In LA, Resident Evil 5 stood alongside Gears of War 2, Fallout 3 and, er… Lips, and more than managed to hold its own. Few were left in any doubt that Capcom has streamlined all that was good in RE4 and then ramped everything up to create unbelievable tension. There may be some quiet, reflective moments in this new instalment, but they certainly weren’t front-and-centre at E3. Instead, we were treated to a constant barrage of attacking infectees, a solid look at how co-op will work and a clear indication of why it has taken so damn long to arrive. Maybe it was because everyone’s jaws were too busy dropping, but the whole racism debate barely got a look-in.

As previously reported, the ‘fifth’ Resi sees Chris Redfield return to Africa to shed light on the origins of the virus, with Capcom now confirming – in the cryptic, non-committal way that only game developers can – that the game will draw in and wrap up some of the key mysteries surrounding the four previous titles in the series. With ten years having passed since the destruction of Raccoon City, Chris has buffed up, left STARS and – not having learned to distrust large-scale corporate soldier outfits – joined a new team known as BSAA. It’s the sort of clandestine, black-ops militia that has offices all over the globe, hence the fact that Redfield is joined in his quest by Sheva, an African BSAA agent and Resident Evil 5’s co-op partner.

Sheva’s company retains some of the ‘walk to the right spot and press a button to give partner a boostie’ feel of Ashley in RE4, but the fact she can carry a gun (and use it) means she’s far less a nuisance and far more an integral part of the action. She obviously means business, too; she’s not nearly as objectified as the pendulous-bosomed lady holding a syringe in the E3 trailer. On top of the range of acrobatic throws and context-sensitive lifts, Sheva is on hand to offer health or ammo when you need it, even swapping weapons and items with you (and effectively doubling thesize of your inventory).

Capcom has also thought about her integration into the game from design upwards, so levels often branch and separate our two heroes, leaving one to hold cover with a sniper rifle while the other runs headlong into the danger zone. The developer may boast some quality AI for Sheva in single-player modes – it looks to be almost impossible to survive without her help – but her inclusion is mainly geared for online coop. As it will be a full drop-in-drop-out experience, the tactical aspects of being able to, say, draw enemies away from your partner while they reload should more than make up for a lack of any competitive online multiplayer. Besides, we suspect the game’s longevity will be stretched by replay value; it’s so stunningly detailed that you’ll want to play through the whole thing several times so you can get a good look at all the places you ran through screaming the first time.

Put simply, every frame of Resident Evil 5 looks like a work of harrowing artistry. Compare it to the first Resident Evil on PSOne, and we wonder how the original ever scared us. However, while the presentation has improved radically, aside from the shift to over-the shoulder, the gameplay hasn’t changed all that much in all that time. It’s still very much a move-and-stop-to-fire affair, but if you didn’t mind that in Resident Evil 4 then you’re only going to lap up the sequel even more.

Besides, factor in the necessity of having Sheva by your side – and the fact the number of attackers seems to have increased hugely to complement this – and it can only heighten that panicked, ‘Damn, I’m good’ feeling of stepping back and getting several perfectly-aimed shots in that made the control system fit so well last time around. That’s a feeling we live for, and we’re dying for Resident Evil 5 to drag it out of us again.