If no one has posted this yet, there's a glitch in all versions that makes the village scene easy.

Just get them to notice you, then run around the houses for a lap or two, and then enter the house opposite the one that triggers Dr. Salvador. If there is a metal door to your left, then you're in the right one. Then turn around and shoot the lower right corner of the door with the handgun. Then slash low. The glitch will allow you take out anyone who goes near.

If you're playing the GC and PS2 version, keep pressing A/X, but don't hold it down. That way you get a few kicks in. If it's the Wii version, that seems to be taken out, but they can't also hit you from the other side.

Don't forget to stop every thirty seconds to see if they dropped anything. Just don't open the door, and you can still grab what they drop.

Wow, this thread is still alive? No wai.

Anyway, I got to playing a few hours' more of the game, and I'm definitely warming up to it. I like that it fixed the annoying parts about the old RE games (ink ribbons and sparse save points specifically,) and the combat is pretty cool. The only other thing besides that annoying opening sequence that I'd change thus far are those MGS-codec-style scenes. (Why does Japan think that a couple of mostly-motionless talking heads = good storytelling?)

Anyway, that's all. :)