Jun Takeuchi Confirms Over The Shoulder Camera in RE5

[Dot50Cal]

Pro-G managed to sneak in some quick questions with Capcom's Jun Takeuchi about Resident Evil 5. He confirms that the game will retain Resident Evil 4's Over The Shoulder Camera. While this isnt really new information it is concrete evidence that the camera style will stay from an actual developer. He also recounts some office humor:

Takeuchi happily recounted how production staff at Capcom had groaned "Oh god, he's gone and invented ANOTHER one" at each of Mikami's ideas for the new instalment. Promising indeed.

Details can be read at Pro-G

Thanks to Randomwab for the heads up!

[Umon Daisuke]

Mikami, eh? boooo ... I jest, I jest.. (or do I? :p)

If the man can do anything right, it's RE, so it's rather comforting that his input is there. Much like the case when Itsuno started working on DMC3 from scratch, and sought Kamiya's input and added much of his own fighting game expertise.

[MeganGrass]

Bleh. BioHazard 5 will have to be one hell of a game in order to keep me as a fanboy. Another "let's rescue the president's daughter" scheme will have me ripping my eyes out.

I guess I just need to face the fact that BioHazard will never be what is was before, and I need to stop wasting money on their (Capcom) titles. Even Rockman is ruined...as Krieg put it elsewhere, "a Rockman title without the presence of Rockman?" Bullshit....what's next? A BioHazard title that pins the protaginist against parasitic-flash-eating-hallucenagenic dolls? Give me a break, please. *end rant*

[Nikovich]

Yeah man...
Being able to see where you're going? Fuck that noise.

[A-J]

well since RE5 will have those super fast running zombies, its just fair the game gives you a POV which makes it easier to fight. But i hope there's an optional classic view installed (long shot)

[MeganGrass]

Yeah man...
Being able to see where you're going? Fuck that noise.

Gotta love a smart ass...*sarcasm*

For those who don't like to use the grey matter inside their own skulls, what I meant was that it's going to take a hell of alot more than an Over-The-Shoulder Camera perspective to get me to even like BioHazard a percentage of what I used to. Sue me.

[Nikovich]

Well you know, it's getting pretty irritating listening to ZOMBIE fans bitch about Resident Evil finally acting upon the fact that it’s been using the same flawed system since for more than the past ten years. Before RE4 came out, RE3 was the last good RE game. It was the last installment they actually tried innovating on, deciding to just give the same crap out for every one after it.

This is CAPCOM here. A company content to take the same game which was good over ten years ago and make it over again and again. Sure, it can work for Street Fighter, and it can work for Megaman Zero, but there is a problem with RE, and the nostalgia from the first few GOOD games doesn’t justify making 5 more of trot, trot, trot, oh look, an enemy, R1, X X X X, trot trot trot.

So what exactly is the problem? Is it that the storyline shifted or that the focus isn’t on zombies? Are you forgetting that Resident Evil is, first and foremost, A GAME. If you’ve been playing Resident Evil because you like shitty “horror” movies where people shoot zombies for a while, then die, you’ve been playing them for the wrong reasons. The point of a game is to be fun, and the introduction of the over-the-shoulder camera system fixed a BIG problem with Resident Evil at the expense of some of the atmosphere. Resident Evil has never been scary, but trying to create suspense by giving you terrible camera angles is a cheap way of doing it. Holding onto a system where you had to constantly look at the wall, auto aim, and see if you aimed anywhere else but the wall so that you didn’t run straight into an enemy is being incredibly obstinate. They could have done a lot better than giving you a choice between “OMG N N-M-EE!” R1, X, X, X, X or “OMG N N-M-EE!” About face, step step step, forward march, relaxed jog, jog, jog.

Any idiot can take one look at a “save the president’s daughter” storyline and laugh. It’s not hard to make fun of. I could run past the special education classes and shout “retards!” too, but I look forward to greater challenges. So maybe that’s why I’m actually able to enjoy RE4. It was the first RE since the first one that was actually CHALLENGING. The whole point of the game was to be fun, to take the parts of Resident Evil that made for a good game and find a way to DO SOMETHING NEW. And they hit the nail on the head. And yet, every day, I come here to a bunch of stubborn fanboys who won’t look past the fact that Ganados aren’t “technically” zombies, and that the game’s got a B movie plot, to give a good game a chance. It’s getting harder and harder to stomach.

[Umon Daisuke]

Not the zombies, but the actual emphasis on horror, or at the very least survival. RE 3.5, in my point of view, was a great step in the right direction in overhauling RE properly. I liked the adventure game elements myself, and the puzzles. RE4's puzzles were so simple, even Onimusha (an action series) had more complex puzzles.

Instead, they just re-invented the series. It was no longer survival or horror, and it lacked horror atmosphere for the most part. And I'm not sure what your idea of challenge is, but the game wasn't challenging at all (and the few times I died the first time had to do with the QTE's). It is on Pro mode though, on the PAL GC or PS2.

The rant aside, a standalone action/adventure game, RE4 was fantastic with very few flaws. Capcom is out there to make money, and the overhaul put the series back on the map in today's market, so it's time for the old series fans to let go. It took me a little while myself, but hey, that's the way it is. Besides, the old games are still there for me to enjoy; still playing Outbreak ocassionally online as well.

I would love it if RE5 emphasized ammo management better (no more ammo dropping enemies). More interesting enemies (not necessarily zombies) that scream "biohazard", and I'd be very happy.

[MeganGrass]

You've made some interesting points, Fox, but you're all wrong [atleast when it comes to my 10 year BioHazard playing experience]. Those bold statements of "running past the special education room and yelling 'retard'", etc. are clearly your own.

It's not zombies, over-shoulder cams or even the action oriented gameplay, as a matter of fact, I love the over-shoulder camera; it was very long overdue. My problem (and many other fans') is the fact the series shifted so drastically in one game. I've seen it done with so many Capcom games, I could boycott. Everytime they get something good going, the main producer backs off halfway through the story line, the franchise is handed over to some asshole who isn't even focused on BH (http://www.thehorrorisalive.com/foru...ead.php?t=615), and the game goes to shit all because some corporate fuck face wants to make a few more extra million dollars and drag the storyline out an extra 10 years.

I'm sorry, but I strongly disagree with the new direction of BioHazard, and unless BioHazard 5 has A) A good storyline, and B) Closes/Hints some sort of closure to the series, i'm sorry to say that I will no longer even fuck with BioHazard games. From the age of 4, I followed MegaMan games wanderlessly like an obsession, and as you know the story has since went to shit because noone at Capcom wants to close the story and Dr. Wily has appeared close to 10 goddamn times with new robots. Excuse the hell out of me for wanting something better than a "let's drag this series out, forget previous titles and, hey, I got it! Let's make Leon rescue the president's daughter!".

With that said, I don't want to live to see "BioHazard 15: Ada and Wesker's Private Affair", or "BioHazard Gun Survivor Outbreak 7: We've Remade This Same Game Seven Times Now."

The series needs closure!!! And i'm not the one to sit here and act like I like the series even more just because BioHazard 4 "broke the ice" with n00bies who had never heard of or even played a BioHazard title in their lifetime. When you have been faithfully dedicated to a videogame franchise for 10 years and running strong, one would think that you would want to see closure to your beloved series, afterall noone wants to be 30 years old sitting beside their spouse playing a BioHazard game because there was never any closure (hints why we never see Kim anymore, that and 1.5 was never released). I see between the lines in this issue, and all I see is Capcom making even more money and shitty games over the next 10 years with the title "BioHazard" thrown in. People who want the above "make it hard to stomach" to me; it actually makes me fucking sick.

I should've just said this in my first post to avoid conflicts with n00 BH fans, not wait, excuse me, BH 4 sympathizers:

"The over the shoulder camera is great, but I hope they add or atleast hint some sort of closure to the series with 5."

[Borman]

I agree with you Mark. To me, Biohazard has always been about Umbrella. Not Leon supercop, not some Spanish village with some wierdos, not the Presidents daughter which, to be honest, I still dont get what the hell they were on. Thats why Im glad focus is really being put onto Lost Planet, as its an attempt at something new, no strings of the past to tug at it, and no expectations to totally smash. I too, was a follower of Megaman, and they had me up until X4, just barely. But even then, the series just doesnt NEED to continue. Some things just have to come to and end, and Biohazard is one of them.

[Umon Daisuke]

And i'm not the one to sit here and act like I like the series even more just because BioHazard 4 "broke the ice" with n00bies who had never heard of or even played a BioHazard title in their lifetime.

Heh, I suppose this was a "stealth" jab at my comment about the corporate reality that pushed Mikami to take the new direction. Perhaps that wasn't it, since one corporate officer commented about the risks of the new direction; it had more to do with Mikami's own "boredom" with the gameplay. Quite ironic, considering that the first version (DMC precursor) was rejected at a point when it turned out to be too far of a departure. The other irony is that RE4 is still not the best selling current gen title (each version seperately, or combined). CVX, the PS2 port takes that crown. RE3 was the last title to garner platinum sales in each territory. With Takeuchi commenting earlier on that RE5 will be a "sequel" and not a sidestory like RE4, seems to me that they were listening to rants. Either that, or the old developers weren't too thrilled about the storyline of RE4. The fact that they considered dropping the number at some point supports that theory. But for the sake of the old fans, they need to have closure with the Umbrella plot, THEN, they can go on with other bizzare plots to stretch the series further, until they hit a brick wall and it stops selling. It happened with DC, and they ironically gave up on that one altogether.

I fall into a tiny minority group who don't really care much about plots of games. I've been a fan since mid 96 because of the gameplay, and gameplay alone. New fans and critical acclaim are the last two things I think about personally, so as long as I have fun, I'll keep following the series. I just don't know for how long.

I've gotten tired of gaming in general, and aside from a few games, I've been consistently playing less with each passing year. It's becoming hard justifying buying new consoles when there are 9 games I'm looking forward to, across all three platforms. Whether it's about gameplay or plot closure, more power to anyone who stays a dedicated gamer past thirty.

[MeganGrass]

Biohazard has always been about Umbrella.

Thank you. I'm sure i'm not alone when I say the opening of 4 left me speechless and highly irate because Umbrella, after appearing in all BH titles and literally being the backbone of the series just suddenly disappears without the enduser's (us/our) trace.

Yeah, so the government halts any correspondence with Umbrella and their Stocks crash at Wall St. thus causing the corporation and any evidence thereof to completely disappear from face of the earth. To add insult to injury, Johnny Bad-Ass returns in this epidemic 'sequel' and is now on a mission to save The First Daughter and bring back peace to a small portion of the world.

What ever happened to global domination, corruption of employees, and most of all, Wesker? In 4 they were exchanged for an old-timer in a Jester outfit preaching about the New World and some whiney, punk ass, spoiled fucking rotten kid (Salazaar) whom "you have to put in their place".

Throw in a few magic spells, a few more whiney kids, an Active Time Battle System, and this game would be nothing short of a RPG Action-type experience.

Some things just have to come to and end, and Biohazard is one of them.

Very unfortunate, but true. I've shared this thought very highly since CV, no wait, CVX came out.

I've gotten tired of gaming in general, and aside from a few games, I've been consistently playing less with each passing year. It's becoming hard justifying buying new consoles when there are 9 games I'm looking forward to, across all three platforms. Whether it's about gameplay or plot closure, more power to anyone who stays a dedicated gamer past thirty.

You said it, brother. And no, that wasn't a stealth jab, just my POV on Capcom's politics.

Closure with Umbrella, past protaginists', anything that will close the series that I once knew will be more than welcome by me. After that, fuck BioHazard. Let the n00bs eat up their (Capcom) never ending stories and cash profits in video games.

[Borman]

Ive had more fun reading the books then I did playing RE4, and that wasnt even official. They, for the most part, have SOMETHING interesting about them, and is related to Umbrella. I wouldnt mind if the Wii game ripped from one of them even, its just really interesting. I just love how the plot of Umbrella was unfolding. And then, RE4 came, and BAM. Its gone. Poof. An international company making fucking Biochemical weapons drops off the face of the earth.

[Alzaire]

I have to agree with Mark on most points, and disagree with a lot of Fox's points really. Is it really so wrong to desire a series to be a certain way, especially when that way is the way it started?

Is it that the storyline shifted or that the focus isn’t on zombies? Are you forgetting that Resident Evil is, first and foremost, A GAME. If you’ve been playing Resident Evil because you like shitty “horror” movies where people shoot zombies for a while, then die, you’ve been playing them for the wrong reasons.

Yes, RE/BH is a game. It is a game that was born from a survival/horror/mystery plot involving tons of zombies and Umbrella creations and plot. Yeah, I like "shitty" B-style horror movies involving zombies (Mikami admitted a lot of ideas for the originals stemmed from such movies). I've been playing the RE/BH games because of the zombie b-movie aspect of them. But it seems then I've been playing the RE/BH games for a dumb reason. Because my interests are apparently wrong.

I gave RE4 a shot. I played it, I somewhat enjoyed it as a "game". But you know, it just wasn't a BH game and that's what bothers me. A simple rookie cop who survives the Raccoon incident turns badass agent to save the president's daughter, Umbrella down in a 2 minute prologue, a new style of gameplay, fan-service by throwing an un-necessarily sexy Ada into the mix to happen to meet Leon in a completely unrelated situation, blah blah I could go on. It's not what RE was for me anymore.

If other people can enjoy it and praise it even as a BH title, then good for you. I don't think you really care about the title or the history/element attached to it as much as you care about just having fun (exceptions to both sides). And yes, games are for fun, but game titles, just like movie titles, book titles, ect. are symbolic. BH for me was zombies and Umbrella, among other things. There are lots of people I'm sure that love lots of new things, but there are lots of us that are content with the same thing, even if only changed a little. You can't fault us for what we like or say we are not as sophisticated or whatever. BH4 for me would be like reading the first 2 books in a Dragonlance novel trilogy, only to open the 3rd book to a 2 page prologue telling me bluntly that the party saved the day then chapter 1 start out telling me that a member of the party has turned cyborg and starts talking about spaceships, machine guns, and laser canons. "Ummm, no." Like SH going from paranormal/supernatural to viral/manmade outbreak. Like Final Fantasy completely dropping too much fantasy and going completely technological (like the movie, which didn't do so hot). ect ect.

Honestly, I feel just like Mark. The new story focus, gameplay, and all that would have been better suited under a new name. BH's roots are the Umbrella story. Sure, in a business sense, Capcom made the "right choice" by evolving the game dramatically to attract new fans (which it did) and risk providing such a huge change that may or may not please old fans. Some old fans are fine, a lot aren't. But to say I'm wrong for not being happy about it, or be disgusted with me and people like me who are not happy with the big changes made to an established title is really wrong imo, though you are entitled to feel however you like too.

Biohazard should have finished up the Umbrella storyline and then ended the series. That's my opinion. I don't hate or get disgusted with the fans, old or new, that liked the new direction. I am upset with Capcom about the changes. Just how I feel.