It might seem strange, considering how often I’ve expressed my adoration for the genre here on 61 Frames Per Second, that I wasn’t always a fan of horror. In fact, being frightened was not something I considered a good time in any way, shape, or form. Call it a symptom of an extremely over-active imagination, but even a scary story told at summer camp was enough to keep my childhood self wide-eyed and sleepless, sheets pulled over my head while my mind conjured even greater terrors than the ones in fiction. Scary movies, scary stories, and even scary games were simply too much for me. It wasn’t until I was in my mid-teens that I started to come around to the thrills of being afraid for fun, but it was still a slow process. The original Resident Evil was, in many ways, horror training wheels for me. I’d be lying if I said the game didn’t still freak me out a little. It was never the “BOO!” moments either, the dogs jumping through windows or the rushing camera POV that signaled the arrival of the first Hunter baddie. It was the atmosphere, the lonely clacking of feet on the floors of empty hallways, the score, and that very first zombie, its grisly visage slowly turning to the camera, rendered in CG just abstract enough to seem unreal. The campy dialogue and ridiculous live-action intro weren’t enough to dull the menace, but the action and puzzles kept me hooked. By the time Resident Evil 2 came out in 1998, I was converted and I’ve remained a devotee of horror gaming since. I’ve stuck with the series too. But Resident Evil hasn’t really been about horror, or even fear, in almost ten years. Each successive entry has brought the series further across that delicate line, from horror into suspense. Resident Evil 4 was a true sea change, but it’s the upcoming Resident Evil 5, which Derrick and I got to play at Capcom’s New York preview event today, that cements the franchise’s transformation into a full-bore action experience, one whose tension comes from overwhelming numbers and a sense of claustrophobia instead of limited resources and lurking dread.
The two stages we attempted, putting the new co-operative play through its paces over two networked Xbox 360’s – though local co-op was confirmed through this set-up, Capcom did not confirm a splitscreen option – are the same two that have been shown since E3 ’08. Both are tightly focused, linear runs through sundrenched shanty towns and crumbling buildings, though the second culminates in alleyway boss fight against a chainsaw wielding goon. For RE4 players, RE5 is a strange mix of the familiar and new; enemies still drop copious amounts of ammunition, you still push bookcases in front of windows to keep them out of buildings, and your pistol is still your very best friend. But everything in 5 is faster, letting you switch weapons and access your menu on the fly, in a way not dissimilar to Resident Evil’s newest cousin, Dead Space. Even the Kijujuan Ganados – Kijuju is the fictional city situated between Kenya and Ethiopia where RE5 takes place – seem sprier than their Spanish predecessors.
The constant presence of two characters, Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar (AI or player-two controlled only,) also emphasizes Resident Evil’s metamorphosis. Where past Resident Evils’ character duos only shared screen time for some of the adventure, even in the character-swapping Resident Evil 0, RE5 is designed to constantly have two able characters in the environment at all times. The two demo levels were laid out to either separate me and Derrick in the environment, meaning one had to provide cover fire while the other solved an environmental challenge, or put us in cramped spaces where we had to constantly watch each other’s back. One player’s death means a complete gameover, so the game’s new speed and layout means that you have to constantly be communicating with your partner. Derrick and I failed at this completely.
The taste we had today didn’t give a complete impression and it left me wondering: what is Resident Evil 5 like when it gets quiet? What is the game like when you’re not constantly under siege from a stalking horde of people with heads full of brain slugs who are trying to set you on fire or axe you in the neck? RE5 is not a scary game. It is an intimidating game. I’m anxious to see more of what the series has become.
Related links:
Games to Film to Games to Film: Resident Evil Degeneration
TGS Trailer Time: Resident Evil 5
Interview Round Up: Suda 51, Shinji Mikami, and Mikami’s Replacements on Resident Evil
Whatcha Playing: Weight of the Stone
The 61FPS Review: Dead Space