At this point, fans have had a full week to test out the Resident Evil 5 demo. The Hugazombie staff got to play the two levels several times and have a few criticisms to offer. But before we get to them, let's look at the positives.
First of all, the levels look beautiful. Like Resident Evil 4, the levels are richly detailed and look amazing. The two levels available on the demo both look terrific, and are filled with zombies, or whatever you call someone infected with the G-virus, not unlike the first few levels of RE 4, and some of the previews of show that the zombies don't disappear later like they did in RE 4, leaving Leon to do the evil exploits of a maniacal European midget.
Second, Resident Evil 5 does take a step forward by offering co-operative play, which the series had yet to capitalize on. Working together is necessary in order to gather supplies and protect each other. playing co-operative is not entirely necessary, however, which can be both negative and positive. The plus being that one can play RE 5 alone and have a storyline to follow without having to rely on others for a more exciting gameplay experience like Left 4 Dead, but the negative is that the co-op gameplay of RE 5 is a nice bonus but isn't critical to the game, at least not in the two levels of the demo.
Once, you get past the graphics and the introduction of co-op play into the storyline, it's easy to see what's really wrong with game: everything else. In general, the game controls are not intuitive and will take time to learn. One thing that separates modern shooter games, like Resident Evil, Dead Space or Gears of War, is that the controls don't take a huge amount of time to learn. RE 5 uses the same aiming controls as RE 4, but does not allow for any strafing. So once you aim your gun, which you have to do to shoot, obviously, but also to reload, YOU CAN'T MOVE. So just reloading your gun slows down the game, and, like RE 4, you still need to run ahead of the zombies, then look back and aim, to take them down.
Sorry I can't move -- do you mind staying right there? Perfect!
In RE 5, you have more than two options for a weapon, always having your machete if you've run out of bullets. However, once you're used the two-button combination you'll need to wield the machete, again, you can't move! Really, using a weapon in this game is a liability. While we appreciate the lesson that not being able to run with a machete teaches, in order for the machete to be useful you have to run up to a zombie or have one right on top of you to be able to kill a zombie with it. Ultimately, this locks the machete's value in your ability to smash wooden boxes and barrels with it. Yahoo.
The inventory system is also a bust. Looking not unlike the inventory tool from Dead Space, RE 5's inventory again doesn't allow for movement. Also, in cases of the healing herbs, you won't be able to use them yourself. All you can do is heal your partner, a weak and forced co-operative move that, in a combat environment with your health low, is clumsy and awkward to pull off.
What's disappointing about Resident Evil 5 is that, while it graphically looks amazing, it feels like a throwback to itself. Co-operative zombie shooters took a huge step forward with Left 4 Dead, and while L4D doesn't offer a storyline to follow during solo game play, it is miles above RE 5 in terms of its co-operative play. Really, most modern shooters seem miles above the clunky controls and slowed down pace of Resident Evil 5, even Capcom's own Dead Rising. There's something about the Resident Evil series that just won't allow itself to break away from their own history. RE 4 was a giant step forward. RE 5 is content to have co-op play be it's only step forward, and it's not a hugely significant one.
Ultimately, Resident Evil 5 is going to be a successful game for Capcom, who frankly, need some success. Fans of the series will not be able to turn down another entry, especially for Playstation fans don't have a port of Left 4 Dead to play on their system, and likely never will, considering Valve's historic reticence to port their games to the Sony system.
The best news about the demo is that it warns that the game is not quite finished and, hopefully, Capcom may be looking to make changes with all the reaction the demo is getting.
UPDATE: Capcom seems to either have planned in advance or listened to the complaints about the lousy control system, because Capcom's Director of Marketing Michael Webster told Inside XBOX that RE 5 will integrate Gears of War-style "action controls" that will allow the player to move while aiming. Sounds great, so why not put it in the demo? Is it not ready yet?
