The bulk of Lost in Nightmares’s content is a new playable chapter that fills in some of the back-story to Resident Evil 5. In the fifth official instalment to the survival horror series, Chris Redfield alludes to a confrontation he had with Wesker, in which his old partner Jill Valentine was lost. Lost in Nightmares takes players back to this memory, with Chris and Jill investigating a residence owned by original Umbrella founder Ozwell E. Spencer. As with Resident Evil 5, you can play the chapter solo or with a friend, locally or online. The partner AI hasn’t been upgraded for solo mode, but that isn’t really an issue this time around.
As soon as the chapter starts, Resident Evil fans will immediately recognise the eerie atmosphere and architecture, which is more in keeping with previous iterations in the serious. Rather than the action-orientated approach taken in Resident Evil 5, you will spend most of the time in the first half of the chapter looking for clues, turning cranks and solving puzzle. Resident Evil aficionados will enjoy being reminded of the franchise’s origins and appreciate the frequent in-jokes. (You can even turn on the old-school fixed camera angle if you know what you’re looking for.)
Haven’t we seen this before?
The pace picks up somewhat in the latter half, when players are confronted with a new and ghastly boss that takes a fair amount of lead to put down. Just as the things reach the crescendo, Chris and Jill are stripped of their weapons. Instead of relying on firearms, you have to resort to setting traps and baiting the enemy towards them. It this section, players will really be on the edge of their seats as they carefully lure the nightmarish creations towards their imminent fate. The setting also does a good job of reminding you of the true nature of survival horror games.
That’s just about as climactic as Lost in Nightmares gets, as soon after, the inevitable showdown with Wesker is on the cards. The final segment essentially recreates the penultimate level from Resident Evil 5, but its still fun to play out, notwithstanding you already know the outcome. Overall, the whole chapter ticks in at around an hour. There are new Trophies and Achievements for completing the Lost in Nightmares story, including some for playing on the hardest difficulty and finding all the new star collectibles. The option to play as either Chris or Jill should also make another run-through more attractive.
In addition to the new story mode, Lost in Nightmares also adds two brand new characters to the enthralling Mercenaries mode. Selecting Mercenaries Reunion from the additional content menu, players are given the option of playing as either Barry Burton or Excella Gionne in any of the original Mercenaries stages. If you are a fan of Resident Evil 5’s Mercenaries mode, you will enjoy testing out the set-ups of the two new characters.
We haven’t seen this before.
The second story-based download, Desperate Escape, will be released on March 3 for Xbox 360 and a day later for PlayStation 3. Both Lost in Nightmares and Desperate Escape will be included in the repackaged Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition, which will be hitting stores locally on March 11. If you are yet to join the Resident Evil 5 club, you may want to hold out for the re-released edition.
If you haven’t traded in your copy of Resident Evil 5 yet or left it lying in a dusty corner, chances are you will enjoy everything that Lost in Nightmares brings to the table. Resident Evil nuts will get a real kick out of the nostalgia and humour, and as with the original game, Lost in Nightmares, looks, sounds and plays fantastically. For a journey down memory lane that won’t break the bank, Resident Evil fans should definitely pick up this nifty package.
Worth buying? Yes
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Downloadable content ratings system
We've given a 'buy' rating of 'Yes', 'Maybe', or 'No'.
Yes means that the content is either great value or brings some substantial additions to the game, or possibly both.
Maybe means that the content may be fun while it lasts, but may either be too short or not enough to fully justify the price tag.
No means that we don't recommend downloading this insubstantial content.
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