RE5 Demo now up on Live

[Margalis]

Left 4 Dead is a generic PC shooter with Zombies instead of terrorists. A fun generic PC shooter, but still. Resident Evil has always been more of an action game than a shooter.

Dead Space I dunno, I played the demo and was bored to tears.

I'm curious how RE is stuck 4 years in the past but L4D is not given that L4D plays basically the same as Counterstrike, Half Life 2 or any other source engine shooter. (Or pretty much any PC shooter) Did people really play L4D and think "wow, this is a fresh new concept and control scheme!!!" ?

I'm missing the radical changes that differentiate L4D from a game released in 1999.

[Trippy]

The way the co-op game play is designed and the "Director" are what set L4D apart from other shooters.

[Margalis]

Yeah yeah but talking control wise?

[Trippy]

Oh, well you mentioned "fresh new concept" as well as control scheme so I thought you were talking about the design as well.

[Velorath]

Left 4 Dead is a generic PC shooter with Zombies instead of terrorists. A fun generic PC shooter, but still. Resident Evil has always been more of an action game than a shooter.

Dead Space I dunno, I played the demo and was bored to tears.

At this point I'm just going to have to assume this has to do with your preference for Japanese developed games over Western developed games.

[Margalis]

The way the co-op game play is designed and the "Director" are what set L4D apart from other shooters.
...
Oh, well you mentioned "fresh new concept" as well as control scheme so I thought you were talking about the design as well.

Fair enough but I was talking about the control scheme since that's where the stuck-in-the-past complaints seem to be centered.

I'm not a huge fan of the way it controls either but "make it exactly like every other game" doesn't strike me as the best solution. "Back up and shoot" and "circle strafe and shoot" have both been done to death. I don't think the fact that you can't move and shoot is a big problem. I think the problem is that the aiming speed is too slow, that while aiming the left stick does nothing, and that without the ability to shoot while moving there isn't much reason to even have the second stick.

Also the more enemies you have and the more different directions they come from the more the need to move and shoot matters. Making the game even more actiony than RE4 probably isn't helping. I've heard people complain that the field of view is smaller. I'm not sure if that's true but I did find enemies attacking me from the sides unseen more often than in RE4. Could be a field of view issue or a level design issue.

[schild]

Just finished the PS3 demo. Control scheme is the same as RE4. I am failing to see the problem. Am I supposed to be complaining that I'm getting a true sequel to RE4 instead of a mutant Gears of War meets Dead Space meets RE4? Seriously, what the hell are people complaining about? Also, I have no problem with people coming from every direction. /shrug

Full disclosure: I suppose it helps that I beat RE4 like 5 and a half times. The half time being the one time I played through with the tommy gun, what a joke of a mode.

Edit: Also, dealing with a teammate with a gun is better than dealing with goddamn Ashley. Though I'm sure we'll get someone helpless in this game also.

[Velorath]

Just finished the PS3 demo. Control scheme is the same as RE4. I am failing to see the problem. Am I supposed to be complaining that I'm getting a true sequel to RE4 instead of a mutant Gears of War meets Dead Space meets RE4? Seriously, what the hell are people complaining about? Also, I have no problem with people coming from every direction. /shrug

RE4's control scheme, like the control scheme of every RE before it, sucked balls.  It was easier to overlook when you didn't have to fight more than 1 or 2 enemies at the same time for the majority of the game.  It's ill-suited to the amount of action they're trying to show off in the demo though.  The inability to move and shoot at the same time was always a way of artificially upping the tension.  Personally I'd rather they up it by going back to making ammo really limited (the arms dealer in RE4 was my biggest dislike aside from the controls) rather than making you fight the controls, and forcing you to keep an eye on your teammate throughout the whole game (in single player anyway).

[ffc]

A mutant Gears of War meets Dead Space meets RE4 is much better than what we have now:  more action, less tension, same controls. 

[Triforcer]

Ya'll seem to want RE5 turned into a generic FPS.  I, respectfully, disagree.  The mechanics of RE4 made combat slower and strategic.  Its baseball to the normal FPS football.  Turning it into Serious Sam or the like takes away the uniqueness of the series.

[Margalis]

Yeah, honestly don't we have enough PC-style shooting games?

[Velorath]

Ya'll seem to want RE5 turned into a generic FPS.  I, respectfully, disagree.  The mechanics of RE4 made combat slower and strategic.  Its baseball to the normal FPS football.  Turning it into Serious Sam or the like takes away the uniqueness of the series.

Blame Capcom for the level design in their demo?  They're the ones putting an emphasis on running and shooting , and then giving you controls that handle like a shopping cart with a busted wheel.

[ahoythematey]

You people are seriously acting like you're brand new.  The game has ALWAYS been about those moments of panic as zambies (or dogs busting through windows and nemesis busting through everything) keep piling on and you are running out of space to move around in and ammo with which to make heads asplode.  The controls may not be to your liking from a design standpoint, but they are responsive and worked just fine before.  Don't fix what ain't broke, and if that's a problem for you then get back to the homoerotic escapism of Gears.  It has those controls you seem to uncontrollably lust after.

[Velorath]

You people are seriously acting like you're brand new.    The controls may not be to your liking from a design standpoint, but they are responsive and worked just fine before.  Don't fix what ain't broke, and if that's a problem for you then get back to the homoerotic escapism of Gears.  It has those controls you seem to uncontrollably lust after.

Schild was the first one to mention Gears about six posts back.  Fuck if I know why, but I certainly wouldn't suggest that a system that focuses heavily on cover would be appropriate for a zombie game (who don't generally have a tendency to shoot at you, and thus necessitate taking cover).

Also I don't know where you get the idea that "The game has ALWAYS been about those moments of panic as zambies (or dogs busting through windows and nemesis busting through everything) keep piling on and you are running out of space to move around in and ammo with which to make heads asplode.", but I couldn't disagree with you more.  The panic almost never came from piling enemies on.

[ahoythematey]

So it was the cleverly psychological mindfucks?  Are you telling me that in Res Evil 1 you did not lose your shit the first time those dogs bust through the windows, or in RE4 when the villagers start tearing down the doors and climbing up the ladders?  Maybe I'm just a pussy, but those sure instilled some panic in me.

[ffc]

The Resident Evil franchise has been great.  I never felt restricted by the controls in RE4 or RE2 or any of the other ones I played because the controls felt natural for the game.  I liked the pacing and combat.  I liked running against walls and acting like a Hoover vacuum.  I liked inventory management and typewriter ribbons.  I liked being terrified of any hallway with windows because of those dogs.  I liked screaming for spray cans and herbs.

RE5 feels like it is trying to go for more action and faster combat but it does not carry the appropriate controls for this style of play.  Additionally, where is the tension?  The zombie rushes in the demo do not provide any of the fear I felt in the other Resident Evil games.  What we have here is a shooter with poor controls.

I want a Resident Evil type of game to enjoy.  RE5 isn't it. 

[schild]

Just finished the PS3 demo. Control scheme is the same as RE4. I am failing to see the problem. Am I supposed to be complaining that I'm getting a true sequel to RE4 instead of a mutant Gears of War meets Dead Space meets RE4? Seriously, what the hell are people complaining about? Also, I have no problem with people coming from every direction. /shrug

RE4's control scheme, like the control scheme of every RE before it, sucked balls.  It was easier to overlook when you didn't have to fight more than 1 or 2 enemies at the same time for the majority of the game.  It's ill-suited to the amount of action they're trying to show off in the demo though.  The inability to move and shoot at the same time was always a way of artificially upping the tension.  Personally I'd rather they up it by going back to making ammo really limited (the arms dealer in RE4 was my biggest dislike aside from the controls) rather than making you fight the controls, and forcing you to keep an eye on your teammate throughout the whole game (in single player anyway).

/shrug. I got hit 3 times in the demo. In fact, my AI partner got hit more than me. She's far more of a nuisance than the controls. She also makes it a whole hell of a lot easier. I'll probably play through RE5 on hard assuming it's unlocked on first boot. Like I said, I'm failing to see the problem. I see you repeating the same points and I'm just not having those issues. 

[Velorath]

So it was the cleverly psychological mindfucks?  Are you telling me that in Res Evil 1 you did not lose your shit the first time those dogs bust through the windows, or in RE4 when the villagers start tearing down the doors and climbing up the ladders?  Maybe I'm just a pussy, but those sure instilled some panic in me.

RE1 was creepy when I first played it because I didn't know what to expect at the time.  Moments of panic for me included trying to run around one or two zombies in small hallways to try to conserve ammo, any time a dog ran at me because they can move pretty fast, and the first time I saw a hunter (which promptly decapitated me).  The rest of the panic was during the downtime, when you'd go from room to room wondering when something was going to jump out at you.  RE2 I think I panicked when the licker jumps through the glass, and the first time you fight Mr. X.  RE3 I don't really remember much of, since I didn't really like it much.  Was was of the only ones I only played through once (RE0 being the other).

There was never a panic from them just throwing a bunch of zombies at you.  RE4 was the first to really try that, and even then they used it at least somewhat sparingly.  Unfortunately they also made ammo conservation pretty much a non-issue in that same game, so there wasn't really much tension in those scenes.

/shrug. I got hit 3 times in the demo. In fact, my AI partner got hit more than me. She's far more of a nuisance than the controls. She also makes it a whole hell of a lot easier. I'll probably play through RE5 on hard assuming it's unlocked on first boot. Like I said, I'm failing to see the problem. I see you repeating the same points and I'm just not having those issues. 

Congratulations?

[ahoythematey]

So it was the cleverly psychological mindfucks?  Are you telling me that in Res Evil 1 you did not lose your shit the first time those dogs bust through the windows, or in RE4 when the villagers start tearing down the doors and climbing up the ladders?  Maybe I'm just a pussy, but those sure instilled some panic in me.

RE1 was creepy when I first played it because I didn't know what to expect at the time.  Moments of panic for me included trying to run around one or two zombies in small hallways to try to conserve ammo, any time a dog ran at me because they can move pretty fast, and the first time I saw a hunter (which promptly decapitated me).  The rest of the panic was during the downtime, when you'd go from room to room wondering when something was going to jump out at you.  RE2 I think I panicked when the licker jumps through the glass, and the first time you fight Mr. X.  RE3 I don't really remember much of, since I didn't really like it much.  Was was of the only ones I only played through once (RE0 being the other).

There was never a panic from them just throwing a bunch of zombies at you.  RE4 was the first to really try that, and even then they used it at least somewhat sparingly.  Unfortunately they also made ammo conservation pretty much a non-issue in that same game, so there wasn't really much tension in those scenes.

Fair points all around.

I still think the controls are just fine.  Maybe the full game will say differently?

[Engels]

This feature may renew my interest

[Trippy]

Clever.

[Azazel]

Just tried it out. My thoughts:

What a great-looking shit game!

[Margalis]

I've been playing a lot of RE4: Wii and after that I'm not sure I can play RE5. The Wii version of RE4 is SO MUCH BETTER than the other versions it's crazy. On the shooting range levels on the Gamecube I was only able to clear maybe 3 or 4, on the Wii I cleared them all with ease. There were numerous parts of the GC version I got stuck on that I was able to breeze through on the Wii thanks to the superior controls.

The idea of going back to a stick-controlled cursor fills me with dread.

[Yegolev]

Do you mean it's better or easier?