Resident Evil 5

"Survival Before Horror"

At the beginning of 2005, survival horror had begun to move from a long-standing genre in video games into a cult fandom. The origins of the genre began with the frightening surprises of games like Capcom's famed series, Resident Evil, what many regard as the definitive survival horror game. After sticking to remakes and spinoffs, Capcom's survival-horror opus of a franchise, Resident Evil, began to wane. Complaints of the tank-style controls, awkward camera angles, and overuse of pre-rendered environments began to surface. Then Capcom showed up with the fourth installment in the Resident Evil franchise, and everything changed. After being released on the Gamecube, Playstation 2, PC, and Wii, Resident Evil 4 reinvented the struggling survival-horror genre over and over, widely being regarded as the greatest revitalization of a franchise in gaming history. Not only that, but it was a blast to play. Expectations for the Resident Evil series' future have risen to unbelievable levels; could a game actually surpass the superb RE4? Well, we've been slaying Ganados and Gigantes for four long years, but Capcom has finally released the next installment in the now reborn Resident Evil series. Resident Evil mainstay Chris Redfield returns to the star position, but can his newest adventure live up to Resident Evil 4's tremendous quality?

With Leon S. Kennedy's adventure at a close, Resident Evil 5 picks up with zombie-slaying master Chris Redfield, the hero of the original Resident Evil. Still recovering from the mental deprivation of the past, Chris returns to the force, this time exploring a biohazard uprising in Africa. Chris meets up with a new companion named Sheva Alomar and together, the two uncover some disturbing events behind a new experiment in Africa. While Resident Evil 4 stood as a side-story, Resident Evil 5 hits home when it comes to returning to familiar territory. Plenty of familiar faces are brought up in flashbacks, and early on, you'll find that Umbrella isn't quite as dead as Chris and crew had hoped. It's great to see the story adapted so well, and fans of the Resident Evil franchise who've been wondering what happened to many of the main characters will love Resident Evil 5.

The controls of Resident Evil 5 are mindfully aware of fluid control setup of Resident Evil 4, but there are a few new options. From the start, there is a good selection of different controls, one of which is the traditional control setup of Resident Evil 4. This is a good option, but Resident Evil 5 is extremely set on action, so the original RE4 controls don't pan out as well when horde upon horde of enemies is breathing down your neck. Fortunately, the new control setup works well. You can aim with the right analog stick and shoot using the triggers, with the face buttons being used for running, selecting inventory, and using context-sensitive action commands. Considering that Resident Evil 5 is a much faster and more action-oriented game, these controls are actually good. Many will scoff at the idea of not being able to move and shoot simultaneously, but overall, the controls are easy to learn and work well when exploring the hazardous environments of Resident Evil 5.

A major aspect of Resident Evil 5 is the co-op option. You can play through the entire campaign with a friend locally or over Xbox Live, which does add some fun to the entire experience. Communication between your teammate and yourself is smooth, and there are some fun co-op specific moments that really show a new dimension to how we play cooperatively in video games. However, if you're not playing alongside a human player, you'll find the computer controlled character Sheva to be a serious pain. If you played Resident Evil 4, you may recall controlling Ashley. Think of that, but worse. The CPU character will usually forget about the strongest weapon in their arsenal, instead relying on the pistol. You also have to share ammunition with Sheva, keep her alive, and if she (or you) hit a certain “dying” point, consider it game over if you can't resuscitate her or get resuscitated yourself. She will use herbs to heal even when you don't want her to, she doesn't aim for the skull when firing away at enemies, and worst of all, there are sequences where you must protect her. This all adds up to a poorly-executed chore of a co-op system. If you really want to see the best in Resident Evil 5's co-op system, grab a friend and play through the campaign with them. The computer-controlled teammate is too mechanical and disorderly, making playing through the game as a single player a real bore.

Which brings up another issue: the inventory. It's a nightmare. Unlike the almost puzzle-like Attache Case of RE4, each character gets nine spaces for items, weapons, ammo, and armor. There isn't an option to immediately use an item when you see it. So if you want to use that herb you see, but your inventory's full, tough. You have to use up a spot, either by use or discard. This would be more bearable if the game paused itself when organizing inventory, but you'll be sifting through your inventory while hordes of monstrous enemies breathe down your neck. You do have a shortcut when pressing the D-Pad (which lets you switch from the top, right, left, and bottom slots in your inventory), but there's still no excuse for such a convoluted method of organizing your equipment. You also cannot combine herbs or ammo unless they are owned by a single character. The restrictions and sloppiness of the inventory system are inexcusable in such a strong action title like Resident Evil 5, making organizing your pickups messy and annoying.

Resident Evil 5 is not a scary game. Admittedly, there are moments in the game where something will surprise you, but the game as a whole lacks atmosphere and the unsettling ambiance of its predecessor. Even after playing Resident Evil 4 countless times, the game still managed to create a haunting tone. During the first playthrough of Resident Evil 5, I was scared only a handful of times. These complaints stem from a variety of issues. Firstly, there's too much daylight. Sure, seeing a creepy leech-like parasite burst from an enemy's head is startling (and kind of nauseating), but seeing so many of these enemies in broad daylight won't leave you too panicked. Secondly, the enemies are, in a way, too intelligent. Instead of groaning and stumbling toward you like the enemies of Resident Evil's past, you'll see enemies wielding advanced weapons and even driving motorcycles. If that doesn't make you cringe in disbelief, I don't know what will. Finally, the co-op factor, though a cool inclusion, keeps the scares at bay. Having a friend with you (even over Xbox Live) cuts off the loneliness and emptiness that the games' atmosphere produced. You always feel like someone has your back. The lack of scary ambiance is a very polarizing issue; either you'll love the action-based scenarios, or you'll hate them. Being that Resident Evil has based itself on scary, unsettling environments, it's a shame that the scares have been nearly eliminated. The result is a solid action game, but a poor horror game.

If you can overlook Resident Evil 5's flaws, you'll find an action game with plenty of substance. There are a slew of sequences with plenty of swarming enemies, many with weird and grotesque new forms. The diversity in the sequences is actually quite impressive. You'll go from exploring dank caverns to avoiding huge crocodiles on a raft. Fortunately, the environments produce a degree of diversity that will quench your action-starved nerves. The quick-time events during cutscenes return, though not in huge quantities. The integration of a cover system makes an interesting debut, though these are context-sensitive sequences; you can't use any wall as cover as in Gears of War. The action in Resident Evil 5 is very well done thanks to some great environments, harrowing encounters, solid control, and fun diversity.

The presentation in Resident Evil 5 is absolutely stunning. If you recall, Resident Evil 4 pushed the Gamecube and PS2 to their limit, and Resident Evil 5 takes that one step further for the new generation. The characters' motions are realistic and fluid. The amount of lighting effects is amazing; bright flashes from flash grenades, shimmering water reflecting light, and massive bloom effects are just the tip of the iceberg. The cinematics are especially fun to watch, with excellently choreographed fight sequences that would make the folks from the Matrix step back in awe. In addition, the voice acting is actually good. Yeah, some moments can be cheesy, but Resident Evil 5 really shows how far we've come since the original Resident Evil's ridiculous dialogue. Presentation-wise, Resident Evil 5 stands tall above the rest, showing an amazingly realized world with plenty of strong animations and sound.

Pros
+ Co-op gameplay adds interesting new dimension to Resident Evil franchise
+ Controls work fluidly
+ High-intensity action is full of unique challenges
+ Storyline is excellently presented
+ Amazing presentation

Cons
- Scare factor is missing
- Partner artificial intelligence is awful
- Inventory is far too limiting

Resident Evil 5 does its best to step away from the criticisms of its past by introducing plenty of action-based alterations to the gameplay, but the end result just doesn't satisfy the way is amazing predecessor did. The computer controlled partner is flawed, the inventory is a mess, but the most painful of changes is the lack of the scares of former Resident Evil games. These changes may make for a slightly better action experience, but the horror is far too minimal to quench the thirst of Resident Evil veterans. That being said, the action is very well accomplished. From the weapons to the environments to the overall challenges, Resident Evil 5 takes great strides towards a better action game. Pack in a stellar presentation and you essentially get a new type of Resident Evil game, for better or for worse. There are some critical flaws that could've easily been altered to make for a better game, but that doesn't stop Resident Evil 5 from being a solid, action romp with plenty of fun moments worth visiting. If you liked Resident Evil 4 and don't mind a little more action than horror, Resident Evil 5 will be your cup of tea. Is it better than Resident Evil 4? Absolutely not. Is it a great game? Absolutely so.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/06/09

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