p
img src=”http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/164777-RE5DLCHeader.jpg” alt=”Review: Resident Evil 5: Lost in Nightmares screenshot” width=”468″ border=”0″ /
/p
pHow did you like ia href=”http://www.destructoid.com/destructoid-review-resident-evil-5-124507.phtml” title=”Destructoid – Destructoid review: Resident Evil 5″ target=”_blank”Resident Evil 5/a/i? Were you one of the many who loved the game, or were you among those who thought it was something of a failure? What do you think of the mandatory co-op? Did you think the move toward an action-packed, “blockbuster” experience helped the series to evolve, or did you see the change in tone as a rejection of the survival horror core that made the series great in the first place?/p
pHow you answer these questions will, in a large way, indicate how much you enjoy iLost in Nightmares/i, the first of two planned DLC campaigns for iResident Evil 5/i. You may assume that answering the second question with a hearty “iResident Evil 5/i f*cking ruled” guarantees that you’ll love iLost in Nightmares/i as well, but that may not be the case. Just because you liked iResident Evil 5/i doesn’t mean that iLost in Nightmares/i is for you, and likewise, if iResident Evil 5/i’s main mode wasn’t your jam, iLost in Nightmares/i may go on to change your mind about the game./p
pHit the jump for the the Destructoid review of iResident Evil 5: Lost in Nightmares/i./p pimg src=”http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/164777-review-resident-evil-5-lost-in-nightmares/lockpick-620x.jpg” border=”0″ width=”620″ height=”262″ //p
pbiResident Evil 5: Lost in Nightmares /i(Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 [reviewed])br /Developer: Capcombr /Publisher: Capcombr /Released: February 17, 2010 (360) / February 18, 2010 (PS3)/b/p
piLost in Nightmares/i works both as a prequel to iResident Evil 5/i and as an expanded, playable version of one of the retail game’s many cut scenes. In the second half of the main campaign of iResident Evil 5/i, Chris explains to his new partner Sheva that a few years prior, he lost his longtime partner Jill Valentine in a battle to the death with series antagonist Albert Wesker. This mini-campaign shows exactly what Jill and Chris went through on the way towards that vicious battle with their ex-boss./p
pSeeing Chris and Jill together again is just the start of the fan service. The first section of iLost in Nightmares/i bears a strong resemblance to the Arklay mansion seen in iResident Evil 1/i (and parts of iResident Evil: Code Veronica/i). Want piano-playing puzzles, password hunting, lock unlocking, and crank-turning back in your iResident Evil/i? Well, you’ve got it, with a fair amount of self-referential banter to boot. iLost in Nightmares/i also plays a lot like old iResident Evil/i. Check the entrance three times, and the game’s camera reverts to the strategically placed, predetermined style of iResident Evil 1span style=”font-style: normal;” to /span3 (/ifor the opening areas only). This opening area also places a definitive emphasis on foreboding atmosphere, quiet moments, and an overarching sense of uncertainty. Take all the complaints you’ve heard longtime iResident Evil/i fans lay onto the feel of iResident Evil 5/i (too much noise, bright light, explosions, set pieces, etc.) and throw them into reverse. That’s iLost in Nightmares/i. When it comes to style, tone, and flavor, it’s pretty much the anti-iResident Evil 5/i./p
pimg src=”http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/164777-review-resident-evil-5-lost-in-nightmares/piano-620x.jpg” border=”0″ width=”620″ height=”327″ //p
pI say “pretty much” because the one major gameplay change introduced in iResident Evil 5 – /ithe required co-op (with either a computer-controlled or human-controlled partner) — remains intact. Just like in the main campaign of iResident Evil 5/i, playing iLost in Nightmares/i alone and playing it with a friend are very different experiences. While with a human, being separated from your partner adds to the fear, anxiety, and sense of desperation that the game aims to evoke. When you’re playing with a computer-controlled partner, your A.I. buddy will frequently ruin scares, play interesting parts of the game for you (so you won’t have to?) and generally make things less fun./p
pI’d say that they should have done away with co-op all together, but I can’t deny that it is really fun when played with a friend. To make co-op optional really would have required everything to be designed in two completely different ways, which is more than one could ask of some DLC. Instead, the game relies on co-op from beginning to end. The campaign is basically split into four parts: an atmosphere-focused opening area; a cramped, combat-driven prison zone; a weapons-free, evasion-focused dilapidated sewer; and a QTE-infused final boss fight against Wesker. All these areas require near-constant cooperation with your partner. Again, that works great when you’re actually playing with a friend, but when the game is playing itself for you, the fun starts to go out the window./p
pimg src=”http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/164777-review-resident-evil-5-lost-in-nightmares/Hallway-620x.jpg” border=”0″ width=”620″ height=”298″ //p
pI understand that since Capcom went with the co-op thing in the original iResident Evil 5/i, they’ve sort of got to stick with it for this DLC campaign. What I don’t understand is why they only went part of the way with bringing the game back to its zombie-loving roots. iLost in Nightmares/i features two different types of “regular” enemies, and yes, zombies are one of the two. The problem is, these are the iResident Evil 5/i zombies that just sort of lie around looking dead(er) until you get within arm’s length. Then they grab you, requiring a bit of left analog stick waggling, until you’re cut loose. After that, one bullet will put them down. No crowds of shambling, hard-to-kill zombies of past iResident Evil/i games here — just a few sleepy undead that are more of a nuisance than a threat./p
pThe real enemies of the game don’t feel all that new at all, though they definitelyi look/i original. They stalk and attack the player much in the style of the one-hit-killing executioner enemies of the game’s main campaign, but they offer much more in the way of bulging arm-eyeballs and spurts of acid blood. Probably the best thing about them is how unpredictable their appearances are. My first time through iLost in Nightmares/i, I didn’t run into one in the first area, but the second time through, I bumped into one in the middle of a previously safe hallway. Beyond the occasional surprise appearance, these “new” enemies don’t do anything too different. You’re only likely to bump into nine or ten of them throughout the game, and while they certainly add a much-needed sense of danger, they won’t do much to you that you haven’t already seen before./p
pimg src=”http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/164777-review-resident-evil-5-lost-in-nightmares/Pussback-620x.jpg” border=”0″ width=”620″ height=”313″ //p
pAlong with the iLost in Nightmares/i campaign, this DLC package also includes the ability to play as iResident Evil 1/i’s Barry Burton and iResident Evil 5/i’s Excella Gionne in a new version of the Mercenaries mode called “Mercenaries Reunion.” Personally, I loved the Mercenaries mode in iResident Evil 5/i even more than the campaign. Being allowed to play either cooperatively or in true single-player mode makes for a much better game, and that’s what Mercenaries mode offers. Though the maps and gameplay are the same in “Mercenaries Reunion,” Barry and Excella do a lot to make things feel fresh./p
pBarry has a slew of new hand-to-hand attacks (including a decapitating headbutt and a goofy punch attack called “Barry Sandwich”), and Excella packs weapons that make her the perfect assist partner in co-op games. She comes equipped with a grenade launcher loaded with flashbang rounds, which don’t do any damage themselves but are perfect for freezing a group of enemies in place, allowing Barry to headbutt the crap out of them one by one. I expected that these two bonus characters would be unfulfilling re-skins of Sheva and Chris, but instead, Capcom has gone and made Mercenaries mode feel as fresh and addictive as it did when I first unlocked it on the disc last year./p
pimg src=”http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/164777-review-resident-evil-5-lost-in-nightmares/Barry-620x.jpg” border=”0″ width=”620″ height=”280″ //p
pPound-for-pound, I enjoyed iLost in Nightmares/i more than the main campaign of iResident Evil 5/i. It’s not really that far from the original iResident Evil 5/i in terms of objective quality, but the overall change in style goes a long way towards making it a more memorable experience. All the effort Capcom put into making iLost in Nightmares/i feel like a “classic” Resident Evil game, as well as the copious amounts of fan service, make this mini-campaign act almost like an apology for the less admirable aspects of iResident Evil 5/i. That said, this DLC doesn’t quite go all the way with the apology, and that’s a little disappointing. Without “real” zombies as enemies and a true single-player mode, iLost in Nightmares/i feels halfhearted at times, like iResident Evil 5/i impersonating iResident Evil 1/i, as opposed to truly leaving its failings behind. It’s also worth mentioning that fans of the explosion-packed, majini-on-dirt-bikes, Redfield-on-steroids craziness of iResident Evil 5/i’s on-disc content may be disappointed with the deliberate, slow-paced, normal-size-arm adventure found here./p
pAll quibbles aside, iLost in Nightmares/i still does a lot to correct the things that I didn’t like about iResident Evil 5/i, and I hope it’s an indicator for where they may take the series in the future. More of Barry Burton headbutting Saddam Hussein look-a-likes until their faces explode would be a good thing./p
pba href=”http://www.destructoid.com/the-official-destructoid-review-guide-ver-2-0-103621.phtml”Score/a: 8/b b– Great/bispan style=”font-style: normal;” (/span8s are impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won’t astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash./i)/p
piimg src=”http://www.destructoid.com/downloadit.jpg” border=”0″ width=”181″ height=”76″ /br //i/p p class=”post-photos”
a href=”http://www.destructoid.com/elephant/photo.phtml?post_key=164777&photo_key=132614″
img src=”http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/164777-review-resident-evil-5-lost-in-nightmares/Barry-120x.jpg” alt=”Photo ” /
/a
a href=”http://www.destructoid.com/elephant/photo.phtml?post_key=164777&photo_key=132615″
img src=”http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/164777-review-resident-evil-5-lost-in-nightmares/Hallway-120x.jpg” alt=”Photo ” /
/a
a href=”http://www.destructoid.com/elephant/photo.phtml?post_key=164777&photo_key=132616″
img src=”http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/164777-review-resident-evil-5-lost-in-nightmares/lockpick-120x.jpg” alt=”Photo ” /
/a
a href=”http://www.destructoid.com/elephant/photo.phtml?post_key=164777&photo_key=132617″
img src=”http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/164777-review-resident-evil-5-lost-in-nightmares/piano-120x.jpg” alt=”Photo ” /
/a
a href=”http://www.destructoid.com/elephant/photo.phtml?post_key=164777&photo_key=132618″
img src=”http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/164777-review-resident-evil-5-lost-in-nightmares/Pussback-120x.jpg” alt=”Photo ” /
/a
/p

Like this? Then visit the blog it came from – there’s lots more content just like it!