Gaming by Miksa

Featuring a brand new movie (Resident Evil: Degeneration), and a sequel to the award winning game from 2005 (Resident Evil 4), the series are definitely digging out of the grave.

To all survival-horror fans out there - rejoice. Capcom, the famous Japanese gaming corporation and Hollywood are throwing a huge party, involving mutated villagers, world conspiracy and the good old, horror action adventure for fans and alike.
The Resident Evil franchise recently added a brand new movie into the collection (Resident Evil: Degeneration), entirely made in CGI technology (first time used in the Final Fantasy movie adaptation of the game). And on March 13, the highly anticipated successor to the 2004 game of the year (RE 4), Resident Evil 5 will hit the stores. Lets have a look at the two Capcom products in more detail.

With the third (and final) part of the trilogy, the Resident Evil adaptation on the big screen has come to an end. The action packed, horror adventure movie flick, featuring Mila Jovovic as the main character, re-introduced the story about the powerful Umbrella Corporation and its experiements with viruses and bio weaponry. The movies themselves however, developed a rather different story line (that the one seen in the game), with invented characters (like Alis) and events. Though the end result was satisfying and both the movie and gaming fans pretty much enjoyed the movies, Capcom decided that it was time to return the series to its roots.

So, the next project was intended to be something different and much more appealing to the game itself. The first step was not to using real actors and standardized filming approach (a practice set by its predecessors). Degeneration would then be entirely made using the CGI (Computer Generated Imagery). Though largely used in computer games, to better represent some in game cinematic sequences, this technology promoted itself with the introduction of yet another game adaptation for the big screen - Final Fantasy: Advent Children.

The story continues 6 years after the disaster that destroyed Raccoon City. The Umbrella Corporation has been shut down for good. However, several incidents involving usage of chemical weaponry in unstable countries, have recently begun to stress the public. Rumors of viruses and a large nuclear incident that nearly destroyed Raccoon City, have brought hard times on the US government.


Meanwhile, Claire Redfield, the female survivor of the Raccoon incident, waits for her companions on the Havardville Airport. While she waits, senator Ron Davis (who is held in on the airport due to major anti-environmental protests) is attacked by a man who has been infected with the T-Virus. The Airport turns into a zombie chase out, and the whole place has been sealed off by the military. The government sends special agent Leon S. Kennedy, also one of the lead figures in past Resident Evil games, to rescue the survivors and find the cause of the infection. As two former companions meet once again to battle the undead, new friends and foes arise to uncover the truth behind this new threat.

Character reunion, interesting plot, strong voice interpretation and decent CG presentation, should be more than enough for gamers and horror fans to stay for the ride. However, the somehow rigid representation of the lead characters and the lowered scale quality of story (when compared to past Resident Evil titles) may not be as appealing to hard core fans to the series.
To help you choose, check the following official trailer of the movie.




One of the most anticipated title for 2009 is Capcom's follow up to the highly successful Resident Evil title from 2004- Resident Evil 5. The game's alpha and beta testings are finished and the company is preparing for its first shipment on March 13. Until then, lets introduce some of the key features that RE5 will bring to the series and the genre.

The story
Ten years after the Raccoon incident, Chris Redfield as one of the leaders in the war against global bio-terrorism, arrives in war-torn Africa, in order to investigate certain findings of the T-Virus. There he teams up with local BSSA representative, Sheva Alamar in order to scour the local surroundings more quickly. However, things start to get out of hand, as native villagers start to express similar symptoms as the Ganados from Resident Evil 4. Chris and Sheva must fight their way through the masses of mutated enemies in order to resolve the dark conspiracy behind the bio outbreak.


Another key figure will make his reappearance in Resident Evil 5, the enigmatic and power hungry Albert Wesker. It is belied that he has made contract with Tricell Corp, an Umbrella-like medical corporation that possesses some of the original samples containing both the T and G virus.

Co-op experience
For the first time in the series, players will be able to play through the entire single player campaign in a co-op mode via split-screen. The option is also available via online link. If there is a lack of one players, the computer AI should compensate and offer enough realism when dealing with hordes of enemies.

RE5 will use the same combat system as its predecessor, though Capcom suggests that there might be a second control scheme for all the players who want to shoot while strafing. The combat itself is still going to be the same horror survival we faced in RE4. However, with the introduction of co-op mode, players can now assist themselves with cover, weapons and ammo or health sprays. The famous melee kicks when an enemy is temporary disabled will be returning as well, with some interesting combo options when using the benefits of team combat.


Aside from the standard arsenal of weapons, Chris and Sheva will be able to fortify themselves against the waves of charging enemies, knocking tables, chairs or parts of the surroundings in order to stop the mutants from tearing them apart. The enemies themselves will offer greater variety, and from what we have already seen, they have some nasty tricks up in their sleeve. There will be a number of boss battles where team work will be essential in order to survive through the encounters.

Next gen graphics
Resident Evil 5 is the first game in the series that made its transition onto the next gen consoles. The transition feels smooth and looks promising. Character models are detailed and seem to implement some advanced facial expressions. Enemies have a large number of polygons and feel more "alive" than ever. The surroundings, varying from dark alleys and open market places, show some incredible lightning and shadow effects and a variety of destructible objects. Perhaps the most promising change will be the transition from light into dark areas, when the screen will try to adjust to the change of lighting (imitating real life effect of the eyes), a perfect way to set up a nasty ambush.

More to be revealed...
... after the official release, when gamers will finally have their copy of the game :) Until then we leave you with this teaser video of Resident Evil 5.