But Mike, Resident Evil 5 IS broken
Earlier today, my esteemed colleague Mike Ferro argued the case for the defense in regards to the Resident Evil 5 demo. He also labeled anyone who didn’t like or didn’t understand the control system and gameplay mechanics as “noobs.” I’m afraid I have to disagree. Resident Evil 5 IS broken and the people getting frustrated by the demo are in fact correct.
Everywhere I go, be it on the Internet or in game shops and the like, two games almost ready for release are being touted as the next big thing. One of them is Killzone 2, demo out on the PSN February 5, and the other is Resident Evil 5, demo out now.
I’ll admit I’m not a fan of the Resident Evil series, having only completed the original on the PS1 and Code Veronica on the Dreamcast. But I’ve played most of the others, for a while, before giving up and playing something better instead. With that in mind, I downloaded the Resident Evil 5 demo this morning and gave it a bash.
Within a minute of playing either one of the two stages on offer, I was annoyed. First things first, the graphics are gorgeous – truly next-gen compared to what has gone before, and rivaling other third person actioners such as Gears of War 2 and Uncharted. But good looks cannot hide what’s underneath, as anyone who has dated an insanely beautiful girl will attest.
The control system is inherently flawed. There are too many buttons doing too many things, and they’re assigned in a totally unintuitive way. I made a point of running through the controls in my head a few times before kowtowing into battle, but still, it all just feels so very, very wrong.
To top it all off there is the fact that what happens on screen bears no resemblance to real life. Chris Redfield, a supposed special forces operative with bags of experience, can’t walk backwards and shoot, preferring instead to turn away from the things trying to kill him and run away to get a better shot. I say run, but running means the other controls are limited, like Redfield was born with half a brain, making him incapable of doing two things at once.
Making a game frustrating and unenjoyable to play does not equate to original and good. There’s a reason no other game does it quite like Resident Evil – because it sucks. Playing the Resident Evil 5 demo made me want to back away slowly from the TV, read a book and forget gaming even exists. Not because it’s so scary, but because it is so bloody awful.
Resident Evil 5 seems sure to be one game Mike and I will never agree on. Mainly because he seems to like a certain amount of punishment when playing a game while I prefer fun and entertaining experiences.
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February 4th, 2009
@Dave,
Yes, (sarcastically) all 3rd person games should also have:
- regenerating health
- automatic saves
- rodeo run
- autolock on
- not be able to die (no game over)
- no inventory limit
- be able to fly
- walk through walls
- have an option for autoplay
I’m afraid games are all heading towards this direction. An inevitable compromise with the casual market.
Yes I think we have to agree to disagree.
RE5 controls are practically the same as RE4 (2005), if not better and it was the 3rd highest rated game on the PS2 with a metacritic score of 96.
I think it was Adam Sessler who said it best, “if its not broken don’t fix it!”
February 4th, 2009
Hey Dave,
Mike was saying stuff about your mother earlier. I wouldn’t take that if I were you!
February 4th, 2009
Its OK Dave. Just go back to WiiMusic. Its your kind of thing.
The control system builds up the ‘oh shit’ factor when locked into a small space with only a small amount of zombies on screen.
February 4th, 2009
Mike, RE4 was then, this is now. It is broke and it needs fixing IMHO.
Harry, I’ll be having words… thanks for letting me know.
SW, yeah, I love Wii Music, which is why I dissed it back in October – http://gamer.blorge.com/2008/10/24/the-problem-with-wii-music-theres-no-chance-of-losing/
You’re kind of admitting the control system is flawed, because RE5 is relying on it to build tension and scares. Games such as FEAR and Bioshock seem to manage fine without screwing the controls up.
February 4th, 2009
I’d say FEAR relied more upon cheap ‘OMG a girl just appeared at the top of the ladder and then OMGZ OMGZ she dissapeared!’ crap. Had no tension at all.
Anywhoos, point I was trying to make is that the controls ‘make’ it Resident Evil regardless of how flawed you may think it is. Otherwise you may as well be playing Metal Gear with zombies (altho I have to say, the thought of playing the first level of MGS in some kind of Zombie mode type thing does pique my interest…).
Oh and you should go play the Wii version of resi 4. Fooking awesome.
February 4th, 2009
i thought the whole point of games was to have fun and enjoy something.
well the RE5 demo made me do the complete opposite, swearing my head off than chucking the controller at the tv is not my idea off fun,there for not a good game.
seriously i have not seen a game that forces you to use a button just to aim since the ps1 days thats how out dated this game is, its just RE1 with a few new areas and half decent graphics, seriously it looks good but not that good GTAIV or MGS 4 kick the crap out of this when it comes to graphics or gameplay for that matter.
February 4th, 2009
This is more like it! old, schoolboy type fighting!
Dave i heard Mike slashed your tires and spat in your tea!
NAh but in all seriousness, I do agree with Dave on this one (Sorry Mike) I just hate the fact you’re a sitting duck while firing, and then you have to stand still while the enemy surrounds you while you’re knifing them.
February 4th, 2009
At the risk of getting my head bitten off (no pun intended), I have to agree that I’m unsure about the Resi 5 controls too. Now I loved Resi 4, even though the controls took me a while to get used to, it fitted well within the game at the time. Though playing the controls in Resi 5 feels a bit jarring, mainly because the graphics have had such a huge leap forward yet the controls seem to be left in the last gen. Now I appreciate not being able to move while shooting is a restriction designed to add tension, but it feels like a blatant and artificial restriction now.
Plus I don’t know how many times I just wanted to knock back the overwhelming infected with a push, just to give me time to reload. To me that felt like a natural response to do when under pressure, but the game only allows it when it says so. Again feeling like an artificial restriction. Granted, if they added a dedicated melee attack we could have relied too much on it, but if balanced correctly it could have added another level of immersion. I understand that every single game in history adds these restrictions in order to improve overall experience but many use more subtle implementation (eg restricting ammo). I would have hated it more if they had turned the game into a standard balls-out-shooter, but not evolving the controls at all has caused a few mixed opinions. I’ll reserve my opinion for when the game comes out though, if its as exciting as Resi 4 then any problems with the controls will be forgotten.
February 4th, 2009
Get one shotgun and try running and shooting at the same time. How stupid are people to complain about this? This is Resident Evil, thats the way its supposed to be. If you don’t like it, go play your silly Gears of War. The non moving and shooting thing adds more intense gameplay experience. The game was going to be very easy if you were able to shoot and run like lets say in Uncharted. And also the player doesn’t have unlimited supply of ammo. No one would like to waste his ammo running backwards with a chance of 25% to hit your targets. And the most of the areas (as seen in the demo) are in closed spaces, were are you going to run in a room?
February 4th, 2009
IMO the game would be better with walk and gun controls ((not run n gun). I would love the ability to walk backwards and fire and also reload. Not a big fan of artificial tension when it has been proven (dead space) how it can be achieved otherwise. The most disappointing thing is realizing how much better boss fight could have been.
I think mike and dave wrote this to stir me and arvis up again
February 4th, 2009
I bet Mike and Dave are scrapping in an office somewhere, pushing each other into the water coolers and cabinets.
I’ve just been a kiss ass on Mike’s post, now I’ve run here I’m going to do a two-face ass kiss here.
I think Mike you are not giving us much credit as ‘hardcore gamers’. It isn’t the casual markets fault. If we ‘teh hardcorez’ are finding it a annoying, something must be up.
—I LOVED Resi 4. But the pace of the action in Resi 5 is MUCH faster.—
A little maneuverability on the spot (not run and gun, that would be shit) would make it feel so much better. At the minute, with all the action going on around you, if you want to shoot, you are locked there, to die. And the knife is pretty useless unless they are practically dry humping you anyway.
February 4th, 2009
YEAH !!! BITCH FIGHT!!! yeah lets see some action…
Mike things you listed… like regenerating health are becoming more of a standard in shooters… its like the cover mechanic… it works… but it has no use in a zombie action game since zombies dont shoot at you…
as I said… you can have a mainstream control scheme (or give the player the option of one) and still create an atmosphere of pant shitting horror… the dogs jumping through the window running at you doesnt work anymore… Id say Dead Space raised the bar with atmospheric tension and horror… while having a friendly control scheme… tell me wasnt it a bitch to watch out for your health and air meter??
I dont expect games to go easy on me (like Prince of Persia) but I dont want it to be artificially hard because of an unfriendly control… which is why its a rent for me…
and no we cant agree to disagree… IM ALWAYS RIGHT!!!
February 4th, 2009
You guys ought to hug your issues out.
February 4th, 2009
I’m a veteran of the series and it took me a few tries to get a grip on the control scheme. But one I got it down, it’s really not that bad at all. It’s actually very similar to RE4, but there are some extra co-op functions layered in.
The resident evil series is about being over whelmed and holding your ground. I think if the series were to go to run and gun game play, it would totally destroy the tense atmosphere.
February 4th, 2009
What control scheme is everyone here using? I went with “D”.
February 4th, 2009
All this over a demo? Really? Seriously though, saying the RE “series” control was a major part of it’s appeal is going a little bit overboard. RE4 changed most of those major previous control/camera problems (which were well known, but people still loved the series anyway) for the better and was much different than those before it Mike. From what I am hearing and reading the RE5 control scheme is a little more difficult than RE4, so maybe there is a grain of truth to it and not just “noob” fever. Dave, it sounds like you haven’t played RE4, which is much more fun than those in the series you mentioned you have played. Give it a shot… I only played the original RE4 when it came out on the GameCube (I have played pretty much all others in the series as well, and it blows them away), but I am sure it is still the same brilliant game I remember, and well worth your time and money on any console you can play it on.
February 4th, 2009
I went with D also. It seems to be closest to 4’s.
I tried C once… and it was way too awkward.
February 4th, 2009
Meh, I played the demo months ago and didn’t find it hard at all. Unless they mauled it for the PS3 demo.
February 4th, 2009
I’m making tomorrow “demo day”.
Killzone 2, RE5, FEAR 2 and Dead Space I’ve got to try.
Though I think the Store may be a little slow tomorrow…
February 4th, 2009
I preordered KZ2 just not from Gamestop so I wont be getting the demo tomorrow. I rather save $10 on the deals that Amazon had.
February 4th, 2009
I was ultra impulsive and preordered from GameStop so that I could get the demo. On the plus side…. KILLZONE2 tomorrow!!
The review embargo has been lifted. Can we be expecting a gamerblorge review?
February 4th, 2009
The more I read about it, it sounds like the demo will be available to all on Thursday anyway.Otherwise, I guess people could also make an EU account or just cancel their Gamestop preorder after getting the code.
February 4th, 2009
I don’t want to agree, but he’s right.
RE5 is broken, considering the game it is.
Let’s break it down so everyone understands
RE5 is not: Survival
RE5 is not: Horror
RE5 is: Action
I love and own both the GC and PS2 version of RE4, the controls worked, the graphics were fantastic and the gameplay was phenomenal as whole. But it was also one thing that RE5 wasn’t: Tense. Or suspenseful. Or scary. You choose, because I can’t be sure. RE4 had a ‘thing’ to it. The atmosphere, the mood, the lighting maybe? Maybe it was the muffled sounding SFX. Or the fact that you only get 6 shots for your shotgun, and the chainsaw guy takes more then six shots… Maybe it was the fact that your head actually comes off in RE4 when chainsaw guy gets you, or that you couldn’t see any direction but forward, but could hear and knew that they were coming, swarms of them, from every window and doorway, be it the first or second floor. The game was tense.
RE5’s inclusion of coop, automatic weapons and abundance of melee moves (none of which I have a problem with) changes everything. It’s always light out, the only thing horrific is the giant axe beheading someone in a cinematic, and the only time you’re out of ammo is when you’re shooting the barrels instead of knifing them. The game is an action game, and the controls should reflect that. They should be tailored and tuned to dodging bullets (because, if I read correctly, there will be people shooting back at some point), to ducking under knives, and to avoiding damage while dealing it. The health system can stay, the share system can stay (they give the game the classical feel that makes it stand out as noteworthy title, not betraying it’s roots but growing beyond them), and the big guns can stay. Just make the gameplay match.
That said, I’ll play it, and I’ll enjoy it, but under no circumstance will I ever acknowledge it as the new survival horror. That title goes with RE4. Or Dead Space.
February 4th, 2009
Is a gamer.blorge review of KZ2 really a good idea?
That thread will get nasty.
February 4th, 2009
1up: 10/10
Eurogamer: 9/10
Eurogamer.pt 10/10
Eurogamer.es 10/10
G4TV: 10/10
Gamepro 5/5
Gamereactor (Swedish): 10/10
Gamereactor (Denmark): 9/10
Meristation: 9.5/10
Gameplayer: 9.5/10
PSLife (Denmark) 9.5/10
Gamepro (Spanish) 10/10
Inside Gamer (dutch) 9.5
Konsolifin (Finnish) 5/5
PSlife.dk (Denmark) 9.5/10
jeuxvideo.com (French) 17/20 (8.5)
play3-live.com (French) 19/20 (9.5)
GamePlay (Croatian) 20/20 (10)
576Kbyte (Hungarian) 9.7/10
OPM U.S.: 5/5
OPM UK: 9/10
OPM AU: 10/10
OPM Portugal: 9/10
IGN USA: 9.4/10
IGN UK: 9.4/10
IGN AU: 9.0/10
Empire 4/5
MEgamers: 9.9/10
Vandal.net (Spain): 9.6/10
Can’t see how it can nasty…whats left for the xbots to say? Reviews speak for themselves. I was surprised at 1up.
February 4th, 2009
Oh they’ll find something… oh yes. They’ll find something.
That’s an amazing list though. Wired also gave it a 9.
February 4th, 2009
I think it’s safe to say the reviews are in and if you own a PS3 you should at least give it a demo play/rent. I was surprised at IGN AU.
February 4th, 2009
I wonder what Edge will give it, they are usually pretty critical. This comment may appear twice, my last one didn’t go through.
February 4th, 2009
carl its ok… them aussies are stoopid anyways… with their “Neighbours” and “home and away”
bunch of communists…
February 4th, 2009
IGN au always rates games lower than IGN.
February 4th, 2009
There’s no need to play the communist card DWH…
February 4th, 2009
*taps lower lip thoughtfully*
You know, the more I think about it, perhaps having SOME limited movement while using a handgun or knife might make for an improvement to RE’s gameplay. Stop-and-shoot for any two-handed weapons (shotgun, sniper, machine gun, etc) but slight mobility for smaller weapons (knife, handgun, grenades). This would add a bit more strategy to it, as it might affect which weapon you automatically reach for in a tight spot.
I wonder, though, if there would be a way to make it work well… Perhaps Capcom should take a look at MGS4’s controls.
-Arvis
February 4th, 2009
@arvis
That idea would work for me. Especially the sniper gun.
February 4th, 2009
YAR ALL A BUNCHA COMMUNISTS!!
yeah arvis… I could handle limited mobility… it just pisses me off when they claim “REALISM” and “atmospheric tension” with this control when other horror games pull it off better than RE…
I dont see the tension… its just me praying that my fucking reloading a gun animation finishes before the “calmly walking dead” get close to me with dirty nazi octopus mouths… buncha mouthbreathers…
February 4th, 2009
But I thought nobody cared about metacritic, reviews etc? But now you want Blorge to write one? Ok sure.
I am not doubting at all that it is a good game, because we all know it is. Whether it’s better than Gears 2 is yet to be seen. It’s still teetering on 93 on Metacritic, which was the same as Gears 2. It’s already behind Halo 3.
Flame on!!!!
February 4th, 2009
Are we talking about Resi 5 anymore or are we back to trying to bash the fuck out of Killzone again? So confusing here it is.
February 4th, 2009
Dave your absolutly right. The controls are broken. Beautiful graphic tho, I’ll admit that and the girl is probably on of the best looking females in a game. But Like I said in Mikes Post Left 4 Dead is much better by far. L4D will show anyone that Good Game play trumps graphics anyday.
February 4th, 2009
harry,
Naturally we won’t care about Metacritic if it says Killzone 2 isn’t as good as Gears 2.
teh ps3 rulez kapow
The flaming isn’t so harsh nowadays, we all seem to dance in circles with flowers in our hair.
February 4th, 2009
KILLZONE NEEDS MOAR chest high walls…
also K2 can never live up to gears 2… you cant shoot or melee through walls… you cant be invisible… you cant wait for 20 minutes in the lobby…
all of this is EPIC FAIL for k2… guerilla cant get ANYTHING RIGHT!!!
February 4th, 2009
Mike Ferro:
“I’m afraid games are all heading towards this direction. An inevitable compromise with the casual market.”
Good.
I know the self-appointed snooty ‘hard core gamers’ might not like to hear it but the fact is that the industry will only grow and survive on the more casual buyer.
By all means complain that you ought to be able to turn off all those features you seem to dislike so much (like as if that’s really the problem) but if paying punters can’t complete the game they bought with their own hard-earned without them then why not?
I have 2 games that have completely pi$$ed me off as being impossible to complete and unfortunately the game stopped there, I was not allowed to move on to another part (and there were several sections left).
All that does is antagonise and put people off.
So big deal, I’m obviously not a ‘hard core’ gamer. So sue me.
I know people say they hate cheats but it should be up to the individual whether to use them or not.
I say every game should come with a set of cheat codes allowing the paying customer to unlock everything and see the entire game they bought.
Besides the snobbish retorts of those (rather ridiculous) ’serious gamers’ I can’t see a decent reason why not.
February 4th, 2009
“I’m obviously not a ‘hard core’ gamer. So sue me”…
Is Jack Thompson around?
February 4th, 2009
Happy, I shake my head at thee!
Oh and what were those two games?
February 4th, 2009
SW
It’s going back a while now but IIRC it was a couple back in my old PS1 days.
I’m sorry it’s too long ago to recall titles but I do remember being mightily annoyed that besides some guides (which were no help) there was no way to get around it.
You never had a game completely stall your progress before?
February 4th, 2009
Big spikey spinning thing, god of war 2.
February 4th, 2009
DWH,
You’re saying that a game even with these flaws (which have been addressed mind you) is still better than Killzone 2 huh?
February 4th, 2009
haha Jack Thompson can’t sue shit being disbarred and everything! God I miss that guy.
February 5th, 2009
Jack Thompson is more useful to the video game industry when he was still a lawyer… with more media appearances than Rob Blagoyevich atleast sooner or later people wouldve seen through all the bullshit…
now the position for “lawyer vs video games” is open… and it would be terrible if a worthy opponent filled the spot… that would be trouble…
February 5th, 2009
@SW
The spikey spinny thing was in god of war 1 not 2. Unless there’s a part I’m missing. In hades, the pillar or spikes almost ended the game for me. I also hated hades area in pandoras tower where you had to balance on the beam while junping over spinning blades. That kind of hAd me wanting to throw the controller through the wall!
February 5th, 2009
No Dave Parrack, your just being a fucking retard.
You just don’t know how to play video games. You’ve been playing HL2 with auto-aim for so long, that now you can’t even think for yourself.
February 5th, 2009
I love when people call out someone for being a retard and then spell “your” instead of “you’re”….
February 5th, 2009
Zoar, I thought that kind of language would be offensive to you…
February 5th, 2009
Zoar that is disgusting language, you have been watching way too much Zero Punctuation. Now you sit on the stairs until you learn how to behave.
February 5th, 2009
Nevermind anything that has gone before I’m as happy as a porky in the proverbial.
I just got my Speedball2 from XBox Live.
Best game ever.
February 5th, 2009
I’m trying to make a point here. If you don’t like bad language, then why are you encouraging people to see Zero Punctuation?
If you need a good laugh, then go to YouTube, and look at Mr. Zero Special. He’s so much funnier then Ben Croshaw.
February 5th, 2009
details happy details on Speedball 2…
zoar… yahtzee is funny… so get the sand our of your vagina and laugh at it… because even dirty jokes are funny… and its ok to laugh at them…
February 5th, 2009
I can see now that you never heard of AVGN, and what came after….
February 6th, 2009
“I’m trying to make a point here. If you don’t like bad language, then why” do you use it zoar? How does calling Dave a “fucking retard” and then continuing to insult him help you make your point?
February 6th, 2009
dwh
It’s a classic game from the old Amiga days.
Unbeatable as a 2 player game with friends who can play it.
http://www.speedball2.com/
February 6th, 2009
Ever hear the old saying ‘what goes around, comes around’?
If you encourage people to see Ben Croshaw, they’ll act just like him. Then more people will talk about him, and so on, and so forth. Understand?
Did ANYONE here saw the Angry Video Game Nerd? Look what happened there! He became popular, then everybody started copying him. Like Irate Gamer!
I want games to be art. But it’ll never *be* art if retards like Ben Croshaw are allowed to talk.
February 6th, 2009
And why are you acting as if calling each other ‘fucking retard’ is a bad thing? You love Ben Croshaw, right? So what’s the problem?
February 6th, 2009
And why are you acting as if calling each other ‘fucking retards’ is a bad thing? You love Ben Croshaw, right? So what’s the problem?
February 6th, 2009
to a degree I agree with Zoar… “Pure Pwnage” had a spoof done of zero punctuation… and after watching yahtzee I was thinking of doing a similar thing… problem is… the copies are NEVER as good as the original and they just make you want to watch the originals…
also again… no problem with dirty jokes… and most of the people here are fucking retards… my inablity to “RIGHT PREFEXCT EEENGLEESH” shouldnt bar me from calling people idiots…
yeah… Im cool…
February 7th, 2009
Zoar,
If that’s what you feel you need to do to “make a point”, then I guess that is the best you can do, and reflective of the expletive description you used. No, I do not “love Ben Croshaw” but you seem to have issues with him… something about the way he expresses his views and tries to get a point across in a jesting manner.