It's fun for a while, but Desperate Escape makes no effort to distinguish itself from anything already seen in RE5.
Desperate Escape picks up at a unique turning point in the Resident Evil 5 narrative. With Wesker on the run, Chris and Sheva leave original Resident Evil fan favorite Jill Valentine in critical condition. Fortunately, the now blonde bombshell is rescued by Sheva's fellow operative Josh Stone, and the two fight through Majini to deliver a crucial message to Chris and Sheva. Though it doesn't rip through the Resident Evil 5 storyline blatantly, Desperate Escape expects the player to have played through the main story to understand why Jill is even around, considering her actions in the past Resident Evil games. The story is decent, but Jill isn't the most verbose character. She's all business and is extremely serious about her mission. Josh is a cool character as well, but you never feel very connected to either of the heroes as you're playing through the episode.
Resident Evil 5 was a fun game, but it came up short when it came to being scary. The downloadable Lost in Nightmares did a very good job of returning to the suspenseful scares that long-time players have come to expect from Resident Evil, making the actual combat secondary to the ambiance and atmosphere. Desperate Escape is the antithesis of Lost in Nightmares; it focuses almost entirely on combat. The enemy count is extremely high, an enormous contrast to the isolated corridors of Lost in Nightmares. There's rarely ever a moment to catch your breath, as the enemies flood the screen thoroughly with little time to rest. The Majini are thorough and numerous in Desperate Escape. Prepare to face down sickle-tossing grunts, gatling-wielding commandos, and of course, plenty of chainsaw maniacs who aren't afraid to dig their weapon into your neck. A good variety of weapons are present from pistols to shotguns to rifles, making the battles harrowing. The combat is as intense as ever and rarely ever stops the adrenaline rush.
With all of this focus on the actual combat, Desperate Escape can feel less like an expansion and more like a detour that should've been in the original game. While Lost in Nightmares took the Resident Evil 5 formula in a new direction, Desperate Escape feels stagnant and isolated inside Resident Evil 5. It makes no changes to the atmosphere or design. This is pure, third-person shooting action with almost no puzzles or ambiance to speak of. You get the same shooting, the same co-op, and the same waves upon waves of enemies to blast to bits. Very much like Resident Evil 5 itself, Desperate Escape suffers from AI problems, clumsy inventory systems, and a severe lack of atmosphere. While these issues are easier to overlook in the slower-paced gameplay of Lost in Nightmares, their presence is magnified in the faster, action-filled combat of Desperate Escape. Desperate Escape is an engaging entry in the Resident Evil 5 narrative, but it would've been so much more impressive if the gameplay was refined in the same ways that Lost in Nightmares was.
Like Lost in Nightmares before it, Desperate Escape is a cheap 400 Microsoft Points ($5) to buy, and you are getting your money's worth. Though it is short, focusing on only a handful of encounters, a low price at 400 Microsoft Points is a worthy asking price. Compared to Lost in Nightmares, Desperate Escape feels a bit longer, thanks to a decent amount of challenge throughout. The final encounter in particular is a solid battle that will put your mastery of the combat to the test, especially on the higher difficulties. The unlockable characters, hidden Achievements, and score leaderboards will offer some incentive to stick around as well. Desperate Escape's combat focus makes returning to the battlefield to heighten your scores much more engaging than simply looking for secrets like in Lost in Nightmares. It does suffer from the same short and simplistic design as Lost in Nightmares (though in a much more action-based light) but Desperate Escape holds a good amount of content for its remarkably low asking price.
Lost in Nightmares' ambient mansion environment changed things up for Resident Evil 5. The haunting world was cryptic and unsettling, all to the climactic confrontation. Desperate Escape looks as good as Resident Evil 5 has always been (right on down to Chris Redfield's massive muscles), but its pure action identity takes away what little suspense the original had. Gone are the confining corridors; instead we get vast and expansive environments to blast through. The different areas do look great, though; beautiful lighting effects, excellent textures, and plenty of explosive goodness in the weapons all come together to highlight the action in the chapter. The way the enemies move is still creepy and the character animations take a cool turn when using Jill and Josh's signature techniques. The soundtrack switches up to high-intensity themes and the voice acting is pretty good, coming together in an impressive sound design. Resident Evil 5 remains one of the best looking and best sounding games on the market, and though it doesn't make a shift in the same way that Lost in Nightmares did, Desperate Escape has a very powerful presentation.
Pros
+ Action-packed combat remains a highlight of the Resident Evil 5 gameplay
+ Challenging rush of enemies
+ Reasonable asking price
Cons
- Retains nearly all of the problems seen in the original Resident Evil 5
- Short and simplistic
- Feels like it should've been a part of the original game
While Lost in Nightmares felt like what Resident Evil 5 should have been, Desperate Escape feels like what Resident Evil 5 turned out to be. The emphasis on clearing crowds of dangerous enemies and blasting as many Majini as possible is fun for a while, but there's no progression here. It feels like the developers took the Mercenaries mode and tried to wrap it around the storyline. It's short, it's simplistic, it's shooting. If you loved the combat emphasis seen in Resident Evil 5, Desperate Escape is a cheap way to extend that play time. If you found Resident Evil 5 to lack atmosphere, or if you found Lost in Nightmares to be great, prepare for a major disappointment. Desperate Escape is a decent and inexpensive extension of the Resident Evil 5 formula, but after seeing such a departure in Lost in Nightmares, you'll probably find the stagnancy in that formula to overstay its welcome.