Resident Evil’s controversy that won’t die

Resident Evil 5’s new Versus modes, Slayer & Survivor

Just when the furor over Resident Evil’s downloadable Versus mode was beginning to die down, the new mode actually came out. This stirred things up all over again. The latest hubbub is over the small size of the download, a mere 1.86 MB. For those so inclined, this is proof that the “new” online mode already exists on the game’s disc and the download is simply a key for players to unlock data that they already own.

For gamers who are already upset about over Capcom’s handling of the initial complaints, this is fuel for the fire. The company has denied that gamers are paying $5 to unlock something they’ve already paid for with their initial purchase of the title. Capcom says the small size is due to the fact that the new modes use much of their “assets from the disc (like levels, models, audio, etc.) but the code is new and does not exist on the disc.” This seems like a reasonable explanation, but as usual, not everyone is willing to accept the company line.

At the end of the day, on the disc or not, the question is are the new modes worth an extra $5? If they are, who really cares where the data comes from? If they’re not, just don’t pay for them. My opinion is after the cut.

I’ve spent few hours of trigger time playing the new modes and personally I think they’re worth the extra cost. I’m usually not a big fan of player-vs.-player combat, but I got a kick out of the new modes. I liked the Slayer variant better, as it’s closer to the single player experience, only more dangerous and hectic. By adding other players to the mix, on top of the zombies hordes, it makes for an exciting time. While they’re nothing revolutionary, the new content is   something to do when you’ve completed the story mode and are looking for more things to blast away on.

The easiest way of determining if you’ll like the new content is to play the existing “Mercenaries” mode, where you attempt to kill as many zombies as you can in a set amount of time. If you really enjoy this mode, then you’ll most likely get your money’s worth out of the downloadable content. If you’re not a fan of the “Mercenaries” mode, I’d suggest saving your $5.

See also:

The dark side of DLC

‘Resident Evil’ will rise again on the Wii, and soon

Capcom front-loads ‘09 with a half-dozen games