It is not surprising that Capcom has come down with a case of Nintendo syndrome in that they are constantly adding or reviving the Resident Evil franchise every two years or so. Unfortunately, from what I've seen of this Resident Evil 5 trailer, it doesn't look like anyone has attempted to take the concept any further. In fact, I am almost certain that Resident Evil 5 is Resident Evil 4.
Don't believe me? Well let's first look at Resident Evil 4. It features the return of Leon Kennedy, a survivor of the Raccoon city incident who goes on a quest to find a young girl who happens to be the president's daughter. His quest takes him to a small peasant village in Spain where, surprise surprise, the T-Virus has not only mutated itself but infected the entire village. Leon's job not only becomes to save the girl, but also to find out how this village became infected. Now let's look at what we know about Resident Evil 5. It features the return of Chris Redfield, a survivor from the first Resident Evil game who is sent to investigate mysterious goings on in a desert locale.
It would seem to me that Capcom has simply put out the same game twice. Even worse is the apparent lack of any change in gameplay design as seen below.
Anyways, I've danced around the elephant in the room long enough so let's get to it. Racism.
Capcom may have made a grave error in having the village be inhabited by black people because it can be guaranteed that the politically correct community will be out for more blood than the undead themselves. And some may say, “Nick, you super intelligent bastard, Capcom isn't being deliberately racist so why does it matter if the villagers are black?” It matters plenty. Whether it is deliberately racist or not, the message can still get across to impressionable audiences and thus the responsibility lies upon Capcom to make sure that such a message isn't relayed.
I'm almost certain that at least one person is reading this and thinking “this guy must also think that violent video games cause small children to become hell spawn”. Actually I don't. I find that argument very misinformed, but that's another article. However, when we begin dealing with the notions of racism we enter much murkier waters. It should also be noted that I am not accusing Capcom of racism. It would be pants-on-head retarded for me to do something like that, so I will leave that job to someone who has bigger balls than I.
Of course, Resident Evil 4 was just as guilty of racism as well since it takes place in an evil peasant village in Spain. I was almost surprised not to see a note from the developer reading “I hate the Spanish”. But maybe that's just me. The problem now is that racism is obviously more noticeable in Resident Evil 5 in that the game seems more like a jingoistic pamphlet from the 1870s than a credible work. Don't believe me? Then consider this: a middle-aged, well-built, white male enters a village of poor black villagers who have become infected with a disease that makes them mindless, savage cannibals. Did I mention the white guy had a gun? Or several guns? If that isn't ripe with University-level term-paper analysis then I don't know what is.
But perhaps I am being a little hard on Capcom. I mean, how seriously can you take a game that's sole plot twist has been “there are more zombies, and possibly monsters”? Resident Evil has always felt as if it were written by an 8 year old with ADHD and an abnormally vivid and gory imagination. I guess my point to all this is that although Capcom may probably face a few waves of angry parents and social groups, it won't be in any real trouble unless Resident Evil 5 also features a Popeye's or KFC.
