Resident Evil 5

Beyond generally sticking together, each of the set-pieces shown off in the demo illustrates how important it is to keep each other alive at every turn, with one or the other player thrust into the position of arch defender. At context-sensitive locations you'll be offered an opportunity to provide an 'assist jump' to boost your partner up to otherwise-unreachable areas, which will then enable one of the duo to cover new ground. Predictably, these solo runs result in a zombie onslaught that requires the other to provide vital covering fire from afar - in the demo's case via a regulation sniper rifle with adjustable zoom.

In the climax of both demo segments, we also get the chance to do battle with horrendously powerful foes that directly reprise the leatherface bit near the start of Resident Evil 4. Now, as then, concerted attacks eventually present an opportunity to daze these colossal opponents and land a powerful blow - though the smartest approach appears to be to lure your unwary foe into the path of combustible objects and catch them with explosive force.

In terms of weapons, the demo throws up few surprises, with a fairly standard loadout of pistol, shotgun, machine gun, rifle, grenades and knife. While the weapons generally feel the same as they ever did, the enemies appear to drop more ammo than before. Evidently the currency-based system for ammo and upgrades remains in place though, with endless loose change discarded, although the shops are closed in the demo.

Built with a greatly enhanced version of the already awesome Resident Evil 4 engine, all the locations shown off in the demo convey the requisite rancid squalor you'd expect from a bloodthirsty shantytown in the grip of bioterrorism. Festering remains lie decaying in darkened corners of rickety corrugated-iron huts, while makeshift barriers and discarded boxes and tyres fill out a labyrinthine environment strewn with junk.

There's plenty of subtle lighting and intricate texturing to help, as terrifying, slavering zombs with glowing red eyes lurch in your general direction out of the gloom. Armed and dangerous, they howl for backup, pound down doors, vault fences and smash through windows to get to you. Shooting them might throw then off their stride for a moment, but it's game where the headshot becomes an all-important tactic - not only to save ammo, but to save time. The sooner you can dispatch a lumbering enemy, the sooner you can turn your attention to the three other frothing lunatics stumbling in your general direction.

For now though, there's little more for us to go on than these two vignettes, which last little more than ten minutes apiece. For a game reportedly clocking in at over twenty hours, it's way too early to judge quite how the full thing will play out, but we like what we've played. Newcomers to the series might find some of the control, camera and combat quirks a little jarring, but those who regard Resident Evil 4 as a classic will be right at home.