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Resident Evil 4 was released on the GameCube in early 2005 and it changed the industry. They not only reinvented the action survival horror genre (that they originally created no less) but they gave us a truly workable third-person perspective with an over-the-shoulder aiming mechanic that would be later copied by countless developers. When you play titles such as Gears of War, GRAW and Dead Space and think how great the over-the-shoulder view is for a shooter, think of RE4 as Genesis. But like Genesis, we have moved on in leaps and bounds and when Capcom said in early previews that you still won’t be able to “shoot and run” I was a little apprehensive as to how it would hold up today after experiencing the agile movement of the likes of Marcus Fenix and Isaac Clarke. My initial impressions from the Resident Evil 5 demo were not all that positive. I played it once and thought to myself “the controls still suck” and didn’t bother with it again. So let’s see if the full game changes my opinion.

The “stand and shoot” gameplay is something I must stress with some initial discussion on how much this might affect your enjoyment of this game. Capcom have decided to play it safe and had not taken the same revolutionary leap like they did from RE3 to RE4. Instead they’ve taken the Hollywood approach to sequels. Keep all the same stuff that made the original great, then make it bigger, badder, bloodier and it will sell. Although not fixing what ain’t broken and improving on the breed is sometimes a good thing (a la Gears of War 2), games of the past few years have given us sublime third-person controls that the “stand and shoot” mechanic has aged rather rapidly. Some may argue that this is what made the Resident Evil games so successful and what makes it such a harrowing experience to fend off enemies. But only the most die-hard fans will deny that controlling the protagonist in the RE franchise has always been a bit of a clumsy shit-fight. The developers have given us a compromise by allowing the option to strafe but it’s a consolation prize at best. Chris Redfield (the series’ main protagonist) has fended off thousands of zombies, battled 30-foot hellish creatures and leaped from burning buildings. Yet tell him to shoot and walk at the same time and he’s as stunned as a doe. It’s totally at odds with the progression we see in graphics, audio and immersion. Coupled by the fact that the series has taken a more action-based shooter approach, Capcom for some reason has decided force-feed us with the “traditional” clunky controls like some sort gaming industry equivalent of Porsche’s rear-engine 911. It doesn’t make sense dynamically yet somehow it just works. Only Porsche had 40 years to develop it. Some people will not get over this gameplay mechanic and may even be a deal breaker, especially those who never played RE4 and have been on a steady diet of GOW. I’m hoping they had some Porsche engineers working on the game code and the controls’ charms reveal themselves to me later on.

Resident Evil 5 starts off with a high level of cinematic flair and this is carried through the entire game with some of the best cut-scene direction I’ve seen in a video game. Chris Redfield is back as a member of an anti-bioterrorism outfit called the BSAA and is sent to assess a situation in Kijuju, Africa. He’s greeted by a local agent named Sheva Alomar who accompanies him in his investigation. The plot is somewhat convoluted although you start to get a sense of what’s happening as you gather documents and watch the story unfold through the game. The biggest gameplay change to the Resident Evil franchise in RE5 is the addition of a partner in your battle against the undead. Sheva in controlled by the A.I. in single player mode or a friend can take control in either local split-screen or online. Strangely the split-screen mode crops the screen to retain the 16:9 ratio for both views so you have black borders either side. The co-op element has a significant effect on the way the game plays as your partner gets involved not only in firefights but in tackling certain obstacles where you need to rely on each to get through. There is the ability to heal each other within a certain time if you happen to incur too much damage but one-hit kills from enemies can occur and if either of you die it’s game over so you need to stay vigilant. You partner can also pick up items and carry their own inventory which are swappable with yourself. Note that when an online person joins you however, they bring in the items originally carried by Sheva from their own game and when they leave they take everything with them, so choose your online partner wisely. Also if an online partner drops out (where Sheva will revert back to A.I. control) you cannot invite them back into the game unless you restart the chapter or wait until the next chapter. Even reaching checkpoints won’t give you the option to reinvite anyone. It’s not as good as say GOW2’s system where players can jump in and out seamlessly. Playing with a friend really opens up the game however as you can cover each other and plan your attacks or escapes effectively. That being said, the A.I. is actually rather good and will give you ammo or heal you when you need it without ever feeling intrusive. You can command her to take an attacking or defensive strategy however sometimes she makes some weird weapon selections and will deplete her ammo supplies a little too rapidly. Whilst controlling Sheva, you will get a slightly different game experience. She holds her firearm left-handed so she appears on the right side of the screen and her melee attacks consist of acrobatic kicks as opposed to Chris’ punches. There are also instances where you need to boost Sheva to higher ground (and it’s always Sheva that gets boosted).

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