in line with surv/hor games. Dead Space did a much better job and maybe RE will move in that direction one day but I didn't think RE4 was overrated.
I was riveted, I refused to play it until after 3am in the dark and the creepfactor was nuts.
HOWEVER, a person shouldn't even try to judge RE5 on its demo, it feels inaccessible and doesn't do the game justice at all. But I must say it feels clunkier than RE4.
I just hope that the co-op robot system dies, it is a horrible horrible mess and it must go away now.
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 2/21/2009 11:25:58 PM
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Jamaican_Heat
Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 11:23:50 PM
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How difficult would it be to hold a button to run while using you trigger to aim, using both joysticks to control where you run and aim. Sounds a whole lot more difficult then the mechanic they have going now. It wouldnt feel right the have the run and gun mechanic, its not a run and gun game. It never has been,and it would take away from things drastically. Are we trying to make RE Gears of War now? Add a cover system and there you have it! Then people will just complain that " oh they are trying to copy GOW now" --People are never satisfied..lol
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rjmacready
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 12:31:40 AM
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I LOVED Resident Evil 4 and felt totally comfortable with the control scheme in that game. I like the fact that RE5 has the same type of control scheme considering how much I like RE4, and I can't wait for March 13th!
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ArnoldK PSXE [Administrator]
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 1:07:20 AM
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1 up, 0 down
Geobaldi
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 1:56:25 AM
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Finally somebody else agrees with me lol. I myself wasn't real impressed with RE4. It was more of a shooter with horror elements thrown in, than the survival horror that we all know and love the series for. Having played the demo for the new one, sadly it's going to be the first one in the series that I'm going to pass on. Giving the option to run and shoot, while very helpful, will bring it just another step closer to being a full blown 3rd person shooter which is not what this series was designed for.
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NiteKrawler
Monday, February 23, 2009 @ 11:21:38 PM
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JackieBoy
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 3:01:35 AM
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cheng
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 3:18:48 AM
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"constantly run away, stop, turn around, shoot a few bullets, and then repeat the same tactic became extremely annoying", strangely enough, i dint find it annoying at all, i mean in some places, u actually have to think where ur running to, have u seen one of the demo of RE5?? that dude ran into a building while trying to take down the chainsaw dude!! wtf!!
If u actually plan out the moves ahead, u'll RARELY die, i only die like 2-3 times in my 1st playthrough of RE4, those stupid blind dude with the huge claws, and i hate krauser...
i'm also a bit worried about constantly have to take care of the partner, but does sheva ever came to save ur ass when ur critically wounded, then its just fair that u'll also have to take care of her right, i dunno i'll have to wait and see for myself :)
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Lord carlos
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 6:03:13 AM
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This game looks f**king sweet and if your a half decent gamer you'll adapt,what i've taken from the above article is this game will be hard,even for veteran fans(single player)in other words not an eight hour campaign.
PS.does not every game have some form of rinse & repeat to it?
GTA SA is twice as good as GTA4,storywise there even but they cut out too much cool stuff like skydiving and bmx bikes(surely R* could of fit bmx's on dvd) & where are those copbikes?,they all fall into the realm of reality as people do & use those things!!!!!!
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Aftab
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 6:21:52 AM
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Lord carlos
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 10:21:44 AM
The same could be said of any game,so the whole 'rinse & repeat'statement is moot in my opinion!
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ceedot
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 6:04:44 AM
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I can't believe You think San Andreas was overrated, but you liked GTA IV. What the f**k are you thinking?!?!?!?!?!
Other than that, thanks for the preview cause from this I can tell I won't like it. I hate bad shooters.
0 up, 1 down
ArnoldK PSXE [Administrator]
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 12:17:28 PM
And FWIW: I'm not the biggest GTAIV fan, either.
Last edited by ArnoldK PSXE on 2/22/2009 12:17:46 PM
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Lord carlos
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 1:37:42 PM
its not a shooter in the traditional sense,and its definitely NOT bad.
Last edited by Lord carlos on 2/22/2009 1:41:30 PM
0 up, 1 down
NiteKrawler
Monday, February 23, 2009 @ 8:48:17 PM
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hart_attack
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 7:28:50 AM
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raidtimedope
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 9:00:25 AM
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ive played the demo and i just love it, i play it everyday
controls are just fine, this is Resident Evil, to be honest i found dead space too easy with that fast movement
the new setting is amazing
im looking forward to getting this game more than Killzone 2
and Arnold you said GTA SA being over rated??? are you serious? it deserves the recognition it got, matter of fact all GTA games deserve it cuz the amount of replay value and fun even without online is uncountable.
cant wait till RE5 comes out!
the menu screen is beautiful by the way
0 up, 1 down
jordan173
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 5:47:41 PM
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godsman
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 9:11:02 AM
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My point is, if the controls get any easier, u'll be landing perfect headshots and one-hit-kills when the zombies are still far far away. Game gets dull afterwards. Any one that played the Handcannon in RE4 should understand what i mean by low horror factor.
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mastiffchild
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 9:43:59 AM
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Thankfully, you ppoointed out the real problem here-that Capcom were so bothered about getting co-=op into the game that they gimped the SP as a result. Not only is Sheva's AI not as good as Capcom think(she steals kills, shoots where you are, stands on the stairs in your way etc, etc)but having to drag her npc ass everywhere increases your involvement with the worlds worst inventory system ever by a factor of 2-which puts you on the highway to Frustration City(population 2-you and some dim bird).
A survival ho0rror game where the SP is crap? Where you always have someone with you? Where you're too annoyed for immersion let alone a few scares? That you can only play with a mate(not scary)if you want the game to actually work at all?
This game just rips up the RE tamplate that I loved for years(I'm, a huge fan and played and bought the GC, PS2 AND Wii editions of RE4 for example and have played every game both canon and non canon that they released and even enjoyed the fan service of UC!)by wrecking the SP that should be cenhtral to any sh title esp a Resi game, imo. So this is rent only for me just to burn through the online co-op and I don't see why they had to make the SP so poor just to bowq to the fashion for online co-op. Couldn't they have just left Sheva out of the SP?
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Lord carlos
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 10:33:45 AM
Even if chris was in a wheelchair i'd still buy the game because its RE5.
At least sheva can fight back,remember that room with the 2 reflecting pools in the castle(RE4)having to protect ashley against 15-20 zealots armed with maces,crossbows ect. that was ultra HARD first time round.
1 up, 0 down
Robochic
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 10:57:44 AM
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March 13th is not coming fast enough lol.
1 up, 0 down
Perry Katy
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 11:41:09 AM
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0 up, 0 down
Gogaku
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 12:30:36 PM
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ffrevenge
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 1:25:50 PM
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0 up, 0 down
ffrevenge
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 9:18:13 PM
0 up, 0 down
booze925
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 1:51:36 PM
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0 up, 3 down
ArnoldK PSXE [Administrator]
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 3:10:21 PM
But good job on getting banned.
4 up, 0 down
dillonthebunny
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 2:24:30 PM
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btw, Booze, Gfaq's is that way >
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raidtimedope
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 6:06:33 PM
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Shatterday
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 7:21:35 PM
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Everyone who says something about them sounds like my little brother when he doesn't like a game the first time he plays it because hes not used to the controls yet. He just puts it down and tells all his friend it sucks. Okay maybe I'm not talking about my little brother, rather me when I was little. But come on! Grow up!
Or cry me a F*cking river!
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Lord carlos
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 9:00:21 PM
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Ride49ers
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 8:36:00 PM
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So onto business...I have played the Resident Evil 5 demo several times and was completely disgusted by the horrific control scheme. It was my first time every playing a Resident Evil game, so I don't know much history about the franchise, but I wasn't too impressed. The game was actually quite good in many ways, but the frustrating controls sapped all of the enjoyment right out of the experience. Those are my unbiased thoughts.
3 up, 1 down
Reccaman18
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 9:06:39 PM
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godsman
Sunday, February 22, 2009 @ 10:33:32 PM
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If new controls need to be created for RE5, considering the "zombies" walk so slow, they will never catch up to you to even make the game a challenge. They'll need to recreate faster zombies... This game wont be called RE5 but, will be Left 4 Dead 2 "starring Chris Redfield".
1 up, 1 down
smileys_007
Monday, February 23, 2009 @ 8:36:15 AM
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raidtimedope
Monday, February 23, 2009 @ 3:29:27 PM
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Last edited by raidtimedope on 2/23/2009 3:33:04 PM
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iPwn_3G
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Saturday, February 21, 2009 @ 5:57:54 PM