The Resident Evil 5 trailer is provoking responses in all directions, and I hate to add fuel to the fire. But as someone who was a uncomfortable watching the trailer the first time he saw it at the Microsoft presser, who also hasn't seen a decent summation of his feelings on the topic, I can appreciate Stephen Totilo's perspective. And I hope you give it a shot:

My problem is that it presents a fantasy I don't desire. It looks like it's an advertisement to virtually shoot poor people. I know "Resident Evil" games are supposed to be about hiding from and shooting zombies — this one probably is too. Shooting zombies is something I can get behind...But when I see a town of what looks like impoverished African villagers — the very image of global poverty, the very spectacle that since my youth has been coded in me to evoke sympathy and charity — I don't want to pull the trigger.

After mulling over my visceral dislike for the trailer, I have to agree. It transcends white man guilt, hitting a much more sensitive nerve: general American greed.

Whether or not Capcom will use this polar critical response to make a deeper point...let's just say I hope that they aren't wasting some potentially deeply literary material.

That Notorious "Resident Evil 5″ Trailer And The People I Met In Africa [multiplayerblog]