Resident Evil 5 Demo Impressions

So the demo's been released to a fairly mixed but for the most part positive reception from the masses. For all the hype they generated and the appearance of the early trailers, I think a lot of us expected a little more than Resident Evil 4.5; more sprinting Left 4 Dead-style zombies and fewer lumbering villagers along with slightly more evolved controls. That being said, the addition of co-op has a done a lot to ease that initial sense of deja vu. Having a quick and easy way to locate your partner at any time does a great job of easing what might have otherwise been an impossible task of staying together. Friendly fire isn't an issue and ammo trading is a great addition if one that's somewhat clumsily implemented. Obviously, the game really shines most when you've got a human partner; the AI's functional, but not particularly useful. It seems to spend most of time it's time standing blowing bullets on enemies you would've downed in one more shot anyway. Its response time generally just seems to be too slow, but that's probably a purposeful flaw given that a really efficient AI would make the game far too easy.

At this point, it's clear the game's not going to be the revolution some thought it might, and a lot of people are jaded about the almost complete lack of change to the game's core mechanics, but at the very least, it seems like it'll be a fun multiplayer romp.