On The Precipice with Resident Evil 5 (Spoilers, maybe?)

Since we last spoke, I've battled my way through Resident Evil 5's wormy monstrous hordes with Sheva at my side and was relieved and excited to face the final showdown with Wesker. And what a showdown it is. I successfully battled him on the ship and survive the quicktime events aboard the aircraft. Now, crashlanded on an active volcano, I am stuck. About 2/3 of the way through what I imagine is the truly final fight, I am unable to proceed. Wesker's big mutated arm and wormy armor continues to best me. As I see the "You Are Dead" screen fade-in over the action and press X to start over from the last checkpoint, I can't help but wonder if it's worth it. Is the closing cinema of this game going to be so excellent that I should muster all my skills (and any tips I can find online) to lay this villain to rest? Are there any other awards or achievements that I gain from finishing the very very end of the game? I know it should be a matter of pride and I am struggling with the ethical issue of whether I deserve any feeling of accomplishment if I don't lay this beast to rest truly and completely. I guess I am convincing myself here to do the right thing. Hopefully when I post next I'll be able to report that I've beaten the game...

Resident Evil 5 - Day 2

Ok, so last night I endeavored to continue my Resident Evil 5 adventure and now feel pretty embarrassed by my remarks from yesterday. Dark Avenger, my partner from the previous night was not around to join me this time so I started the game with a computer controlled Sheva at my side. In the course of a few minutes I had a Join Game request and rather than start back at the beginning of the level, I continued knowing that this online partner could join at the next checkpoint, which is indeed what they did.

It was odd at first to be playing with a new partner. I felt the same rush of accountability - I needed to be a good shot, share spoils, etc. I did all this as we ventured through the marshland visiting various tribal villages by air-boat. My partner was also very good at managing inventory, making sure to call me over to be healed so that Sheva could replace a green herb in her inventory. Also using the limited commands - "go!", "c'mon", "wait", - my clearly more experienced partner guided me through some of the treacherous action that befell us. Then at the end of the level, my partner left the game. Had I been a crummy Chris Redfield or did the player just have to go? I'll never know...

I continued playing with computer-controlled Sheva and actually realized that I actually prefer the game this way. After all my blathering about the sense of duty I felt playing on a two-person team, I found out that I'd been missing the chance to explore the game at my own pace because I was rushing to keep up with my cohort. I guess I am rethinking the sense of chivalry I had experienced first playing RE5 with someone else and now realize that it's not as noble as I'd originally imagined. People drop in and out of games for whatever reason - the other player sucks, time for dinner, bored with this level, anything. Online co-op adds replay value to this game for me but I think I am going to go it alone until at least finishing the game once.

Resident Evil 5 with Dark Avenger

I got a gift card for my 36th birthday and took the opportunity to pick up the recently released Resident Evil 5 for Playstation 3. Last night after dinner, I fired it up and started a new 'amateur' game. You'll come to learn that my gaming skills do not match my enthusiasm. Upon starting the first level, I recieved a Join Game request from an unknown online player. I was given the option of having him join at the next level or I could restart the level. As I had just started the game, I chose the second option and restarted the game with my new partner. Let's call him Dark Avenger.

Dark Avenger took the role of new character Sheva and I played as Chris Redfield. As I mentioned before, I am not the greatest player and it takes me a while to get comfortable with individual game control schemes. Even though I knew nothing of my partner's skill or experience, I assumed that he was familiar with RE5 and would be more than competent. Why else would he be online looking to join someone else's game as opposed to starting his own in the hopes of learning the control scheme, etc? I felt that I had to make sure to keep up with his character as she navigated the alleyways and shack interiors of Kijuju, Africa, the fictional setting of the game. I was also compelled to share any spoils of war that I stumbled across or won after a fight with the game's infected locals. Basically, I wanted to be a good partner to Dark Avenger and prove to this person that I was worth their willingness to join me in this adventure.

Resident Evil 5 is truly based around cooperative play, whether you're playing offline with a friend, online with a friend or in this case stranger, or even using a computer controlled partner. Many goals can only be accomplished by skillfully working with your partner in various ways and furthermore when one of you dies, the game is over for both of you.

As Dark Avenger and I played through the first two levels of the game, I was feeling confident that my time with the demo (released in early February) was serving me well and that I was proving worthy. Dark Avenger could depend on me to rescue his Sheva when in distress, provide cover, share my ammo and even administer health when necessary. And I could depend on Dark Avenger as a good shot that knew how to handle the zombie(ish) hordes of RE5. I was rewarded at the end of the third level when I saw via my in-game XMB that Dark Avenger had send me a request to add me as a friend.

We continued playing together but then as we faced a boss, my wife Jessica came into the room and tried to start up a conversation. I tried to explain to her that I was playing the game with someone online and facing a particularly challenging boss and needed to hold up my end of the team but she clearly was not interested or concerned about Chris Redfield, Sheva or Dark Avenger's fate. Fortunately for me, Dark Avenger knew how to handle the boss even as my main contribution to the extended battle ended up being as a distraction while my partner got off numerous shotgun blasts that ultimately put the beast out of it's misery.

Realizing that it was probably time for me to end my Resident Evil 5 session, I sent Dark Avenger a message after the end-of-level cinema that read "gotta go thanks for playing sorry I sucked as a partner" to which Dark Avenger kindly replied "your good lata." A concise response that was undeservedly generous to me.

Now, Dark Avenger is added to my friend list so when I boot up RE5 next, I am hopeful he'll be online and willing to continue our exploration of Kijuju together. If not, maybe I'll have to team up with the computer-controlled Sheva. I don't have a lot of friends on PSN so I really dig how Resident Evil 5's focus on teamwork and cooperative play helped me make a new gaming friend and challenged me to be the best and fairest player I could be.

More on the game later. Oh and my PSN ID is ultimatebooya if you want to add me.