Resident Evil 5

It seems as though the spring is rapidly becoming the new time of the year to expect high quality games. In the past few years games like Oblivion, Ghost Recon Advanced War 2, Fight Night Round 3, and Grand Theft Auto 4 have all been released in the spring. This year, leading the "high quality game" pack is undoubtedly Resident Evil 5. On January 26, the demo for RE5 was released as timed released on the Xbox 360. ( The PS3 demo will be released the following week.) So we here at Gam3Spawn decided to take it for a ride.

Lets begin by saying that the game is gorgeous. We tested out both of the levels presented and let me tell you the visuals are certainly up there with the best of them. Both character models are highly detailed and to a lesser extent so are the infected inhabitants. The locations are kind of drab but I think that is mostly intentional.

As for how the game plays, it certainly is something. It certainly seems as though the developers had a direction that they wanted to head in and it seems as though they achieve their goals. However their are a couple of gripes that may alienate some gamers.

1. Immobility- Obviously you can move your character, that's a given. However, aim your gun at someone and you become stationary, bucking all of the gaming conventions. Like I said it seems more like a conscious design decision rather than an overlooked game bug. That can be forgiven but please let me know why I can not move while my knife is equipped ?! If a foe is out of reach so be it. You must put your knife away and get closer. This just makes it seem as though your character is has no desire to survive.
2. Clunky Controls-This kind of goes along with the last point but I think it deserved its own number. In the demo and in undoubtedly in the final game you are not able to shoot unless you aim. Resident Evil fans may not care but Capcom and the developers must realize that many first time RE gamers will be picking this game up. Running is mapped to the "A" button. The problem with that is that it adds an extra mechanic to the game where it is not necessary. That's why the sticks on the controller are analog.
3. Wonky A.I.- Now I know this is a bit nitpicky in a way but truth be told, the A.I. could be alot smarter. The enemies will let you just run by them and seek shelter, all the while posing no immediate threat. Yet somehow the game seems a little on the hard side but that's because the game doesn't control all that well. Your partner in crime is named Sheva and can be controlled by a fellow gamer or the A.I. If you had to choose, your actual human friend would be preferable. Sheva, the A.I. robot, is not bad but she tends to do things that are not conducive for progression.

After reading the gripes you may feel that the game is not shaping up well however, the exact opposite is true. The game is showing great promise with hot visuals and a dedicated vision by the developers. The only question is whether or not that dedicated direction portrayed in the demo will alienate some gamers.