Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360, 2009)

Graphics: Excellent 9.0/10
Sound: Excellent 9.0/10
Gameplay: Very Good 7.5/10
Replay: Great 8.5/10
Overall: Great 8.5/10

Note to the reader: I have been playing the Resident Evil Series since it’s introduction on the Playstation One.

Graphics: Excellent 9.0/10
The graphics are excellent, the cut-scenes and in-game graphics are seamless, and this is as good as Capcom has done for this series. The shadows, lighting effects, and motions are great, and really immerse you into the game. The zombies, the backgrounds, and environments are detailed, rich, and engrossing.

Sound: Average – 9.0/10
The thing that Capcom has always nailed in this series is the sound, and this game is no exception. The sounds of the groans, the heightening tension of the music when an attack is coming, and the sounds of the weapons are dead on. The ambiance is set in the different areas by the increasing tones of heightening sense of importance through the use of music in this game.

Some may say that the voice work is poor, but it goes right along with the “cheesy” style that this series has always had, and the delivery is spot on for those that have been with the series for some time.

Gameplay: Very Good – 7.5/10
Let me start by saying that when playing this game with a friend in the co-op mode, there is nothing better. Having to people that can communicate and work together makes this game perfect. However, that being said, when this game is played in offline mode, it is not the best experience. The computer ally A.I. will shoot you in the back, use herbs unnecessarily, and not help in the most critical times of the game.

Replay Value – Great 8.5/10
Once the game is over, you will most likely be wanting more. Luckily, there are many unlockables, difficulty levels, and time runs to keep you busy for some time. To upgrade every weapon alone (without glitching) would take 6-8 playthroughs! The mercenaries mode, further co-op adventures, and just general playing will keep you coming back for more.

The score would have been greater if Capcom didn’t already include multiplayer on the disk, and charge $5 to download the unlock patch to play multiplayer. This is a trend I do not wish to se continue.

Overall – Great 8.5/10
This is a great game, do not get me wrong, but it is not perfect. This game is a detour off the survival horror that the series has created, and perfected, and has gone down the pure action path. This is not a bad thing, but the controls don’t lend themselves to that type of gameplay.

With less suspense, more gripping events because of the sheer amount of enemies, and over the top ammo and drive of the game, it is a mixture of Resident Evil 4, Gears of War, and the Matrix. Where this game does many things right, it is flawed and glitch in just as many areas. If this were any other title, it would not have been as scrutinized as closely as it was in this title.

Resident Evil 4 was, and still is, on my top 5 games of all time. This game will not place on that list, but I must recommend it just for the sheer fun, playability, and co-op opportunities that are available. This is a must play.

Here are ten important things you need to know about Resident Evil 5:

1. Graphics - RE5’s graphics are amazing, and they are some of the best you’ll find on a console.

2. Controls - I embraced RE4’s control scheme, but the same scheme today feels a bit outdated. You still cannot walk with your gun or knife ready. The developers say it is more realistic this way, but even in cut scenes Chris walks with his gun pointed forward. And now that I think about it, why can’t I simply walk up and punch or kick someone? Why must I wait for them to be stunned?

3. Sound - A lot of the sounds including the music are very similar to RE4, which is a good thing.

4. Co-op - With RE5, two players can together. Awesome! One problem with co-op is the fact you can’t give weapons to your partner. That doesn’t make any sense at all. Also, watch out when using an AI partner for Sheva. She sometimes wastes ammo, refuses to use her powerful weapons, heals you unnecessarily, and dashes off.

5. Items - All items have been needlessly streamlined. The weapons are less complex, there are no more combinable treasures, and yellow herbs are nowhere to be found. Also, you can buy items anytime between chapters. I liked the merchant in RE4, but he’s gone this time around. So who are you buying items from? Apparently, just a menu system. Also, RE5 redesigned the item management system in order to make it more realistic than RE4. I like how it no longer takes me out of the game, but sometimes it is hard to use. The fast equip feature via the D-pad is greatly appreciated.

6. Horror - RE5’s biggest issue is the fact it continues the series’ trend of removing all aspects of “horror” from the survival horror genre. In fact, I would just call RE5 an action game with elements of adventure. There is rarely any suspense, the action is almost nonstop, and many of the potentially scary settings occur in daylight.

7. Bosses - Simply put, the boss fights in this game are not as original or exciting as RE4’s boss fights. Most are easy, unvaried, and unnoteworthy. Some of the boss fights don’t even feel like fights, but mere struggles instead.

8. Puzzles - Unfortunately, RE5 offers virtually zero puzzles. There’s not even the task of combining treasure. The only thing remotely close to a puzzle is finding the blue BSAA emblems. Shooting them is a cool way to unlock bonus features.

9. Saving - I like being able to save my game at various points, and I like being able to start a brand new game, but these features are gone. RE5 keeps track of all items and money you have so that to play previous chapters, you always bring your latest gear. It almost makes it too easy.

10. Charm - RE5 lacks a lot of the charm found in RE4. Chris is almost emotionless, whereas Leon was witty and classy. The quick time events in RE5 are overdone and predictable, whereas in RE4 they were fun and surprising. The only character with real “character” in RE5 is Irving. It seemed the whole cast of RE4 stood out.

Conclusion
Resident Evil 5 is a short, fun action game, but it lacks a lot of what made its predecessor so great. The only improvements are the graphics and the addition of multiplayer. The rest of the changes negatively impact the overall fun of the game. Still, it is a fun game, and I recommend it for any Resident Evil fan or those who are looking for a good action game.

For years we have enjoyed the combination of action and puzzle elements the Resident Evil series has brough us. Resident Evil 5 takes action over puzzle as a spiritual sucessor to Resident Evil 4. However gone is the merchant and the constant "Help" Ashley needed. The story is that bioterrorism involving the T-virus and Las Plagas is running rampant across the world so Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar are sent in to make sure that nothing screws up, but knowing Resident Evil something goes wrong. So the team goes all over Africa to stop any further infection and to stop the bioterrorists. So how does it stack up?

Graphics: Graphics are great, you can see the individual threads on Chris' shirt and the pupils in the Majini's eyes. No complaints here. There are a few graphical glitches that occur, but nothing overly noticable.

5/5

Sound/Audio: There is a complaint here in that I have fired some of the weapons available(AK-74. HKMP5, etc..) and the weapons sound nothing like they do in real life, nitpicking here but still. There is also a really annoying "squish" sound whenever you hit an enemy with a bullet. I wouldn't normally complain, but it happens so often that it gets annoying. Other than that the soundtrack is awesome and voices are extremely well done.

4.5/5

Gameplay Mechanics: They brought a partner into the mix this time around and it is actually not that bad. It takes away from the game in that you aren't completing it entirely off of your own skill, but it doesn' take away from the game entirely. Veterans of Resident Evil 4 will love this game since it preserved all of the elements of the former and they will beat it first time no problem, almost to the point of it being disapointing, however the later dificulty settings allow this game to actually be challenging. The buttons are responsive and are no real issue.

4.5/5

Story: Here they messed up big time. You can see that Sherry was in the original script with a random white girl attacking you that looks like Sherry 10 years after Raccoon City incident, and I think that one would have been better than what we got. What we got was a bunch of plot holes like Tricell which in RE:CV was HCF, Oswell Spencer being dead in the first game to being magically alive in the later game, and the "Wesker Children" story which didn't make any sort of sense. Overall the story was a horrid mess and I don't give it any consideration when going into the Resident Evil storyline. Also Jill looks like garbage in this one.

2/5

Other: Special features of this game are nothing special, we get the standard Mercenary mode which I don't get why it is called that since it has really nothing to do with mercenaries(not like in RE:3) The new weapons aren't all that special and the new consumes you can get for your characters are not overly impressive. The special features are nothing special but do add to the game's replayability. Also the game is very replayable and Ifound myself playing it over and over again.

3.5/5

Overall: It will make fans of the series mad the way that it was presented in terms of story, but as a game it is excellent and has no real flaws other than small ones that don't take away from the game at all. Good game, bad story.

4/5

Graphics: 10/10
The graphics are beautiful, there's no other way to put it. The movement of the characters was created by real time actors in suits with movement trackers and the results are stunning. The realism is incredible and everything looks as if it could happen in real life. The graphics themselves look better than ever - it's almost as if the pre-rendered backgrounds from the Gamecube came to live in an ever interactive environment in which many things can be destroyed or used.

Story: 9/10
There will be no spoilers in this section. The story naturally continues from where Resident Evil 4 ended. The Ganados were pretty much taken care of, but Albert Wesker (the series' main antagonist - with his characteristic black coat, permanent black sunshades, a botox face and a classical horrible villainous accent) got a hold of the virus. Africa is the new setting of the series and it's up to Chris Redfield, one of the series' returning main protagonists, to stop Wesker at all costs.

Chris is accompanied by a female partner called Sheva Alomar, who is a surprisingly interesting (read: so hot, I wanna take my clothes off) character as you traverse deeper in the game. There is chemistry between Chris and Sheva, and this game might as well be called quite righteously a 'buddy game' (compared to 'buddy movies'). As I don't want to spoil anything more about the story, it suffices to say that the story is one of the better told scripts in the gaming world, and the most interesting of the series since Resident Evil 2.

The Gameplay: 10/10
If you've played Resident Evil 4 you know what to expect. The controls and gameplay are kept true to the revolutionary fourth part of the series, and with it the added element of co-op play online.

No, you can't move and shoot at the same time, but I'm of the opinion that this isn't a bad thing at all. In fact the complaints seem to come from a so called priming effect. Let me elaborate. If you've been playing games such as Left 4 Dead, Dead Space or Fallout 3 and you've been playing in 3rd person, you've gotten used to strifing/running and shooting at the same time. These games have similar gameplay mechanics and the enemies are not like the enemies in RE5. Not being able to move and shoot at the same time will feel a little weird in RE5. Funny thing is, would you have been playing Resident Evil 5 (or similar games with similar controls - if they would exist), and you would then start playing one of the games mentioned before, you might find yourself wanting to perform a quick turn and getting smacked by a creature because of your spasm movement that you wanted to be a quick turn. Resident Evil 5's controls suit the game. The enemies are adjusted to the principles of Resident Evil, and if you remove these very elements of the series, you'd end up with (even) less 'RE feel' than you would now.

Summary:

Graphics: 10/10
The Story: 9/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Sound: 9/10

+ The game breathes awesomeness.
- Fear you *can* forget. There are only a few little creepy moments, but the continuous suspense of the earlier games is never achieved.
- If you're a RE veteran you'll find that many scenes have been recycled, and after a while you may get the feeling that you've seen that by now.
- Sometimes, scenes as well as gameplay are a little over the top. Often this is a great thing, but every now and then it just pushes your limits over the edge as to what is still acceptable as realistic in a Resident Evil game.

Resident Evil 5 is one of the best third-person shooter games I have ever played. I would even equate it with games like Fallout 3 and GRAW 2; that's quite a statement coming from me as I LOVE those games. If you have ever played any of the RE titles, this game is an absolute MUST. So, for the breakdown:

GRAPHICS: 10/10
Hands-down, some of the best visuals ever. Sure, the game is not without its momentary choppiness & random error, but overall the picture is so good its nearly breathtaking. Capcom has overdone it both with the characters and the scenery, taking Resident Evil to a place that it has never seen before; you know the visual is good if you can turn suburban Africa into a delight and still make it believable...

CONTROLS: 8/10
The controls really frustrated me at first. First of all, you have to hold two buttons just to fire. Second, all of the axes are increadibly slow. Lastly, the game requires several different action buttons, instead of just one. Things can become confusing rather quickly. HOWEVER, all of this is easily fixed. Well, most of it. I discovered that the axes can be sped up randomly during mission 3. The random button thing is easy to ignore. The other stuff, I'm sorry to say, we are all stuck with. Oh, and holding A to run? WHY???

SINGLE PLAYER: 9/10
Though it takes a small amount away from the enjoyability from the game, the one-player mode does have its benefits. For one, you don't have the second player stealing all of your ammo (and ammo is GOLDEN). For another, its way easier to see without the damn splitscreen... But, I'm sorry to say, the CP is a retard. She will NEVER do anything right. Other than that, it is utterly impeccable.

CO-OP (2): 10/10
A-freaking-mazing. Without the stupid CP, you're home-free. Just be sure that each person has very different guns (so you don't steal eachother's ammo) and that you don't split up too far apart. Basically the best 2-player co-op game I have ever played.

BONUS FEATURES: 10/10
Though the figurine thing is pretty stupid, its cool to be able to unlock special costumes and stuff. Also, even though it's not quite a bonus feature, the gun-upgrade system is superb. Weapons can be upgraded in nearly every aspect, including capacity, firepower, and piercing capability.

OVERALL: 9.4/10
I would MOST DEFINATELY reccommend this game to anyone that likes third-person shooters. It is by far one of the best that I have ever seen. Sure, there are some things to get used to. But what game doesn't have that? Plus, if you are playing on Xbox 360, mann of the achievements come with the main mission and the rest are pretty easy to get. I got a good portion of them my first run through. But yeah. Happy Gaming!!