Eurogamer Expo: Resident Evil 5

And here is my final full hands-on review-esque bit of writing: Resident Evil 5. Unlike all the previous hands-on, this one was completely in Japanese. Add on top of that the fact it was the 360 version, and you can imagine how frustrating it was trying to understand what the hell was going on when the controls menu popped up. It was like playing Qu'ran: The Videogame. Thankfully my previous experience with Resi 4 and the Xbox control scheme slowly helped me grasp how to move forward, and I was on my way to zombie organ paradise.

So, gameplay. Ever played Resident Evil 4? There's the gameplay right there. Won't go into it in detail because you could easily read a review of how Resi 4 plays and get exactly the same impression. There was an added gunner mode, but this was hardly different and found myself defecting back to the 'traditional' controls of it's predecessor.

Both graphics and sound were without fault, though you could see how models, textures and sound effects had been re-used since the last game, just mix 'n' matched with each other to stay fresh. Not a problem though, since these were done perfectly in Resi 4!

Finally comes the fun. I don't understand many other people's experiences with Resident Evil 4; they didn't get scared, they weren't tense, and it was just another action game for them. Whether it's me being a wuss or my deep fear for zombies coming into play, but I found Resident Evil 4 damn scary at times. Maybe not horror scary or jump-out-of-my-seat scary, but scary in a "oh shit it's right behind me I gotta find some ammo before it tongue-rapes me in the ears" or something like that. Resident Evil 5 keeps this same scare factor and amplifies it; there are more enemies, more guns, and much less darkness. And hey, scary = fun.

The Resi 5 demo confirmed to me what I have been told countless times. And that is Resident Evil 5 is practically next-gen Resident Evil 4 with shit loads of polish.

And you know what? Bring it on.

-AW