The official RE5 Demo impressions thread

[ameratsu]

Here are my final impressions of the demo. Compiled and edited from my initial impressions.

Controls
- Anyone who has beat RE4 on the PS2 or Gamecube should have no problem picking this up. I get that some people really really like wiimote controls and that's fine, but some of you just like complaining. Chris controlled as you'd expect Leon to in RE4, though it did seem like his turn speed was reduced. You can perform a quick 180 just like in RE4. I did find the aim sensitivity low initially, but after some more time with the game it really isn't an issue. There seems to be a dead zone in the middle where it moves slowly, and outside of that your aim moves quicker.

Gameplay

- Resident Evil 4 HD in Africa, with co-op.

New Inventory System
- The new backpack system no longer lets you pause the game while you rummage through your magical backpack full of guns, ala RE4. Instead there is a real time inventory system that allows you to combine, move, give, equip, and discard items. In the Triangle (Y on x360) inventory menu, items can be assigned to the up,down,left and right positions, which can then be accessed very quickly by simply pressing the corresponding direction on the D-pad while playing. Since I figured out this last part, I no longer have an issue with the backpack system.

Sheva AI
- Sheva as an AI partner seems to be surprisingly competent. She will assist you, trade you guns, and actually be useful. I will be playing through the game with a co-op partner, but for people who want to play this alone you should be ok. There are commands related to the ally button that I didn't quite figure out, but I assume they could come in useful through the course of the campaign.

Online Co-op

- I played an online co-op match with a friend of mine who is a long time resident evil fan, and can definitely hold his own. It made for a really enjoyable co-op experience: sharing ammo and supplies, formulating some pretty complicated strategies, along with just beating the shit out of zombies. I found that playing with another friend made the game much more fun, and both of us really enjoyed the co-op dynamic. As you'd expect, the difficultly is ramped up pretty considerably for co-op, making sure there's never a dull moment. It's no Left 4 Dead, but it's still a ton of fun. My only complaint with co-op is that there was way too many herbs, ammo pickups and grenades.

Co-op continued..
- The game incorporates a system similar to gears or l4d where if you're incapacitated a teammate must revive you or you die. This obviously shifts the focus from watching your own back to keeping a close eye on your ally, especially if they are low on health. There are also optional assists where your ally is in a chokehold (or similar) and you can sometimes free them faster than they can free themselves, by hitting circle (B on x360) near them or shooting away the zombie performing the hold.

Overall a great demo, and a definate purchase.