Resident Evil 5- 360/PS3

[Matteo]

Icecold

I am glad you liked it. I was worried about reading your post only to find scathing criticism of it's extreme linearity.

Tell us more!

[womblingfree]

After ploughing through Gears 2 and still ploughing through Gears 1 (gave up first time) I hope there's some Horde-busting Mercenaries online in Resi 5, that way I wont have to renew my Gold account!

[Timmo]

Forced co-op confirmed then.

I don't know if I can be bothered. I hate looking after A.I. characters.

[womblingfree]

Forced co-op confirmed then.

I don't know if I can be bothered. I hate looking after A.I. characters.

It's annoying, but most of Resi 4 was played with Ashley tagging along, and all of Gears 1 & 2 has Dom faffing about. In neither case does it affect the games in a negative way (well not much).

[Timmo]

I've been playing Resi 4 the past few days and it's still brilliant. You're right that Ashley is there a lot, but she doesn't get in the way and at least she doesn't use your ammo. Maybe Capcom will pull it off. I hope so.

[Smitty]

It's annoying, but most of Resi 4 was played with Ashley tagging along, and all of Gears 1 & 2 has Dom faffing about. In neither case does it affect the games in a negative way (well not much).

This co-op thing, I reserve judgement on that (at the moment I think its just a differenty dynamic), but I have to point out that saying you spent most of the R4 with Ashley simply isn't true.

Expanding on that for a moment, I think that the Ashley sections were a good example of escort missions done right for once. I didn't have any problem with them at all.

[Joyrex-J9]

This co-op thing, I reserve judgement on that (at the moment I think its just a differenty dynamic), but I have to point out that saying you spent most of the R4 with Ashley simply isn't true.

And she's wasn't a co-op partner. The bint in Resi 5 is totally different from Ashley, and maybe not in a good way.

From my time with the demo I didn't think much of the co-op aspects in this really.

[angel]

It's annoying, but most of Resi 4 was played with Ashley tagging along, and all of Gears 1 & 2 has Dom faffing about. In neither case does it affect the games in a negative way (well not much).

But Dom and co would just either run ahead and kill everyone before you got there, or need babysitting on insane. Either way, i dont want AI buddies playing the game for me. Co-op RE5 seems like a crowbarred-in feature in the age of online components. What's next, co-op Metroid?

[womblingfree]

I'm presuming Sheeva'll be a bit of a Dom, helping you out or needing protection. As for Ashley the co-op bits I've seen just look like the usual 'keep your partner alive while they get on with it', something that Resi's been doing for years, only more so.

Resi games usually implement anything they do really well so it'll take more than a co-op mode to rattle me.

[Goose]

I need to play the game properly, I was unfair on the demo. I'm concerned by the between level shop and the lack of salesmen (even though he didn't quite fit in with the game, he was fucking great!) but am really worried about not getting access to a weapon you've not previously found (or until later on).

I was utterly terrified of hating Ashley in RE4 but she was easy to work with, you could hide her, she was quick to get out of your way and I found the only she got killed was because I'd cocked it up, not the game being unfair. Sheeva being their all the time makes me feel I need to play the game in a different way and I'm not sure I want to. I loved the solitary me against them of RE4. I'm still not sure about her - to me, getting myself into trouble to save her isn't a fair way to have to play.

[Davros sock drawer]

It's annoying, but most of Resi 4 was played with Ashley tagging along, and all of Gears 1 & 2 has Dom faffing about. In neither case does it affect the games in a negative way (well not much).

Dom is one of the many, many things I hated about Gears of War. Ashley on the other hand, was fine. Exemplary even. She ducks out of the way, is easily rescued, and you can hide her in a bin. Plus she's with you for about 5% of the game, max.

[Quest]

I hardly noticed Dom during my numerous runs through both Gears games. He appeared in my peripheral vision every now and then and that was it.

[Smitty]

Yeah, I never understood the occasional really negative reaction to him, and I completed the game on Insane.

I really didn't have any problem with him. Sure, he was a bit rubbish sometimes, but it's not like you were required to save him, and he and everyone else would always spring recover when you cleared all the enemies out.

[hughes]

Plus she's with you for about 5% of the game, max.

You've played the game enough times to know that's not true, surely.

[Davros sock drawer]

You've played the game enough times to know that's not true, surely.

5%, 10%, whatever. It's a low percentage, is the point.

[hughes]

I had no problem with Ashley at all, but she's there for half the game, maybe a wee bit less.

I haven't played it in over a year though. I could be misremembering

[Mr Cochese]

You've all played the demo haven't you? If you have, you know that Sheva's AI is pretty tight, and if she gets into trouble it's usually your own fault, and when you get to trouble she's usually there to bail you out. If you want to be completely alone go and hide in a cave or something.

[Majora]

It was awesome when I couldn't get out of the way of hammer guy in the demo because Sheva was blocking my way.

[womblingfree]

I really didn't have any problem with him. Sure, he was a bit rubbish sometimes, but it's not like you were required to save him, and he and everyone else would always spring recover when you cleared all the enemies out.

I have no problem with Dom as you hardly ever notice him, except when he dies and you have no incentive to revive him. I'm just confused as to why he's there at all during single player, for that very reason.

[Mr Cochese]

I think this is going to require some kind of diagram for this to come out in a way that doesn't paint you as rubbish at videogames.

[Goose]

Yep, played the demo and found the AI wasn't as tight as I was expecting it to be. It felt like I was bailing her out of trouble every 20 seconds or putting my character in harms way because of something she'd done or not done (had more than a handful of times when she just stood there letting herself get hit).

Figured it was just simply the demo and that it'd be different in the full game (or perhaps not throw you right into the action, giving you time to get used to it). I know some people had similar problems with it but equally a number did not.

[womblingfree]

I think this is going to require some kind of diagram for this to come out in a way that doesn't paint you as rubbish at videogames.

What useful thing does he contribute during single-player? There aren't more than a couple of cursory set-pieces he takes part in and he doesn't even chip in when you actually need him like the Com-Array. I've completed Gears 2 on Hardcore and he was about as much use as a Play-doh pen-knife.

EDIT:

Hang about, you weren't talking to me were you.

[DarhkFox]

to be honest i think capcom shouldnt have released the demo, it just feels a bit like a BETA to me. But then again thats demos in general - they just chuck you in without a proper explanation as to whats going on and thats probably where my dissapointing comments have come from.

Not long to go anyway!! less than 2 months.

[Mr Cochese]

What useful thing does he contribute during single-player? There aren't more than a couple of cursory set-pieces he takes part in and he doesn't even chip in when you actually need him like the Com-Array. I've completed Gears 2 on Hardcore and he was about as much use as a Play-doh pen-knife.

EDIT:

Hang about, you weren't talking to me were you.

I didn't mean you! I meant Mr "I am somehow hemmed in a corner by my co-op partner and this is not my fault how?" over there.

[Mr Cochese]

I didn't make it clear though. Maybe I need a holiday. Everybody holiday! That's an order, or at least as close to one as you're going to get these days.

[Rudderless]

It was awesome when I couldn't get out of the way of hammer guy in the demo because Sheva was blocking my way.

In mine, I backed off and she just stood there and let herself get chainsawed to death. Also awesome.

[Davros sock drawer]

I had no problem with Ashley at all, but she's there for half the game, maybe a wee bit less.

I haven't played it in over a year though. I could be misremembering

Well ditto, but I'm sure it's not that much. I suppose you could work it out roughly by chapter, but for almost all of the Island you're on your own, and that's roughly a third of the game.

[Joyrex-J9]

We all know that co-op is the magic ingredient these days and forcing it into every game possible, is a wining forumla.

Just look at how great Army of Two was

[ICECOLD]

So the whole game is definitely designed around co-op? There aren't bits where it's just Chris, but there is the option of a 2nd player joining in?

I suppose that wouldn't make sense. Damn though, this really could be a deal-breaker for me.

It's not co-op in the way that, say, Ghost Recon is co-op. It's actually very, very well done. Think Resi Zero, with the second character being player controlled, and the need to balance the ammo you pick up between the two of you.

Without a second player, Sheva can be set to Cover or Attack (a simple case of holding the B button in the Type D control config and pressing up or down on the D-pad), can be called to help with B if you hit trouble, and operates independantly with decent A.I. It's rare to feel like you're micromanaging her stupidity, even if she can go a bit trigger happy and gets through a lot of ammo. She's certainly no Ashley, though - when the going gets tough, Sheva doesn't need babysitting.

In general, she's with you most of the way, but there are times you can give her a boost to cover you from above, or send her off to flick a switch to open a gate and let you through.

Most importantly for me, despite the co-op, it still feels like Resi - actually far more than #4 did.

[Davros sock drawer]

Hmmmm, I'm still not convinced I want an AI character with me all through the game. Does it not erode that sense of lonely, one-man-against-the-horde exploration that RE games usually have? Does she talk shite all the time as well?