Resident Evil 5 – Completed!

A friend and I played co-op Resident Evil 5 this weekend, with him playing as Chris and me as Sheva.  I haven’t played the game in single-player, but the campaign is the same in both, and co-op allows you a more intelligent partner! 😉

I liked the co-op controls and teamwork in this game.. rather than simply running along with two sets of eyes and guns, we had to work together to get through the missions.

Like with Resident Evil 4, the controls needed some getting used to, with turning in particular being rather slow, and I resorted to flailing at the keyboard when first being swarmed with enemies! The flailing added to the panic, especially after the execution cutscene, when we had to hole up in a small house, and met our first Executioner!

The other problem we had with the game was Games for Windows LIVE dropping our connection.  This was annoying at the best of times, but infuriating when it happened after a hard fight which we then had to re-do.

However, that aside.. there were plenty of enemies and some really good boss fights!  There were, however, a few sections relying on quick time events, which I can’t really say I’m a fan of, especially when the failure leads to instant death.. and playing with keyboard and mouse, I sometimes felt those keys weren’t the best: I found F+V hard to reach in time.

I loved the Road Rage section of the game: firing on motorbike-riding enemies was fun, and though there were more quick time events sprung on us, they didn’t lead to disaster if failed.  The end of this chapter brought a huge enemy, with people clipped to his belt!  Fortunately he wasn’t as tough as I expected.. though he destroyed our truck by landing on it 😉

We got another change of pace in the next section, with a boat ride on crocodile-infested waters. We first attempted to kill the crocodiles, going all in but then finding ourselves surrounded.  Then we found some of them could be outrun, as could the enemies on the different islands too.  We killed most of the enemies we came across, though, which is how I would normally play if I was playing alone.. I kill all the enemies, check all the rooms, and try to find all the collectible items and secret areas too!

An enemy I would have liked to avoid was the second Uroboros, despite the flamethrower being quite fun to use.  We couldn’t get him down for a long time, with a lack of ammo adding to the problem.

And then there was the Wesker and Jill fight..

As my friend had played before, he suggested that we use the corridors rather than staying in the open.  After a few attempts, we managed to put Wesker down, and went on to the section with Jill.. but then experienced one of our GFWL drop-outs.  Annoyingly, this meant having to start the section again before the fight with Jill.

This turned out to be a rather long job, as we kept killing her!

There was another interesting weapon to use, the Laser Targeting Device, for aiming an orbital laser onto an enemy!  The enemy in question was Excella, transformed into a hideous Uroboros with several glowing nodes to aim at.

Wesker was of course the last boss, with the first fight aiming to inject him with the Uroboros, and overdose him.

This was hard as he seemed almost immune to our weapons.. the proper way to kill him was in the dark using the rocket launcher, which stumbles him so you can grab and inject him.  Following this was more quick time.. with a nasty neck-snapping for my friend when I missed one!

We then had a good few fails on the last section, with the trouble coming from the part where we were split up rather than from the final showdown.. both of us aiming for his weak spot 🙂

Awesome game.. and after completing it, we were able to access the extra mode: Mercenaries.  This is a timed game mode, counting down from two minutes, in which you need to kill as many enemies as you can to get the best score possible!  You can also play as Chris, Sheva, Jill or even Wesker, each with different weapons, which I think is a nice way of making it different each time.

Resident Evil 6 – Official Trailer

Capcom have now revealed the official trailer for Resident Evil 6:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1lEs5y4udA]

Ten years after the incident at Raccoon City, the President of the United States has decided it’s time to reveal the truth about what really took place.  However, a bioterrorist attack leaves the President transformed beyond recognition, and series hero Leon S. Kennedy has to make a hard decision..

The game is set for release on PS3 and 360 on 20th November 2012, with a PC version to come later.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City – Multiplayer Gameplay!

Slant Six Games and Capcom have released the first multiplayer gameplay video for Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B–_y6PhT0]

Multiplayer modes shown in the video include the usual Team Deathmatch, as well as Biohazard mode, where players must ensure samples of the G-virus are returned to their base, a Survivors mode, where you must survive until the rescue helicopter arrives, and finally a Heroes mode, where you must fight as and defend iconic Resident Evil characters such as Leon S. Kennedy, Hunk or Jill Valentine!

Resident Evil

I’m a little surprised about the possible player choices, or repercussions of those, in the campaign of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City.  Causing the death of Leon breaks canon, especially as this game is set in the middle of the series’ timeline.

I think I’d choose to avoid Leon’s death anyway, regardless of canon 🙂

I spent a happy week playing Resident Evil 4 on the Wii some years ago.. my first Resident Evil game, and one of few games I’ve played through without being distracted onto other things.

The controls took a little bit of getting used to.. movement being handled by the stick rather than the pointer.  I loved the game.. the detail put into the surroundings, the strange villagers erupting into tentacle-headed zombies, the scary encounters.. the fact that this was a horror game on the Wii, when all I’d seen till then was very child-friendly and cartoon graphics.

I remember being shocked at Leon’s death at the hands of a chainsaw-wielding crazy guy.. he cut me in half and I was shocked for both the brutality and the fact that it had happened so quickly.  Cue reloading, a good search of the house for more ammo, and going back outside ready for his attack!

I also loved the Merchant, lurking in dark corners with his shady deals.. when I first saw him, I nearly fired at him, thinking he was a bad guy! 😉

Ashley irritated me a little at first, as the incapable female in need of constant protection or rescue.  No weapons.. really?  When it came to playing as her later in the game I thought it was a nice change of pace, avoiding enemies instead of fighting, but even so.. surrounded by things trying to kill you, wouldn’t you pick something up for protection?

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is the latest installment in the Resident Evil series, under development by Slant Six Games and Capcom.

The campaign places you in the role of an Umbrella Security Services soldier, having been sent in to Raccoon City to destroy all evidence of the T-virus.. including any survivors.  Here, you will face US soldiers come to find the source of the outbreak, and Umbrella’s bio-organic ‘weapons’, as well as the usual zombies!

The latest video shows off some of the action..

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar-qKACbnkg]

During the campaign, the player will be able to make decisions which may go against the series’ canon, such as causing the death of Leon S. Kennedy or Claire Redfield!  The campaign mode can be played alone, or with others in the four player co-op mode.. there’s also a multiplayer mode with USS soldiers versus the Government’s Spec Ops.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is set for release on 23rd March 2012.