Resident Evil 5

"Fear you can't forget, but you also can't face it alone"

Resident Evil as a series has always been the subject of much criticism, as well as acclaim. The original pioneered to concept of survival horror; it had you running down dark hallways, scouring every nook and cranny for health, ammo, and ink ribbons. The sequel followed that concept up with new characters, new weapons, and new potential. Resident Evil 2 further localized the survival horror genre, and is hailed as one of the best games to grace the genre. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis still kept the same concept of the first two, and it didn't expand anything -- Just added an immortal experiment/BOW (bio-organic weapon) that chased the player throughout the length of the game. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis met criticism for this lack of innovation. After a few detours, Capcom recognized this criticism, and decided to forge ahead with their fourth numbered installment in the franchise: Resident Evil 4. Resident Evil 4 kept the same tank-like controls of the original concept, but just about obliterated everything else. No longer were there zombies to take a bite out of Leon, but instead cultists to shoot him with arrows. Resident Evil 4 was a massive success among the general gaming community, as well as critically. This is where Resident Evil 5 picks up the slack.

Graphics: 9/10
I have to hand it to Capcom. The graphics in this game seems so perfect that it was the first thing I had to write about. Resident Evil 5 is very good at handling what I think are the essentials to a graphically advanced game: lighting and shadows. Both of those elements are spot-on, and this game certainly excels in that department. I had no slow downs, what-so-ever throughout my entire experience, and there was nothing, graphically, that annoyed me even slightly. I did, however, notice a minor slip-up. It was nothing major, but it's worth noting, considering it's one of the game's only graphical flaws. This game doesn't feature high-quality CGI cinema cutscenes. To clarify, all of the cutscenes are rendered in real-time. This works well for certain things, but for others, not so much. Just as an example, close-ups of faces? Don't even try it. Even in the beginning sequence, the camera zooms on a man's eyes as he bleeds out of them in agony. The detail at this moment is pretty bad, with the texture seeming thinly-spread. Other than minor things such as the previous example, there is nothing to ruin this experience, graphically.

Sound: 6/10
Gone, gone, gone, gone, gone. That's all I have to say. Gone are the ambient sounds of walking down a dark hallway in anticipation. Gone, gone, gone. The music that perfectly added to the atmosphere of the previous installments has instead been replaced by mostly upbeat, fast-paced music. The title screen features African tribal drums. Yeah, tribal drums; I just said it, no joking. Anyways, other than the music (which I suppose doesn't take away from the experience to much, unless you're a Resident Evil junkie who enjoyed previous soundtracks), sound is spectacular. Gun shots sound right, voice acting is spot-on, battle grunts are magnificent. Now just get rid of those tribal drums. Get rid of Irving, too. And never bring him back.

Story: 10/10
This is the meat of Resident Evil 5. The story, while lacking fairly as a standalone, perfectly patches the entire franchise together. It explains everything in the past four games, except it paints a bigger picture and forces the player to look at the storylines as a whole, and connects some previously foggy dots. Like I said, you won't get much from just playing through the game, however. You'll pick up a good amount, but it connects no dots for you. The files, however, connect all of the dots perfectly. Anyways, so Chris and Sheva are part of the BSAA, and they are attempting to funnel off a bio-weapon outbreak in Africa. That's the story of the game at the beginning (it goes much deeper).

Gameplay: 7/10
This game is plagued by many bad design flaws. Let me start out with the simple, and good. The multiple upgradable weapon and currency system from Resident Evil 4 is back, as well as Mercenaries, and various other different unlockables. The upgradable weapon and currency system (herein referred to as UWCS) really benefits the game, and the fact that you carry your supplies into a new game with you only serves to benefit the game. UWCS allows for customization, revealing a new way of killing things with every new weapon. Now, though, using these weapons... This is truly a bit of a tumble. The "tank-like" controls have also made their return, and while this worked before, Resident Evil 5 features a lot of bigger, tougher, faster, and generally more, enemies. The flaw here is that this system of moving is simply too slow. It's too vulnerable and old-fashioned. But now let me talk about the biggest design flaw in the game: Sheva. It seems like a good idea at first, "survive with a friend." Don't get me wrong, I like the idea. However, one question: what about us single players? We're stuck with a lousy AI who we constantly have to babysit, who is constantly stealing our supplies, and who is constantly getting herself killed in her incompetence. Perhaps to add insult to injury, Sheva plays no major role in the game. She has no ties to the story overall (quite literally), and it seems like she's just there as a gimmick. I wouldn't be so livid if there was an option to turn her off (I wouldn't miss her), or make her like Ashley from Resident Evil 4 (who didn't run into a group of enemies suicidally). The most frustrating aspect is the splitting up. There are many places in the game that rely on Chris and Sheva splitting up. During these sequences, Sheva seems extra enthusiastic about running into a group of enemies and dying where you can't help her. Too many times I had to re-boot from the game over screen because Sheva got herself killed while we were split up. Bottom line, co-op was a good idea that turned out beautifully, but AI co-op? Not so much. The result is a partner whom the player is left to babysit.

Multiplayer: 10/10
This is, obviously, where the game shines. It was a game built for co-op, and as a game built for co-op, it does it extremely well. It's easy to just jump into a random game and start playing, or play with a friend. It certainly helps maintain the experience, while taking your mind off of Sheva's horrible AI. Each player maintains their own inventory (unlike single player, where one player controls both Sheva and Chris' inventory), and can trade different items out. This, along with UWCS, allows for unlimited options in multiplayer, and many ways to save your friend.

Replayability: 7/10
The highest difficulty unlocks after one playthrough on Veteran mode. Couple that with great online play, and the UWCS that maintains itself in whatever game you're playing, and you're encouraged to play over and over. I certainly did. There are unlockables to snag, and different weapons to grab, as well as the newly improved Mercenaries mode. Mercenaries mode is a survival mode in which one (or two, in this case) player(s) kill(s) as many Majini as they can in the time allotted. There are time bonuses lying around, and different characters to unlock. That makes Mercenaries mode ideal for great online play for many months to come.

Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 6/10
Story: 10/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Multiplayer: 10/10
Replayability: 7/10

Closing comments:
In conclusion, Resident Evil 5 is what it is. It's not a survival horror game, and it's certainly not a full-fledged action game. It does, however, mark the franchise's major takeoff from old ideas. Rent or buy? I would most certainly buy it if you're a Resident Evil fan naturally; you won't be disappointed. However, if you get sick of carrying around an AI partner, are unfamiliar with this series as a whole, or just generally aren't that interested: rent.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/23/09

Game Release: Resident Evil 5 (US, 03/13/09)