Resident Evil 5: Lost in Nightmares/Mercenaries Reunion (XBL)

This was short... too short. So short, in fact, that it left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I'm a huge Resident Evil fan, and trust me... I downloaded and played Lost in Nightmares immediately upon it's going live (yeah, I don't have a life).

So, what's my gripe about this? Well, first of all: all those static cameras that people were talking about are an easter egg you must find (I've heard by opening the front door three times), the puzzles that Capcom's been talking up suck, the enemies are pretty lame and the weapons don't carry over from the main game.

I'll tell you about the puzzles. I can count them on my fingers. The first one, Jill gets trapped under a slowly descending spiked ceiling and Chris must find and flip a switch to turn it off in time. The ceiling is slow and you have ample time to do it. The switch turns out to be much closer to you than you anticipate. The other puzzles are two "find'a'crank" puzzles, one "Boost Jill up to unlock the door," "Play a piano," "Flip a switch" and two "find the amulets/half-circles/medallions/pendants/keys" puzzle. A good approximation of about an hour of playing Resident Evil, but in Lost in Nightmares the puzzles were all solved (with the exception of two) within the same room as the door/prize.

The enemies suck. Hardcore. We (the fans of the series) thought there were to be zombies... nope. Just weird looking guys. And the "Guardian of Evil" that we thought would be the next Lisa Trevor? Nope. Goes down like a little bitch. And the only way Capcom could make him tougher was a dirty "if you shoot him too close to you, you get poisoned" mechanic, the occasional "fight more than one" trick and my favorite: "we took all your weapons away!" fight. I actually suspect him of being a re-skinned Executioner from RE5. And, other than a major spoiler that the main game gave away, that's all the enemies in the game.

Oh, and the weapons! That's great. You get an upgraded M9, find one Magnum and one Sniper Rifle. End of the weapons. I spent a lot of time upgrading the weapons in my inventory for the main game. Why the hell can't I use the infinite ammo Chaingun in this?! Thanks, Capcom.

That's pretty much it for Lost In Nightmares. I spent a lot more time in Mercenaries Reunion and even sprung the extra money for the new costumes. I love playing as Barry and Excella. Chris' new character is pretty awesome, too. The Hydra shotgun will stop anything dead in their tracks, while Barry's Samurai Edge combined with his "Headbutt" manuever make for an amazing way to get 30+ combos. Reunion is much easier than the original Mercs mini-game in RE5, but it's still fun. Everyone of the characters feels like you're playing as Hunk or Krauser in Mercs RE4. Nobody stands a chance against in you Mercs Reunion.

Lost in Nightmares:
Pros: It's Resident Evil, the atmosphere is reminiscent of the original 1997/2002 game.
Cons: Doesn't add anything to the story, short, uninspired enemies, unlockables don't carry over.
Overall: 5/10
Get if you like: Resident Evil to the point that you spent WAY too much money on it already.

Mercs Reunion:
Pros: It's easier than the original, fun as hell, new characters, you get to play as Barry
Cons: It's easier than the original, enemies seem dumber, you have to pay for new costumes (160ms points per two), two of the costumes are included in "Lost in Nightmares".
Overall: 7/10
Get if you like: Mercs in RE4 more than RE5