Resi 5

[Wrestlevania]

I guess the big question is "Can co-op gameplay work in a survival horror game?" Would a co-op Condemned be just as scary, for example? Maybe. I'm not sure.

I think it's pretty much a certainty now that, given the likely critical sales success of Resi 5, you could expect to see games like Dead Space 2 ship with some sort of co-op mode. And I believe it could work, too.

I've not played the original Dead Space or ICO - bear with me - but I think some sort of symbiotic co-op mechanic would work in a survival horror game. For example, one of you is the burly, gun-toting marine, whilst the other is a much more fragile (but not gun-less) engineer.

Yes, I appreciate this could quite easily descend into the typical foulness of rote escort missions. But, with a little intelligence and some decent puzzles / action sequences, why couldn't it be fun?

Anyway, back on the "RE5 co-op" side of things; I read last night that there is in fact a "Mercenaries" mode in Resi 5, which is very much like the co-op idea I was describing above -- including high score and time attack mechanics. So, I guess I owe Capcom one of these:

Has anyone tried Mercenaries mode yet? And does its scoring system link into PSN / Xbox LIVE? Hope so -- that'd be nifty.

Would a Crimson Head be caught riding a Kawasaki? I think not.

Certainly not; he'd be much more discerning and grab a KTM!

Edited March 18, 2009 by Wrestlevania
Everyone loves zombies on 'bikes... don't they, Capcom?

[brkl]

I wary of co-op in horror games. The safety of a friend by your side has to take away from it. They may work as games (I love co-op), but I doubt you can make them as scary.

[80's Bad Guy]

[sorry to interrupt, but is this Dostoyevsky you got there as an avatar, AkuMifune?]

Hah yeah. I was re-reading Crime & Punishment when I realized I didn't have an avatar.

Hopefully now EA can adopt this classic novel into a 3rd-person action game and turn Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov into a jacked up killer stuck in a Siberian prison where he needs to kills guards for the amusement of the maniacal warden.

Sorry I can't place your avatar though.

[castorp]

Hah yeah. I was re-reading Crime & Punishment when I realized I didn't have an avatar.

Hopefully now EA can adopt this classic novel into a 3rd-person action game and turn Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov into a jacked up killer stuck in a Siberian prison where he needs to kills guards for the amusement of the maniacal warden.

Sorry I can't place your avatar though.

Yeah, I can see it. Or, unjustly imprisoned, he has to fight his way out of Siberia and 'punish' the ones who really murdered his beloved wife. "Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment: Crime – and Punishment!". One of my favourite books opened up for some a lot of murderous interaction – I can't wait.

The Avatar is from one of Double Fine Action Artist Mark Hamer's excellent Polaroids.

[by-the-way and to properly end this literary derailment/show off, Hans Castorp is the main character in Thomas Mann's fantastic 'The Magic Mountain'.]

[Roderick]

Your avatar always reminds me of a young Forest Gump.

[80's Bad Guy]

I thought it was some axe killer or friend of Otis.

Hey those are pretty cool action polaroids! It seems some images are more sad when they are stylized, like the old man tuned away from Chuck E Cheese.

Back on topic, versus DLC for RE5 seems strange. I'm afraid it will be a sniper fest, even with pistols. The whole game seems designed to find cover and pick off enemies, that will be so damn boring online. Maybe not, but they shouldn't be segmenting the market with experimental paid for DLC. Doesn't seem the best way to encourage the fan base to try something new. In fact, it seems pretty stupid.

[MonkeyWrench]

Fired this up for the first time last night and having struggled with the controls in the demo I decided to start off on the lowest difficulty and just go along for the ride. Everything was dandy up until the executioner encounter from the demo. I thought I was going to breeze through it as I was primed from my experiences with the demo, but oh no...got badly zombie bummed 5 times before I turned it off in disgust...I feel so ashamed! What is with the friendly AI? I had made sure we had an even spread of ammo, but that stupid bitch decided to unload all her ammo in the back of my skull whilst I was trying to slash some zombies, and then had the cheek to moan about being out of ammo. Surely the coders could have put something in like "if player is in line of sight, find better position", it seems such an amatuer error. But hey, it looks frickin' nice (despite the worst screen tearing I've seen this gen). I'll give it another crack tonight.

[Roderick]

Sounds like you've turned on the 'partner reacts on attack' option at the beginning of play. Don't do that. It's awful because, yes, bullets hit you and your partner (even if it doesn't take away health). If you turn it off, bullets shoot through Sheva and you only have to put up with her constantly blocking your view.

[MonkeyWrench]

Ahh, for some reason I thought that setting was about her going in for melee attacks on the tougher zombies when you're not close enough. I'll restart it tonight and see how I get on. Cheers! Still, a fucking stupid solution for such stupid AI.

[Roderick]

That was exactly the reason why I turned it on. For some reason, Resi5 fails on the a couple of really basic, important interface communication. Take also the quicktime events where you'll see an X button on the screen, but no indication whatsoever if you have to hold it or tap it repeatedly. It WILL display the performed action however, such as 'grab', further confusing the whole thing. Do I have to 'grab' the X-button? Weiiiirrrrd.

I finally unlocked infinite ammo on the biggest Magnum available. Now to get the remaining achievements and collectibles.

[MonkeyWrench]

Yeah it definitely lacking some basic user direction, the whole inventory section stands out in my mind. Some areas indicate that the B buttons take you back, other don't. Not to go on about the controls too much, but why the hell do I need to hold a button down and press another to perform a knife attack?

Anyway, it's amazing how much easier it is when your partner isn't trying to perforate your head. I made it past that first section without any problems. Currently up to chapter 1-3, I'm kind of enjoying it, but it's definitely not the massive achievement it could have been if they had reworked the series.

[SpiderMonkey]

There's so much to complain about in this game, but when it gets down to it, I'm just having fun playing (splitscreen coop). I wish they'd spent another month fixing the inventory problems and improving the pacing of some encounters, though.

[MonkeyWrench]

Got around to completing this the other day and I have to say I really didn't enjoy the last two thirds of the game, especially the last boss. The initial locale was interesting, but then when you're trudging through generic lab #1 and warehouses it just seems a bit of waste. I also can't believe anyone with any measure of intelligence thought the inventory system was good to go. It was like playing one of those sliding picture puzzles.

Edited April 18, 2009 by MonkeyWrench

[Roderick]

I hate lab settings, though I was expecting it in RE5 so the blow wasn't as dire. But when I played RE4, which was the first game in the series I played through, it was a complete shock that after the wonderfully novel peasant village setting the game suddenly turned to a completely clichéd scenery. I hated the shit out of the second half of the game.

[Moelman]

I know a lot of you didn't care for the game but this is probably my favorite game that I own for 360. RE4 is one of my favorite games of all time and I played it before I had played any of the other RE games so I do not mind the control scheme, though I did play 5 with the RE4 control scheme as the newer controls made the game feel even less survival horror than it already is. I've completed the game on Veteran and Professional over online co-op and I just think it's great fun, though I will agree that especially on professional the last part of the game just sucks. On 6-3 alone we died over 50 times, and we were using unlimited ammo and fully upgraded weapons that we had unlocked from our first run through.

Aside from fun gameplay I thought the cutscenes were done excellently and I would say this is the most visually impressive game of the current generation of consoles (better than MGS4). The main complaint I have with the game is the inventory system which just sucks, I can see the need for a system in which you don't need to pause since there are two players but having an herb and a rocket launcher take up the same amount of space doesn't make sense. It was also retarded that the melee vest and bullet proof vest take up an inventory slot. Since I did both playthroughs as co-op I didn't have this problem but I've heard Sheva's AI is not too great either, always wasting first aid sprays or whatever. But co-op is where it's at with this game.