I love Resident Evil 5! I've played the game nearly everyday since release for at least 30mns, popping off Las Plagas heads and accumulating money to upgrade weapons. But let's face it: despite my gameplay addiction, I'm actually very critical when it comes to everything else about the game. For instance, the fact that Sheva seems more like a mule cart for items/weapons rather than a viable RE character really hinders the fifth title. The blaring sunlight of Africa & the openess of the environment blatantly threw away the survival horror atmosphere Resident Evil is renowned for and ditched it for pure, lead pumping action. Plus, the fact that the Las Plagas en mass are stupid and aren't fun to fight as much as the zombies really begs the question: rather than progressing foward, should the developers backtrack and bring back what Resident Evil was the first time around?

I'll be the first to admit it (please don't hurt me!): I prefer the old Resident Evil over this new one. Despite my love for its gameplay, nothing else is memorable about it. When I think of Resident Evil, my thoughts go back to the fustration of conserving ammo, zombies moaning into the night, dogs jumping through windows, Tyrants stalking you around every corner etc. Its a long stretch before I even reminisce about the Las Plagas before I do w/ the zombies. Maybe I'm just old school, having played RE2 back in 1998 and being used to the tank controls with the odd, 3rd person angles.

What I would love to see is a marriage of the two franchises: keep the gameplay of RE4 & RE5 intact, but throw everything else that was so great about the titles beforehand. Yes, I know...RE1-RE:CVX had its problems, mainly the predictable storyline (survive outbreak, progress through narrow corridors, make it to Umbrella's Underground Lab, defeat Tyrant, escape, everything explodes...rinse & repeat for the next countless sequels). But besides that, everything else made the franchise.

Have Jill Valentine be the star of RE6: one of my complaints of RE5 was that she didn't have enough of a cameo in it (she has so much star power) and that besides Chris Redfield & Leon S. Kennedy, its about time that a leading female lady take on the horror (and no, please not Sheva). She can be accompanied by the curiously MIA characters Barry Burton & Rebecca Chambers (hell, even add in Bill Cohen from RE0 if we have to). Bring back classic baddies but upgrade them (much like RE5 did with the lickers!!) The zombies should be as aggressive as the Las Plagas, but not as stupid. The return of the Hunters, giant spiders, & a Nemesis-like foe would be the best! (C'mon, the Nemesis stalking you everywhere in RE3 still haunts you to this day!). Bring back the dark, narrow corridors w/ the third person perspective, but when you aim/fire, bring it behind you ala RE4 or RE5 (remember those early vids of RE4 and how it played out like this? Just like that! please). Besides that, the upgradable weapons, action-context cutscenes, & less predictable storyline of RE4 & RE5 should remain intact. Oh yea, and it shouldn't be a no brainer to have the online aspect apart from the campaign mode: keep the single player mode much like old school RE, but have the online much just as addictive as RE5. Heck, if I think about it, turning RE5's online mode into what REOutbreak should've been, that would be fantastic! And bringing back the "opening door" sequences would really make my year (seriously)

Also, since I'm still ranting, can we make the storyline somewhat decent? I mean, their were moments in RE5 where I actually was interesting in the interactions b/t Chris & Sheva (plus the fight sequences w/ Wesker). But besides that, I was unattached to just about everything else (so what if nearly everyone died?). This is the PS3/360 generation after all, we're equipped the technology to really make Hollywood-like cutscenes these days. USE THEM!

However, Capcom has already stated that the next installment of the Resident Evil franchise will be "very different." I guess they took the hint after looking at RE5 as much as they did when they looked at RE0 (which lead to RE4!).

Remember back in the archaic ages when we were first given glimpses of this supposed "next generation"? The graphical finesse of Doom 3, the footage of real-time Project Gotham 3, the PS3 video reel of B.S etc. all pointed out that the next step in consoles was all about the graphical leap & HD glory that made you bleed tears from your eyes.

However, I don't know if it was just me, but once the next generation consoles flew from the shelves, I was all but disappointed: sure, your savings account all went for the PS3, send in your 360 for repairs weeks after launch, & nearly pulled a "Dead Rising" on a crowded line just to obtain a Wii...but once you sat down & actually played the games (or stood & did stupid motions counting the Wii), I really didn't see any noticeable changes in terms of gameplay. It was all more of the same gameplay we've seen since the days of the PS1/N64/Dreamcast. Franchises you once cherished in the good ol' days just weren't retaining the same appeal this time around.

I think developers must've noticed to. Going off of what was arguably the best achievement/most innovative attribute of the last generation (the introduction to XBOX LIVE), all franchises now hold the key that your main character was never alone. Think about it: just recently, all of my favorite games now have A.I or online play that come into the gameplay that would've otherwise been impossible before.

Case in point: Resident Evil, a franchise that saw two online adaptations that were garbage, saw online/A.I glory thanks to Sheva Alomar in its fifth installment. Grand Theft Auto IV introduced multiplayer modes of hijacking, gunplay, & transportation w/ friends. Prince of Persia has an A.I character that was sophisticated in almost every aspect of the title. Even Snake in MGS4 has an A.I Mark II robot that follows him wherever he goes (and can even be a playable character in one of the multiplayer modes). Plus, back in the good old days of PS2, almost all titles were offline (even though the same titles were LIVE on the original XBOX). Now, it's rare to see a 360/PS3 title that didn't either have online capabilities or partner A.I's to compliment the title (even fighting games like Mortal Kombat, Soul Calibur, Street Fighter, & the upcoming Tekken have achieved online glory this generation).

My point is, creating games w/ a social aspect to it has been the defining attribute to this generation (three years deep so far). What was once a starting trend in the PS2/XBOX days, its now become a full on force to be reckoned with. Plus, we can attribute the wide success of the gaming market & its appeal to all demographics thanks to the introduction of online play on consoles. Add in technology that enables characters to possess advanced A.I that couldn't be done last generation, and I look foward to seeing this trend continue on into the PS4/720 era. However, if you think I'm wrong or I've left something crucial to the topic, send me an email :-)