With Resident Evil 5 hitting shelves on March 13, we’re getting into critical “give me this s**t now” territory. From our first detailed glimpse early in 2008 to the levels Hamza got his paws on in December, one thing is evident — we want it, and we want it now.
Capcom brought along a new stage to show off at this year’s CES, which has Chris and Sheva as passengers on a small boat, taking out infected villagers from afar as they roll swiftly down the river. Bat-like creatures descended from the sky to gnaw on our faces as we fired at the requisite exploding barrels that lit up the dreary skyline as balls flames would shoot into the air.
More about this, but not much, after the jump.
At this point in the game, there’s very little to say about Resident Evil 5 that you don’t already know. It’s gorgeous, and in most ways, feels almost exactly like Resident Evil 4. That alone should make it on your list of must-play games for 2009. But one thing that’s particularly noticeable was the pacing of this particular level and some of the other areas we’ve played.
The game clearly seems to be focused on fast-paced, adrenaline-charged action sequences. While it’s doubtful fans of Resident Evil‘s puzzle element won’t have anything to look forward to, it seems obvious that the intensity of the action has been beefed up considerably. Chris or Sheva can take cover by pressing X (on an Xbox 360 controller), and then popping out Gears of War-style to take out enemies, for instance. Or in one section of the level, we were able to man a turret, something that — as far as I know — has never been in a Resident Evil game before.
Resident Evil 5 seems to be taking the direction of a Hollywood action blockbuster, something I personally don’t have much of a problem with. I’ve had a blast playing the game both single-player and cooperatively, despite my split-screen complaints. But is Capcom walking a dangerous line shifting the priorities of the series, or are you fine with this potential new direction?
