There's a new trailer floating about for Resident Evil / Biohazard 5. Missed it? See it here.
More on that in a bit. First, here's a bunch of conjecture and things you already know.
Announced way back in 2005, the fifth (Pfft. More like eighteenth) installment of the zombie schlocker super series has had a glut of development time. Usually for Capcom this spells re-start doom - Resident Evil 4 went through umpteen revisions during development, even spawning an off-shot title that didn't end up fitting the main series' survival horror bill (Devil May Cry, take a bow). Couple that kind of perfectionism with having to follow up one of the best received games of the last generation, and it's a wonder we're seeing anything this side of 2010. Interestingly though, Resident Evil 5 hasn't really changed much since the first time it was seen. It's still Chris Redfield looming in shadows assassinating black people.
Producer Jun Takeuchi (Onimusha 3, Lost Planet) has spoken about Black Hawk Down being a major influence on the game. Although immediately daft in the context of a horror game, this statement makes a perfect kind of sense: Ridley Scott's version of the Battle of Mogadishu presents the invaded Somalians as violent, barely human, mob monsters. It's preferable to regard the film as a particularly spec-heavy soldiers vs running zombies action episode, rather than a deadly accurate historical document. Resident Evil 5 follows accordingly with Redfield on his own Police action, wandering in and around shadow heavy shanty towns, gun drawn ready to blast the frothing villagers. An unwanted, trespassing, invader. As with Part 4, it's just you plus guns fighting against armies of psychosis infected farmhands. Man vs riot. Much less fringe this time though.
So what's Capcom done in the intervening months regarding 5's less than delicate approach to race relations? Even up the cultural divide among the zombies? Change the games location entirely? Harp on about the concept of Zombie originating from West African religions (cradle of un-life)? Ignore the problem and hope it goes away? Nope! The answer is to introduce an ethnically non-specific sidekick!
Hooray! It's like Vin Diesel: The Girl. Enough colour to go some way to redress the racism accusation, but not enough to turn off middle class white people / racists. It's compromise, compromise! Said lady hasn't been blessed with a name yet, but will apparently form the other half of a much mooted co-op mode. It's the Dead Rising wish that never happened. Bad press appeasement, knowing fan hug, and a mechanic heist of Gears of War's sole trump card in one swift move? Capcom, you spoil us.
Tag along co-op character will be able to drop in and out of play for multiplayer, and hopefully entirely abscent during single play: I don't particularly want to be saddled with either a drone I can command to engage enemies, or an AI led fight-bot that makes the game a cake-walk. Atmosphere's a worry too, I'd rather the series strayed further into tense creep-walk territory rather than Gears' mindless NFL cover seizure. Mind you, Capcom effortlessly juggled a couple of varieties of sidekick in Resident Evil 4 - hostage de jour Ashley consistently kept her head down, and back-to-back fight assist Luis muddled on unobnoxiously. Knowing the pedigree, there's little reason to do an outright balk. More a cautionary heavy burp. Unless of course you like playing with other people. In which case much of the preceding paragraph will seem like the inane grumblings of a friendless grouch. Guilty as charged (My total lack of broadband / Xbox LIVE doesn't help either).
Digression: Resident Evil 4 always had uncomfortable overtones of racial philosophy for me. I remember finally unlocking the machine-pistol on the Japanese Famitsu demo, booting the preview back up and racing into town. Aryan superman Leon, clad in Gestapo fop sheepskin coat, armed with a compact death pistol repeater rushing headfirst (invading!) into an Eastern bloc rural village. Gunning the simple village folk down and stealing respite in their houses. It was like an ethnic cleansing simulator.
Couple that with the notional objective (you know other than destroy the underclass), rescue the attractive blonde girl from their creepy foreign clutches - they even had a non-Christian socialist workers religion that worshipped the Earth (or things born from it). Pagans! Wipe them out! Sounds like a particularly despotic invasion justification pot-boiler. Take charge of the mighty blonde superman and crush the Slavic work-hordes! They're beneath our perfect contempt.
Luckily 4 does a volte-face come the end credits, punishing our efficiency by portraying the devil villagers as victims of circumstance. They had families too Leon, you dick! End of digression.
So how's the trailer looking? It's Resident Evil 4 in HD drag with Africa accessories. Is that bad? The same basic stalk types appear: shambling zombie villagers, burlap bag-hatted chainsaw heavies, and face burst Blade 2 Venus fly-mouths are all present and correct. Looks like the Plaga parasite, or a form thereof, are back - force mouth, gang-rape body seizing (as is usual). Ugh. Maybe we'll get to intervene in a mobile plague spread this time? 4 always teased a land swarm religious fever among the Ganados, it'd be fun to see the cult ploughing a missionary tract through Africa, leaving vacant stare shuffle-stabbers in their wake.
The added oomph of Xbox 360 / PlayStation 3 looks to be directed at producing aggressively darting crowd mobs, 4 was no slouch in this area to begin with. If constant harassment is the brief, it boggles the mind what Capcom could throw at us this time. 4 never quite topped the improv siege at its outset: the quick mix of an ever advancing limitless enemy, a roaming 'boss' character, and a multiple entry house-puzzle hideout was a videogame immediacy masterclass. Constant variations of that particular set-up is a solid set-piece backbone. Looks to be new ways of dealing with the hassle-mobs too, multiple context sensitive push-strikes have migrated over from Mercenaries mode, perhaps with a touch of God Hand's refined idiocy? Chris' uppercut has disaster impact! There's even something that looks like an ever present machete. That's a nifty knife one-up.
Resident Evil 5 is escalation, not reinvention. That's more than enough for me.
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