What the Hell is Wrong With Resident Evil 5?

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“Now slow down guys! Thanks, that’s much better.”

I have the unique perspective of coming into the Resident Evil 5 demo never having played a game in the series before. You may say this immediately discredits any and all of my opinions concerning the game, but remember that there is an up and coming contingent of young gamers who know “survival horror” as games like Dead Space, and aren’t swayed by selling points like “because it’s always been this way.” So how then am I supposed to react to a game like Resident Evil 5 that seems absolutely archaic in its philosophies?

I’ll ignore the logic problems of zombie hoards that sprint at you, then feel the need to slow down when they get in range of your guns so you can adequately pick them off limb by limb. I’ll even overlook that it takes nearly a full clip of ammo to take down most of them, when a clip of ammo is usually all you ever have available to you, unless you want to risk a zombie bite by picking more up during combat. What I really want to know about is the insistence on this “plant and shoot” philosophy which seems like it’s something out of an arcade game that has a gun tethered to the machine by a cord which you use to shoot baddies who pop out from behind crates. In the year 2009, why does a game exist that hasn’t even mastered the art of running and shooting…at the same time? Even a slow sidestepping gait would be useful, but to be firmly planted in the ground, surrounded by zombies on all sides, including those you can’t even see? Come on now.

I’ve heard the argument that it adds a certain scare factor to the games, as you must stand firm as zombies run-then-creep towards you and finally surround you on all sides. But that’s bullshit. That’s like giving you a gun that shoots daisies and saying that it adds to the tension because your weapon can’t actually hurt the zombies, making them all the more terrifying No! That’s not scary! It’s just frustrating and feels like a flat out flaw in the gameplay.

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Behind you! Quick, hold down LB to ready your knife, then pivot yourself around, then wait for him to get in range, then keep holding LB and press RT to slash with aforementioned knife!

In my five or so attempts to beat the first damn demo level, I died each and every time, because I couldn’t figure out an effective way of fighting besides plant, shoot approaching zombies until they surround you, put away gun, run far away, plant and repeat. Often times I was surrounded by zombies on all sides, and even though I had a shotgun, all I wanted to do was take it by the barrel and swing it around in a circle whacking all of them in the face. Maybe I don’t understand how to play this game, I don’t know, but I’ve been playing over the shoulder shooters for awhile now, and I’ve never run across anything as immediately and persistently frustrating as this before.

I hear that Resident Evil used to only be corridors before it changed to full 3D environments. I hear that it used to have a fixed camera before they gave the ability to use the right stick to shift your angle. Why, oh why then has this planted feet mechanic not yet graduated to something more logical in this, the fifth iteration? In a game that’s as graphically gorgeous as anything I’ve ever seen, I can’t fathom why anyone would actually prefer this style of play to a game where you can move AND fire at the same time and meleeing with your knife hasn’t somehow evolved into a process that’s more complicated than pressing a damn button.

So that’s my question. Tell me, why is Capcom so entrenched in their ways? Is feet planting truly that great of a tradition where it would taint the series to change it? That seems asinine to me, but what do I know, I think Dead Space is a much better time than this traditional nonsense. Do I just suck at it? Sure, I do. I suck at most games when I first start them, but the difference here is the arcane mechanics are so logically infuriating that I don’t even want to get any better, and I”m not going to spend $60 to try and learn.

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And I didn’t have time to mention how much I love bosses who can take 20 shotgun shells to the chest and manage to kill me in one hit while wandering around aimlessly.

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24 Comments

  1. I enjoyed the demo but I am a RE Fan boy so my opinion is a bit bias. Resident Evil 4 was so hugely successful that i think Capcom is just continuing the formula in 5. Anyways I understand what your getting at I do wish that they would have aloud you to run and shoot in this title but hey there is always resident evil 6…right?

  2. It’s obvious you don’t know what you are doing. If it take you a full clip to kill one guy, logic should tell you that you are doing something wrong. Why don’t you try not shooting them in the chest. Anyways, it takes a while to get used to the RE games.

  3. I’m a big fan of the series as well, Resident Evil 2 is one of my all-time favorite games and I liked the 4th installment, but I really agree with the author in this one.

    I hate the new co-op demo, and really expected more fixes. For example, what the fuck is up with the inventory? Yes, they added the quick selection to the D-Pad, but that doesn’t help much when new items are put in random slots. And this thing with having to go a context menu every time you want to do something with an item is just so old-fashioned and annoying. Also, this thing with collecting gold nuggets and treasures is ridiculous, I have no idea why they started doing that in the 4th game (or the 3rd? Never played that one), but it just ruins a lot of the realism.

    Concerning the controls, they did work really well in the 2nd game, mainly because you walked in corridors, as mentioned, and I think they worked all right in the 4th game as well. However, it didn’t take me more than a couple of minutes before I was annoyed in the new demo.

  4. Sub-Zero. You Rock man. i just stumbled upon your site. You so NAILED it ! Resident’s graphics are the only thing that evolved. The Gameplay and menus/inventory is SOOOOO old and outdated I can’t believe no one at CAPCOM said “Dudes WTF we cant release this piece of crap!”

    also wanted to crongratulate you on the way you write, you’re good,a natural, your site is great, keep at it man I see a great future for you!

    PS: Dead Space is to Resident , what Adriana Lima is to Rosie O’Donnel

  5. I am a huge RE fan, I have owned every game the main series has come out with (with the exception of the survivor & outbreak series). When I downloaded the demo the first thing I noticed we’re the amazing graphics, and as I played on frustration kicked in. This must me the hardest demo I’ve ever played. RE4 had tweaked the gameplay as well but it didn’t feel like to much of a departure. How am I supposed to kill swarms of zombies and a guy with a giant hammer w/ one zombie grabbing me from behind raping me? This isn’t supposed to be Left 4 Dead !!! I can’t get that eerie feeling RE was so good at giving gamers during the daytime with a bunch of locals clubbing me with wrenches and other household appliances. Oh well, it is just a demo. Either way im still getting the game because I have waited waaaaaay to long.

  6. RE 5 is equivalent to RE 4 which sucked in comparison to the rest of the RE games. They were originally about survival horror, purposely giving the gamer limited amounts of ammo so he (or she) could focus on puzzle solving and strategy instead of just obliterating zombies. But if you enjoy obliterating zombies by all means stick with this game, just know that you’re missing out. Also, learn how to use your weapons. One whole clip to take a guy down? Tsk tsk.

  7. OK lets see… Im a 22 years old girl… and ive played all the RE games, all of them… and, i must say, that the saga dies with RE 3: Nemesis… you know… the survivor shit… trying to make the serie a FPS… and now this RE4 crap… jezzz! I miss the old RE, whe they were actually… A SURVIVAL HORROR…

    Whe the ammo was actually… not there… when you tried to save the 4 rounds for you magnum… coz there were no “uzi fags”… when you came back for a green stuff and tried to mix it with the red one so you dont die of poisining… and you realized there were no red stuff anymore… coz you waste it…
    whe the puzzles were son badass you had to ask you friends for advise… when the fucking nemesis chase you whole the time!

    ahh… the old good times!

    and about the walking-aiming-shooting stuff… well it wasnt necesary before, becouse you dint have lots of ammo for killing the bastards… and you had to run way… wounded…. run and run… it was nice…
    I think they keep it becouse it makes the game harder… i mean, you now have uzis, mp16, rocket lunchers, bazookas… and all thet stuff…

    by the way for killing the stupid zombies you need to shoot them in the head, one shot and your done.

    now RE looks like a Gears of War… but not that good.

  8. If you’ve never played a RE game before playing the RE5 demo, I can understand why you might think it’s crap. I said the same thing. But what makes RE games great isn’t the action, it’s the down-times. After you finish fighting of a swarm of zombies and you find a safe are only to know that once you leave that area, you’re most likely heading into another shit-storm. It’s amazing how the game is able to build tension like that. And the music is also always a key part in that.

  9. THANK YOU!!! Someone finally understands how I feel. I read the reviews on Resident Evil 4 (with everyone saying how great is was) so I bought it. I get it home and try to play, and why you can’t move and shoot is beyond me. I was so frustrated within 10 minutes I had to return it and have never played Resident Evil again…

  10. I played the demo. (I’m not a big RE gamer. only ever played the 1st one and wasn’t a huge fan). I really liked this demo. Altho.. yea Now that you mention it being able to at the least WALK and shoot would be nice. Maybe with decreased accuracy or something.
    Im’ a huge fan of the fact that it’s co-op as I tend to get very bored easily playing SP games.
    So… my 360 died on me 2 days after I got the demo hurrah :S least i got to try it out lol.
    So 4 weeks w/out a box. i should be gettin it back just b4 RE5’s release. so i’ll pick it up. Hopefully it’s worth it.

  11. I think Resident Evil had a great run. They dominated the survival horror genre for so long, but it feels like to me that they are on the way out the door. In my opinion, it’s because first person shooters have become so popular and fast past it makes RE feel like an old man’s game. I’m not saying I won’t buy it or play it, but I don’t expect completely satisfied in doing so.

  12. I think, it’s more realistic to take a stable stance and then shoot your targets instead of running around, doing wall jumps and shooting people in the head while doing a double somersault. In real life, you couldn’t hit anything while running, dealing with zombies, it’s even more complicated, since you actually HAVE to shoot them in the head if you don’t wanna waste a full clip. You can’t do that while running. Ok, a good compromise would be to be able to walk while aiming and shooting. Slowly walking backwards while keeping shooting at zombies coming at you, that would be a compromise between realism and “player-friendliness”

  13. I agree that combat mechanic is a bit “rusty” but the whole point is to try to survive with little or no resources while beeing attacked. to add to this that this is easiest RE game I ever played and it kinda dissapointed me. other than the guy with the huge hammer I managed to kill all the little zombies that were trying to feast on me and ada. And when I climbed the nearby bus the rest fell into place. also headshots count in this game as a shure kill most of the time sometimes they make things worst ’cause of a mutated head with tentecles that grows in it’s place and takes some time to kill. Conclusion it will be fun when it comes out…

  14. The thing is that if you came from the FPS school of play then you want run and gun, plain and simple. RE is alot about actual strategy, taking the right shots, knowing when to use your knife and having the right equipment for the situation.

    Im not tryna sway anyone’s opinion though, cause truth be told I could care less… Imma have my copy when it comes out…

    Also they aren’t zombies anymore, they are infected humans, and mutants… the last one with actual zombies on a console was either Zero, or that crappy second Outbreak game on PS2

  15. I agree with Reznor. I have never been a huge RE fan, but I have at least played through all of them. The elements incorporated into the way you shoot always do seem at least somewhat more based on actual guns. I HATE not being able to move and shoot, but then again I had been playing Fallout for 6 hours prior to playing that demo. XD Being able to walk backwards would be nice at least, and not really stray too much from traditional RE gameplay. Moot point now, just had to bitch.

  16. Well, if 5 is just a shinier version of 4 you can keep it. Eugh. The point of classic RE was to run, not fight (run screaming like a kicked pig). The only time I ever killed anything in RE1 was when I had absolutely no other choice (it was a boss, it was in my way, I couldn’t run damn fast enough). The later incarnations were a little freer with the ammo. The same strategy still had to be employed though.

    It was people that couldn’t work this out that didn’t enjoy RE. Clearly Capcom thought they needed to bring these people into the fold. Yeah, thanks for that. You went and ruined one of my favourite franchises.

    Give me a shout when you stop trying to make RE FPSs… cos we all know how well Survivor worked out >_>

  17. You talk about the game having no logic for running and shooting and claim it is unrealistic, when have you ever seen anyone who is trained run + shoot a gun at the same time? It works in hollywood but that’s about as far as it goes. Anyone who is properly trained in arms knows you cannot just run and shoot.. theres no control, a gun has lots of kick to it and you cannot hit something 10 feet infront of you while moving.

    The idea and concept for Resident Evil 5 (Also earlier versions) is STRATEGY. Knowing where to shoot, when to shoot and make your shots count. You clearly are just terrible at the game, sure the Demo is difficult if you’ve never played the game before but to honestly complain about wasting a whole clip on one zombie is just pathetic.

    1 shot in the leg, they kneel. you can now get a steady shot on either the head or run up and knock them down and plant 2-3 shots in the head aswell.

    Learn to play video games before complaining – this is just a typical childish rant because you suck at it.

    QQ more.

  18. 1.chainsaw guy goes down after 12 rifle shots to the head. Learn how to aim and try it.
    2.a demo is a demo. Wait until the game comes out to make lame reviews.
    3.all your bitching really just adds up to you completely sucking at this game. The whole point is strategy. So instead of whining about being surrounded by zombies and dying like every time omg! Try some different tactics.
    4.I don’t agree about younger players and what they consider survival horror. If they don’t know what it is they should look instead of categorizing
    random games in the genre.
    5.learn to play survival horror and shut your mouth about things you obviously know nothing about.

  19. dont play resident evil 5 then. if stop and shooting is so difficult stick to gears or something that fits your standards.

    i am sick of my favorite videogame series getting ruined because of the children who recently crawled out of there cribs that expect every game to have the exact same game play as every other game because they cant adjust.

    BLAH!

  20. i think i was 12 when i got myself resident evil directors cut, and i played every res evil since, even the really shitty code veronica
    and the first person shooting versions of the game including the wii version much like house of the dead, and yes i love resident evil, but i do strongly agree this guy, we ain in the 90’s no more, we aint playing black back disks, or tilting a console so it doesent crash, and hes right about how some people expect a survival horror to be these days, dead space was really the daddy of this next gen formula, and the story was just as in depth as any resident evil game, wake up capcom, 2009 survival horrors, should give us the feeling, tht we are surviving,
    if this happened in real life, would you plant still and slash away with a knife, like a guy in a wheechair? nope, youd take a bar, you’d run, smash a head in, then keep running, shitting yahself all the time, thanks for this post because i was really annoyed with capcoms stubborn engine,

  21. Really RE5 is not ment to be a Halo or a Call of Duty game. The hole run and shoot thing that you are complaining about, it’s not like the zombies are other players with the same skill level as you. This game is ment to have you frustrated so that when you beat it you feel like you achieved something. If you don’t want to challenge your self in a video game then in my opinion your just wasting your money on games that seem easy to you.

  22. I like the Resident evil series. I was addicted to Resident Evil 4. But when i played the Resident Evil 5 demo, I was pissed. They turned a perfect game into a piece of crap. Due to the last games Capcom has made(including resident evil 5) ive been disappointed at them.

    1. You’re kidding right? Like… you are kidding right? RE5 is fully relevant to RE4 story. And the gameplay is near exact same but updated graphics, and more action than dark horror. So two slight things about a great game makes you disappointed? Then you should never look forward to any new releases to any kind of series from now on because you just might slaughter yourself.

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