Games for Lunch: Resident Evil 5
In a nutshell: A little less survival horror, a little more action.
3/13/2009 6:21 PM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 4
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Release Date: March 10, 2009
Systems: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3
ESRB Rating: M
Official Web site
0:00 I can't say I was enamored with the co-op demo I played with Kotaku's Michael McWhertor at this year's CES. I think
Left 4 Dead has spoiled slow, shambling zombies for me forever. We'll see if I can get over it for an hour at least...
0:01 A quick downloadable update and some animated logos and we're ready to go. A microscopic view of a bunch of black-and-white cells splitting zooms out to become the
Resident Evil 5 logo. "Resident Evil ... FIVE," says a creepy voice, predictably.
0:03 Is it me, or does this seem like the kind of game that shouldn't have a "Leaderboards" option on the main menu...
0:04 I know this game is really best played cooperatively, but no one is around and the only friend I have online is playing
Halo 3 and doesn't seem eager to stop.
0:05 Available difficulties are Amateur, "A mode for those who enjoy the journey"; Normal, "A mode for those who find reward through slight struggles"; and Veteran, "A mode for those who believe challenge breeds excellence." I'm somewhere in between the first two, so I err on the side of Normal.
0:06 Ah, there's a "no limits" option that allows anyone to join my game co-op at any time. Maybe some kind stranger will help me out for this column, eh?
0:07 CAPCOM presents: A robed, hooded figure standing over a kneeling figure. Cut to a humvee rolling through a desert town straight out of
Metal Gear Solid 4. The kneeling black man reaches out a hand and his eyes fill with blackness. Tentacles crawl out the neck and the front of his shirt as the robed guy walks away. Back to the humvee, where a captain reports that he's secured the "underground nuclear coordinates."
0:09 Black out and jump cut to the savannah and ANOTHER humvee rolling through. "I should have seen it coming..." says lovable old Chris Redfield. Apparently, terrorists have their hands on the Umbrella Corp's virus and are using it for bio-terrorism. So a pharmaceutical company created a counterterrorism outfit to prevent a pandemic. Wait, really? Anyway, Chris gets out and introduces himself to Sheva, a thin, lightish-skinned woman. Flash to Chris' thoughts of his previous partner, Jill Valentine, currently residing under a gravestone. "Casualties continue to mount over the years I've struggled..." he thinks to himself. Gag.
0:10 A guard gets touchy with Sheva, leading to this quote of the moment: "You don't have to get TOUCHY!" This is delivered with such sass I can't help but smile.
0:11 "Chapter 1-1, Civilian Checkpoint." A voice in Chris' and Sheva's ears tells us of a black market weapons deal in Kijuju. He talks as we walk through a sleepy but somehow vibrant desert town. People talking in front of stores, sitting and drinking beer, and ... beating a canvas sack with a board and nails? They stop the beating and turn to me as I get close. Uh ... we're just passing through, guys! I look at the sack ... it's not big enough for a person. Hmm...
