Micro Review: Resident Evil 5 - Press X to Investigate...

If you're a fan of the Resident Evil series, you have no doubt heard about the recently released game demo. Due to the game's triple-A status, there's been a swirl of speculation and debate over how it will measure up to its predecessors and the competition.

Pop culture seems to be enamored by zombies these days, and to a great degree, we have video games like Capcom's Resident Evil series to thank for making them into the half-rotten dolls of media infestation they are today. Gamers are no stranger to the undead masses though, and Resident Evil is now up against some stiff competition in the zombie shooter and survival horror arena. But as you play through the demo, it would be wise to judge Resident Evil 5 for what it is: a survival horror game with zombie shooting elements, lest you judge too quickly and miss out on what promises to be a great ride.

Obviously, one of the most exciting additions that Resident Evil 5 brings to the table is cooperative play (both online and offline). Unfortunately, at this point there aren't many co-op games or players, making it near impossible to join or start a co-op game. This review will thus forgo any review of co-op play for the moment.

The controls in RE5 are essentially the same controls we saw in Resident Evil 4, and If you're coming down from the twitchy fast paced matches of Left 4 Dead, this will no doubt be infuriating as you try and maneuver your character towards or away from incoming infected. Remember again, Resident Evil is not a "shooter" per sea; so slow down a little and notice that, in general, the infected in RE5 are nowhere near as fast as their counterparts in Left 4 Dead. In fact, they actually move at a pace that fits nicely with the Resident Evil style of character control. Plus, you wont have to worry about hunters, smokers, and boomers pouncing, grabbing, or puking on you from around every corner. Just crazed, bag-headed chainsaw wielding maniacs. Much better right?

The Resident Evil 5 demo is available now on Xbox LIVE to Gold level members, and will be available on PSN next week. Check it out and see what you think.