Resident Evil 5

Since, we're all talking about it already, might as well start a thread on it.

A little refresher for everyone: Wesker's Report
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9NKfF4_hck

Code Veronica Ending: Chris vs Wesker
Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UaOlfxDP1E
Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgM-hqg9u-Q

RE4: Ada/Wesker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SXXW9Q8igo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y9oUICiCi8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRrHohVBZEk

RE:4 Ada's Report ON Wesker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK4zh366jGw

Discuss and speculate. :casca:
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Good idea to make a thread. For now I have nothing to say except this game will be awesome. :guts:
 

handsome rakshas

Thanks Grail!
Thanks for posting those, Proj. I really can't remember the RE storyline, those will be a nice refresher. Besides MGS4 this is my most anticipated game right now.
 

CnC

Ad Oculos
I still have yet to play RE4 (its on my shelf)... so I stopped watching as soon we got to RE4.

But really, the plot is pretty horrible, isn't it? I mean the games were scary and good but the story??
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
CnC said:
But really, the plot is pretty horrible, isn't it? I mean the games were scary and good but the story??

The plot of RE4 is a trainwreck. It prevents the game from reaching its true potential. The game's still awesome though. I honestly believe the plot was created in a few hours, maybe a single day at max, and not by someone very familiar with the RE history, or at least not someone that cared to make a sensible, smart story.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
CnC, how could you miss out on RE4, what WERE you playing? =)


As for the article, yeah, did I call this or what? Honestly, even I see the problem with Capcom literally demonizing specific ethic groups. Here's my favorite comment from there:

i have to say im not racist, but black people seem to think the world owes them somthing for slavery and ****, well im jewish, and we where enslaved and almost wiped off the earth a few times and you dont us *****ing about it, i just have to say, have some ****ing pride in what your grandparents and great grandparents did for you do something with you damn life and stop blaming other people.

Uh yeah, I'm not racist or nothin*(*I'm going to say some racist stuff right now though)... but these lazy niggers obviously have nothing better to do than blame video games for being shit while they collect their welfare!

Yes, because I'm sure the people and organizations filing these grievances are made up of a bunch of homeless crack addicts from South Central. This guy will love Capcom's Resident Evil 6: Israel, "Ha ha, that Star of David around his neck is like a target!" "Look out Jill, that Christ killer is trying to steal your gold, they sure are greedy!"
"...money money money..."

I think we should start taking bets on who Capcom has up for the next Resident Evil; Koreans, Chinese, the French perhaps? :carcus:
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Griffith No More! said:
the French perhaps? :carcus:

They tried that before, then realized French zombies couldn't possibly be beaten because of their pure awesomeness.
 

CnC

Ad Oculos
Aazealh said:
They tried that before, then realized French zombies couldn't possibly be beaten because of their pure awesomeness.

Lol... I swear i thought you were going to say ' couldn't possible be eaten because of their foul taste'.

Griffith No More! said:
CnC, how could you miss out on RE4, what WERE you playing? =)

Ultimate spiderman, i think. Hehe. But the chance is still there. I'll get to it, I swear!
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
CnC said:
Ultimate spiderman, i think. Hehe. But the chance is still there. I'll get to it, I swear!
But I said, nah forget it, go home, to Bel Air!

Seriously, you missed out on one of the best games... ever. Im dying to give the Wii edition a shot.
 

CnC

Ad Oculos
Walter said:
But I said, nah forget it, go home, to Bel Air!

Seriously, you missed out on one of the best games... ever. Im dying to give the Wii edition a shot.

But, its, on my shelf and at about 7 or 8
I'll yell to Walter, "I'll play it, I swear"
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Aazealh said:
They tried that before, then realized French zombies couldn't possibly be beaten because of their pure awesomeness.

329948.jpg


Yup.​

CnC said:
Ultimate spiderman, i think.

Man, I'm glad your artistic choices don't reflect your video game choices. =)
 
The first victim of the zombies in the Resident Evil games is Kenneth J. Sullivan, the only black member of the S.T.A.R.S. teams... Coincidence?! :troll:

Seriously though, I can kind of understand why some people would see the game as racist but it's set in Africa, what do they expect?


I'm curious how they explain the zombies' abilities in the new game... Another case of Las Plagas? Some hybrid of zombie/Plagas?
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Abul-Abbas said:
Seriously though, I can kind of understand why some people would see the game as racist but it's set in Africa, what do they expect?
Yeah, but it's not like the first time Capcom has pulled this, as we've already mentioned many times in the thread.
I'm curious how they explain the zombies' abilities in the new game... Another case of Las Plagas? Some hybrid of zombie/Plagas?
Umbrella has been drug testing on a village? Resident Evil: The Constant Gardener edition! :void:
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Abul-Abbas said:
Seriously though, I can kind of understand why some people would see the game as racist but it's set in Africa, what do they expect?

That's a specious argument though, Capcom chose the setting, the question is if it's set in Africa for any legitimate reason other than Capcom thinks black people are scary; I wouldn't bet on it. Plus, as has been pointed out, the trailer itself doesn't really make the mechanisms of the series clear; so, it's basically a trailer for shooting crazy looking Africans, because, you know, they're just evil. =)

Anyway, there's a legitimate question here about whether Capcom is now officially exploiting racism/xenophobia, subconsciously if nothing else, in the making and marketing of their games. I don't have a strong feeling about it, but it's sure interesting. Like, if they aren't thinking what we think they're thinking, what exactly ARE they thinking?

residentevil.jpg


What's the black community got against the message we're conveying!? :troll:
 
Yeah, you guys are right... Their intent is still a little too ambiguous for me to jump to those conclusions though... Now if a turban-wearing zombie wearing a bomb vest that explodes if shot, ala Forest Speyer, came along... That'd raise an eyebrow. :carcus: Actually, after watching the movie of that other Capcom game showing the enemies (I assume they're enemies) praying to Allah and then drinking the liquid from skulls, I don't think that idea would be too far fetched...
 
After seeing the trailer, it didn't seem to me that degrading a race was their intent. They may have chosen Africa because it's a very exotic looking location. How you see the product partially depends on your roots. 300, for example, had looked like a racist movie to me that was capitalizing off of tensions between Iran and the west based on the trailer I saw. Yet that idea never even crossed my friends' minds. So I don't blame African-Americans for calling it racist and other people for saying that it isn't. But even if it is offensive, using time and money to revise or ban some mindless entertainment is ridiculous; there are plenty of actual threats to specific races that would have been worth the effort that they wasted on this. All that attacking the game will accomplsih is paving the way for more censorship which seems to have been gaining momentum since the Manhunt 2 ban and hot coffee scandal. If you don't like it, don't buy it.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Peregrine_Falcon said:
But even if it is offensive, using time and money to revise or ban some mindless entertainment is ridiculous; there are plenty of actual threats to specific races that would have been worth the effort that they wasted on this. All that attacking the game will accomplsih is paving the way for more censorship which seems to have been gaining momentum since the Manhunt 2 ban and hot coffee scandal. If you don't like it, don't buy it.
I don't think anyone's gone as far as to file a suit against Capcom... Certainly no one in this thread is suggesting they change the nature of the game. I'm just personally curious about the apparent ethnicity focus in their recent games.

Anyway, I liked this guy's comment the best on the blog referred to in the link Peregrine posted: http://www.blacklooks.org/2007/07/resident_evil_5.html

Also, if white men, hispanics and asians can be zombies, so should black people. Why should black people be so special in that they’re the only race that cannot be zombies?
:guts:

another point to consider is that Resident Evil is about feeling helpless and afraid, and feeling as though you’re being hunted by the enemies… so, you could look at from the perspective of playing as a white person being persecuted by the Africans in a setting where you’re the minority and not really getting any fair treatment…
Aahaha, keep tryin, kid!
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Walter said:
Certainly no one in this thread is suggesting they change the nature of the game. I'm just personally curious about the apparent ethnicity focus in their recent games.

I feel the same way, though I do suggest a name change. :troll:
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Griffith No More! said:
the question is if it's set in Africa for any legitimate reason other than Capcom thinks black people are scary; I wouldn't bet on it.

Actually I think there are plenty of legitimate reasons for the game to be set in Africa. The game takes place in one of the poorest countries in the world, and in a zone that has actually seen experimentation of drugs and medicine on people by pharmaceutical corporations under cover of bringing them medicine for free. It's also a geographic zone prone to epidemics. And a location that has harsh living conditions, a harsh environment that is nevertheless new to the series, and with climatic conditions impacting the gameplay. Plus the political instability and general chaos going on there. Lastly like it's been said it's a relatively exotic place for most players. Having "smart" zombies like in RE4 somehow seems to be scarier if they communicate between themselves in a language you can't understand yourself. =)

If it hadn't been Africa then I guess they'd have gone with Asia, and who knows, maybe RE6 will take place in the Philippines...

Griffith No More! said:
Anyway, there's a legitimate question here about whether Capcom is now officially exploiting racism/xenophobia, subconsciously if nothing else, in the making and marketing of their games.

There's also another thing someone said about African-Americans being offended and whatnot. The truth is, I don't think they're really in a position to complain about it, as opposed to actual African people, possibly from the actual country depicted in the game (using a fake country might have been a better idea, but whatever). And I don't think African people would give a shit for the most part. :guts: I mean I'm sure some Spanish people didn't like being portrayed as the ultimate inbred, degenerate hicks of the world, but I'm also sure most of them just laughed it off. I know I'm still hoping there'll be a RE game taking place in Paris, and if it could be in my own village I'd be flattered.

So in conclusion, I think people at Capcom are just being insensitive here, but not really xenophobic. Remember when people complained there weren't enough black zombies in RE2? Not enough women, fat guys, old people? Well THEY remember. :void: Now we'll be killing zombie kids.

Plus there'll probably be a local sidekick to compensate for all the indigenous killing.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
I can't much argue with those points, and I agree with most anyway, but I'd like to expand some more on my own since I'm just trying to look at it from a different perspective; I'm actually really excited about the game.

I meant compelling reasons for why the story had to go to Africa (directly responding to the argument that it takes place in Africa, so of course they're black! like Capcom was stuck with it rather than choosing it in the first place). We all know these plots don’t matter at all or follow any logic, Capcom makes up whatever they want. There was no good reason to be in Spain in RE4 either, it was a total departure from the story (Paris, on the other hand, was the next logical step =), but it was totally random, and the whole game was a refreshing offshoot from everything previous. Suddenly though, it’s not so unique, there’s a pattern developing here, and it’s not, “Which poor country’s plight should we shine a light on with our games?” but more likely, “Which people make the scariest fucking monsters? Let's go there!” =)

It goes along the same psychological lines as having them speak in a language you can't understand. Of course, I could be wrong about all this, and maybe I'm the one committing the injustice.

Though I can understand why black people, whether from Africa or not, would be bothered not so much by that, but just the gameplay itself. All the technicalities and facades aside, the trailer shows a game of an idealized white super hero shooting throngs of blacks, exclusively, who are depicted as savage monsters. I mean, one could explain the innocent logistics all they wanted, but if I was a black person who doesn’t play games, certainly doesn’t know or care about the rationale behind Resident Evil, and was old enough to remember segregation and the civil rights movement (where it might not be such an otherworldly and fantastical scene to see a cop shooting into a black mob), I wouldn’t be too comfortable with what would look to me like THIS GAME…

shootblacks.jpg


…on store shelves.
"Game of the year! #1 Bestseller!" :guts:

Anyway, all that said, there’s obviously an ironic amount of racism and ignorance just in thinking that way, i.e. “facts aside, it’s offensive just because they’re black.” But I think it’s a legitimate bitch in this country given our cultural history. I mean, I'm not in touch with that directly and can't relate, but if I were black, maybe I'd be a bit nervous about it. Like with everything, I'm sure it's also a generational issue and young black gamers are going to feel much differently than their parents might. I also don’t think Capcom has any sort of intended agenda, other than making money; I agree they’re just being oblivious to Western sensitivities, and I’m not offended by it in the least, I’m just intellectually curious about the whole thing. Seriously, is my box art so off the mark for what the game boils down to!? =)

Relevant link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c6xcLBZzQ8 :carcus:
 
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