There was plenty of old, and some things new, at Capcom’s spacious and always-crowded E3 booth. The star attraction was a playable build of Resident Evil 5. As has been the case with other much-hyped sequels at this year’s show (Gears of War 2, Fallout 3 and Street Fighter IV), this blockbuster delivered. Capcom had half of one of its three rooms dedicated to RE5.

Just because it’s daylight in the game’s new African setting, doesn’t mean this game’s not frightening. Wave after wave of undead come at Chris Redfield and new teammate Sheva. The jump to next gen brings the third world environments to life. And the blood flows freely as enemies absorb bullet after bullet before going down in bloody pulps. By the time you get to the end of the demo, you’re counting down the days until March 13, 2009.

The cooperative gameplay that will be introduced with this title opens up new ways for players to progress through this experience. Teammates will have to work together to make it through a level, which is just the type of fresh new gameplay this always-solid franchise needed.

Also featured is Capcom’s newest franchise, Dark Void. Developed by Ed Fries’ new company, Airtight Games, this action title takes place in an alternate dimension that a cargo pilot has entered via the Bermuda Triangle. This game is all about in-air combat.



“As the team that created Crimson Skies, we brought flight to the table, which we parlayed into the rocket-pack and aircraft in Dark Void,” said Jim Deal, president, Airtight Games. “The mixture of all the features creates a varied and rich palette of cool things to do in the air on the ground and all points between.”

The majority of another room was filled with huge Japanese Street Fighter IV arcade machines. This arcade game, which was also shown at E3, features enhanced visuals, new characters and the classic controls that have captivated gamers since the early days of gaming. Capcom also had an Xbox Live version of Street Fighter II on display, complete with an arcade-style controller.



Capcom’s final room featured a life-size Bionic Commando arm, as well as the new next generation game that relaunches that venerable franchise. Set in a war-ravaged world, the story begins 10 years after the events that occurred in the original Bionic Commando.

“We find out that Spencer has been incarcerated for some crimes that he committed during a mission that occurred sometime after Bionic Commando Rearmed,” said Ben Judd, producer of the game. “A new terrorist group composed of ex-Imperials (enemies from the original game) and rogue
bionics who have begun to fight the FSA government (Federal States of America) over a law known as the Bionic Purge which effectively required them to give back any bionic implants--effectively killing any soldiers who had bionic organs installed.”

Spencer is given a full pardon in exchange for wiping out the bad guys, and his new arm is employed in 3D gameplay that separates itself from the classic 2D side-scroller, while retaining its essence.

Capcom also had a cool downloadable puzzle game called Flock on display, which requires aliens to guide herds of animals from one side of a screen to another. It was nice to see an alien game that didn’t revolve around blowing things up.



by John Gaudiosi