Capcom: RE5 Marks "New Direction" For Series

[Keane Ng]

Capcom: RE5 Marks "New Direction" For Series

Like Resident Evil, but don't like Resident Evil 5? You better get used to Chris Redfield having huge biceps because Capcom says RE5 is the first step in a new direction for the series.

Whether you love it, hate it, or don't really care about it, Resident Evil 5's way is here to stay. As Capcom sees it, RE5 marks the beginning of a "new direction" for the franchise, while everything that came before should effectively be regarded as "act one."

"Resident Evil 5 is really setting the franchise up for what's going to happen now going forwards, so establishing new characters and storylines, and pretty much a new direction for the game," Capcom's Chris Kramer said on the last Major Nelson podcast [http://majornelson.com/archive/2009/03/15/show-312-resident-evil-5.aspx]. "It's a really good time for new players to jump in, because what we're doing is kind of waving goodbye to a lot of storyline elements from, essentially, act one of the Resident Evil franchise."

Kramer's talking primarily about story things, and if we're considering RE1-4 as "act one," well that's quite a bit of narrative baggage to be unloaded. Still, what about RE5 as the beginning of a new direction for Resident Evil's gameplay? It essentially followed the third-person shooter mold set by RE4, but added co-op and eschewed all pretenses of being a survival-horror game that RE4 had left behind. Should we expect future REs to continue to play more like Gears of War than the classic RE games?

Kramer's remarks contradict statements made by other Capcom staff only recently. "Resident Evil 5 is practically guaranteed to be the last of its kind, with the game's producer, Jun Takeuchi, assuring us that a reboot is in order for the inevitable Resident Evil 6," 1UP reported [http://www.1up.com/do/minisite?cId=3172911] in February.

Still, Capcom could reboot the gameplay, but leave the story in Resident Evil 6 as following from RE5's lead, which would work out just fine. Bets on how much bigger Scott Steiner [http://www.gametrailers.com/player/46560.html] size - gotta be pretty easy to pick up some illegal steroids in Africa, right?

[Via VG247 [http://www.vg247.com/2009/03/16/capcom-resident-evil-5-is-new-direction-for-franchise-going-forwards/]]


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[sturryz]

i guess ignoring what kinda game people really do want to play is the wave of the future.

 

[Fruitloops89]

Love the Scott Steiner reference, this 'new direction' thing could be good or bad(I have not played RE5 yet)

 

[Sir Ollie]

Goodbye horror 2009 RIP

Goodbye Zombie *snif* i miss you

 

[EeveeElectro]

I liked the game, the controls were a ***** at first, but when you got used to them you soon forget about the old game controls.

Saying that, I've only played all the games since last November, so I haven't been a life long fan...

And the picture shown took me about 5 times to get past when I played it.

 

[ElTigreNegro]

i guess ignoring what kinda game people really do want to play is the wave of the future.

That's actually a good thing, most "gamers" don't have a clue of how games should work, or what they want for that matter. They just want to play the same thing over and over.

 

[ae86gamer]

I want another game with Claire.

 

[Keane Ng]

I want another game with Claire.

She's in the new Wii game, Darkside Chronicles, which takes place during RE2. But yes, more Claire, please.

 

[level250geek]

Here's hoping a part of the 'new direction' is being able to fire from the hip.

You know, I hate that complaint. Chris Redfield wasn't some uber marine from the future, he wasn't a super macho COG soldier, he was a special agent. You can't expect to run around in circles while still squeezing off a head shot. You just don't get the ammo to waste on it. My friend has medals for his shooting in the army, and still can't pull off a decent shot while moving.

Neither can Marcus Fenix. Neither can Master Chief. That's why you fire your kill shots from a stationary position and use your run-and-gun to suppress the opposition, drive them back, wear them down, gain ground and all that.

By the way, I am talking video game tactics here. I'm not going to pretend to know how to survive on a real battlefield.

Or, if you're Chris Redfield, you can just stand still and shoot head-on at everything that jumps at you, like a dolt.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Here's hoping a part of the 'new direction' is being able to fire from the hip.

I also dislike this complaint. Gamers constantly talk down any third person shooter that doesn't control exactly like Gear of War (or Kill.Switch to be pedantic). Stop being so damn lazy!


Anyway, I want know what happened to the T-virus, I want my shuffling zombies back! It doesn't mean Las Plagas have to go or anything. In fact with the new plot seeming to be entirely about using these things as weapons it would be cool to see one used to try and destroy the other, naturally with disastrous results...

 

[fix-the-spade]

Neither can Marcus Fenix. Neither can Master Chief. That's why you fire your kill shots from a stationary position and use your run-and-gun to suppress the opposition, drive them back, wear them down, gain ground and all that

Chief and Fenix absolutely can shoot precisely while moving, it's what sets them apart as unstoppable space marines.

Anyway...
How do you suppress mind controlled enemies with no self-will? It's something fairly unique about Zombies is that they don't need to have self preservation, so charging forward firing would just have you running at them. Besides, you never have enough ammunition to use suppressive fire, unless playing on easy, don't do that.

 

[Galletea]

Bugger. Guess I'll have to find some other franchise to amuse me then, if they're determined to keep going with the Redfields and their dull, dull ways.

 

[scotth266]

I'm interested in RE as a series. The narrative change looks to be interesting, but the real question is what kind of gameplay Capcom will go for: the traditional survival horror of the olden days, or the action-survival of the new.

 

[nova18]

I'm interested in RE as a series. The narrative change looks to be interesting, but the real question is what kind of gameplay Capcom will go for: the traditional survival horror of the olden days, or the action-survival of the new.

As much as I want Resi 5, Im still missing the Zombie as an enemy. Track back a few years and imagine a Resi 1 zombie riding a bike whilst you shoot at them, it is laughable. Whilst the new Plagus enemies are challenging and still scary, they are still the new kids in the Resiverse, and they will never scare me as much as the Zombie's used to.

R.I.P (again) pixellated Zombies.

 

[level250geek]

Neither can Marcus Fenix. Neither can Master Chief. That's why you fire your kill shots from a stationary position and use your run-and-gun to suppress the opposition, drive them back, wear them down, gain ground and all that

Chief and Fenix absolutely can shoot precisely while moving, it's what sets them apart as unstoppable space marines.

Anyway...
How do you suppress mind controlled enemies with no self-will? It's something fairly unique about Zombies is that they don't need to have self preservation, so charging forward firing would just have you running at them. Besides, you never have enough ammunition to use suppressive fire, unless playing on easy, don't do that.

I could be lazy and answer your question by saying "That's the designer's problem to figure out, I just want to be able to move and shoot" but instead I'll be even lazier and say "It's a video game; I want to be able to move and shoot."