Resident Evil 5 Comments by Dan Whitehead

So not great then.....?

Sounds 'not as good as it should be', but we'll see.

+ in b4 cliched and broken racism debate.

After playing the demo I missed the control scheme of the Wii version of RE4.

Not sure about this one. I've been a RE fan since the first episode appeared on PSX, I've tried the demo but it feels a bit dated mostly in the controls (while the graphics that are good for me).
I won't pre-order for sure (as I did for every other episode, including Code Veronica) but I will give it chance if the reviews convince me.

I find this article racist.

Nice DotD reference.

I didn't even like Resi 4 that much, and trying the demo pretty much removed all possibility of this game actually being enjoyable for me.

I first played Resident Evil in 1998 (actually Resident Evil 2) I was a long-time fan for many years until uninspired transformation to new POV surfaced, and now it looks like we have more of the same, I played the demo and hated it, it was a rudimentary and outdated experience for me. However, from this hands-on, it sounds more optimistic than I would imagine, I expected harsher reception. I still might give it a try, though, but definetly not day-one purchase and not pre-ordering it. I can live completely without it. I might check out to see how far mighty have fallen this time, if the game would pleasantly surprise me (which I doubt) - then that's good.

I'll wait till i have the game to pass judgement on whether it's racist or not, but I find the examples of racism in the article to be purile at best.

Capcom in 'not as good as when brand x exclusive' shocker. Since they've gone multiplatform a bit of the 'suck factor' has crept in. DMC and RE, I'm looking at you....Maybe going multiplatform is a way of earning the same dosh overall, but with lesser games?

"All it will take is for one mainstream media outlet to show the heroic Chris Redfield stamping on the face of a black woman, splattering her skull, and the controversy over Manhunt 2 will seem quaint by comparison"

Actually I doubt it, I can't believe the mainstream press is as fickle as you lot. I mean are you suggesting that a white woman's skull being splattered is perfectly acceptable? Are we only allowed to splatter the skulls of our own race? Or if Chris were black, would he have discretion to splatter the skulls of anybody he chooses? Ludicrous.

And do stop with the images of a supressed past. This is 2009. If a black man can be the leader of the free world, then I'm sure they've also earned the right to be represented as zombies in a completely fantastical horror videogame without throwing their toys out the pram. They certainly don't need defended by English journalists.

As for the review, my moneys on them pandering to the haters with a low score, as if it suddenly dawned on every fucking person here that Resi controls are a bit fiddly. Resi 4? 10/10 best game evah!!!! Resi 5? 4/10 it doesn't play like teh Gays of War!!!!

Code Veronica is my fave resi game, cant say I enjoyed the demo of this much. I think I will wait and see on this one.

Personally I enjoyed the demo but I played it co-op with a friend. Though the controls are definitely a pain in the butt, once i got use to them again, I had no trouble having fun taking down the infected. I will say that it appears that the game is best played co-op which I will have plenty of friends to play with. SinglePlayer looks like it will be a chore with the AI so I am thankful the game has co-op

On the race issue, I will leave that alone for now. I am black and I have a wife born and raised from Africa. It was interesting to see her reaction when I was playing the game. The assessment from Dan is pretty spot on and you do see a number of visuals that give you pause and make you wonder what the designers where thinking about. I know from watching a lot of Anime that there is a perception the Japanese have about black people and I am sure there is a perception they have about Africans that will be revealed in this game. Either way, I cannot wait to play the game.

More and more I'm thinking I'm going to skip this game, and instead go back and replay Resident Evil 4 as I've been meaning to, and finally bust open that unopened Wii-copy that's been sitting around for a while.

Bad singleplayer-buddy AI in a more coop and action-focused game kind of just sealed the deal for me.

I can see how the game could be perceived as being somewhat racist, but I just assumed everything was cannon fodder, except for that nice bit of ass and titties. Is it pc to say that? edit- spelling :)twice

I'm quite speechless. Dan, could you care to explain what were you trying to say in the last batch of the article? That Capcom (or anyone for that matter) can't imagine a story in which there are "black" people turned as monsters, after what, just 15 games of the series (counting spin-offs, of course) in which the only monsters you found were "white"?
You seem to be concerned of what "people" will think of the game from the outside. I happen to think that maybe, just maybe, we (I'm a writer for a quite renown videogaming website in Italy) as journalists should be the ones to ensure uninformed people get to know that this is far from a racist opera or game, that the saga has been alive since almost 15 years all of which spent killing "white" zombies in the US first and lately in Europe; now, the Japanese developers famously known as Capcom have decided that this one will be set in Africa, because of their free willed creative imagination and nothing else, and it just makes sense that many zombies are "black" (and besides, there are quite a lot of white AND arabic zombies mixed in there after the first racism charges, at least judging from the demos). Maybe the next time will be the time we kill "yellow zombies", who knows? And should WE care?

My 2 cents.

Oh, and by the way, game controls are really clunky and I fully agree with you on that, my preview is very similar to yours in regard to the game. I really hope they reboot the series once again with Resident Evil 6, it darn needs it - though I still think RE5 will be a good ride.

What about tranny zombies? Could be interesting.

Racist no, perception yes. In other words when you have a perception of something and it's the only thing you know, then you cannot really see it as racist. The word is thrown around very easily but a lot of times it does not fit the situation.

The reason I come to this understanding is actually from my own wife. In Africa, they are only fed the bad things that Black Americans do in America. When I first met her, we had a long talk and from the information she had about blacks in America, we were thugs, killers, baby makers etc. This is the perception that is fostered by media and thus this is the perception she had when she came to America. Is she racist because her information was only one sided??? The same can be said for the Japanese. They are probably only fed information that do not highlight the good things from black Africans and I am sure it shows in RE5.

@XAleX360
I believe you did not read Dan's text properly. He clearly state that the events he thought that might raise a question were from characters that were not infected. You can easily make a case for the infected but if you show brutality for just the inhabitants themselves it will raise question. Since I have not witness the scenes I have no opinion at this moment where they stand.

I think the guy who said 'Resident Evil' had already recorded all the number available for the series after RE2. They are just using that

More to the point, whose biceps are bigger? Chris Redfield's or 50 Cents'?

My, they're both such fine specimens; it's so hard to choose between them! I've spent many sleepness nights mulling on this issue. But I've finally come to to the conclusion that Chris' guns are bigger.

In other news, Resident Weevil 5 is totally unplayable.

So there.

No sign of the merchant from Resident Evil 4

No sale from me then.

This game is all wrong for me, controls are basically resident evil 4 controls but resident evil 4 wasn't trying to be gears of war and now beacuse 5 is those old style controls don't work anymore. The aiming is far to slow, I don't remember the aiming being that slow in resident evil4 and the co-op option is all well and good but the game (for me at least) was a lot harder playing with the AI and I don't want to start a game with a friend on normal or hard just to find i can't play it again without them beacuse of the stupid AI... IMO i think resident evil 5 would have been a lot better if it had kept the resident evil 4 style but gone back to its roots with the gameplay, Resident evil is all about creeping around mansions and secret underground labs not running around in the day light blasting and head stomping anything that moves.

Good preview, I wish it hadn't tailed off into some racist spiel. I think gamers could care less about any so called racist element, we'll leave that to the PC media and the liberal fascists to moan about.

Gamers are only interested in finding out if Resident Evil 5 is worth getting on release, and this backs up what most long time resident evil fans felt about the demo. The developers have sold out the franchise and ramped up the action, removed the horror, kept the awkward controls and to top it off stuck in forced co-op with some dumb AI who wastes all your ammo and causes the game to end through no fault of your own. A bargin bin purchase for sure.

this game is a massive fail.

should score like a 8.

The PS3 demo looked great but the controls are awful. This will not be purchased by me. Meh/10.

the only thing i have picked up on is that it does not feel like resident evil. I loved resi 1/2/3 and did not finish 4 as it was a total departure to what i know and loved. 5 seems even worse....

i will still probably rent this from lovefilm but it certainly is not a purchase from me : (

code veronica remake for 360/PS3 for me please.....

I agree with Gaol on this. The racism thing is ridiculous.
How many Nazis, Arabs, Commies, South Americans and Spaniards have we killed? If you ask me, it's about time games picked on someone else. As for the imagery, I can understand that it may look a bit "naughty naughty". A group of black "savages" beating something in a sack, probably raping and pillaging and all that jazz.
I was under the impression this game was set in Africa. In a shanty town area. Africa is well known for many things, including raping and pillaging. Especially West Africa where this happens to be set. I think Capcom are going for the Hollywood style cinematic Africa that we all know and love from Blood Diamond and Hotel Rwanda. You know, the ones where black guys rape and pillage and act like barbarians.
Ok, perhaps it's not a 100% accurate and fair portrayal of Africa. But the imagery I've seen so far suggests that it is inspired by Hollywood movies, many of which are based on true stories. Getting with the times ftw. Political correctness gone mad ftl.

Now I come to think of it, I think Capcom should destroy this game engine and make a nice new one with good third-person controls, and then make Dino Crisis 4. Dino Crisis 2 was a far better game than all of the Resi games combined ^_^

That must be a typo. Don't you mean down with the 'shitness'

*checks comments quickly for other cheesy puns*

Man, I am seriously wondering if this is the same site that went ape shit whe the Wii version of 4 received a low score.

More madness from gamers, surprised that EG is adding to it, RE5 is fine, the AI worked well for me in the demo, call them to your position, how it fares later on I'll wait until I buy it to see, but I will be buying it regardless of those who are complaining. Oh and the preview is inaccurate, RE4 didn't have a sidestep because they didn't want to make a shoot em up, the director said so himself in an interview with EDGE magazine years ago.

Of course I'd like to see a more tradtional Resident Evil game, so long as its well designed like RE2, which was never matched by later games.

@Eraysor, Dino Crisis 2 was action packed, and had 'poor' controls stuck in the original Resident Evil mode that didn't suit the arcadey gameplay, omg its rubbish etc, only it wasn't and neither is Resident Evil 5 if the demo is anything to go by. If anything I'd have thought a fan of Dino Crisis 2 would be interested in RE5, and be hoping Capcom use the game engine to restore the series by making Dino Crisis 4 in a similar fashion, I know I am *fingers crossed it happens.*

Oh,black non-zombies do a savage act in an African shanty town and because of the non-PC perceptions about Africans,the racism and the past(and present!) of the black race Capcom are racist and Sheva's light complexion makes it even worse,ignoring the fact that 99.9% of the ''R&B'' music videos feature black artists looking almost as white as the snowman in my garden.

"Later on, there's a cut-scene of a white blonde woman being dragged off, screaming, by black men"

Must Buy now

Said elsewhere that the race issue shows the gap between Japanese and Western development even as they try to narrow it, but to single out Resident Evil 5 for being politically incorrect is unfair (MGS4, FF13, fat lips in Dragon Quest games to name a couple) it also ignores the fact that American and European developers record of racial, not to mention gender (such as fair skin which is a larger cultural problem) caricatures is hardly something we can be proud off.

Finally on a more troubling note, I suspect that a large number of gamers around the world are probably racist or ignorant, or already have these stereotypes about Africans and Africa deeply ingraved due in our cultures. But at the end of the day I don't want videogames to be politically correct, so I learn to just accept, and revel in how absurd and silly mainstream videogames are inorder to enjoy the gameplay.

Most internet websites prove this including this one (Little Big Planet comments over its delay) suggest most gamers aren't exactly progressive, and certainly not worldy in their outlook.

Eurogamer sinks to a new low. I miss the EG from 5+ years ago so much.
Even Kotaku sounds more professional than you guys these days. But hey, you must be getting lots of hits with "articles" like this and your usual flame-bait "news". Congrats.

Sounds like the demo is in a fact a reasonable barometer of the final game.

'we're going to need a more convincing answer than "lol it's just a game."'

No we're not.

What about tranny zombies? Could be interesting.

What about gay zombies who keep trying to attack you from behind?

Awful article. I wanted a games preview not a racism debate.

What an excellent article! Well done. Nail on the head, and all that.

Awful article. I wanted a games preview not a racism debate.

+1

Capcom should quickly reskin all the Maniji as Golliwogs - that should stop any negative PR - surely?

Not that I care that much anyway, but when I was actually having my love of RE murdered again with RE4.5 the LAST thing on my mind was "I'm shooting blacks", however there are many in this world will find offence purely because they are black and whitey cannot be seen doing anything bad to black people, chinks, towelheads, nazis, aliens, other whiteys, animals - all fine though.

I'll never forget that "It's training young white men to hate blacks" remark, idiots. Dan is right, there will be a shitstorm when the ignorant people who like to divide us by colour see this game. Sadly....

/ goes and watches Zulu.....

Awful article. I wanted a games preview not a racism debate.

-1

You got both. You didn't have to read the final paragraphs.

Is it possible to play co-op offline using 2nd controller?

I agree with Gaol on this. The racism thing is ridiculous.
How many Nazis, Arabs, Commies, South Americans and Spaniards have we killed? If you ask me, it's about time games picked on someone else.


So you're you're saying that Africans as are bad as Nazis and are therefore fair game?

As for the imagery, I can understand that it may look a bit "naughty naughty". A group of black "savages" beating something in a sack, probably raping and pillaging and all that jazz.
I was under the impression this game was set in Africa. In a shanty town area. Africa is well known for many things, including raping and pillaging. Especially West Africa where this happens to be set. I think Capcom are going for the Hollywood style cinematic Africa that we all know and love from Blood Diamond and Hotel Rwanda. You know, the ones where black guys rape and pillage and act like barbarians.

That's the Africa you love, is it? You sick fuck. The vast majority of the countries of Africa are actually peaceful and civilised, not that you care.


Ok, perhaps it's not a 100% accurate and fair portrayal of Africa. But the imagery I've seen so far suggests that it is inspired by Hollywood movies, many of which are based on true stories. Getting with the times ftw. Political correctness gone mad ftl.


So you admit that your knowledge of Africa is limited on Hollywood movies. I can only assume you've never actually visited a single country in Africa yourself. And from that negative portrayal in the media you have stereotyped an entire continent...

...which is exactly what racism is: automatically stereotyping an entire race, based on the limited negative information you have received.

Capcom: Please let us configure x-axis inversion when moving characters...

Gah, this again.

Come on peeps, we know some scenes may look racist taken out of context but we also know the intent was not racism. Whether the general public can overcome their sensalionalist outlook is another matter I suppose.

Either way it's an uncomfortable dinosaur of a game wrapped in next-gen graphics, and absolutely horrible to play. No sale.