The wait is almost over for fans of killing zombies in the afternoon. Resident Evil 5 is finally set for release on Friday, the 13th, and we caught up with the game’s producer Jun Takeuchi for a quick round of 10 Questions. The co-op element and action-oriented gameplay have been the game’s biggest talking points, and we get his views on these as well as other aspects of Capcom’s new survival action offering.
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The Resident Evil series seems to be getting more action-oriented rather than focusing on the survival aspect. Is this a conscious design decision?
I guess you could consider Resident Evil 5 as more survival action rather than survival horror, but believe me you, will still need to work hard to survive. While the overall pacing of Resident Evil 5 is faster than previous games in the series, it still remains a Resident Evil game at heart. For instance, you still have to stop and aim to shoot; making sure your aim is true so you do not waste ammunition.
Will the co-op aspect be an omnipresent feature throughout the campaign? Are there divergent paths for the characters which take them away from each other ala Leon and Ada Wong in RE4?
Yes, from the beginning of the game Sheva Alomar will be by Chris’ side and you can choose to play with the AI taking control of Sheva or team up with a friend either on or offline. At certain points in the game, the characters will need to split up, but they will never be that far apart. Remember, you may well need to help your partner out if they get caught in a tight situation.
Is the co-op drop-in/drop-out?
Yes it is.
Does Sheva play differently from Chris in terms of health, ammo, guns, agility etc.?
While each character will have a different set of default weapons and specific melee attacks, both are equally balanced, so there is no benefit as playing as Chris rather than Sheva.
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Is there any tie-in with the CG movie Resident Evil Degeneration?
No, there isn’t.
Will there be any online features apart from the co-op element?
Quite possibly, but I can’t say much about it at this time.
Is there an incentive to replay the game once we have completed one play through?
Absolutely, but you’ll have to find that out for yourself.
Is RE5 a continuation of the story arc presented in RE4, or does it hark back to the original Umbrella/Raccoon City incidents?
Resident Evil 5 can be seen as Chris Redfield’s story, so it focuses on events related to his past and his new role with the B.S.A.A. As you know, Albert Wesker also returns to the series so you can expect some confrontation between the former S.T.A.R.S. operatives.
Which other characters return in RE5, besides Wesker? Can you shed some light on the mystery surrounding Jill Valentine?
We need to keep some things secret so players still have some surprises when they play the game.
What actual changes (in terms of game play, graphics, game physics etc.) have you made to the game that are not a part of the demo?
The demo provides a good snapshot to the game as a whole, but obviously there are plenty of environments, enemies and situations that were not featured in the demo for players to look forward to.
