Already people are making a shocking realisation, that Resident Evil 5 is quite similar to Resident Evil 4. Surely they should have cottoned on by now, it’s obviously not trying to reinvent the wheel. Yes, it’s true: Resident Evil 5 still sees you shooting zombies (well, “infected”) in much the same manner as the rest of the series, however this time they’re African zombies, and you get to kill them co-operatively with a friend. I don’t know whether to be outraged or overjoyed.
A lazy person might just call this Resident Evil 4 Goes Safari. Fair enough, they wouldn’t be far wrong. Despite sticking to its roots like a grumpy old bastard – the control scheme is still shite, although you can now strafe with the analogue stick – a number of little changes have seeped into the game, making it much faster and slicker than before, yet still immediately familiar to the sorry old cunts who resist change. It’s this kind of pondering, barely noticeable change that makes Japanese game developers the makers of Japanese games.