DEVELOPMENT
Jun Takeuchi, the director of Onimusha and producer of Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, will take over producer duties from Hiroyuki Kobayashi. Keiji Inafune, who served as promotional producer for Resident Evil 2 and executive producer for Resident Evil 4's PlayStation 2 version, is overseeing the project. In February of 2007, members of Capcom’s Clover Studio were also called upon to help develop the game. However, many developers from the studio moved on to work on the Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, which debuted for the Wii. Several staff members who also worked on the original Resident Evil are involved in development. According to Takeuchi, the game will utilize the same gameplay model introduced in Resident Evil 4, while implementing thematics from the original Resident Evil into the game.
Although the game garnered much interest among Resident Evil fans, Capcom did not present any footage or information about Resident Evil 5 at E3 2006. Capcom revealed a brief new trailer for the game at E3 2007. They concluded the screening by stating Resident Evil 5 will not be released anytime in 2007. The full E3 trailer for the game became available on the Xbox 360 Marketplace and PlayStation Network Store on July 26, 2007.
DETAILS
Few details have been released about the game's storyline other than the fact that the setting will have a similar feel to the movie Black Hawk Down. Takeuchi added that the developing team is composed of staff members who worked on the first Resident Evil. Despite the lack of information, he has stated that Resident Evil 5 will be an actual sequel to the Resident Evil series. Before Takeuchi took over, the game's former producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi stated "it's safe to say that Resident Evil 5 will naturally proceed from where Resident Evil 4 left off."
In a July 2007 Famitsu interview, producer Jun Takeuchi revealed the main playable character as Chris Redfield and the game takes place ten years after the events of the original Resident Evil. The story will explore Chris' life during the ten year interval between the two games. During the game's events, he is a member of a group known as BSAA, and sent to investigate an incident in a desert area that serves as the game's setting. Takeuchi also confirmed that a female character from the series, who is seen briefly at the end of the trailer, will appear in the game.
EARLY CRITICISM - RASISM
There have been some comments saying that this game is racist as the main character is white shooting mainly black zombies. However these claims have been rebuffed because the game is set in Africa (so the majority of zombies and people would be dark skinned) and the main character is a recurring character in the seris.
GAMEPLAY
Jun Takeuchi, the game's producer, stated the Resident Evil 5 will feature similar gameplay to Resident Evil 4; The player will control Redfield similarly to how the player controlled Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil 4 Resident Evil 5 includes several abilities originally found in its predecessor, such as being able to deflect thrown projectiles by shooting them. The game's environment will also play a significant role. For example, if Redfield suffers prolonged exposure to heat, he will begin to see mirages and hallucinations. Also, the game implements various lighting effects. If Redfield moves between bright and dark areas his eyes will have to adjust, causing the player to briefly lose some visual of their surroundings.
The game will also feature new types of enemies. The extended E3 trailer revealed several sequences involving Redfield attacking hordes of fleet-footed enemies, who possessed melee weapons. Takeuchi has also stated the game's enemies will also possess human-like intelligence and awareness. Furthermore, he stated they will be different from the previous zombies and ganados.
In an interview with Xbox360ism, Keiji Inafune briefly stated that the game will feature some online elements. One of the game trailers has been released on blu-ray copies of Resident Evil: Extinction.
Resident Evil 5
Linear Mode
