Capcom: Resident Evil 5 is "new direction" for franchise "going forwards"

Capcom US comms boss Chris Kramer has called Resident Evil 5 a "new direction" for the franchise, and said that previous games, characters and storylines in the series should be seen as "act one" of the series.

RE5, said the exec, was Capcom "starting afresh" with the property.

"It's a really good time for new players to jump in, because what we're doing is kind of waving goodbye to a lot of storyline elements from, essentially, act one of the Resident Evil franchise," Kramer told the Major in his latest podcast.

"Resident evil 5 is really setting the franchise up for what's going to happen now going forwards, so establishing new characters and storylines, and pretty much a new direction for the game."

He added: "If you're late to the party and you haven't been playing the games for the past 15 years, all you need to know is that the game's a lot of fun and just filled with action, so you don't have to worry about the plot, as we're kind up picking up and starting afresh."

Resident Evil 5 is a fairly dramatic departure from previous Resident Evil games, focussing on co-op and action over traditional "survival horror".

The title launched in the West last week.