Hello everyone, it's a pleasure to meet you all.
I registered because I've been anticipating this game for some time. Having never played the first game, I thought it best to wait and see the demo prior to committing to a full purchase.
Having played the demo, I thought it necessary to see how silly my caution was - this game is brilliant. I love the concept, the execution (as ever, Capcom), and - above all - the customisation.
But enough about me, let's talk about the demo, shall we?
Positives:
- Sense of scope; it's suitably epic. You feel all of three inches tall when the Salamander bears down on you, and rightly so: compared to its immense physicality, you are essentially a grappling hook-equipped flea.
- Sound design; the machine gun is suitably meaty, and reminiscent of leading sci-fi movies such as Starship Troopers and James Cameron's Aliens. Bravo to your team for that.
- VS upgrades; lugging a massive cannon over to your friend's VS is an incredibly satisfying feeling, and reinforces the sense of teamplay.
There's far more positive than negative, so I'll skip to the constructive criticism:
Negatives:
- Button layout is initially quite confusing, and is not optimised. I feel the default zoom button is somewhat inaccessible from the player's fingers, particularly if they're using the thumb-sticks to both move and shoot. The same applies when having the B button controlling the sprint option was ill-advised: sprinting can be essential to one's survival at times, and I feel its current position leads to more fumbling than is necessary.
- The camera runs into considerable difficulty when the Salamander is about to come down on you. Now, I don't blame the camera per se: I'd be scared if I was trapped under the monster too, but I feel that its getting caught only exacerbates the player's situation, and artificially so.
- Release Date: ahem, when does this game come out? Is it 2009 or 2010? I've heard so many conflicting reports it's driving me scatty. I'm European, incidentally, and Irish to be specific*, so any preliminary details (however vague) would be greatly appreciated: is it coming out this year, or the next? Please note that this third quibble is more to do with my impatience for your undeniably excellent game, rather than a flaw with the demo itself.
Another question: will this game have system link compatability? This was one of Resident Evil 5's greatest features, as it allowed me and my friend to spend entire evenings together playing in the same room. There's just more atmosphere when you can turn and high-five your buddy after a successful battle.
At any rate, I hope the above proves to be informative. I look forward to posting here in future.
Kind regards,
- Katsuhiro
*Let's all ignore my pretentious Japanese name. If anyone would like to play with me, feel free to add my Gamertag: Katsuhiro 1139.
