Beyond building on the series' combat intensity, Resident Evil 5 introduces a number of new elements that radically change gameplay. Foremost among these are new destructible environments. Strong enemies are now capable of breaking through walls and coming at you or utilizing objects in the surrounding environment as weapons. Conversely, you're able to do the same. Also, reworked close-quarters combat makes for a far more brutal battle system. Equipped with a machete instead of a basic combat knife, Chris can also do far more damage by hand than ever before.

With Capcom confirming a March 13th release for the game in 2009, it won't be terribly long before you can get a feel for the intensity of Resident Evil 5 yourself. It doesn't look to be a huge leap forward from the last installment in terms of new gameplay elements, but the advent of cooperative play definitely sets it as one of our most anticipated titles of the coming year.

Questions or comments? We'd love to hear from you .