The arrival of Resident Evil 5 on Friday (rated M for ages 17-up, $60 and $90 for collector’s edition, for Xbox 360 and PS3) does not necessarily mean a return to the top of the heap.

“The landscape on which Resident Evil 5 is appearing is radically different. There has been an upswing of creativity in the horror genre,” says Evan Narcisse of CrispyGamer.com. “The challenge it has to meet in order to re-establish any kind of dominance is a lot bigger.”

The Resident Evil formula of claustrophobic, dark settings swarming with seemingly insurmountable hordes of zombies and mutants has been successful. The franchise began in 1996 (with Resident Evil 1 for the original PlayStation). The last true episode, Resident Evil 4, released in January 2005 for the Nintendo, later that year for PS2 and finally in 2007 for the Wii, was considered a high point for the series.