Resident Evil 5 Review

Console: PS3

Date Released: March 13, 2009

Date Reviewed: January 08, 2012

Reviewer: Reid

Pros

* Great story continuation in the Resident Evil saga
* Graphics and animations are extremely well done
* Immense amount of options and bonus content

Cons

* You are REQUIRED to have a partner in the main campaign
* You cannot move while you shoot or aim
* Enemies start to not make sense, even for Resident Evil. Two words: Biker Zombies.

Presentation : A

Graphics / Animation / Sound

Right off the bat, playing this game a few years late, I was impressed by the voice acting, dialog, and graphics. Everything holds up well in this regard, and the cut scenes themselves are something to look forward to. Some games solely focus on one or two terrains, but RE5 has you combat in sand, water, boats, caves, temple ruins, and underground lab facilities. The sound effects in the game are appropriate, though not as original as I would have liked, but do follow suite with RE4 to keep a smooth transition between games. The score of the game is very well done, and heightens combat to give a film-style feeling.

Single Player : B

Game mechanics / Length / difficulty

My feelings towards this game cause much internal conflict. As a principle, I feel it is not fair to play a game and compare it to another, as I do not believe that to be a fair analysis. That being said, it feels like a completely different direction in game-play than what was announced (see Development section). I noticed a lot of similarities between RE5 and the first Gears of War. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, Gears of War being the great game that it is, a partner to revive you when you run out of health, calling out tactical instructions, quick weapon selecting with the d-pad, and limited use of a satellite laser gun all made me wonder if the guys and gals at Capcom were trying to cash in on the feeling of the Gears franchise.

If you are playing solo, your partner controlled by AI will get in your way OFTEN. This happens mostly when trying to run out of a backed up corner, or firing your weapon (mostly sniper rifle scope). The game will realize what is happening, and move her out-of-the-way, but it does cost you precious seconds. The items are well placed in the game, hidden in boxes or barrels that you must smash, or dead enemy remains. If you rely on your AI controlled partner to pick these up, most of the time she will only retrieve half of what is available on the floor to pick up, so you’ll need to keep an eye on her actions.

As with most Resident Evil games, this one lasts a LONG time, and you will fight multiple bosses, or mini-bosses multiple times. I played this on the “normal” difficulty setting and still died pretty regularly, so it does present a nice challenge.

The main complaint i have with this game is the item menu. While its quick to access, highlight, and give or request items, it is in REAL TIME. I can’t tell you how many times I ran out of bullets, or needed to heal myself, and a zombie is standing two feet from me face to face attacking me while I’m choosing a new weapon or herb. I accessed the in-game controller configuration, re-read the game manual, and even talked to people who played the game extensively and this seems to be the only way in-game to access your items. Again, not to compare games, but in RE4 you are able to pause the game and access you items there. I understand that perhaps this was done intentionally to induce difficulty, but this hurts the pacing IMMENSELY, and will cost you lives. The only other way to access this menu is to DIE, then the game lets you organize, buy, sell, or whatever you need to do. Why couldn’t they have just put that in the pause menu?

Multiplayer : B

Game mechanics / features / Online features

After beating the game I decided to see if Co-op with a non AI partner made any difference. As my wife will not play survival horror games, I hopped online to have someone join me in more zombie slaying action. After waiting some time for someone to jump in, I was able to play through the first few chapters with another human player, and it did improve the experience in some areas. As better as it did make the pacing in some regards, my main complaints with the item menu access, and standing still while shooting or aiming were of course not affected, adding limited more enjoyment.

Replay Value : A

Lasting appeal / Bonus Content / DLC / (If retro does it stand the test of time?)

Replaying the game is actually the best part of Resident Evil 5. Not only can you unlock different costumes, but you get many options such as unlimited ammo, or screen filters (black and white, red tint) which do really change the feel of the game. You also can unlock a “mercenaries mode” which adds a fun alternative to the campaign, and you are not required to have a partner, so you can one man, or woman, army yourself through hordes of zombies.

There is a huge amount of DLC to keep you busy. Avatars, costumes, and theme packs are all available, but the coolest part is the downloadable missions. There are missions downloadable that let you play out different parts of the back history of the Resident Evil Saga. There is another type of game mode downloadable that lets you play online with other people either in death-match type modes, or alternate versions of the mercenaries mode.

The first half of RE5 made me dislike the game. I was attacked by dumb zombies driving motorcycles or speedboats. It is mostly outside, and in the daylight. This combined with a partner at your side the ENTIRE game really takes horror out of the survival horror for me that the franchise has established. After pushing onward the second half of the game is either in underground labs or the belly of a giant boat and contains some really fun boss fights, which made me wish the entire game would have been in this setting.

You should play RE5 especially for the awesome continuation of the over all story, and to see how they included multiple references to what has happened in the other games. The actions in the game, and the feel of it, in my opinion, should not have warranted it to be number “5” in the main story line. I think it should have an off-shoot title name because of the change in direction of game-play. Maybe something like Resident Evil: Biker Zombies.

Overall : B