Many gamers didn't respond well -- it's an outrage! -- to Capcom's plan to offer Resident Evil 5's Versus Mode as post-release DLC. It's easy to see why: The new, premium gameplay modes have been released less than a month after the retail game. Should Capcom have waited a bit longer to unveil these new modes? Perhaps. But after a few hours of gameplay, we can see other reasons to cry foul.

Versus Mode will be familiar to anyone that has played the bonus Mercenaries Mode included in RE5. The DLC is, essentially, a five dollar repackaging of Mercenaries, allowing players to forgo cooperation for deathmatch-style gameplay. It's a simple twist, and one that doesn't even provide the illusion of effort on Capcom's part. It's clear to us that Versus should (and could) have been part of the original retail package. Yet in spite of this shadiness, it's hard to deny that Versus is a fun mode, and, if you've already exhausted the disc's content, worth the five dollar asking price.

Finally. Not a day goes by that we don't play Resident Evil 5 and think, "Man, this would be better with Muppets." Seemingly hearing our mental prayers, IGN and Black20 Studios have created Jim Henson's Resident Evil 5. It's pretty much exactly what you'd expect: Resident Evil 5 -- with Muppets. Of course, these aren't actual Muppets, but that doesn't really matter. If there's one thing Muppets have taught us over the years, it's how to pretend.

Despite the silly premise, the video actually features pretty good zombie makeup and special effects, including some nice gunshot wounds. Also, we might prefer its cat-stroking, Bond villain version of Wesker to the whiny, pseudo-British one featured in the real Resident Evil 5. Check out the video after the break.

Resident Evil 5 was updated last night with a v1.02 patch. Taking a quick look at RE5's Trophy list, we've noticed that ten new Trophies, the ones linked to the upcoming DLC, have been added. The new multiplayer DLC isn't out yet and we're wondering if this new revelation means we'll be seeing it very soon -- perhaps as early as next week. But don't get your hopes up; Japan is the only region that has a specific release date and that's been delayed to April 9.

Other than the new Trophies, there weren't any other noticeable changes to the game. We've contacted Capcom for full patch notes and will update as soon (and if) we get them.

Capcom has revealed that Resident Evil 5's Versus DLC will be available in Japan on April 9th, and not this week, as previously reported. Could this be in response to anger over the DLC, an attempt by Capcom to let some extra time heal the wounds? Who knows, but Capcom has confirmed the Versus pack will cost 250 yen ($2.60) and 160 on PSN and Xbox Live Marketplace in Japan, respectively, compared to the more expensive price attached to the DLC here in the US.

We've asked Capcom whether the rest of the world will share Japan's release date -- after all, April 9th is "a few weeks" after Resident Evil 5's US and European release.

A new U2 album released in the UK last week, but nobody really noticed, because they were too busy jaunting through bright, deadly Africa in Capcom's Resident Evil 5. As if besting megastar Bono wasn't a big enough accomplishment -- watch your back, Chris and Sheva; Bono doesn't like being number two (NSFW linkage) -- Capcom's game also managed to beat out all of the top 5 movies at the UK box office ... combined. It's likely to be a short-lived victory, however, as games rarely manage to have the staying power other forms of entertainment do in the UK. But, a victory it is nonetheless.

Looks like we know where Capcom is taking us in Resident Evil 6: Hull.

As if compelled by some otherworldly force, hundreds of gamers converged last night at San Francisco's Union Square. Of course, they weren't some kind of brainwashed zombie parasite-controlled mob -- they were there for Capcom's latest act of large-scale fan service, the Resident Evil 5 launch party.

The full RE5 development team, lead by producer Jun Takeuchi, was on hand for the event, joined by members of the game's motion capture cast. Oh yeah -- we were there, too. (Though we weren't sporting spiffy, personalized B.S.A.A. team jackets like the dev crew.) Screaming contests were held, cell phones were laser-etched with RE5 imagery and photos were taken as evidence of the night's activity; check 'em out in the gallery below.

We spotted it and now it's reality: Capcom will be adding several new online multiplayer modes to Resident Evil 5, for a price. The "Versus" pack will allow up to four players to compete across two different game types, including Slayer's Rule, a "point-based game that challenges players to kill Majinis," and Survivor's Rule, which focuses on player-vs-player combat, with the last person standing claiming victory. Each game mode will support one-on-one, or two-vs-two play.

Capcom says Versus mode will be available "a few weeks" after the game's release and will cost 400 ($5) and $3.99 $4.99 on Xbox Live and PSN, respectively. Update: Capcom has noted that the cheaper price on PS3 was an error. Equality for all!

Having watched GameTrailers' video on the evolution of Chris Redfield through the Resident Evil series, it becomes quite clear that he began his steroid abuse sometime after the events of Code: Veronica ... maybe Umbrella Chronicles. We understand the stresses of holding back the zombie apocalypse may have taken its toll on Redfield, but there's no need for him to hit the juice.

Although we can't verify his steroid use from the bulging biceps and mountainous veins he has in Resident Evil 5, we're sure a testicular exam and a bacne (back acne) check could confirm our suspicions.

Chris, we're only calling you out in public because we want you to get better, brother. See you later this week -- if Avon doesn't kill us all first. Check out the full Chris Redfield evolution video after the break.

PS3 owners of Resident Evil 5 will find a special surprise waiting for them when comparing their Trophy info with friends. Capcom has (accidentally?) revealed information about the game's upcoming DLC through newly uploaded Trophies. The DLC appears to introduce a number of new online modes: Slayers, Survivors, Team Slayers, Team Survivors and Versus. It's not exactly clear what these modes entail, but they appear to be competitive modes. "Team Survivors" gives us hope that Capcom is working on a co-operative mode inspired by Resident Evil Outbreak Left 4 Dead.

See the new Trophies after the break.

Everyone has an opinion on this whole Resident Evil 5 racism debacle -- well, everyone except a real expert on the science of race relations. Prompted to settle the ongoing debate once and for all, Videogamer.com has employed Glenn Bowman, University of Kent senior lecturer at the Department of Anthropology, to weigh in on the subject matter. So, is it racist? Long-short of Bowman's response: "I don't think it's racist. I think people are looking too quickly to be able to jam that label onto it."

Bowman argues that the knee-jerk reaction of attributing racism to black characters being portrayed as bad guys "is actually itself a kind of inverted racism which says that you can't have scary people who are black." This sounds a lot like something RE5 producer Jun Takeuchi recently said to Yahoo! Games: "We don't want to create something that offends a certain element of society. At the same time, we don't want to be in a place where you can't set a game in Africa or in an Arabic country. That in itself is a form of racism. For us, as creators of entertainment, it's important for us to strike that right balance."

Interestingly enough, Bowman tries to strike that balance by painting a "counter-thematic" of anti-colonialism: "This whole idea of the victimization of Africa by pharmaceutical companies, by terrorist groups, all of whom seem to be run by white characters who are coming in and exploiting people ... seems to me to be far more damning of the colonial powers towards Africa than it says anything about whether or not blacks are some sort of savages. The blacks here are clearly being set up as victims, alterity, frightening." When the game hits stores next Friday, perhaps you can judge for yourself.

Source 1: Videogamer
Source 2: Yahoo! Games

Embedded after the break is violent new footage from IGN of Resident Evil 5's zombie'riffic Mercenaries mode. It's a special timed survival mode that's unlocked after RE5's main story is completed, and pretty much boils down to staying alive for the duration of the round while scoring points for infected killed. Those who know their franchise history should remember Mercenaries mode from Resident Evil 4.

Be warned, though: the gameplay clips contain intense action sequences, as well as high levels of heart-stopping violence. View at your own risk.

Shh! Don't move or you'll scare it away. It's a red Resident Evil 5 Xbox 360 console, seen here in its natural retail habitat at a Target store in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Note its orange "DO NOT SELL BEFORE 3.13.09" markings. It's a sure identifier of this particular 360 species. And even though we already saw one of these consoles in captivity last week, it's a rarity to spot one roaming through retail this early prior to launch. She's a beauty, alright.

The British Board of Film Classification does not see an "issue around racism" in a particular Resident Evil 5 scene that may be considered inflammatory. Kikizo asked the BBFC's communication head, Sue Clark, about a specific scene where a (*minor spoiler warning*) white, blond woman is dragged by a black man and "impregnated" with the virus, in a way that evokes racist imagery.

Clark explains that the version of the scene submitted to the BBFC didn't have a black man dragging the woman. She explains that if the scene submitted were not the same as the retail version, it would be "illegal under the terms of the VRA [Video Recordings Act ]." RE5 producer Jun Takeuchi told us in a recent interview that when players finally get their hands on the full game, he believes "they will see and understand what it is all about; that there is no racial element to it at all."