You're absolutely right, Benga. I read all these threads about how great RE4 was and how it was the best of the series and everyone hopes RE5 is just like it, when in reality it pretty much sucked as a game in the RE series. Anyone that hopes that RE5 is like RE4 really doesn't care for the RE series. Yeah the controls were better, but true fans of the RE series didn't play the game for the controls. They played it for the story, the suspense, and the occasional challenging puzzle (I'll admit that as the series has gone on, the challenging adjective has become harder and harder to justify).
The story in RE4 was absolutely awful. From the very start you knew the objective was to save the princess...errr....I mean, President's daughter. I mean come on. Didn't Mario and many others pretty much beat that horse to death already. That is the oldest storyline there is and true RE fans should expect a lot more. Not only did the storyline leave something to be desire, but there was no real twists in the plot. Everything was pretty straight forward. I mean the most intriguing part of the story was at the end when we all found out that the President's daughter was a slut!!!
Also, the game might as well have been on rails like RE:UC. I mean there was pretty much no reason to ever go backwards. If you kept following the trails forward, you were going to make to the end. They pretty much eliminated searching for things. Everything seemed to be right along the path. If it were not for the stupid medallion gimmick and the arms dealer (do not get me started on him), I would have had any reason to look around. If something was needed to open a door with, guess what you would find it right before you get to the door. You never really had to examine something and wonder what it was for because right after you got it, you had to use it. I remember in the first RE (on the PS), I would have things stored in the box for hours before going back and using them. There were times that I thought I was stuck and would have to go back to my box to examine my inventory to make sure I had not forgotten about something in there. This was also because in prior RE games (especially the first one), there was alternative paths. Everyone did not have play the game the very same way. In fact, there was alternative endings based on the order you did do things.
When RE5 comes out, I am going to rent it. If it is just like RE4, then I not buying it.
