Shooting

My wife bought me the PS3 collector's edition of Resident Evil 5 on the day it came out. She knew that I hadn't yet decided which system I wanted the game for, and that I might end up trading it out, but she figured it would be a nice surprise to bring it home on release day anyway. (And yes, it was a really great surprise.)

The crux of my indecision came down to deciding between better graphics on a crappier system or slightly worse graphics on a more reliable system. My wife warned me that I might regret getting the 360 version if the system died. But my 360 (my second console after my first died over a year ago) had been pretty stable for a while without any problems.

An outdated roller coaster that's still a good ride

HIGH Co-op is a great addition to the Resident Evil formula.

LOW The controls are way out of touch with current standards.

WTF A half-naked tribesman drops grenade rounds? Where were they hidden, exactly?

Just found this in my inbox, courtesy of the good folks at Capcom.

We are happy to announce that the wait for new Resident Evil 5 content is almost over!  The new online multiplayer Versus mode will be available to download on Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, April 7, 2009.  For 400 Microsoft Points on Xbox LIVE, or $4.99 on the PlayStation Network, Resident Evil fans will be able to go up against each other for the most terrifying Versus mode to date.

Versus allows up to four players to match wits in online battles across two very different game types. Slayer’s Rule is a point-based game that challenges players to kill Majinis. In Survivor’s Rule, players hunt the most dangerous game, each other! Players can begin the hunt as Chris, Sheva or other secret characters, and choose from either one-on-one or two-versus-two team matches for either of the two gameplay styles.

Now, let the debate as to whether or not we should have to pay $5 for this content commence…

Killzone 2 has the Playstation fanbase divided; on this week’s show we take our stand. Plus, reviews we’d like to take back, and the sexiest listener e-mail segment ever! With Chi Kong Lui, Brad Gallaway, Mike Bracken, and Tim Spaeth.

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Topic and Game References:

• Killzone 2
• Gears of War
• Halo
• Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis
• Ready 2 Rumble Boxing
• Fallout 3
• Lost Planet: Extreme Conditions
• Ninja Golf
• Ribbit King
• Kirby's Dream Course
• Leisure Suit Larry
• Mass Effect
• Star Ocean: The Last Hope
• Onechanbara
• Rapelay
• The Sims
• Indigo Prophecy
• Fear Effect

Please send mailbag questions to podcast (at) gamecritics (dot) com.

"Gettin' good players is easy.  Gettin' 'em to play together is the hard part." -Casey Stengel

HIGH The frenzy of a tank battle in versus mode.

LOW When players quit in the middle of a match and I'm forced to deal with the CPU players.

WTF Since when is it healthy to chug an entire bottle of pills?

There aren't many video games that do a good job of bringing in significant others, at least not of the kinds of games that I like to play. Sure, there are the standbys like Guitar Hero and its ilk. Super Mario Galaxy did sort of okay in this respect, albeit in a limited fashion. Of course, there are many Wii games that appeal to spouses, such as Wii Sports, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, and countless other lesser titles. But those aren't the kinds of games I usually want to play. So what's a gaming-oriented guy to do? Enter Resident Evil 5.

Endangered species

HIGH The Kraken fight is pretty scary.

LOW If I never shoot another black body armour wearing stormtrooper, it'll be too soon.

WTF There are flying babies with razor-sharp fangs and insect wings. If only this monster design had been used in a better game.