Over at Joystiq, writer Ludwig Kietzmann called out my argument "Resident Evil 5" should have taken more cues from games like "Dead Space" by arguing the controls benefit the series' survival mechanic, but seeing true survival hasn't existed since the original, I have to disagree.
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"Resident Evil 5" needs to be more like "Dead Space," I've argued.
I still stand by that. Since Capcom released a demo, the conversation over the game's control choices has only become more heated.
Joystiq published a story recently by Ludwig Kietzmann that suggested complaints like mine that suggested "Resident Evil 5" should have gone all the way with a "Gears of War"-like control scheme isn't "unwarranted so much as it is misplaced." Kietzmann argues "Resident Evil 5" works because the series has always been about survival and resource management, something that would apparently be diminished if you could fire and shoot at the same time.
He's right, if we were talking "Resident Evil 1." Can you remember many points in "Resident Evil 4" where you were seriously about having an empty clip? That's an old school trick. Here's where Kietzmann and I start to disagree:
"Aside from featuring fairly similar controls and identical camera placement (one of the few times where tank controls actually make sense!), Gears of War expresses the "shoot or move" limitation in its raison d'être: take cover or you'll die. Is shooting from behind stationary (stationery, if it's another one of those drab office buildings) cover all that different from the combat in Resident Evil 5?"
Every set piece in "Gears of War" was designed around the cover system. That's why there's cover littered everywhere, even if it doesn't make any sense. You just accept it because that's how the gameplay works in "Gears of War." "Resident Evil 5" has all sorts of cover, but most of it's useless. Maybe it's less the game doesn't allow you to move and shoot so much as there's no cover system, and the lack of moving and shooting exaggerates the issues it creates.
"Resident Evil 5" treats the player like a mobile turret that parks in a single spot, waits for enemies to get close, then moves to the next spot. Yes, "Gears of War" employs the same style, but gives the player more freedom of movement and uses cover to focus their attention on what they should be shooting at. There's less focus in "Resident Evil 5;" enemies are constantly stumbling in from all around you. It's frustrating to see game over because you couldn't rotate your "turret" in time for that zombie at the door behind you.
Kietzmann eventually moves onto my "Dead Space" comparison.
"Dead Space, too, offers its own interpretation of this common constriction. You're free to walk and shoot in EA's atmospheric adventure, but more often than not, your freedom is impacted by the cramped corridors that space ship designers are so fond of. Dead Space in particular is every bit as focused on precision shooting, with faster and deadlier enemies requiring concentration, not circle-strafing. There's an ability to move and shoot, but not much opportunity."
"Dead Space" uses restricted corridors in the same way that "Gears of War" uses cover to focus the player's attention. "Dead Space" also plays with this convention when monsters appear behind you, but grants the ability to quickly move in any direction to give ample opportunity to fire away and avoid death. Unexpected enemies happen all the time in just the "Resident Evil 5" demo alone, but getting away from them isn't very easy once there's a crowd.
Games moved on since "Resident Evil 4," due to games like "Gears of War" and "Dead Space." This new control scheme appearing near the end of the game's development suggests it was added to appease a crowd expecting the option, but there wasn't enough time to take it all the way or that concept didn't jive with the team. If they had kept it completely like "Resident Evil 4," Capcom could have argued sticking with tradition. They didn't. They went halfway.
The "Resident Evil" series has moved away from quiet tension to bombastic action sequences ever since "Resident Evil 2," and while it's likely most gamers (myself included) will simply adapt to the constraints "Resident Evil 5" puts in front of them, it's hard to not wonder what could have been.
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