Resident Evil 5 - EG Expo Preview

By Paul Davies

Following a class act like Resident Evil 4 was never going to be easy. But while there’s no denying that the team at Capcom have got some fairly lofty expectations to meet, impressions from a recent build of the game suggest that they’re well on course to do exactly that.

The jump to a new console generation’s certainly helped, though picking up the pad to try the couple of short levels on offer at the recent Eurogamer Expo it was immediately apparent that none of the fundamentals have been messed with much. Resi 5, (barring the addition of a ‘shooter’ control scheme that pretty much just remaps aim and fire to the triggers) feels just like its predecessor. Instead, everything’s been turned up to 11. Graphically, its spectacular on either 360 or PS3 and environments are now much larger on the whole, with more opportunities for unscripted door-barricading, ladder-pushing, wall-vaulting mayhem. Plus, there’s now enemy counts to match, with huge throngs of zombies that feel more Dead Rising than Resident Evil. Thankfully, though, they seem to take far fewer shots to dispatch, which puts the game even further into the shooter camp. The fact that inventory and weapon-switching is now performed in-game (and in real-time) keeps the pace quick and frenetic, and even the short pause encountered in Resi 4 when picking up items is gone, with Chris deftly snatching ammo and items up instantaneously. The whole experience is leaner, meaner, and more exciting.

The demo showcased two areas from the final game, both vastly different in tone from one another. An action-focused section in a market saw Chris Redfield (returning from the original Resident Evil) and his new partner Sheva Alomar - an African special-ops type lady with some nifty close-combat moves – trapped in a tiny shop fending off dozens of t-virus infected locals. After barricading a few entrances and dispatching a horde of enemies, the action moved to a more open area amongst several market stalls. Now being chased by a much larger group of zombies led by a hulking hooded beast wielding a huge warhammer, the focus shifted towards keeping out of the horde’s clutches until a helicopter pilot obligingly blew open a gate to provide a means of escape. The second section was much more low-key, and saw Chris and Sheva making their way through a high-rise building, dealing with the occasional surprise zombie appearance. After a section during which the pair are briefly separated in opposite structures (during which Chris needs to cover Sheva with a rifle) they reunite to face a larger number of foes in some claustrophobic alleyways, including a somewhat familiar chainsaw-wielding maniac – perhaps a distant cousin of his Spanish counterpart from Resi 4, though just as lethal. I died several times, shamefully.

Naturally, the biggest change to the gameplay is the addition of a fully functioning co-op partner. Though while a problem shared is a problem halved, half a baying horde of zombies is still a horde. In singleplayer, Sheva strikes a happy medium between needing to be constantly minded and completing the level for you. You have total control over what weapons, ammunition and items she’s allowed to pick up and wield. But it seems as though greedy players may pay the price for not sharing, as leaving Sheva ill-equipped puts her in serious danger of being overwhelmed. Of course, none of this is an issue if you’re playing in co-op mode, which, while not on show, can apparently be enjoyed either split-screen or online over PSN or Live. Time will tell if it’ll come close to being as compelling a co-op experience as, say, Gears of War, but early reports indicate that it works extremely well.

Resident Evil 4’s strengths lay in its brilliant pacing, as it shuffled the player from one memorable set-piece battle to another, cleverly switching from action to suspense as the situation demanded. Naturally it’s hard to tell from playing two disjointed snippets if its sequel manages to continue the trend, but from seeing how strongly Capcom have nailed the fundamentals, its hard to imagine that Resi 5 will disappoint come release early next year.