Resident Dilemma 5

One of the most pleasant surprises and welcome evolutions to an established IP in recent years was the release of Resident Evil 4 on the Gamecube. It somehow managed to create a new look and feel while still managing to remain firmly "Resident Evil". I was totally blown away by the shift in story and setting and was excited to see where Capcom would take the series next. Needless to say, my excitement has been slowly building as more and more information regarding Resident Evil 5 has been released. The new African setting is just as fresh as its predecessor and the game looks breathtaking in every sense of the word but as March 13th draws near, I am beginning to worry. Let me explain.

First and foremost, Resident Evil has always been a survival horror game. It pioneered the genre for god sakes. However, Resident Evil 4 was the beginning of a shift for the series into a more action oriented genre. In a market where all of the best selling games are shooters and RPG's, let's face it, horror games sell like shit. Despite all this, Resident Evil is still Resident Evil and it will sell no matter what type of game it is. Unfortunately this works both ways. I firmly believe that Capcom could have kept this game a classic survival horror and had it sell well. One must also consider that Capcom realizes that they could boost the already impressive sales numbers by making the game more action oriented in order to appeal to the mass market.
So here in is where my dilemma begins. Resident Evil 5 is going to be an impressive game. There is no doubt about it. But I am getting the feeling that it may not feel enough like a RE. I recently read IGN's coverage of the first three levels of the game, a segment that they claim covers the first half of the game. Throughout the article, the one thing that stuck out to me was how much they referred to this game as an action game and not a horror title. Will RE5 still contain the slower paced, creepy exploration segments? The cryptic puzzles used to find various keys and open new paths? Im starting to suspect that these key ingredients will be absent from the game. I want to be on edge when I play this game. I want to be nervous before I turn corners or open doors. But above all, I want to be scared. I am worried that RE5 could stray a bit too far from the path.

Lastly, I am sure that everyone is very excited about the CO-OP in Resident Evil 5. Everyone except for me. Don't get me wrong, I will try it for sure but this is just one more thing that is going to remove the fear from the game. I don't want to be distracted from the fear and the story because some person is chatting away in my headset. I think it is definitely a welcome addition to the series but to think that this entire game has been designed around the concept of cooperative play scares me. Always having a partner to help you out is something that detract from the tension and the fear that is core to RE. While RE4 was still very action oriented, the fact that players found themselves exploring the game world alone made it tense and at times, scary. If Capcom manages to make this game still feel like a RE game with more than the obvious characters and clunky controls, then I will be happy. All will be revealed on March 13th. Until then, check out gametrailers first episode of the Resident Evil retrospective and start crossing your fingers for the fate of this beloved franchise.