Many of us are aware of the controversy behind Capcom’s Versus Mode for recent chart-topper Resident Evil 5. Between the fact that the content was finished prior to the games launch, that its mere 1.86 MB download was thought to simply unlock content already on the disc, and the fact that it costs $4.99 when fans already spent $60 a month earlier, gamers everywhere were in a rage.

But then again, this is the same company that continues to churn out and charge for costume packs for Street Fighter IV. All of that aside, let’s look at the versus material for what it is and ignore all these anger inspiring business practices for now.

The Versus DLC allows up to 4 players to fight in either team or free-for-all versions of 2 modes. Slayers (not to be confused with the Halo mode of the same name) is basically mercenaries where players compete against others in order to create strings of zombie kill combos in order to score the most points. Other players can also be killed, adding to your combo string.

This could be the cause of  much frustration if players are trying to rack up huge combo strings when all the other players simply hunt down other players (this happens a lot). After all, the overall objective of slayers is not PKing. This brings us to the second mode of the Versus DLC.

Survivors mode is a deathmatch scenario with a twist, as each map remains crawling with the infected. This includes all enemies so expect plenty of Executioners, Chainsaw Majini, and Gatling Gun Majini. Smart players will always keep a magnum ready as these weapons defeat these pesky bastards in one shot (also true for slayers).

These leads to valuable weapon drops like shotguns and grenade launchers to rout opponents with. Some may see the inclusion of these zombies hunting you down while you are trying to do the same to other players as a pain in the ass, but in reality this is what separates RE5’s survivors mode from other games’ deathmatches.

Either you like it or you play something else. Players score points by shooting others and lose points by being shot. The amount of points earned depends on the method of destruction.

The new versus modes can be played on the same eight levels as mercenaries and uses the same characters as well. However, these characters are unlocked seperately by purchasing them using the game’s points (sorry, you have to do it all again). There are also additional achievements/trophies for those who feel the need to hoard every last one.

All in all, Versus DLC is fairly entertaining.

Verdict

Going back to the infuriating business practices from Capcom, there is no way this content should have cost any money. In fact, this should have been included as part of mercenaries mode, thus adding to the evolution of RE4’s addictingly fun first rendition of the mode. Don’t get me wrong, the content is really fun to play and I recommend it to all those who love the game, but pricing it at $5 when it was already done is unacceptable.

Keeping the idea that this content is worth playing, there are also (as always) room for improvements. Firstly, there should be the ability to toggle player killing while in slayers mode. Being killed by another player while trying to achieve the combos needed for achievements/trophies is just plain shitty. The goal of slayers is killing zombies to rack up huge combos, not PKing (that’s what survivors is for).

Also, there are really only 4 different characters in Versus just different costumes (which do add different weapons) that make up the ten different player options. Why weren’t characters from other games included? I would have loved to see teams of Claire and Chris or Jill teamed with Leon, for example. What about Hunk? Oh and the guy in the helicopter explaining every game how to play, I wish he were dead.

If you are willing to eat about $5 and haven’t already download the content, do so now.

(Versus DLC played on the PS3 version of the game only)