One of the most highly anticipated new features in Capcom’s upcoming Resident Evil 5 is the inclusion of co-op gameplay for two players through the entire story. Second to that is excitement over a new control scheme which is supposed to offer players an experience more akin to an action shooter. Well we got to sample a little of both during a recent Capcom media tour in New York City, and are happy to report that Resident Evil fans have some fun times to look forward to.
Click through for the goods.
Before jumping into a game of Resident Evil 5 – be it solo or co-op – a screen pops up offering a choice between two control schemes. “Classic” is a straight reproduction of RE4’s controls. “Shooter” isn’t exactly what fans may have been hoping for, but it offers subtle, intuitive changes to the control scheme while maintaining the feel of RE’s fight-or-flight gameplay.
With shooter controls, the lefthand shoulder buttons are held down to ready equipped weapons – L1/LB for the knife and L2/LT for firearms – while the R2/RT button initiates attacks. While prepping a weapon for use still locks the character in place, movement controls have also been changed so that the left stick now allows strafing while the right stick controls turning. Purists will still be able to use RE4’s classic controls, but the new scheme offers a more intuitive option for those raised on chainguns and BFGs.
The co-op gameplay is solid, but it won’t be knocking down any long-held beliefs about what a two-player game should be. Chris and Sheva help each other out in expected ways, giving boosts up to difficult-to-reach locations, sharing carried weapons/items and knocking down any zombies – are we still calling them zombies? – which get close enough to initiate a grapple.
That said, some branching pathways encourage tactical gameplay. One example during our demo saw Chris helping a rifle-carrying Sheva up to a high vantage point. While he then worked his way around and into a building, we provided support as Sheva from on high. We’re not sure if sections such as this can be skipped with two human players – such as by having both take the ground route instead – or of how prominently these elements will factor into the overall experience, but it’s good to see an increasing number of signs that RE5 is embracing its action-oriented focus.
Our demo concluded with a boss fight, against a chainsaw-wielding lunatic in a long, narrow, closed-off alleyway. While the big man and his humming electric blade constantly rushed us, slower-moving zombies swarmed from all sides. The idea is to stop chainsaw-man in his tracks with a headshot and then move in close for some melee before he can wind up his blade and cut you down with a game-ending slash.
The most effective tactic saw Chris and Sheva splitting up, each taking up a position at the end of the alley. As chainsaw dude rushed one, the other could take some time to line up a headshot. It wasn’t a flawless plan, but it worked. Before long, the chainsaw hummed no more and a newly obtained key was unlocking the way to the next section of the game… and the end of our demo.
It may have been brief, but our hands-on time with Resident Evil 5 definitely left us wanting for more. Now that the series seems to have abandoned the last vestiges of survival horror – enemies drop health and ammo pickups for crying out loud! - the gameplay feels all the stronger for it. Whether or not the experience will measure up to Resident Evil 4 remains to be seen. But based on what we played, the basics currently in place give us hope for some fun, post-holiday not-zombie-slaying.
Click through for the goods.
Before jumping into a game of Resident Evil 5 – be it solo or co-op – a screen pops up offering a choice between two control schemes. “Classic” is a straight reproduction of RE4’s controls. “Shooter” isn’t exactly what fans may have been hoping for, but it offers subtle, intuitive changes to the control scheme while maintaining the feel of RE’s fight-or-flight gameplay.
With shooter controls, the lefthand shoulder buttons are held down to ready equipped weapons – L1/LB for the knife and L2/LT for firearms – while the R2/RT button initiates attacks. While prepping a weapon for use still locks the character in place, movement controls have also been changed so that the left stick now allows strafing while the right stick controls turning. Purists will still be able to use RE4’s classic controls, but the new scheme offers a more intuitive option for those raised on chainguns and BFGs.
The co-op gameplay is solid, but it won’t be knocking down any long-held beliefs about what a two-player game should be. Chris and Sheva help each other out in expected ways, giving boosts up to difficult-to-reach locations, sharing carried weapons/items and knocking down any zombies – are we still calling them zombies? – which get close enough to initiate a grapple.
That said, some branching pathways encourage tactical gameplay. One example during our demo saw Chris helping a rifle-carrying Sheva up to a high vantage point. While he then worked his way around and into a building, we provided support as Sheva from on high. We’re not sure if sections such as this can be skipped with two human players – such as by having both take the ground route instead – or of how prominently these elements will factor into the overall experience, but it’s good to see an increasing number of signs that RE5 is embracing its action-oriented focus.
Our demo concluded with a boss fight, against a chainsaw-wielding lunatic in a long, narrow, closed-off alleyway. While the big man and his humming electric blade constantly rushed us, slower-moving zombies swarmed from all sides. The idea is to stop chainsaw-man in his tracks with a headshot and then move in close for some melee before he can wind up his blade and cut you down with a game-ending slash.
The most effective tactic saw Chris and Sheva splitting up, each taking up a position at the end of the alley. As chainsaw dude rushed one, the other could take some time to line up a headshot. It wasn’t a flawless plan, but it worked. Before long, the chainsaw hummed no more and a newly obtained key was unlocking the way to the next section of the game… and the end of our demo.
It may have been brief, but our hands-on time with Resident Evil 5 definitely left us wanting for more. Now that the series seems to have abandoned the last vestiges of survival horror – enemies drop health and ammo pickups for crying out loud! - the gameplay feels all the stronger for it. Whether or not the experience will measure up to Resident Evil 4 remains to be seen. But based on what we played, the basics currently in place give us hope for some fun, post-holiday not-zombie-slaying.
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