--- Resident Evil 5 ---
The sequel to one of our favorite games is nearly here! Resident Evil 5 arrives in March, but we've just got a taste of the game (and so can you; the demo is up on Xbox Live and the Playstation Network now). Our first impressions are mixed; on the one hand, there's a lot here to like. On the other, several of the tweaks they've made between RE4 and this demo need some more tweaking.
So, what's to like? Well, co-op is the big one. You play as Chris, from RE1, and a new character, Sheva, is either controlled by player 2 or by the game.
Co-op does come with a price, as anyone who's played single-player Gears of War can tell you: computer AI is no substitute for a competent human teammate. But as there are so few full-on co-op games out there, this is pretty welcome, though still a bit of an odd choice in this genre. Number 2 would have to be the outstanding graphics. The game looks excellent, runs great, and thankfully seems to mostly avoid one of our next-gen pet peeves, screen tearing (although v-sync is definitely off). It's not as much above the crowd as RE4 was upon its release, but it still ranks with the best of this gen. After that, every plus we can think of would really be a compliment to RE4, which this game doesn't stray too far from--and that's good.
On a side note, we predict Chris and Sheva will hook up--there will be no turning down "overtime" at the end of this one. Take a look at this shot we took of Sheva checking out Chris' bulging triceps. Chris knows she's looking, too: why else would he be flexing like his gun weighs 50 pounds?
On to the nitpicking. There's a fair amount of that we can do, but the good news is, there's still time to fix almost all of this. And there is hope. After all, our major complaint back when we played the Biohazard 4 demo (RE's Japanese name) was that using the knife was very cumbersome. At that time, the knife was an inventory item like anything else, and switching to it meant equipping it from the inventory screen. Capcom fixed that before the game's release, and they can fix any or all of our current gripes with RE5.
First and foremost, there are options for online co-op and split-screen co-op, but not for LAN co-op. That's an extremely easy fix, and it needs to happen. Both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 are LAN-ready out of the box. There's no excuse for lack of LAN play in a game designed for co-op.
Secondly, the real-time inventory system, a significant change, needs some work. Currently, you can quick-select inventory items with the d-pad, but only with the 4 directions. At the very least, they need to add the diagonals so you have 8 items at the ready. Ideally, an option to force item types to stay on certain buttons as they come and go with use and pickups would be present. For example, we'd like down on the d-pad to always be a green herb--even if we use them all and then pick up another, we'd like it to take over that slot. Right now, newly acquired items just go anywhere that's open.
On that same topic, trading items could use a little automation. For example, if Chris has some machine gun ammo, but Sheva has the only machine gun, it would be great to have a "quick trade" prompt. Trying to manage inventory during frantic combat is fine for adding tension (the intent, no doubt), but fumbling with the inefficient system they've designed doesn't improve the game.
We also have some nitpicks with button assignments. For some bone-headed reason, the control setup that's based on RE4's layout is identical except that it switches the two main buttons' functions. That's just stupid. And easily fixed; just give us customizable controls (like every single game should do) rather than a few pre-defined layouts.
The other thing about buttons assignments is another tweak they've made between RE4 and now: real-time item pickups. Instead of freezing the game to show you a picture of an item when you pick it up, they've now designed it so your character reaches down and picks up the item without any pause in the action. That's great, we're all for it. The problem is that the button to pick up items is the same button used to kick or punch enemies. And that means you can't punch if there are any items lying around--and there usually are, since dead enemies leave them behind. This is another fairly easy fix--just assign another button to one function or the other. Both analog stick "clicks" are still unassigned, so there are buttons available.
And lastly, we'd like to remind Capcom that console controllers have now had analog thumbsticks for 3 generations, well over a decade. There's no reason for a "run" button, especially considering how unwieldy that makes the new control scheme (the dual analog setup--when you run, steering switches from the right stick to the left one, since your right thumb is on the "run" button). That's not an easy fix, and we'll be using the RE4-style controls ourselves anyway, but it would be nice if this is the last RE game to have non-analog movement.
Well, enough about all that. Here are a couple of videos of the very cool split-screen mode. We don't know of any other game that gives both players a proper 16:9 screen rather than choosing to fill up all the screen area (which ironically means cutting your field of vision). That's very good of them--not that we'll be playing in split-screen much. But it is cool, and it runs great. Despite all these complaints, we did have a good time with the demo, especially in co-op mode.
Incidentally, we've been wondering why Chris looks like the Hulk. We were half-expecting the game to explain that he's infected with the Krauser virus, but that didn't happen. He sure is a lot bigger than he used to be. Check out this video:
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