Over the course of its development Resident Evil 5 has seen its fair share of hiccups and controversy. The trailer at E3 2007 was widely panned by kneejerk critics who felt that a depiction of a Caucasian protagonist defending himself against attacking African villagers was imagery that 'dovetailed with classic racist imagery'.
Thankfully, these complaints and fears were allayed when in 2008 Capcom revealed much more racially diverse enemies and an African agent who assists in a much more politically correct, family friendly slaughter.
For a while, everybody seemed happy, until the topic of controls entered into the debate. According to some naysayers, the control system used in the Resident Evil series is no spring chicken and, as a result, critics have been widely speculating on whether said controls would be looked on favourably by new fans to the series - fans who have been enjoying the sideways joy of third person strafing for several years now.
Speculation can now be brought to an end it seems, because the new Australian Official PlayStation Magazine is reporting that Resident Evil 5 has seen a complete control overhaul. According to the mag the game now sports a secondary 'Gears of War' style control system that enables strafing and evasive manoeuvres such as rolls.
Will this newfound freedom of movement set players free? Or does it neuter the frantic survival horror tension that went hand in hand with the old control scheme? Only time we tell...
The magazine also features a massive five page piece on the game including all new info, and an exclusive interview with Resident Evil Producer Jun Takeuchi. The mag goes on sale on the 8th of October (i.e. tomorrow), be sure to grab it for the much finer details.
Further Reading:
Resi 5 info overload
Resident Evil 5 Facing Mainstream Disaster
Resident Evil 5 Hands On
Click over the page for some Res Evil history.
