If you already took a trip down Memory Lane and finished Resident Evil 5: Lost in Nightmares, you likely came away with one of two feelings. Either you were given the chance to wax reminiscent about the more deliberate pacing of the earlier Resident Evil games, or you longed to return to the action-oriented direction the franchise has been gravitating towards since its fourth installment. Capcom has released a new bit of downloadable content for Resident Evil 5, and it's geared towards fans who want more action than adventure. Personally, I found Resident Evil 5: Desperate Escape to be a bit better than Lost in Nightmares, simply because of the relentless white-knuckle intensity that is maintained through the episode's hour-and-a-half length. Regardless, it should be considered a must-buy for Resident Evil fans.

When Chris and Sheva were rescued from a fiery death at the end of Resident Evil 5 by former S.T.A.R.S. agent Jill Valentine and B.S.A.A. agent Josh Stone, did you wonder what they had to go through before that point? No? Well, if your guess is "They fought through legions of Majini to get to their extraction point," you are exactly right. That's really all there is to the story of Resident Evil 5: Desperate Escape. Sure, you get some dialogue between Jill and Josh, as well as a bit from Josh's chopper pilot colleague Doug -- but make no mistake: this downloadable content is all about the action. Desperate Escape is a very apt title; I'm not even sure you'll go a single minute without fighting and fleeing. When you think you've killed every last Majini in the area, more will show up. You'll blast enemies and collect score stars while frantically trying to keep track of your inventory. It's great fun, especially with a co-op partner.

Resident Evil 5: Desperate Escape adds two new characters to take into Mercenaries Reunion mode: Josh Stone and Resident Evil Zero star Rebecca Chambers. Both characters are fun to play with, but I particularly like Rebecca's close-quarters attacks (my personal favorite being the Flame Spray). I don't have any real complaints with regards to how this mode has been beefed up. It was a deep and addictive mode to begin with, and the new content only serves to enrich it.

If you downloaded Lost in Nightmares a few weeks ago, Desperate Escape rounds out the stable of mercenaries quite nicely, even if it's because the characters introduced in Lost in Nightmares would register high on any scale of Japanese quirkiness. Josh and Rebecca are average-enough heroes, and they balance nicely against hammy dork Barry Burton and scantily-clad bombshell Excella Gionne.

If, for whatever reason, you haven't experienced Resident Evil 5 yet, you might have your eye on the Gold Edition. This new release, which contains the original game and the downloadable episodes, is a good buy for first-time Majini slayers. If you're a Resident Evil 5 owner who wants to upgrade to the Gold Edition, you've got one of two options: buy all of the downloads separately or trade in your old copy towards the new release. My conscience isn't allowing me to wholeheartedly recommend the second option, because each DLC release is only 400 Microsoft Points ($5), and the Gold Edition is just Resident Evil 5 with a redemption code.

If you've got Resident Evil 5 and are still jonesing for a monster-blasting fix, you should definitely check out Desperate Escape. Can you think of a better way to spend five dollars and ninety minutes than by pouring slugs into virally-mutated freak shows? On second thought, don't answer that question -- just go download Desperate Escape.