Zero Punctuation: Resident Evil 5

[hoov]

It's so depressing that people are completly unable to really understand the racism issue.

The point is part of the fear the game is trying to create, plays on the fears of negative sterotypes about africa. You have to consider why capcom thought it would be a good idea to set the game in africa in the first place, and what that says about a person that they thought Africa would be a good place to set a horror game in. The story could pretty much have worked if it had been set in any other continent, but that being said there were some other legitamite reasons for setting it there.
As Yahtzee said, they aren't being racist, they just didn't think through the portrayal very carefully.

Imagine if you will a zombie game where a Black African agent goest to America, but the entiritey of America is shown as being like the town in deliverance even though the game is set in New York. And zombies are shown sitting outside wooden huts wearing dungarees, playing banjo's and eating hamburgers before they attack you.
Now obviously RE5's portrayal isn't anywhere near as crass as that but it's the area we're dealing with.

Also the design of sheva, yes she is technically black, but she's very pale, and her features aren't particulary african, it's as if capcom thought having a woman who looked more typically african wouldn't be so sexy, and so would be less appealing to gamers.

 

[Yegargeburble]

Imagine if you will a zombie game where a Black African agent goest to America, but the entiritey of America is shown as being like the town in deliverance even though the game is set in New York. And zombies are shown sitting outside wooden huts wearing dungarees, playing banjo's and eating hamburgers before they attack you.

Hate to say it, but I think I would enjoy that if it was a game...

 

[hoov]

I'm willing to expand on this idea and sell the rights to any developers that would be interested.

 

[xopher]

^^^Yep!

The only RE I played was RE:Zero for the GameCube. I didn't even get past the 2nd level because I was so bored with it, and it moved entirely too slow. I'm not really into the RE series, but I bust out laughing when he said "You're carrying armor in the pocket of your armor!"

 

[coda di lup]

I believe that the throwing spears enemies (with shields too) are but a re-edit of RE4's monks with shields and medieval weapons...
I don't think capcom intended them to be offensive, is just a misunderstanding.
I suppose that, if we see them as racist, then also the ganados from RE4 are racist. I mean, they depict spanish people living in a filthy 20th century feudality...

 

[Shaeam]

Hahaha "Carrying your armor in a pocket of your armor" That's so awesome!!!! And it's true... I've already beat Resident Evil 5, rented it while my PC was broke for 3 or 4 days... It wasnt all that great, the ending was kinda lame, no spoilers.

 

[Demagogue]

Was wating for this review, hit the nail on the head with the AI 'teammate' she is supposed to help you... right?

 

[TorenRocksRobots]

I'm biracial (half Italian half African American) and the idea of people claiming that this game is racist has always been a bit bizarre to me. I mean, the amount of white people I've needlessly slaughtered in my years of gaming far trumps the body count of any other racial demographic, and no one seems to have ever complained.

and sure, I'm certain that the Africans in this game aren't fairly or realistically depicted, but when has Capcom been able to pull off a fair and realistic depiction of anyone?

 

[TorenRocksRobots]

It's so depressing that people are completly unable to really understand the racism issue.

The point is part of the fear the game is trying to create, plays on the fears of negative sterotypes about africa. You have to consider why capcom thought it would be a good idea to set the game in africa in the first place, and what that says about a person that they thought Africa would be a good place to set a horror game in. The story could pretty much have worked if it had been set in any other continent, but that being said there were some other legitamite reasons for setting it there.
As Yahtzee said, they aren't being racist, they just didn't think through the portrayal very carefully.

Imagine if you will a zombie game where a Black African agent goest to America, but the entiritey of America is shown as being like the town in deliverance even though the game is set in New York. And zombies are shown sitting outside wooden huts wearing dungarees, playing banjo's and eating hamburgers before they attack you.
Now obviously RE5's portrayal isn't anywhere near as crass as that but it's the area we're dealing with.

Also the design of sheva, yes she is technically black, but she's very pale, and her features aren't particulary african, it's as if capcom thought having a woman who looked more typically african wouldn't be so sexy, and so would be less appealing to gamers.

...I feel as though, if you let a video game (of all things) about killing zombies in Africa shape your thoughts around an entire race of people, you've got bigger problems than being racist.

I think it's all dependent on how seriously people are meant to take this game, and it being a game I'm going to guess, not seriously at all. Now, I'm sure that there are moment in the game that have some pretty stereotypical shit in it, but I doubt its really all that bad. which doesn't make it right, but assuming you're playing this game at the age the "M" on the box suggests, then you should be able to let it roll of your back with no sweat.

 

[IamQ]

Great review as always!

 

[farrell]

youre in africa, theres a high percentage of black people there, odds are youre going to end up killing a black person...

this whole crit is pretty pointless, most games have a shitty storyline, they are games.

OMG the herbs take as much space as a gun!!! oh no!, wait, its a f*cking game, who cares. If you want reality, read a book... its a means to an end, called gameplay

the point to the limited inventory system is to have a challenge, if you have 20 spaces what would be the challenge in playing? the point is you can CHOOSE what you want at every chapter AND every time you die, that should be enough to play the game.

as for sheva, yes shes a pain but she is basically a walking inventory also. I gave her two weapons and the rest is for me when I run out. I also leave her in charge of healing me so I dont have to do it, I actually see this as an advantage, she only uses f-aid sprays when half youre life points are gone...

I played this way and everything was fine

 

[NeoDeath90]

As a matter of fact, Yahtzee was the reason I joined this site. But that;s all besides the point.

I have now officially been swayed away from this game thanks to the review. Anyone more annoying than Ashley (not to mention one that tries to be useful) is definitely a fatal flaw for a series like this. Plus, the inventory system and the blatant RE4 ripoffness really put a damper on my enthusiasm.

 

[Satoz]

Im surprised you didnt hit on the fact that most of the game was not scary...The fact that they tweaked the re4 formula isnt bad, its just learning, unfortunately their learning costs us all a whopping 60$ and in your case even more. The game is super fun with a friend (or brother) but it never quite gets scary. I mean how scared can you be when your partner has a magnum trained on a monsters head, and your shotgun just blows any enemy away, or when you can snipe... The afrian stuff didnt bug me in the slightest, and the tribal stuff wasnt bad. I mean again how many people did you hear saying re4 was super racist, or that re2 was racist? I think people should shut up and play. The inventory system is annoying as hell though.
I mean I have a pistol, rifle, and shotgun, which all take up 2 spots if you want any ammo, then the bullet vest and melee vest, leaving me with one space for a stun rod or some grenades. Seriously I think the vests should have added inventory space! i mean all those extra pockets should come in handy right.

The co-op was a giant step up though, making this game a much more enjoyable experience if you have a competent partner. Though I must say this game deviated in some sections with RE4 its feel was so similar that you would at times feel like you were playing the same game. also we need the sales guy back..

 

[L_Lawliet]

Yahtzee, you are my hero. Your work is amazingly truthful and comical. Congrats on yet another fine review.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

Everything he said is true. Absolutely true. Those were all of my problems with RE5. That's what makes Yahtzee superior. He actually points out the problems with the games instead of saying whether he liked it or not. Everyone's got different opinions. Problems are the same with everyone.

 

[clicklick]

His best review this year so far imo.

 

[MMMowman]

I can't get it to play. Maybe it's just my internet. I've tried it on three different computers. Anyone else have this problem?

 

[tcolberg]

great review! finally somebody else besides me thinks this game looks exactly the same as RE4 but with different wallpaper. why do developers continue to give players AI partners? it never works except in republic commando, but nobody played that game.

Republic Commando was great... except it was made by LucasArts, which means that it has to be flawed in some fatal way. Since every element of the gameplay and story was superb, the management at LucasArts decided it should shove the game out the door before the dev team could finish the second half of the game.

After finishing the third level of the game, you walk up to Yoda, he points up at the sky and says "Now you must take out that Star Destroyer". You think, "Oh hell yes!" And then the "Game Over" screen comes up.

 

[p1ne]

One of the best ZPs to date, methinks.

I'd be interested to know why you feel this way, with details and stuff! Of course I'd hate to be disappointed to learn you only say that because you, "Hate RE5" or something blaize but I could be pleasantly surprised and that would be great.

Personally I felt the review of "peggle" where he bags on "casual games" and their ilk was one of his best. The topic was (nearly over) ripe for ridicule and the sarcasm scathingly hilarious and brilliant.

The Zelda Phantom Hourglass (IIRC) review is good because you can tell he really likes the game and it's fun to see him struggle a bit. Actually, any review where he ends up liking the game besides himself is interesting since it's a change of pace. I think this happens to him in the Saints Row 2 review as well.

Boy, I hope you have quote notification turned on or you're never going to find this.

I don't personally feel any way about RE5 - I've only ever played the first game in the series, and not for very long either. I tend to like the ZP reviews where he really rips into a game, because that's when Yahtzee is at his funniest. It's his special talent I guess you could say. He actually says a fair amount of nice things about RE5, but the observations about the game's shortcomings, particularly the way in which he makes them, are hilarious. The graphic with the armor inside the armor cracks me up every time I see it. I also like the way he pauses or slows down for emphasis at certain points. In some recent reviews he goes a million miles per hour for the entire thing or only pauses AFTER making a joke. Pausing or slowing down BEFORE the joke seems to enhance the funny, imho.

I went back and watched the Wind Waker and Peggle reviews just for comparison, and my impressions were:

Wind Waker: Actually, he really rips this game a new one, but I didn't find the review to be all that extremely funny.

Peggle: Doesn't talk about the actual game all that much, which again is what makes most ZPs funny for me - when he's pointing out the stupid things about a game.

It doesn't really matter though, because these are all subjective opinions. Almost every Zero Punctuation is good in one way or another, because Yahtzee is a very good writer.