Resident Evil 5

E3 2008 Preview

Capcom's critically acclaimed GOTY 2005 winner, Resident Evil 4, will get its long-awaited sequel on March 13, 2009. If knowing this makes March seem like it's a millennium away, that's perfectly natural: this is, after all, the most anticipated horror game to grace a next-gen machine.

The question on everyone's mind is: can RE5 live up to its predecessor? The jury is still out on that one. But the teaser Capcom provided at E3 -- a two-level demo of zombie infestations -- is a good sign that the developers are headed in the right direction.

Bigger, Heavier, and More Gruesome

It's not hard to imagine that RE5's gameplay is very similar to the groundbreaking RE4. But what the screens don't show is the excessive amount of detail Capcom has applied to each environment. This fact may sound like it has little relevance to the gamer that says, "Gameplay comes first." But it is actually an essential part of making the game more horrific. Using every ounce of next-gen power available, the developers are able to bring the camera closer to the action than ever before. This allows for some very intense moments where zombies and other vicious enemies (some familiar, some not) surround Chris Redfield and newcomer Sheva (a mysterious woman who kicks butt alongside Chris). During these moments, the game is more cinematic, more dramatic, and much more scary than the outdoor, super-bright atmosphere would have you believe.

At this point we still don't know how Capcom plans to implement darkness, if at all beyond the shadow system they've been experimenting with. That system made it difficult to see what was in the shadows after walking around in bright light. It didn't appear to be a part of this demo, as the lightning stayed consistent regardless of where Chris was standing. But the concept is very promising.

When first playing RE4, players died because the game offered a new control style and because it was challenging. This time you'll only die because of the latter, as the gameplay remains true to the previous iteration. It's equally fast and exciting. Every move returns -- the way Chris interacts with objects, fires his weapon, collects items, etc., is all very familiar. There is a new menu system, which changes the way you select weapons -- a transparent menu pops up but gameplay keeps progressing, making item selection a risky move in any heated scenario.

The two levels focused on two mission types: surviving an unofficially timed battle and a more traditional, defeat-the-enemy, get-a-key kind of experience. Both are set in a small town in Africa, with rugged terrain and deadly zombies around every corner. Actually, we don't know for certain that they're zombies. In the beginning, the game showed a zombie shouting and making gestures to rile the crowd. Meanwhile, a guy with a giant axe was getting ready to cut the head off of a man who appeared to be completely innocent (he could talk normal and didn't seem to have become a zombie). This was a very gruesome way to set the stage for the game, and was mysteriously without the trademark bugs and monsters of the series. Thus far, your only enemies were sort of human and definitely monstrous, but they weren't a part of the animal kingdom.

As expected, the famous axe man makes a return, and this time he's holding a key to the area you need to reach. Killing him isn't easy. The game gave no pointers -- it didn't even tell me to kill him to proceed. I walked around in circles and tried to avoid him after several attacks (grenades, shooting explosive barrels, and regular gunfire) failed to take him out. But eventually there were no other options: keep running or just keep shooting. The latter proved to be the solution.

And what's hidden behind the locked door? Capcom's not telling. In the case of the first stage, where zombies attacked a building from all sides (just like the old house attack in RE4 where you had to use bookcases and other objects as barricades), the demo ended as soon as you reached a certain point of survival. Rather than show the outcome, however, the game ended with a hazy black smoke, one that will surely be interesting to fans of the TV series Lost. Could smoke/haze play a role in Resident Evil 5 as well? Or is it merely a cool graphic element? No one knows but the makers of the game.

It's unknown how big of a role Sheva will play in the final game, but it appears that she'll follow Chris and help kill enemies in at least some of the stages. She was helpful in the demo but got in the way of gunfire. Capcom dealt with this issue by allowing the bullets to go right through her. But in RE4, your tagalong character always ducked to avoid bullets. It'll be interesting to see how Capcom handles the finished product.

The newest and perhaps most unique gameplay feature wasn't available for a test drive: co-op multiplayer. Two players will be able to take on the single-player quest together, a feature that could change the Resident Evil series once more, bringing forth a new era in survival/horror gaming.

For All E3 2008 GZ Previews