close
The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20090105101804/http://previews.teamxbox.com:80/xbox-360/2173/Resident-Evil-5/p1/

Resident Evil 5 Hands-On Preview (Xbox 360)

Share This Article
December 18th, 2008
Capcom recently held a press event in San Francisco to offer up a fresh look at the latest installment in its hard-core survival-horror franchise, Resident Evil. From what we were shown, the title provides a lot of the thrills and chills that you�d expect, but there was also plenty of gameplay variety over what we�ve seen in previous RE releases.

As is normal for such high-profile games, Capcom limited what we were able to see of Resident Evil 5, though, to its credit, the publishing giant had plenty of displays and systems set up, so everyone could get some time playing it, as well as to see how others handled the situations into which we were all dumped.

The first thing I did was scope out a couple of people while they played co-op, not only to get familiar with the controls, but to better assess how it all flowed. This one section they were playing was tied to a timer, with the objective being to get from one side of a boat dock to the other in a couple of minutes� time. Of course, there were myriad ghoulies fixated on trying to keep them from meeting their goals, with all forms of blades and bullet slingers�there�s no way it was just a scenario set up to see if the good guys could get across the map in the allotted time. But it was clear that the mission had multiple threats: If you don�t end up succumbing to the direct attacks of the horde, dawdling and allowing the timer to tick closer to zero�well, then you risk having the boat go boom all over you.



The whole thing had its creepy moments, as you�d figure, but there were also segments that felt quite daunting, as some of the enemies were extremely hard to drop�even though we were graced (for the sake of the demo session, at least) with unlimited ammo. It merely created a false sense of security, but also made it impossible for us to know how the final game�s �real� difficulty will measure as it metes out its death and destruction on the players. One thing�s for sure, you�re definitely going to be the tested throughout. You know that Capcom wouldn�t have it any other way.

I jumped in solo against another section, where I had to wind my way across the face of a mountain on a linear path clogged with zombies. I played as Chris, with AI assistance from the lovely Sheva. The journey was made nicer by her help�I didn�t need to keep track of my health, because when I got low, she�d bump me with some essential care�provided she had medical supplies to dole out. As you come upon pick-ups, you�re prompted to take them yourself or direct your teammate to snag it, which makes your partner a walking inventory dispensary. She put the AI in �aid,� without a doubt.
Xbox Game Facts
Platform:
Xbox 360
..................................
Publisher:
Capcom
..................................
Developer:
Capcom
..................................
Genre:
Survival/Horror
..................................
Release Date:
3/13/2009
..................................
Game Features:
Offline Players: 1
Cooperative: 2
Online Cooperative: 2
Online Voice Support
EDTV 480p Support
HDTV 720p Support
HDTV 1080i Support
Widescreen 16:9
Dolby 5.1 In-Game
Resident Evil 5 Screenshot Gallery
Resident Evil 5 Screenshot Gallery
Resident Evil 5 Screenshot Gallery
[1] 2    Next Page


More Xbox Preview Articles