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Five things you should know about Resident Evil 5
We're just under a month away from the release of Resident Evil 5, the controversial horror game from Capcom. If you've kept up with the preview coverage, you've seen the noise, hype, expectations, and misconceptions about the game. I'd like to cut through all that and instead tell you five simple things based on the time I've had actually playing. I've been through the first half of the game in each of two reviewable builds sent to the videogaming press. In those builds, there's a lot I can't talk about until the review embargo is lifted. But there are some important points I'd like to pass along.
After the jump are five things you should know about Resident Evil 5.
1) Resident Evil 5 is a resource management game.
There's a common perception that the Resident Evils are horror game. Since Resident Evil 4, some consider it straight-up action because of the emphasis on gunplay. A friend of mine described it as a turret game. But I'd disagree with all these. Resident Evil 5, even more than the previous games, is primarily about resource management. It's about how to deal with an onslaught of zombies given limited ammo and limited opportunities to heal up. It's about being careful with your shots, about learning to use the knife and the finishing movies, about figuring out when to run and when to stand firm. This is especially apparent in the way Resident Evil 5 is divided into discrete encounters in which you have to scrounge for and carefully conserve your ammo in a closed off area inundated with zombies.
Traditionally, this is a big part of survival horror. The original survival horror game, 1992's Alone in the Dark, was set in a single location with about twelve bullets and no more three places to heal damage. Since most games are afraid to simply make you weak, they instead present you with the daunting calculus of so many monsters and so few bullets. Because otherwise, you're just going to have a lot of gunplay with the occasional scripted cat scare (see FEAR 1 and 2, Undying, Blood, and many other games with horror settings minus any meaningful horror gameplay).
2) Resident Evil 5 is not very different from Resident Evil 4.
Remember the first time you played Resident Evil 4? If you were a fan of the series, it was a revelation. No Resident Evil game had been like this before. The jump from Resident Evil 3 to Resident Evil 4 was a revolution on a couple of levels. The setting - villages in Spain - was unique. The interface - hey, this is kind of like a slightly clunky shooter instead of an entirely clunky adventure game! - was at last relatively handy. And the graphics and animation were rich, atmospheric, and all the more stunning considering they were on the Gamecube.
Well, there's no such jump this time. Resident Evil 5 is very much a continuation of Resident Evil 4.
3) A lot of you will hate the controls.
This is partly a corollary of #2, but it deserves its own entry, since there's a fair bit of noise about the improved interface. Don't believe it. There is nothing like running and gunning here. You have to stop, aim, and carefully shoot. The controls aren't going to let you do things like circle strafe, run backwards while blowing away the oncoming mob, or easily toss a grenade. You will not be able to put to use your carefully honed Halo skills. Even the inventory is going to confound you. You can use the d-pad to swap among your choice of four items or weapons, but you can't mange this stuff with zombies bearing down on you. The inventory will not pause the game, which works wonders in terms of consistent pacing, but won't do your blood pressure any favors. Resident Evil 5 will keep moving whatever you do, and the interface isn't there to help you so much as to force preparation and hard choices.
4) Resident Evil 5 is a co-op game, through and through.
Ashley was a liability in the previous Resident Evil. She was there to whine, squeal, be saved, and occasionally help you pull a lever. But your partner in Resident Evil 5, Sheva, is on entirely equal footing with Chris Redfield. In fact, if it weren't for Chris being the default character in solo games, you could just as easily make an argument that Sheva is the lead character. Even more so than Gears of War, this is a game built around being played by two characters in tandem. The AI does a passable job filling in if you're playing solo, but you're going to miss out on a lot of nuance. It's important who's using which weapon and who has which inventory items. It's important whether Sheva or Chris picks up that box of pistol ammo or that red plant or the single grenade you've found. It's important where each character is standing in relations to the other. It's important that you watch each other's backs. Capcom clearly intends that you'll get the most out of Resident Evil 5 if you have a friend along, either online or split screen.
5) Resident Evil 5 is in questionable taste at best, and flat-out offensive at worst.
Believe the controversy.
Is Resident Evil 5 racist? That's between you and whatever definition you have for racism. However, there's no denying some clumsy imagery of a white man driving back mobs of ravening black men, some in full tribal get-up with their shields and spears. Is it appropriate given the African setting? Sure. Is it going to raise eyebrows given the contemporary cultural climate? It already has. It will continue to do so. If you thought there were points of questionable taste with what looked like a lynching (it's actually a beheading, but there seems to have been some hanging going on as well), you ain't seen nothin' yet.
Whether you're personally offended is beside the point. There will be people offended by Resident Evil 5, and Capcom seems utterly oblivious to the point. Whether it's the lynch mob in the beginning, the sullying and execution of the blonde woman, or the fight against a traditional African tribe, this will be a lightning rod for controversy. The occasional token white zombie just looks silly. Racial quotas among the undead? Pointing out that Sheva is black is silly. She's safely black in the same way as Halle Berry, which is to say not very. Enjoy your time out of the spotlight, Rockstar. It's Capcom's turn!
But what's important to realize is that this isn't a brouhaha just for the sake of a brouhaha. It's a legitimate issue and one that videogaming should get used to confronting. We're sitting at the grown-up table now, with movies at our right elbow and television at our left elbow, and music across from us and even books down at the far end of the table. This is where we wanted to sit, so we're going to be held to different standards than we were ten, or even five years ago.
I'm looking forward to playing Resident Evil 5, even though I have problems with certain aspects of the design. It's a well-made game that delivers a tense cinematic experience in a mostly unique setting. And I'm also looking forward to Capcom being held accountable for it, because it's also an oblivious cultural gaffe, similar to someone showing up in blackface at a Halloween party. Yeah, it's Halloween, so you can get away with a lot, but, uh, that's what you're going to go with?
By Greg at 10:15 AM ON 02/20/09
I'm trying to limit my commenting but you always manage to bring up interesting comments. So props to you for a good blog that isn't just trying to sell me something.
I think we're entering a time where the racists are actually the people who keep bringing up race. I place a lot of blame on professors desperate to publish to keep the racism thing going longer than it really should, and Abe Lincoln too, but I digress.
I'm not complaining at all about this post, let me make that clear. Very well handled. (Don't get a big head, I would have played RE5 without you telling me to play it, and I'm pissed that you've played part of it already when all I got is a demo. And yeah if I have another kid I'd probably name him Capcom. And yes Capcom will probably save the world economy and foster world peace by helping to put an end to the zombie menace.)
But if you’re (not Tom but the world at large) counting the number of black or white people in a game, you just might be a racist (but not a redneck), or at least fostering racism. I often remember a scene from a movie I watched long ago about a blind man. He was in bed with a woman who asked him after sex, “How did you know I was black?” His response: “You’re black? Oh my God, I’m color blind too!”
By salwon at 10:25 AM ON 02/20/09
Did you read the post? Do you have any idea why people are seeing racist undertones? Here's a hint: it's not just because the zombies are black.
Your "But only REAL racists see race!" argument is ridiculously juvenile. Pretending race doesn't exist does nothing to help the discussion.
By Cubit at 10:33 AM ON 02/20/09
I think N'Gai Croal's initial thoughts on seeing the RE5 trailer sum up my thoughts pretty well:
“It’s like when you engage that kind of imagery you have to be careful with it. It would be like saying you were going to do some sort of zombie movie that appeared to be set in Europe in the 1940’s with skinny, emaciated, Hasidic-looking people. If you put up that imagery people would be saying, ‘Are you crazy?’ Well, that’s what this stuff looks like. This imagery has a history. It has a history and you can’t pretend otherwise. That imagery still has a history that has to be engaged, that has to be understood. … If you’re going to engage imagery that has that potential, the onus is on the creator to be aware of that because there will be repercussions in the marketplace.”
By bahimiron at 10:43 AM ON 02/20/09
Greg, there is a keen difference between racialism and racism. And as Tom points out, whether or not you or I see RE5 as having potentially offensive content does not matter, because someone probably will.
By Joshua at 1:35 PM ON 02/20/09
Tom, as you learned with Killzone, its not like gamers actually think critically about the games they play, or even make an attempt to. Hence all the stupid, "its in africa lol", "its just a game wtf", "you're the racist for noticing", "so it was okay to kill spaniards in re4?", etc. Many gamers quite frankly, deep down, have a pretty low opinion of games and have a similarly low level of expectation from them.
I remember the very first RE5 teaser, where it was pretty much nothing but a muscular white man striding around and being confronted by hordes of crazy-eyed black people, and said, "this is not going to go over well". It looked wrong right from the start, and it didn't take a lot to see that.
By Switchbreak at 2:44 PM ON 02/20/09
"I think we're entering a time where the racists are actually the people who keep bringing up race."
Not to attack you, Greg, but that is just pure ignorance. Acknowledging the existence of race and its significance both in the historical and modern contexts doesn't make you prejudiced, it makes you not delusional. And not only that, it's the only way to possibly move forward - closing your eyes and ears to an issue is a sure way to make it worse.
By Bacongrease at 3:54 PM ON 02/20/09
I hesitate to put this post up because this is a controversial issue but here goes
I agree with all of you and none of you race is real but it's being handled the wrong way this is about all races having equal rights and that means you have the right to vote and own land and yes the right to have me blow you up on my xbox speaking as a caucasian American it seems as though minoritys want all of the benefits with none of the downsides I am not killing them because they are black I am killing them because they are zombies
By karmaSavo at 5:02 PM ON 02/20/09
I'm personally not offended by the game at all, and I think it's a little silly that people would be offended by it. That's not to say though that it wouldn't happen. I'm somewhat surprised that Capcom would put in such obvious imagery; the game isn't really challenging anyone's moral beliefs (zombies and all) so I don't see why the creators deemed it a good decision. To me, it's just taking some unnecessary risks for little benefit, to the company, the industry, or society.
By MattG at 5:19 PM ON 02/20/09
It's funny how there was never any controversy about the game Todd McFarlane's Evil Prophecy, just because nobody wanted to play a stupid game made by stupid Todd McFarlane. It was a billion times worse than this game, because there was a Frankenstein stage, a Wolfman stage, a Dracula stage, and-- a Black People stage. Bones in the noses and loincloths and big lips all around.
By Jase at 6:29 PM ON 02/20/09
Whether or not people will view this game as offensive is sort of a moot point; someone is always offended by something. Whether or not they SHOULD view it as offensive is also almost moot; everyone has an opinion. But still, that's the easier topic to address. I can see where people on both sides of the issue are coming from, on the one hand the imagery is powerful and slightly biased it seems, but on the other it IS entirely possible for a person to just NOT consider race, which I thought was the direction we all wanted to go anyways. Perhaps topics such as this need to be highlighted and discussed, but it seems to me that letting an issue drop, becoming color-blind so to speak, is not ignoring the issue. It is choosing to hold it as a non-issue.
By Darkness at 12:55 AM ON 02/21/09
I do not believe this game is racist and I do not believe the development team set out to make a racist game. I did recognize from the first trailer that people were going to overreact and be offended and claim that it is racist. I do not think as a society that we will ever be beyond seeing the image of a person from one race kill another person from another race and not claim that it is racist. We are tied to our fears and hate and ignorance of other people, cultures, and religions. We will never be completely equal, we will always distrust outsiders to some level. I wish we all could live together without racism but it is tied to the deepest parts of our psyche to fear and hate outsiders for our own safety. Even though this is just a game and they are zombies it is immediately and painfully obvious that it can and will be construed as racist. That will NEVER change unless we fundamentally change as a species and stop hating and fearing each other and looking for racism. If you look for something hard enough you will find it. I know that it is pretty easy to make that leap here but what I am saying is that it is all about perspective. We have evolved a fear and hate of outsiders through the 100,000 years of our human history and through the millions of years of history as organisms on this planet and it will be hard to unlearn. I do believe that to stop racism every race, color, and creed must be COMPLETELY equal in every way but because there are differences between races and attitudes we all hold this is not possible or practical so we must find some other way to co-exist. It is an ancient lesson through time that we hate those different from ourselves, it has played out countless times and will continue to happen in the future. I do not believe in affirmative action because it is saying that black people are lesser and need a handycap, the best person regardless of age, race, or religion should win. But I do believe that white people drawing more attention to this and saying it is racist is not helping but making it worse. Reverse racists are still racist. I do believe as Bacongrease said if we are all equal you should not be offended and you should get to kill every race in your games. Does this mean when a black person kills a white person in a game they are racist? Is that okay and not racist? If you think so then you are racist. Equality, any positive or negative preferential treatment based on race is wrong! Singling out people based on race or religion and treating them different is wrong. We are all Americans, we should start acting like it.
By Darkness at 1:31 AM ON 02/21/09
Tom Chick WHERE THE FUCK DO YOU GET OFF SAYING THAT SHIVA IS NOT BLACK! "Pointing out that Sheva is black is silly. She's safely black in the same way as Halle Berry, which is to say not very". FUCK YOU! How black is black enough to be considered Black? President Obama is 6% Black yet everyone thinks he is black. I am more Native American than he is yet when you look at me you would not say I am a Native American. This is like someone is a little gay or a little dead; either you are or you are not. You are just looking at the surface. This is like the controversy over a Japanese cellphone commercial that was posted on youtube.com but if the jackasses had taken the time to see under the surface instead of getting angry they would have realized that it had nothing to do with Obama but a company trying to get people to "change" their phone service provider. Ignorance is a rampant plague and you do not even know you are infected because you have no will to be educated. I am okay with people who are born stupid it is not their fault, it was the card they were dealt but most people are stupid by choice and that I will not forgive. Do you know anything about African culture or history? I do not think so. Do you know how the white North Africans have oppressed the black South Africans? Research and learn the background of things before you open your mouth and judge. No company that big would release a racist game.
By Pogo at 1:41 AM ON 02/21/09
Whoa whoa whoa
Blood's gunplay was not meaningless!
By Juan Torres at 12:20 PM ON 02/21/09
Do we consider Spaniards 'white?' No body mentioned anything about Spain being the setting in Resident Evil 4, and that the zombies were primarily poor rural folks of dark complexion? Where was the outcry about using those on the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder?
The so-called controversy about Resident Evil 5 is either one, or both, of two things: America's continued battle with 'white guilt' (how many radio programs did you hear white American's say they voted for Obama because it was time for a black president) or, worse, it is the known titillation this will stir with those types of people that the media is exploiting.
By DrWhom at 1:32 PM ON 02/21/09
Being white I'm offended by Resident Evil #1 All the stupid slow zombies were white ! Some of us can move fast when we need to !
The people who drum of the race card are people who want to be treated as superior not as equals. They need to get over themselves and spend their energy on helping where it really counts helping their fellow man who may be sick, homeless or hungry regardless of the persons skin color. Theses people are the true racist and should be the ones that the human race should scrutenize.
By edog at 5:44 PM ON 02/21/09
ALLL i have to say is residenet evil 4 was a wonderful game coming from a latin american. playing the game and understanding what your enemy is saying is sweet!!! so the african comunity should get of feel the same great experince i had. i cant wait for my resident evil 5 collectors edition .
By Da'Man at 7:44 AM ON 02/22/09
wtf are u talking about racism here for? the game takes place in Africa, right...a lot of blacks there right? duh! I am very well educated; however, I will not try to use "big" words to try to impress you as some of you seem to think it impresses us. In the root of current racism, blacks are nurturing the argument. Is there a white entertainment network? no. Are there white-only award shows? no. The list goes on and on and is ridiculous! This is a game!
OMG, afro samurai is racist...omg! Tards!
By Bahimiron at 10:54 AM ON 02/22/09
Da'man, you do realize that the content of your post is pretty racist, right?
(Also, not particularly indicative of an educated man.)
Seriously, though. Everyone who keeps saying 'if people would stop seeing racism, racism would stop happening'? It's called a possessive investment in whiteness. Look it up.
By DRWHOM at 6:15 PM ON 02/22/09
Bahimiron, You are a real piece of work. So Da'man is being racist because he dares to point out the obvious. You are one sad disgusting human being.
By Bahimiron at 11:05 PM ON 02/22/09
I /am/ pretty awesome. Thanks for the compliments, Doctor! :)
By Charlie Six at 11:18 PM ON 02/22/09
Folks, please stop saying "this game isn't racist" or what not when you haven't even played the full game yet.
Penny Arcade's Tycho, Eurogamer.com, and now Tom Chick have all pointed out offensive imagery in RE5. And these are people who have actually played the full game. They have the ability to make an informed opinion.
By malkav at 3:44 AM ON 02/23/09
We'll just have to wait and see if it's really that disturbing/offensive.( It differs from person to person)
First time I saw the Trailer I was like: 'Dammit, that looks cool, and how original: "zombies" in Africa!'
Before the Trailer ended I realised there would be a lot of panicking/offended/whiny people screaming racism!! and what not...
I'll just wait and see what Capcom will bring me,.. nonetheless I'm really lokking forward to this RE installment.
By Greg at 11:47 AM ON 02/23/09
The cartoon Southpark had an excellent episode on race. Southpark wanted to bring back a flag which showed a black stick figure getting hanged by four white stick figures. The kids didn't see a big deal about it, and when Chef (a black character) tried to teach the kids better, he finally asked them what they saw. They replied that they saw four guys hanging another guy. They saw five people. Chef finally understood that they were looking at all of these stick figures as people rather than white or black people, and he realized this was the whole goal of equality.
So when I say "we're entering a time where the racists are actually the people who keep bringing up race" I stand behind it. What I'm saying is that some in society look for race as an issue. The old fashion racists still exist, but they’ve become marginalized by society. What I'm saying is that many of us have moved beyond looking for it everywhere.
Yes, it is equally racist to have a Black Entertainment Television network than to have a White Entertainment Television one. Yes, it is equally racist to have Ebony magazine than to have an Ivory magazine. Yes, it is equally racist to have Black history month than to have White history month.
If you think it's racist for white people to say certain words than it should be equally racist for black people to say those same words. If you don't think it's racist for anybody to say those words than there's no problem there.
Racism comes closer to ending (but it never quite will) when black history become celebrated along with white history and everything in between, when achievement isn't qualified by race, and when we are looking to support people’s rights simply because they are people.
I'm in an odd demographic because I'm not white, but I've never really identified culturally with any particular group. Age wise I'm in that middle generation like so many of you, so I don't have a lot of the (sometimes justifiable) hang-ups that the older crowd has, but I'm not so young as to be oblivious to it.
I get that we are all coming from different perspectives and fully support free speech. Yet my argument is that if you want to move away from racism in general, then segregation in any form isn't the way to go. It's one thing to celebrate culture, and I'll enjoy and help people do that, but to do it in an exclusive manner, while I will tolerate because of free speech and all, I will also criticize for being overtly exclusive.
So yeah I get the point when some may say regarding RE5 that it may not be cool to have scenes of a white guy attacking a bunch of black guys (I've only played the demo so have to work on some assumption and speculation). But I also get that the RE franchise so far mostly had a bunch of white guy heroes and are trying to place this version somewhere on the African continent.
Maybe it's a fair argument that their heroes are mostly white, but my guess is that they are trying to appeal to (or think they're appealing to) a mostly white market (but doesn’t this game do well in Asia also?). This is changing I think and I suspect we'll naturally start seeing a lot more black heroes, especially now that Obama is president and he happens to be black or at least looks black because he's also the same amount white. So technically he's white too, and it would be fair to call him white as much as it would be fair to call him black.
Which brings me to this female character. I don't know if she is black or white. I've seen her in the demo. As expected for a female video game character she's kind of hot. The other day in the grocery store I noticed a woman on a cover of a magazine whose name I read was Rihanna (yes, I had no idea who she was until I just looked her up just now) that I thought was also hot. Is she black? I think the answer to both questions, at least for me, is who cares? I don't.
I'm not sure but I think the black zombie population prior to RE5 was under-represented, I didn't mind too much then or now. If it makes people happy, then I'll support Capcom if they have a new black male super-cop hero, but you can't just forget about story consistency, so I'll expect some of the old storyline to be maintained with other character coming along. Just do what makes sense based on storyline and environment.
We may not be where everybody wants to be racially with RE5, but I think we're at least heading in the right direction. For the record I'm Latino so maybe my opinion doesn't count in the whole black-white debate, but I don't celebrate Latino history month or even know if there is one. And no my voice doesn't count for more when it comes to Latino issues so I'm not offended at all when white or black people talk about border control and immigration issues. That's a real issue no matter what side you fall on that has nothing to do about race yet people like to make it so.
Race cannot be summarized in a book so it can never be properly handled here. That we are open to talking about it is good. My position is simply to not get hung up on it.
As many have pointed out, if we look hard enough we could find racism in many other forms in RE5 and elsewhere. Again my point is "Why are you looking?" The better course would be to write Capcom and say something like, "Dear Capcom: I make a decent amount of money and have noticed that all of your zombies are poorly dressed. I'm concerned that the better dressed are not represented in your zombie populations. This concerns me because this suggests that people of refined tastes are beneath zombies and not fit for zombie consumption. I'm sure this is a complete oversight on your part and look forward to equal representation in the future. Sincerely, Greg. (p.s. ugly non-zombie chicks seem to be severely under-represented also."
By Amurigo at 3:23 PM ON 02/24/09
Greg, are you telling me this is your position on race?
http://www.theonion.com/content/cartoon/mar-31-2008
By mister slim at 11:40 PM ON 02/24/09
Sheva looks more Arabic to me, and that's what her name indicates as well.
By ram0n3 at 2:43 AM ON 02/26/09
here's a thought...if a game offends you, just don't buy it!
I'm a black man myself, and I'm looking forward to this game. Granted, if there is a blatant attempt in the game to be racist, then yes, I'll be offended. But the series has gone to different locales, and you would expect black people and tribal people in Africa. People are condemning and criticizing and the game isn't even out yet, so we don't know what's really in it aside from reviews.
By chaostheory6682 at 5:34 AM ON 02/26/09
Maybe I'm a little old fashion but I liked the older resident evil games much better. I hated RE4, the controls sucked, The third person perspective gave it a more FPS feel and it did away with the irry surprise and mystery(you know that horror feeling) that other RE games had. It's to bad to hear that RE5 is going to be more of that. BOO!!
And black people in Africa, who would have thunk it!! no way!!
By Dad_Delzer at 9:57 AM ON 02/26/09
"I'll support Capcom if they have a new black male super-cop hero." This got me thinking. A mystery-shooter based on 'Shaft' or 'Superfly' would be totally cool. Set it in '70s Detroit or Chicago with noir atmospherics... And the MUSIC would totally cool!
By Greg at 11:04 AM ON 02/26/09
@Amurigo, no. Like other political issues, I share views with various political factions, but to lump me in with any one would be wrong.
We definitely should talk about race the same as we should talk about everything else for no other reason than it gives us something to do. What I'm arguing is that WHEN we talk about it, we must consider that people think differently.
Not every police officer that shoots a black or Latino kid is a racist like many people desperate to get on television claim. Sure some are. Others might just be a bit too eager to get some action. Others make honest mistakes. I’m sure a white kid or two gets shot by a police officer every once in a while, but I never seem to hear about it.
America and parts elsewhere is fixated on intent. We have this obsession of trying to control how people think. Many of our laws vary based on intent (e.g., murder and obscenity). This is problematic because one of our ideals is supposed to be an underlying freedom. If not to do what you want to an extent, at least to be able to believe and think what you want (even if it leads to idiocy).
So really I'm ok with racists so long as their actions don't cause damage to others. I'm also ok with people being jerks in general so long as they don't hurt anybody. What I try to focus on is the action a person commits regardless of how they feel about it. Yet this is often difficult and our instinct to shift back to intent-based analysis is strong.
This is where we get back to the subject matter: video games, and specifically RE5. The physical game does not harm anyone unless a third party picks it up and throws it at another individual. This should probably not be the fault of the developer (although their lawyers will probably now suggest to add a disclaimer that Capcom is not responsible for any bodily injury caused by using this video game as a projectile). So the only argument is to if the content of the game does harm.
This question unfortunately completely depends on the laws of the land. In my opinion a video game is not much different than a television show, movie, oil painting, book, magazine, etc. Any form of expression shares the basic characteristic that it represents a (or one) perspective of the author. It isn't the author or not even necessarily the author's viewpoint. It is only a perspective that the author has conceived.
We could get into a drawn out argument about "scientific" research that "proves" certain elements in media are "bad" for (stupid) people. This view overlooks the fact that this media, this activity, is completely voluntary, and very few governments will force their citizens to play RE5 (which is unfortunate for Capcom).
What I'm saying is that sure some people are bigots. Others aren't. That's what they are. You don't gain anything pointing them out and saying how big a bigot they are (unless you're getting paid to be on a talk show or "news" show). Some might argue that it is a service for some to point out material that might be offensive. Maybe that's true. But maybe it's true that if you can't handle something that's offensive than maybe you should move back home with mommy and daddy.
What I'm questioning is why actively spend so much energy looking for the stuff you don't like? If you run across something you don’t like, then don’t take part in it. If you buy RE5 and can't play it because you're offended then take it back and get your money back (yeah good luck with that). Or at least don't by future Capcom games and let them know you won't. But if you have killed the zombie menace and then run out of things to do, why spend your new free time complaining about something you chose to do?
Personally I like things that push our boundaries. It helps me understand where my own boundaries are and why. So I'm willing to give Capcom the benefit of the doubt, and I'm willing to talk about race in RE5, but I will not create blanket generalizations based on my personal feelings.
It's a valid argument to state that you felt some aspect was or was not racist, but it is invalid to then conclude that the person who created the aspect is a racist or is being racist. If we are really discussing race, then we need to include a discussion about various viewpoints. And as I mentioned previously, many people aren't even considering race, and I further add that they really shouldn’t if we really believe in equality. The discussion should focus on helping Capcom understand viewpoints other than their own, but it is invalid to make conclusions on anything other than ourselves.
If you experience what you think is racism in RE5, then I would first question why do you think you feel this aspect is racist? Why might others not? Much of what we do is offensive to someone, yet we’ve developed a tolerance and ignore most of it. As long as Capcom is not actively seeking to belittle a group based on race, then I’m willing to chalk up things to a question of taste. And as long as that police officer isn’t running around town shooting minority kids, then I’d recommend keeping investigations down to why he shot a kid rather than why he shot a black or Latino kid.
If anyone should be offended, it should be zombies. Oh! Now I finally get it! The whole “zombie” thing is a cleverly disguised reference to a particular race of people. Those racists! (Believe it or not many professional academic papers create arguments along these lines.)
Talk about race, yes. Actively look for racism, no.
By Gamecuber7 at 4:00 AM ON 02/27/09
No matter what, I've been a fan of Resident Evil since its origins. I can't wait for this game, and reading too deeply in between the lines like this is what causes great games to gain controversy. Keep in mind that RE is simply a game series set in a non real scenario. The main character's race shouldn't have to do much with how a game is played or received.
By Anonymous at 11:45 AM ON 03/01/09
It's in afracia!!!
We killed millions of whites In RE 4 and who sued??
How about this we all sue anytime our race is in a place that they would logicly be?
Gays in prison?
Whites in office?
Jews in isreal?
Fat people in mcdanalds?
By Mike at 7:11 PM ON 03/04/09
I really don't understand what's so controversial about this game. It takes place in Africa, which is predominantly Black. RE4 didn't spark up controversy, and the game had the player only killing enemies of Hispanic/Latin ethnicity. People are blowing this out of proportion.
By rod at 12:26 PM ON 03/17/09
Mike
There are people who object to this game only because it's a white guy killing black zombies. But what if they had put a German hero who was sent to kill Israeli zombies? Do you really think there would be no accusations of racism/antisemitism? Or what about a Japanese hero killing Chinese, Koreans or South-East Asians... There are a lot of people who hold a deep grudge towards Japan and the Japanese people because of past Japanese actions. I can guarantee you Capcom would never risk picking such a combination first, because they know they'd get bashed, and it could even cause diplomatic incidents with other Asian nations, and anti-Japanese protests. There have been anti-Japanese protestations in China recently, where Japanese nationals have been attacked, and businesses connected to Japan were vandalized. I bet many of the same people who find nothing wrong with RE5 would admonish Capcom if they made such a game, and would say it's trying to justify of the cruel and racist Japanese colonialism. What about a Turk killing Armenian zombies? A Serb killing Albanian zombies?
And do you really think there'd be no one to protest if instead, the game was about a black guy killing white zombies? When it was announced the hero of GTA San Andreas would be black, many gamers said they wouldn't play the game, that they couldn't identify with a black hero... Yet, nobody ha any problem identifying with a blue hedgehog... If that isn't a proof racism still exists, and amongst young people too!
You can deplore the fact that one isn't able to make a game with a white/German/Japanese/Turk/Serb hero killing (respectively) Africans/Israelis/Chinese, Koreans or South-East Asians/Armenians/Albanians. But you'd have to be really naive to think no one would object. And that's because of past history. Few people complained about RE4 (yes, there were people who thought RE4 was racist and/or stereotypical too) because there is no history of "white" people pretending they're of a superior "race" and enslaving and colonizing the Spaniards. It's because to many people RE5 reminds them of slavery, colonization and racist follies that they object to it. It's because of the history behind it. Not that I agree that a white guy killing a black zombie is racist in itself, but I'm not surprised some people find this distasteful.
Secondly, and this is a completely valid concern, it would seem the game uses imagery which is reminiscent of racist propanganda and movies like "The Birth of A Nation". For example, there supposedly is a scene in the game where a group of black men drag a white woman by the hair to a dark alley, and then proceed to smash her skull. Why a "white" woman? Most Africans are "black", so what are the chances a random group of men would gang up on a white woman instead of a black woman? It's reminiscent of the racist stereotype which presents black men as predators who are a danger to white women.
So, obviously, Capcom wanted to stir controversy, or maybe someone on their team really is acting out a racist fantasy.
Also, the way Africa is presented in movies and TV often has a racist undertone, talks of tribalism, barbary, savagery etc. 19th century imagery and beliefs about the "dark" continent is still alive and kicking. The same goes for all non Western continents, talk about eating cats and dogs and watch racist comments about those "barbaric chinks" fly...
By PlayingKarrde at 1:07 PM ON 03/18/09
This article is FIVE things about Resident Evil 5 you should know, and yet everyone is focusing on the race issue. It's boring now, let's move on. Everyone else has.
The game has some serious issues, most of which have been called out in this article, but I still found myself having fun and spending stupid hours collecting and buying weapons and emblems, that, once I have will probably never use.
So for that I both commend and condemn this game.
By april at 10:05 AM ON 04/05/09
I loved it!
april:
I loved it!...More »