It’s not just what we know about Resident Evil 5 that’s intriguing; it’s what we don’t, too. At a recent press event, Capcom confirmed some tantalizing details: The development of the game is about 60 percent done. The final game will offer about 20 hours of gameplay. It will be released within this fiscal year, which translates into anytime between November ’08 and March ’09.

Intriguing and mysterious for sure, but everything came into much sharper focus when we got to wrap our meathooks around a controller and play the game for the first time. The big surprise was the game’s co-op focus: through some of the missions, Chris Redfield’s partner, Sheva, will fight right alongside you. Before you groan and have a bad Army of Two flashback, we’re happy to report that she’s actually pretty helpful — she holds her own in a firefight, and also keeps you stocked with ammo and health. Of course, some “staged” co-op moments crop up — in one, we pressed B to summon Sheva, who ran in our direction and placed her foot in our cupped hands so we could fling her across a gap into a building across the street. Facing overwhelming odds there, she fought fiercely, but survived only when we provided sniper cover while she descended to the street and unlocked our door.

In the two levels we played, the gameplay was very action-focused with loads of nerve-wracking combat. Zombies (well, viral infectees, if you wanna get technical) swarm in startling numbers, exploding into bubbling, black goo when you pop them with the shotgun. Inevitably, one latched onto us, triggering a quick-time event where a furious wiggle of the thumbstick broke us free. And the one boss we faced — a chainsaw-swinging freakjob with an eye that bulged disturbingly — was absolutely relentless. The only way to take him down was to bait him with a few bullets that lured him to chase us past some oh-so-handy fuel barrels…then boom!

In another sequence, Chris attempted to barricade the doors, but infected enemies managed to break through any openings and sometimes created their own. Suddenly, a hulking monster smashed through the wall with an enormous double-handed axe, showing off the destructible environments nicely. A few creatures also breached the ceiling — whatever these things are, they can climb walls and fences — and when they drop down from above, they’re all wielding knives and axes. When we managed to reach the roof, the view was impressive; Capcom says this village is four times the size of RE4’s starting town.

In fact, “impressive” is the only fair label for these graphics — we haven’t drooled this hard since we saw Gears of War for the first time. And with these early teases hinting at gameplay of that same caliber, RE5 looks like it could actually live up to all the hype.