(continued from previous page) ...purchasing them from a Merchant, using money collected from fallen enemies and wildlife (a factor alone of which nullified any realism), Redfield would have to procure his weapons on sight, and utilize ammunition wisely.

This would not only place more emphasis on survival, rather than an all-out action romp, but it would also harmonize perfectly with the over-the-shoulder perspective. For example, in previous titles, if you were down to your last bullet, there was little you could do other than point and shoot, hoping it would dispatch your foe. With a new view point and all-new hit locations to target your foes, however, players would be able to make a tactical decision based on how to use their last remaining bullets – do you aim for the foot and drop your foe, allowing you to escape, or do you aim for the head and hope it will take him out in one shot? The idea of fighting for our lives and barely escaping from hordes of enemies, rather than effortlessly gunning them down with copious amounts of ammo at our disposal is far more satisfying, which we’ll hope you agree with.

Additionally, rather than ammo magically appearing on the fallen corpses of your enemies, it would be placed strategically around each location (similar to the older titles), forcing you to think wisely about precipitating an attack, and avoid confrontation altogether. Lastly, I feel it would be fitting to see the return of some of the series traditional shock tactics, an aspect that would no doubt be facilitated by the games already gorgeous visuals to create a chilling, unnerving game environment that would truly usher in a new dawn for Survival Horror.

2. I'm Feeling Slightly Puzzled:

Puzzles are a key aspect in any Resident Evil title, and when done correctly, provide a welcome tool for punctuating the blood-soaked, head-exploding gameplay that occupies most of our time. However, the past few games have failed to deliver some of the more mesmerising puzzles found in the first batch of titles released, and so, my next item on this list is to have Resident Evil 5 well and truly have us put our thinking caps on by delivering some memorable head-scratching antics that don’t simply rely on inserting a key into a door and pushing forward (Oh, how that always stumped us!)

3. Adventure Field

It’s also not just the difficulty of the puzzles that could be improved upon; a sense of exploration is also needed to accommodate a solid puzzle element. Resident Evil 4, for example, was far too linear, and required little exploration to locate key items, almost feeling as if every object was conveniently placed right in your path. I would personally like to see more emphasis on exploring, increasing the length of the game, but also giving the player a larger sense of accomplishment after tracking down an all-important key or seeking out and assembling parts of a particularly arduous picture puzzle. Another element that would make for a welcome return is the ability to examine key items in your inventory in real-time, a feature which was employed to great use in solving a number of puzzles in the original Resident Evil and its prequel.

4. Settling an Old Score:

Potentially, Resident Evil 5 has the chance to settle one of the longest running desires of fans to date; a final confrontation between protagonist Chris Redfield and long-running antagonist, Albert Wesker (formally Redfield’s S.T.A.R.S Captain) PSU has learned through sources that Wesker is rumoured to make an appearance of some sort in the game, though it is currently unknown just how big his role is intended to be, or if he will even show up at all for certain. However, given Redfield’s obvious ties to his perpetually enigmatic (and elusive) rival, not to mention Wesker’s future plans eluded in the recently released Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, it’s conceivable that this latest instalment would afford the best opportunity to settle the score once and for all.

Additionally, we’d also like to see the game give mention to some of the series long forgotten characters, such as Barry Burton, Rebecca Chambers, and Redfield’s younger sister, Claire, who have been absent since the release of Resident Evil ... (continued on next page)