Resident Evil 5 - - - Review

Who thought daylight could be so f*cking scary? I beg to differ with anyone who says that the darkness is the only time that something can officially make you crap your pants, and this is the game that will help prove my point. From the beginning to the end, this game keeps you playing for more, but it does fall short in some respects. I have also only experience with the old school Resident Evil games and I HAVE NOT played Resident Evil 4. With that said, fans of the series will understand that this behind-Chris 3rd person view (that reminds me of the Gears of War series) is all new to me for this game. Also upgrading any gun is a blast (no pun intended) and just the all around learning curve for the controls is quite the obstacle. Plus, the A.I. is the only thing that really suffers in this game. It may be much better to just drop the $7.99 for an Xbox Live Subscription to play with a friend. With all that said, let's get started.

First the camera angle. Makes this game work. It isn't a true third-person title and it has done something other games have tried to do: mimic Gears of War and succeed. Now I don't want to say it takes everything from Gears in this aspect, because I feel with the aiming system it does one better. The laser sighting left me feeling that this game did something new with a not so old concept. With that said it leads me into the controls. The controls with the aiming and movement really do have a steep learning curve. Finishing the first bit of the beginning level which opens with a HUGE ax-man running around swinging his ax mudering anyone in his way (even "zombies") will give you the sense that you have control of the controls. Please keep in mind this is about the 360 version so basically I wanted to get into what kept me redoing parts because of control issues. First is reloading using Left Trigger to aim and then Hitting "A". You have to be aiming in order to reload which is kind of a weird idea, but I have seen that before. It gets plenty easier as you go so don't fret about how dumb you think it sounds. The next is the item selecting. The on the fly selecting gets to be a bit cumbersome so it is best to stick it to the opening the menu and selecting equip manually. Kind of annoying, but you make sure you get what you want that way. The controls get easier as you play, I promise.

Not to mention that this game doesn't just borrow from Gears, but it borrows from an older title God of War. During some cutscenes you only have a split second to hit certain buttons. This gets kind of frustrating especially when some actions scenes don't have them and some do. I wish all did or didn't have them, but they do add a bit more fun to the game. If you are playing co-op you both have your own personal sections. Cool idea that just fell a bit short, but still adds a bit to the game. You can skip cinematics that don't have the button pressing so even if you have to watch a scene over because you missed the buttons it is okay, just skip to the part.

Upgrading guns is so much fun by the way. Sure there really isn't much of a connection between the player and the actual upgrading other than just selecting what you want upgraded when you have enough gold, but when you get to have a handgun that does more damage than a shotgun and you can take down a group of enemies in 2 bullets makes upgrading fun. There are multiple upgrades including: firepower, clip size, reload time, and on a few others, critical % which gives you a chance at blowing an enemies head off with a critical hit more often than normal. This aspect adds something new to the Resident Evil series (forgive me if you can do it in 4).

The story is gripping and for me (a fan of the ones on Playstation 1 and 2) it really ties up a few holes. It really honestly holds you attention until the end. Even if you aren't a fan it is worth a play through, because during the loading screens you can learn about the characters with a timeline that chronicles the events that lead up to the end of Resident Evil 4. The loading screens are out of order and sometimes go to quick to read, but you can go into the extras and read through all 44 parts of the timeline. It gets new players up to speed real fast. The return of Chris Redfield adds some solid star power to the game (Chris is famous for his role as the protagonist of the first Resident Evil). Sheva the new partner (R.I.P. Jill Valentine?) is a great addition, but kind of an annoying problem at some points. This is what I fear every time I get an artificial partner and it holds true still to this day. I have yet to play a game with perfect A.I. partners. She helps a lot at points and even steals your ammo sometimes...bitch...but at some parts I had such an issue on the medium difficulty that I had to have my friends over Xbox Live help me out. There were parts where she wouldn't run and follow me and she would get killed.

Lastly I only have three words for the online multiplayer: fun as hell. It is so much fun and I have played as both Chris and Sheva and either one is fun. However playing as Sheva does come with new little learning curve after playing an entire game with Chris, because she aims over the left shoulder and Chris on the right. However this is where the game shines its brightest. Online play is fun, your partner isn't dumb (unless your friend is), and it makes you learn how to share and it makes you learn quick. If you are bad at letting other people have your last little bit of ammo because they have none, steer clear of this mode. It is all about surviving together. This seems to be the part of the game that Left 4 Dead fans would enjoy most. This game, in darkness or daylight, is definitely a survival game. The parts where you actually do go into the darkness requires you or your partner to carry a lantern which makes killing zombie-like Africans a hard task. Fun, but hard. It is parts like this that really show you the true colors of the multiplayer.

The Rundown:

Concept: Go to Africa and kill a bunch of zombie-like people. Survive and you will be awarded perfectly.

Story: Finish up what seems to be the ending to a story about a "pharmaceutical" company that just won't die. New twists and turns with new characters add such drama to the already intricate story. Like I said, new players can easily catch up without playing the other games with the loading screens too.

Sound and Music: Perfect. From gunshot sounds to the screams and grunts of humans and zombies alike make this game scary and fun. A lot of times the sounds will give away positions of really nasty enemies that you need to kill ASAP which is a bonus for you. Music changes from hectic sequences to just simple walking around which helps add to the mood.

Controls: Huge learning curve. Don't shy away though because once you learn this game slides like butter. It plays smooth and is a fresh new addition to my 360 library.

Graphics: Beautiful. This game is just gorgeous. Fantastic rendering. Anything else I can say or do you get the point? Smooth cutscenes and monsters that look so perfect no matter how unreal they may be. It brings a lot to life. Perfect.

The Verdict: Go buy this game. Sure the $90 special edition may not be for everyone (I didn't buy it), but even for $60 this will give you a good 7 hours of fun. Some parts are harder than others, but worth the play through!

Score: 9.75/10