So I've been spending the past week or so working through Resident Evil 5 with my boy TMac21 and I have to say, I've been enjoying myself tremendously, even if the lucky bastard did call first dibs on Sheva.
The game has been stirring up an enormous amount of controversy over game quality and genre shifts (better than 4? Do we like the hardcore action?), accusations of racism, and downloadable content. Well, my gentle snowflakes, I have some thoughts on all of these topic so light up a fat one and lets get down to it.Ok, so is Resident Evil 5 good? Plain and simple, yes, it's the shit. You can get a basic idea of what the game is like by reviewing my highly scientific formula above. Is it better than Resident Evil 4? No, but not many games could be. RE 5 bears of the heavy burden of coming on the heels of one of the most well received, exhilarating, shit-you-pants video games ever made. Given that it's also the latest in one of the most beloved series of all time and you can see it's got some pretty big boots to fill. Still, RE 5 really only fills these boots up about half way. To me, this game feels more like RE 4.5. Beyond co-op, there are no significant changes to the way is played. The story here feels the weakest by far, but at least you've got your shotgun and lots of African zombies to blow away.
Which brings us to the racism claims. Earl Ofari Hutchinson wrote that "the racist game reinforces the worst of the worst ancient stereotypes against and about Africans" on the Huffington Post while Seth Schiesel of the New York Times began his review by simply stating that RE 5 "is not a racist game." While I will definitively go on the record to say that Resident Evil is not racist, there are still alot
of very uncomfortable racial and cultural aspects to this game. Basically every locale you go to is a shithole. You start off in a shanty town and as you wander in you pass many residents who are mostly lazing about, or standing around beating a some kind of slack. No one is really doing any work or being productive. Then there is a fact that you are a white, American man violently slaughtering African villagers. However, Schiesel makes the point that'When you are in control of the action the racial or ethnic appearance of your enemies simply stops mattering. The basic mechanics of moving, shooting, using cover, solving puzzles, employing weapons properly and understanding the overall environment are universal, no matter whether the enemies are aliens or Nazis or zombies or gangsters or any of the other categories we use to denote “acceptable to kill."'
True dat. Still, that rationale doesn't make me feel better abou
t breaking open villagers clay housewares, literally pillaging their jewels and valuables, and then turning around and selling these items to upgrade and rearm myself so I can kill even more natives. That's pretty messed up. Also unsettling are the more primitive zombie villagers wielding spears, tribal masks, and enormous tiki style shields. Again, probably not racist, but certainly unsettling.And not terrifying, either. One of my biggest gripes with RE 5 is that it isn't scary at all. Not even a little bit. I've seen episosdes of America's Next Top Model that chill me more than this game. And that's sad for me. I vividly remember being enthralled and scared shitless wandering around the mansion in the original Resident Evil. My stomach was always twisted into a contorted knot dealing with zombie dogs crashing through windows, the ominous squish-squish noise coming from around the corner, and trying to ration those ink ribbons! God those ink ribbons! Now, playing Resident Evil 5, it's exciting, even thrilling, when you and your partner are surrounded by monsters, but that sense of dread is just not there. Also always having someone that's got your back (and chattering away in your ear if playing online) really takes away the fear that the feeling of isolation lent to the previous games. For me this is RE 5's biggest con. Hopefully 6 will go back to it's roots with some bad ass survival horror.
All this doesn't change the fact that it's still extremely fun to explode zombie heads from well place rifle shots. And by this I mean the play mechanics are exactly the same as every other RE game. Many people complain about the fact you cannot move and shoot at the same time, but I for one love this quirk of the RE series. It adds tension and excitement to the game, and is something of a RE calling card. One I hope the team keeps forever. As I said, RE 5 is still a great game and the co-op mode, while taking the series in an entirely different direction is a blast. I've been playing online co-op with my buddy Tommy and it's just plain fun. The camaraderie, sharing ammo, watching each other's backs, and even nailing your partner with a well deserved stun rod hit can't be beat. Still, Capcom could've done so much more with the two player mechanic. I LOVED the chapter where one character had to defenselessly hold a lantern while the other protected him or her to get through an pitch black cave. A lot of the two player specific stuff takes on the "ok, let's pull both these levers at the same time and see what happens" variety, and it's nothing special.Finally, there has been more controversy over Capcom charging $4.99 for downloadable content that will allow for several additional multiplayer modes. My take? It's capitalism. Which can shit on you sometimes. And this time, it's shitty. Even worse, Christian Svensson, vice president of Strategic Planning & Business Development for Capcom called gamers for being whiny bitches (which they can be).
"This is the part where I get to say "BS"," he wrote on the Capcom forums. "RE5 is well worth every penny of $60. A huge game, with tons of replay value, loads of unlockables, new weapons, co-op, mercenaries mode, etc. If any game warrants its price point, it's RE5. Prior to the announcement of the Versus mode, no one complained they weren't getting their money's worth with the initial release because it packs TONS of value because it is an amazing game. So if people were already satisfied with what the package had, when we offer MORE, why is it people feel they've been somehow cheated? If you don't find value in our secondary offerings, the choice is simple, don't purchase it. If you do find it valueable (and we hope you do) please do buy it and enjoy it." Whatever. I probably will, but you're a dirty dildo.
Overall, I give Resident Evil 5 a
No comments:
Post a Comment