Resident Evil 5 is the first current-generation Resident Evil title to be released—unless you count the Wii light-gun game that took players through past games, and I don't—and it labors under the pressure of following up Resident Evil 4, which was one of the most-loved games of the past ten years. Capcom seems more than willing to shake up the foundation of their beloved franchise, and if you thought the demo for this game was controversial, wait until the fans get their hands on the game. There will be fallout.

I'm not saying the game is bad, and I'll explain in a moment why I think it's good, but Capcom has a major PR issue with Resident Evil 5—not with the racism issue, although we'll address that later—but because fans of action games may not give any game with "Resident Evil" in the title a shot. On the other hand, Resident Evil fans may not be willing to take this particular ride because it's an action game. Even more dizzying is that the game is designed to be played as a co-op experience.

This is not a good start for fans of the long-running series.

The cradle of civilization

The story begins with our old friend Chris Redfield heading to Africa to track some biological weapons, weapons that may or may not be linked to a certain company named after a device used to keep one dry. There he meets up with his new partner, the street-tough Sheva, and they begin to work together to find out what's going on in the dusty village. Things go bad, as they always do in this sort of game, and thus begins their desperate fight for survival.

Title Resident Evil 5 Developer Capcom Publisher Capcom Price $59.99 Platform Xbox 360, PS3

These early levels are the closest you get to survival horror in the game, filled as they are with tight corners, maze-like alleys, and an enemy you don't quite understand. While you'll have to be careful with your shots, ammo is not as scarce as it was in past games. You'll also notice that these zombies—if you can even call them that—are much smarter than their predecessors. Not only do they wield weapons like knives and bottles, but they've mastered the use of crossbows and other firearms. If you thought the argument between slow and fast zombies split fans in half, wait until you hear Internet arguments about whether these enemies could handle a grenade. There are drawn-out gunfights that feel like they would be more in place in an action film than what used to be a plodding video game.

So after playing through the entirety of the game, are there racist undertones? That's a difficult question to answer, and there are certainly scenes that will be disturbing to a large audience. Black men dragging off a white woman to do... well, terrible things. You will finish many villagers off by slamming your boot into their brain. These images have negative associations for many people, and the argument will be brought up again as more people play the full game. You'll see Africans wearing oversized masks and throwing spears at you as you fight your way through the game.

How this imagery is used is what people will discuss, but the feelings you get from seeing some parts of the game will be intensely personal. It made me ask myself how people would react if some sort of freak biological weapons attack did occur in Africa, and the story we saw on the news was a team with white faces gunning down infected villagers. The team behind Resident Evil may not have known they were playing with fire when they chose this setting, but in some ways the game is made deeper by asking these questions, and by forcing us to pay attention to how our feelings about race come into play as we experience the game.

My last observation on this aspect of the game is that there are almost no sympathetic white characters to be found. Chris is basically a missile at this stage, his life turned to hell because of past experiences and friends lost. The villain in the first part of the game is an irritatingly-voiced man in a sports suit with more money than morals; imagine a less creepy, more douchey Salazar, and you get the idea. On the other hand, Sheva was born and raised in Africa, and seems a much more human character. The soldiers who support you in the game are black.

So though the racially-based criticisms of the game came from a fear that Africans were being portrayed as mindless, savage brutes to be used as canon fodder, that's only part of the story; the game features characters from many different backgrounds, with many accents, and there is no clear line that connects one race or the other with good or bad intentions.

If you should die before me, ask if you can bring a friend.

Now we get to the issue of the co-op play, which is a tricky one. For fans of playing games alongside friends, this was incredible news—a Resident Evil title built from the ground-up for co-op! Those who prefer a more solitary gaming sessions were sorely disappointed when the co-op details where announced—why can't anyone release a good single-player game anymore?

The good news is that after playing the majority of the game with an AI companion, I can tell you that the title can easily be played without a human companion. You may run into some annoyances, but overall Sheva does what you'd like her to do, doesn't complain when you saddle her with the lame weapons, and tags along very well. I had a few problems with how the AI managed things, as it was a little too free with the healing items, and sometimes when we were split up, Sheva refused to pick up items. But overall it was a fine experience.

The game does get significantly better when you play with a friend, though—sharing strategy, divvying up ammo, splitting up, and attacking groups of enemies together. It's a huge thrill, and playing co-op adds a whole new social layer to the game; I see now why this is Capcom's suggested way to play Resident Evil 5. With only one copy of the game, I was locked in the less-than-optimal split-screen mode, where a big chunk of the screen is missing, but after scooting our chairs closer, we had a great time. I plan on buying a retail copy of the game simply so that I can play through it with friends over Xbox Live.