"Resident Evil 5 takes place in an anonymous country (naming it would only serve to exacerbate issues of racial controversy that arose from last year’s extended trailer) somewhere along the Eritrean/Ethiopian/Kenyan line of active volcanoes. While the beginning of Resident Evil 5 echoes 4’s startling opening there’s one major difference; when Chris enters the village its residents are uninfected. The tranquil start is quite unlike anything else in the series, as up until now we’ve only ever explored locations with hostile inhabitants. Originating deep below the surface, the virus is released due to volcanic activity and turns hosts into maniacs that, crucially, retain all their intelligence and communication skills.
Not only are these enemies more intelligent than the Ganados, there are more of them too. Chris is no pushover, but we don’t like his odds. However, something that may play in his favor is the landscape. Resident Evil 5 will expand on two features from 4’s opening level: space and verticality. The days of exploring corridors are over, and, like Carnby’s run of Central Park in Alone in the Dark, Chris is going to have gigantic areas to explore with balconies and rooftops coming in to play thanks to his heightened athleticism. Shifting focus from narrow spaces to large areas has allowed Capcom to up both the number and intelligence levels of enemies, so when you’re running up stairs and ducking in and out of buildings you’ll not only have more people chasing you but enemies who can actually pre-empt your moves and block your way too."
"If Resident Evil 4’s Dr. Salvador set your pulse racing, then get ready for a heart-attack. The ante’s been upped, and Chris has two of the bastards to deal with now. While we’ve seen plenty of the ‘Executioner’ - the sack-headed freak with a giant makeshift axe - the first glimpse of an even more terrifying foe reveals a chainsaw-wielding psycho. This guy doesn’t need his fellow villagers to wrestle you to the ground before lopping your head off, he simply needs to charge at you and let those nickel teeth do all the bloody work. Two super-baddies means twice the panic. In the areas where you’re separated from your partner there’ll be one roaming for each player, but when you’re thrown together you’d better have more than one escape route in mind. Resident Evil 5 is far less linear than its predecessors. The open locations have multiple exits to utilize (and hence entrances for the enemies to swarm you) instead of the staple diet of ‘corridor action’ we’ve grown accustomed to. If you really want to stand and fight, make sure you’ve got the weapons to do so."
"New to Resident Evil 5’s combat system is the ability to lock to a wall and fire around the corner. Say goodbye to awkward shuffling in order to find a line of sight through a doorway. Strafing is still out, but factor in Chris’ ability to duck and dive with the right stick too and he’s much more agile than Leon. This is just as well, because with a fragile girl in tow you need all the firepower and new skills you can get. Like 4, Resident Evil 5 will appeal to your paternal instincts by asking you to lay down your life for the young lady in need of rescue."
"Or should we say maternal? It all depends on whether you’re Player Two or not. Joining Chris’ fight is a new female character. Now that Chris has a partner he needs to keep in constant touch. He has both a Bluetooth headset (and phone) and a walkie-talkie; one is for chatting with the female mercenary and the other for speaking to the outside BSAA contact, Metal Gear Solid codec style. Currently nameless, the mercenary’s inclusion means that, for the first time, you’ll be able to tackle a true Resident Evil game co-operatively online. Like Gears, the entirety of Resident Evil 5 features jump in/jump out gameplay with the AI taking over the reigns of our mysterious female mercenary when you’re playing alone."
"Takeuchi also promises, in his own words, varying weather effects and different ‘passages of time’ - which, buried among talk of the importance of light, was taken by many to mean different times of the day. While the action will take place during both day and night, Takeuchi’s true meaning is far more startling."
"With all this excitement it’s easy to forget the rest of the package. Resident Evil 5 doesn’t just feature a story; there’s the returning Mercenaries minigame and a whole host of other extras that are still safely under wraps. We’ll admit to being just a wee bit concerned when it was revealed Shinji Mikami would not be heading up the production of Resident Evil 5, but in spite of this loss on the development team the game is looking like the ultimate game of the series. 2009 is going to be the year that every Resident Evil fan’s nasty, bloody and terrifying dreams come true."
