It's That Friend Who Now Needs Money

Okay, I was pretty disappointed last week after playing the Resident Evil 5 demo. The old style clunky controls really put a massive downer on what should have been a hype inducing experience. Demos are supposed to get you excited about a game, dammit!

Well, either Capcom read my blog or the rest of the gaming community felt the same, because it turns out that the retail version of Resident Evil 5 will come with a more western audience focused Gears of War style control system. In other words you'll be able to 'run and gun' if you choose to do so, but not to disappoint fans who are stuck in the past, you'll be able to play with the old school stop, aim and shoot mechanism in you choose.

I think that this is a truly sensible move on Capcom's part, the up to date controls will appeal to new gamers much more than the old style controls would have. I think that as with Resident Evil 4:Wii Edition's updated controls, this change of heart will do wonders for the franchise and ensure they get some healthy sales when the game is released.

Now if only they could put out a patch for the demo to show off those controls...

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UPDATE

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Just to save for any confusion, it would appear that it's not certain that the new controls are actually going to be a feature in the final game. We'll have to wait and see on this one.

It's That Friend Who Never Grew Up

I remember a time when I used to get really excited about the Resident Evil series. I remember seeing screen shots for Resident Evil 2 and thinking I must get this game. And the same thing happened for number 3 and for Code: Veronica. When Resident Evil 4 came along for GameCube and PlayStation 2, I couldn't help but feel that the excitement was waning. I mean, it really was more of the same but with a different view point and prettier visuals. But then Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition came out, and all of a sudden I had rekindled my love of making the heads of the undead explode. I mostly felt that this was due to the use of the Wii controls in the game. The Wii aiming gave the game a whole new appeal. All of a sudden, the clunky old controls felt like they had drunk 10 Red Bulls and said "you know what, if we have to stop to shoot, we;ll make it fun". It was awesome, I couldn't get enough and made sure that I finished it.

So Resident Evil 5 is on its way, and after my return to the series, I've been getting a bit excited again. However, something bad has happened. I recently downloaded the Resident Evil 5 demo on Xbox Live. All of a sudden, my old friend had stopped drinking Red Bull and had gone back to it's favourite drink, clunky controls! I couldn't believe how much playing Resident Evil with the Wii had improved the game play, until I found myself screaming at Chris Redfield to at least try to move when he was shooting, and at least make a few of those head shots count. I am utterly disappointed in how old the game feels.

I'm hoping that something spectacular happens between now and launch (I know, extremely unlikely), because in all honesty, if it doesn't, I'll wait until this one hits the bargain bins.

Eye of Indecision - A Quick Post

So, after the discovery that you could get Eye of Judgement for £19.98 (for the pack that comes with the game, mat, cards and camera) in your local Game I've been struggling with the decision to pick it up. On one hand it looks like a really unique experience, on the other it looks like a unique experience that I can only enjoy for 5 minutes before getting bored.

Eventually, three factors influenced my purchasing decision. The first was my non-gaming friend Amy. She said the game sounded both interesting yet a bit rubbish at the same time.... She was lots of help... The second factor was the flip of a coin... The coin went in favour of buying the game. I decided that the coin could be working against me and ultimately trying to upset me. So I had to resort to the third factor, what was coming out soon. So, with Halo Wars and Resident Evil 5 on the way, I've decided to hold onto my money.

With any luck I've made the right choice, if anyone knows otherwise, let me know.