RE5 is superior to this game by a long shot

[KrZ]

There, I said it - and here is why:

• More weapon variety.
  
• More enemy variety.
  
• More variety in combat situations due to various enemy types.
  
• A plot which, although predictable, makes sense within RE universe.
  
• Memorable boss fights and villains - who is Miranda, Heisenberg, Moreau, etc.? Why should I care with these throw-away antagonists if Capcom does not bother with their character development.
  
• Ethan Winters is not in the game - Ethan sucks and glad Capcom finished him.
  
• Superb soundtrack - aside from that track used in the RE 8 trailer ('Descent into the Village' if I am not mistaken) which is dope, nothing stands out.
  
• True mercenary mode where you can play different characters with specific weapons set and melee moves.
  
• 'Chris punching boulders' over 'Chris the tank engineer' all day.
  
• Complete global saturation (need I say more).
  
• You can play as Albert Wesker, in Mercenary mode.
  
• Excella over Lady Dimitrescu (overrated but also pale copy of Mr. X).
  
• It has coop throughout the whole campaign.

Additional points covered later in the thread (potential spoilers ahead - consume at your own risk):
-> Enemy variety means more diverse combat
There is simply no debate here: RE5 has one of the most diverse cast of enemies; it puts RE8 to shame and Capcom deserves praise for it. It has got you covered: humans of different shapes, sizes (and weapons), some with las plagas mutation type, dogs, insects, crocodiles, lickers, flying b.o.w. creatures, and these are just the regular monsters.

Each of them holds a specific role, and the fun in RE5 lies in how to beat various combinations of the aforementioned monster types. For example, there is a part in chapter 1 where you have to face regular Majinis (typical humanoid fodder, relatively low threat annoyance) accompanied by fat guys (tanks); not only that, there are snipers targeting you as well as flying threats (Kipepeo, disgusting vermin).

With this, the player is presented with plenty of options which makes each encounter unique: how do I tackle this situation, which target or group to prioritise first, where are the relatively safer points on the map with least exposure to sniper shots, bottlenecks and exit routes. This kind of puzzle combat is interesting, challenging and fun to me.

In isolation, each enemy type would pose little threat; but when part of a larger and diverse group/skill set, they can become a serious challenge.

And this is where RE8 fails miserably. Make no mistake, this latest entry is an action game disguised as survival horror (I agree with DarkZide) and the combat situations are very bland due to how enemies are arranged.

In the vast majority of cases, you face a single enemy type per encounter: werewolf men (women werewolves not allowed for some reason), or hooded women in the basement, or zombie type dudes (sometimes with a face plate), or cyborg soldiers.

There is little variety in the way fights play out, and that is especially true when you fight the hooded enemies or zombies - these guys are so slow and easy to dodge I almost feel sorry for them. Now if the same guys were part of a cohesive group with other monster types that complement their weakness, things would be different.

Soldiers with weak point on chest or back? Nah, don't put the player against more than 2 at once or that might confuse them. Hooded women with wings? On their own please, less complicated for the players and for Capcom to program.

Fights get hectic quite often in RE5 and I have not really felt that rush in RE8 - felt more like a pedestrian walk through the park in that sense, but I admit it is a very pretty park.

Enemy variety in RE8 is certainly a step up compared to RE7 (which is a much better RE game in my view, but that's a story for another thread ) but cannot compete with RE5's comprehensive cast as I have demonstrated.

-> Human type enemies for the most part
Most of the enemies are humanoids - why? Where are the animals and how come they did not try experimenting on them with cadou? Wild life in Romania is diverse so why not adding mutated bears, wolves, lynxes, etc. Missed opportunity here.

By the way, remember the werewolves riding horses in the early game cutscene? Well, you will never see those horses again apart from a dead carcass in the beginning and that is such a shame because the game needed it sorely.

But, if you crave generic cyborg soldier with weak point on chest/back, generic cyborg soldier with armor, generic cyborg soldier with armor and jetpack (only 2 in the whole game, get them while they are hot!) or generic cyborg soldier with 2 coats of armor for those long cold Romanian winter nights, then you are truly spoilt for choice my friend

-> Animation
On the topic of animals, I need to mention and give praise to the animation work done in RE5. I believe Capcom are amongst the very best when it comes to animating monsters (for me they are number 1); and, the work done in RE5, although much older, outshines that of RE8 in my opinion.

Sure, the overall animation of enemies and bosses is impressive in Village and I still appreciate the craft, but the stuff shown in RE5 is much more diverse and quirky. To this day I marvel at the intricate animation layers of Kipepeo the flying monster, or the dog Adjule that splits in half, or the Reaper whenever I see them in game:
https://residentevil.fandom.com/wiki/Kipepeo
https://monster.fandom.com/wiki/Adjule_(Resident_Evil)
https://residentevil.fandom.com/wiki/Reaper

This is more interesting than RE8 regular human mo-cap which is what most enemies are.

-> Bosses intro and fights
Main bosses in RE8 follow pretty much the same pattern except for the dolls house puzzle, but that was boring. In short, main boss transforms into big mutated abomination, and that's it.

With RE5 you get more variety (hmm I see a trend here): fight with flying giant bat/insect, Jill-Wesker, uroboros, elevator crab fight, Ogre/jeep fight not to mention mid bosses. Sure, there are hits and misses but patterns change often to keep things from going stale.

One other important aspect of a memorable boss fight is how they are introduced and staged (forgot the exact word, but 'mise-en-scène' comes to mind). The problem with RE8 is that we see everything through Ethan's eyes, therefore very little to no cinematography and use of different camera angles to make a particular scene stand out.

To me, that does not help the narrative. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that it diminishes the impact of character entrance. With the Heisenberg fight for example (Magneto in RE now ), he performs his transformation behind a 'steel curtain' and we see nothing of it in the cutscene - not very exciting.

Now contrast this with the introduction of Popokarimu in RE5: there's something very bad in that cargo truck, but you don't know what it is; then, it comes out in all its glory with that dramatic long shot and an absolute banger of a boss theme:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTfK19iso3U

Not to mention the monster animation work, always on point with Capcom
Yes, 1st person view is more immersive, but I know which boss intro I prefer and which gets me the most excited between those 2.

-> PC Port
PC port is not great judging by the feedback in the forums. Although I had little issues overall (aside from the flies performance dip), I cannot overlook this point. RE5 is a better PC port than RE8 and it does not seem like Capcom is in a rush to fix those issues. Hopefully they will address them soon for those who wish to play the game.

-> RE8 scenario
I will not dwell on this as others have already pointed out the inconsistencies and utterly bizarre turn that RE franchise has taken. Hopefully this is just a blip and RE4 remake will put this IP back on track.

-> Excella vs Lady D.
Is Excella boring and cliche? Absolutely! But so is Lady D. Difference is, Excella serves one purpose and she serves it well: she is there to amplify how bad to the bone and sociopathic Wesker is.

She is his business partner and involved in the shady experiments; but, she is attracted to him too. He gave her the run-around for a while but did not hesitate to betray and ultimately kill her in ice cold fashion as soon as she outlived her usefulness. And this is what Wesker does best

With Lady D, don't really know the story nor do I care since Capcom did not really bother with her character development.

-> They did Chris dirty
Chris was laughed at in RE5 for his huge size and the boulder punching. To an extent, I laughed too :) Yes, the boulder punch was ridiculous, but in a fun cheesy way (Ethan gluing back his severed arm with aloe vera juice on the other hand...).

In my view, Chris in RE8 is even more laughable than RE5 Chris, but in a worst possible fashion. Simply put, RE village depicts the most inept and cowardly version of Chris Redfield I have ever seen, and it pains me to write it.

Seems to me that Capcom has disown RE5 Chris and has been taking every opportunity to drag his name through the dirt ever since. With RE7 already, he arrived at the end of the game like a tourist, having contributed nothing, with an odd face lift that baffled many. To add insult to injury, he was made the 'star' of a really poor DLC after such a long absence; but still, he managed to take down a main boss on his own in that short episode.

In this latest game, however, he and with the rest of his special ops team are so incompetent it's embarrassing. Chris does not take down a single boss with a team of specialists around him, knowledge of the terrain and advanced technology at their disposal.

On the other hand, bumbling fool Ethan, with no electronics or knowledge of his surroundings (no tactical advantages whatsoever), somehow manages to always be one step ahead and beat all main bosses single-handedly.

Chris cannot even beat a mini-boss alone! He requires the help of special remote mortar weapon (or satellite strike, whatever that stuff is) through one of his teammates. Same mini-boss aided by additional werewolf minions is single-handedly beaten by Ethan with comparatively primitive arsenal.

Furthermore, Chris 'the escape artist' always manages to conveniently disappear when things get difficult, leaving it to Ethan to clean the mess. Likewise, Chris' team of so called specialists with the fancy tactical head gear are exceptionally good at avoiding combat situations, leaving their boss/captain to fend for himself on the frontline (I guess they learned it from him).

Now that I think about it, perhaps this was Chris' plan all along: follow Ethan in the shadows and let him do all the hard work; re-appear at seemingly random moment to pretend he is on Ethan's team and thus maintain the illusion of friendship (does that remind you of anyone? ); and finally, through some fine broadway acting, get Ethan to commit suicide and then blame himself for it so convincingly.

Result? Mission complete, sexy widow has Chris' shoulder to cry on (probably not very comfortable given the size of his deltoids) and he gets to play step dad to Rose.

Truly, Albert Wesker would be proud of such a devious plan . Anyway, Capcom, you hate Chris Redfield I get it. Just let the poor man retire once and for all - he has been through enough character assassination already.

For me, I will always remember Chris RE1 fondly and fearless RE5 Chris who fought Wesker in his ultimate form mano and mano and lived to tell the tale. Special mention to Chris from MvC3, he was cool too. RIP Chris Redfield (and f* u Ethan).

-> Ethan Wimpers
Somehow they managed to make him more annoying than ever before. With his previous experience with the Bakers and some additional military training, you'd think he'd wise up.

The answer is no and I have to say I am completely baffled by the following game design decision: whenever an enemy is close, Ethan will start to shudder and breath uncontrollably like a weakling. To make matters worse, this hysterical behavior continues throughout the whole game - suffice to say, this gets old and irritating pretty quickly.

I assume the designer wanted to give the players some kind of audio cue to warn them of nearby monsters. Problem is that Ethan has been through this already with the Bakers (those were cool antagonists unlike the RE8 riff-raff) and did not whine in such ungraceful manner back then. So, why he is scared now and not adjusting his emotions accordingly as events unfold?

Point is, no other RE has ever adopted this approach as far as I know (have not played Outbreak or the on-rail shooter REs, but happy to be corrected). RE2 remake did it right: rookie Leon with no prior bio-hazard apocalypse experience was nervous when dealing with the first zombies and was expressing it to the player with audio feedback; but then, he adapted quickly and became the cool exterminator that we know.

This is a stupid design decision and Capcom should have had more faith in the sound design of RE8 which is actually pretty good.

To conclude on Ethan, he may be bland and faceless because Capcom wants the player to identify with him. I get that, but that does not mean I have to like him. If you really want to go with the immersive angle, then just do the Gordon-Freeman-completely-silent philosophy.

Alternatively, use one of the many memorable characters from the RE Universe. Actually, I know of the perfect and almost silent protagonist to use instead - he is called Hunk: professional, no nonsense real man who gets the job done.

[MegaClaus]

I completetely disagree. for me re5 is a solid 6/10 while re8 is a 9.5/10.yes, re5 is fun in coop, but is just atrociously bad in singleplayer while re8 is fun solo. cant wait for RE9.

[Doomteam]

RE 5 is really fun co-op but RE 8 ♥♥♥♥♥ on it. This game is DAMN good

[OceanHaze]

Originally posted by MegaClaus:

re5 is a solid 6/10 while re8 is a 9.5/10

[Salfaden]

HAHAHAHAHHAHAA

Village >>>>>>>>>>>> RE5

[Digusting Abomination]

Ethan is the best protagonist. He is clumsy and bad at stuff which makes many people relate. I'm tired of ripped, fearless protagonists with square jaws who know what to do in every situation. Ethan is the most regular dude (besides being a mold) and that is awesome. This is the point in which I disagree the most.

[Gamer0151]

Originally posted by MegaClaus:

I completetely disagree. for me re5 is a solid 6/10 while re8 is a 9.5/10.yes, re5 is fun in coop, but is just atrociously bad in singleplayer while re8 is fun solo. cant wait for RE9.

What makes you find single-player mode bad on RE5?

[Vulkan]

Originally posted by Salfaden:

HAHAHAHAHHAHAA

Village >>>>>>>>>>>> RE5

i love me some triggered re fan boys. its called an opinion.

[mldb88]

Originally posted by Gamer0151:

Originally posted by MegaClaus:

I completetely disagree. for me re5 is a solid 6/10 while re8 is a 9.5/10.yes, re5 is fun in coop, but is just atrociously bad in singleplayer while re8 is fun solo. cant wait for RE9.

What makes you find single-player mode bad on RE5?

Sheva’s AI is notoriously awful, and if she dies it’s game over. I’ve seen her focus down and waste all her ammo on Wesker in the 2v2 fight despite the player desperately trying to get her to do what you’re supposed to do to win that fight and shoot Jill while he’s holding her in place. Combine this with actively running away from her to avoid her wasting your healing sprays when you barely stub your toe, the list goes on

[Shocker]

Yea good joke. Even all the so called good things in RE5 were all copied from the million times superior RE4, just made much worse. RE5 will always be the second worst main game after RE6. Don't even try to defend that garbage game.

[Sotomar0]

Sheva's Ai was awful ? Did we play the same RE 5 ? I don't think so.

[KrZ]

Originally posted by Shocker:

Yea good joke. Even all the so called good things in RE5 were all copied from the million times superior RE4, just made much worse. RE5 is will always be the second worst main game after RE6. Don't even try to defend that garbage game.

I do not claim that RE5 is superior to RE4; that would be preposterous. No, my statement is that RE5 is a better game than RE8. And so far, I have not seen many arguments to disprove it.

[Detox]

RE2R >>> RE5 there I said it…haha

[Detox]

Sheva from Master of the Universe?

[Salfaden]

Originally posted by Vulkan:

Originally posted by Salfaden:

HAHAHAHAHHAHAA

Village >>>>>>>>>>>> RE5

i love me some triggered re fan boys. its called an opinion.

What? Triggered fanboy? lmao I just wanted to piss him off and here you are coming after me. I know its his opinion lol.

[Gamer0151]

Originally posted by mldb88:

Originally posted by Gamer0151:

What makes you find single-player mode bad on RE5?

Sheva’s AI is notoriously awful, and if she dies it’s game over. I’ve seen her focus down and waste all her ammo on Wesker in the 2v2 fight despite the player desperately trying to get her to do what you’re supposed to do to win that fight and shoot Jill while he’s holding her in place. Combine this with actively running away from her to avoid her wasting your healing sprays when you barely stub your toe, the list goes on

Yea, i agree that her AI is awful and she waste ammo like she's being held at gun point XD