Re: Resident Evil 5 announced for Xbox 360 & PS3
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What We Saw: The presentation started with the new Resident Evil 5 trailer. Along with plenty of intense action, with Chris fighting off waves of villagers in the dusty alleys of an African village, we saw several new environments. A subterranean ruin, almost looking like something from a Tomb Raider game, sparks a number of questions, and to go along with that, we saw some tense spelunking, with Chris carrying a lantern as his only source of light and set upon by a number of mutating villagers. We also got a glimpse of a new female character and potential sidekick, who assures him of her fighting abilities.
Following that, the game's co-producer Jun Takeuchi gave the first demo of the game live in action. Taking place in the African-village setting during broad daylight, he mostly showed off the range of combat options while negotiating the shanty structures of the town. Partway into the demo, an imposingly large man wearing what looked like a blacksmith's apron and wielding a huge axe started relentlessly stalking him through the village. While he was set to be invincible in this demo, the devastation wrought by his axe swings left little doubt of his power. Had Chris not been set to invulnerable as well, Takeuchi explained, several of the strikes would have resulted in death.
Good to Go: Along with silencing the questions of where the game takes place, the answer to the question "Why Africa?" leads to several indications that this Resident Evil will figure prominently in the overarching story of the series. Takeuchi noted that Africa is frequently referred to as "the birthplace of humanity." It also happens to be where the progenitor virus, from which all of Umbrella's research subsequently sprung, was originally found. That points to this installment potentially delving into answers as to where it all started. To further support that idea, note that the villagers can be seen transforming their heads into tentacles to attack and consume other people. Alexia Ashford in Code Veronica exhibited similar abilities resulting from the injection of the Veronica variant of the progenitor virus, and she retained her intelligence, much as the villagers in Resident Evil 5 appear to still be coherent to some degree.
Good to Go: One of the main reasons the villagers appear to still be in some control of their faculties comes from the intelligent way they attacked Chris around the village in the demo. The A.I. determining their actions goes well beyond that of shuffling zombies. Enemies clamored over walls, improvised weapons out of piping and whatever else was at hand, and came at Chris from every direction -- circling around, flanking, and even waiting to ambush him around corners. They also showed both an ability to recognize where Chris was headed and an awareness of the lay of the land that enabled them to take routes to cutoff his path when he went to the rooftops or tried to duck into a structure to evade them.
Good to Go: Environmental destruction and a natural physics system combined to make the experience shown during the live demonstration extremely immersive. Blasting villagers in the chest with a shotgun at short range didn't just make them flinch -- it took them off their feet and launched them backward, a particularly effective trick near the edge of a roof, where it flung them over the edge. Location-based damage allowed Takeuchi to handle large numbers of attackers by kneecapping a few to slow their advance and then whittling away at their numbers. And the big axe-wielding enemy provided the most extreme example. With one swipe he could bring down the rickety walls of huts Chris might try to hide in, and a baseball swing levels everything in its path: villagers, walls, and Chris alike.
Warm Afterglow: After the one-two punch of the new trailer followed by the live demo, it's hard to imagine getting much more pumped up for a game than we are for Resident Evil 5. Much like RE4 it looks fantastic on the screen with dramatic lighting effects and a highly detailed art style. The shooting and action also look as comfortable as they were last time around. The move to the PS3/360 platform comes with other benefits along with the HD resolution. Takeuchi described the village area in the demo as being four times larger than the initial village in RE4. The potential for answering some of the burning questions swirling around Umbrella and the viral research that caused all of this trouble round out the makings of one of the biggest upcoming games on the map.
Following that, the game's co-producer Jun Takeuchi gave the first demo of the game live in action. Taking place in the African-village setting during broad daylight, he mostly showed off the range of combat options while negotiating the shanty structures of the town. Partway into the demo, an imposingly large man wearing what looked like a blacksmith's apron and wielding a huge axe started relentlessly stalking him through the village. While he was set to be invincible in this demo, the devastation wrought by his axe swings left little doubt of his power. Had Chris not been set to invulnerable as well, Takeuchi explained, several of the strikes would have resulted in death.
Good to Go: Along with silencing the questions of where the game takes place, the answer to the question "Why Africa?" leads to several indications that this Resident Evil will figure prominently in the overarching story of the series. Takeuchi noted that Africa is frequently referred to as "the birthplace of humanity." It also happens to be where the progenitor virus, from which all of Umbrella's research subsequently sprung, was originally found. That points to this installment potentially delving into answers as to where it all started. To further support that idea, note that the villagers can be seen transforming their heads into tentacles to attack and consume other people. Alexia Ashford in Code Veronica exhibited similar abilities resulting from the injection of the Veronica variant of the progenitor virus, and she retained her intelligence, much as the villagers in Resident Evil 5 appear to still be coherent to some degree.
Good to Go: One of the main reasons the villagers appear to still be in some control of their faculties comes from the intelligent way they attacked Chris around the village in the demo. The A.I. determining their actions goes well beyond that of shuffling zombies. Enemies clamored over walls, improvised weapons out of piping and whatever else was at hand, and came at Chris from every direction -- circling around, flanking, and even waiting to ambush him around corners. They also showed both an ability to recognize where Chris was headed and an awareness of the lay of the land that enabled them to take routes to cutoff his path when he went to the rooftops or tried to duck into a structure to evade them.
Good to Go: Environmental destruction and a natural physics system combined to make the experience shown during the live demonstration extremely immersive. Blasting villagers in the chest with a shotgun at short range didn't just make them flinch -- it took them off their feet and launched them backward, a particularly effective trick near the edge of a roof, where it flung them over the edge. Location-based damage allowed Takeuchi to handle large numbers of attackers by kneecapping a few to slow their advance and then whittling away at their numbers. And the big axe-wielding enemy provided the most extreme example. With one swipe he could bring down the rickety walls of huts Chris might try to hide in, and a baseball swing levels everything in its path: villagers, walls, and Chris alike.
Warm Afterglow: After the one-two punch of the new trailer followed by the live demo, it's hard to imagine getting much more pumped up for a game than we are for Resident Evil 5. Much like RE4 it looks fantastic on the screen with dramatic lighting effects and a highly detailed art style. The shooting and action also look as comfortable as they were last time around. The move to the PS3/360 platform comes with other benefits along with the HD resolution. Takeuchi described the village area in the demo as being four times larger than the initial village in RE4. The potential for answering some of the burning questions swirling around Umbrella and the viral research that caused all of this trouble round out the makings of one of the biggest upcoming games on the map.
Eurogamer
Gamespot
Destructoid
Gamespy
Kotaku
Joystiq
New Screens
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