Resident Evil 5: Lost in Nightmare & Desperate Escape

The almost simultaneous release of Lost in Nightmare and Desperate Escape together with the release of the Resident Evil Alternative/Gold Edition, makes it far easier to review the two episodic downloadable content releases together in one compact review. The two DLC could not be further apart. Each episode offers a totally different experience in Resident Evil, and reflects the feelings of how the series and evolved and split the audience. The Lost in Nightmare episode takes place prior to the events of Resident Evil 5. You take control of Chris and Jill as they explore one of the Spencer Estates, and from here on fans of the series will feel a slight sense of déjà vu.

The location of the Spencer Estate mirrors to almost perfection the original Resident Evil mansion. This is only the start of the clichés. Chris and Jill talk forever about the original Racoon City incident, and leave nothing to the imagination – the player is literally waiting for them to point out the obvious and reminisce about the past. From little details of Jill unlocking a door, to the piano with Moonlight Sonata sheets on it  and the narrow hallways, all too often you find yourself repeating lines from the original Resident Evil game – complete with awful voice acting.

The main point of this episode is to scare. You will find limited enemies, often in the most inappropriate places, but they will appear…and when they do prepare yourself for more scares than the entire Resident Evil 5 game. There’s no run and gun in this episode, take your time and enjoy it…well try to enjoy it. The puzzles are simple, yet not as simple as the Resident Evil 5 puzzles. Some require more thinking, but not as the older Resident Evil games did. Yet the slightly more detailed puzzles do give a nod to the older and more complex Resident Evil puzzles. However this episode is designed for the true survival horror fans. The narrow corridors, the lack of enemies every 5 seconds, the puzzle, finding yourself lost, it’s all part of the original Resident Evil experience. You won’t find anything more nostalgic than this episode right here.

If Lost in Nightmare was chalk, then Desperate Escape is most definitely cheese. Desperate Escape shows how Josh and Jill went up the hill  rush to assist Chris and Sheva. This episode is intense and heart-pounding as waves of enemies attack our heroes in their escape from the Tri-Cell facility. The pressure is always there, as soon as you clear one set of enemies, another wave is upon you, jumping over obstacles to get you. Mix it up with some basic puzzles, some mini-bosses and an awesome array of weapons and you get Desperate Escape.

The intensity only rises the further you get, and towards the end the game feels more like the film Black Hawk Down than Resident Evil. Still, as an experience this episode delivers well. There is some well designed puzzles in this episode, and all to often you’ll forget this is a separate story, as it does well to knit together the main plot.

Capcom has also introduced a new scoring system, with hidden Stars to collect, and they give you a score at the end of the episode. These are hidden around the maps, in boxes or even dropped by enemies. Along with this new system Capcom also give you “The Mercenaries Reunion” which allows you to play as a total of 8 new characters, of which 4 are simply different costumes for regular characters. These are both nice additions, but should only be seen as a bonus to the main content.

One of the most annoying aspects of the game is the artificial intelligence, and as with the original Resident Evil 5, you’ll find the game more rewarding and easier if you play with a human partner. Whilst the Lost in Nightmare episode feels fresh, the same cannot be said for Desperate Escape. It feels like the gameplay, enemies and settings have been recycled, a few new enemies wouldn’t have hurt.

Aside from these minor issues the episodes work well. They deliver two totally different experiences, and give the fans something new to play. Whilst they do feel short, in that combined they could both take 3 hours to finish, they do offer a short, sharp experience that hooks the player in.

Tyron Wain, NoobFeed