The newest Resident Evil installment isn't quite as scary as the previous games, yet is still a thrill ride.
Resident Evil 5 takes place through the eyes of longtime fan favourite character Chris Redfield. He has been placed in Africa as a member of the BSAA, a Bio-Organic Counter-Terrorist unit. He has been given a new parter in Africa native Sheva Alomar. However, they face a new problem with a new type of Bio-Weapon: the Uroburos. The natives of Africa have been infected with a new type of parasite, similar to the Las Plagas, but these are much more intelligent, tougher, and they re-animate faster than the Las Plagas. Chris Redfield also meets a longtime enemy: Albert Wesker, and also finds an old friend: Jill Valentine.
One of the first things that jumps into your mind is the cast. The cast is arguably the greatest since the original Resident Evil, featuring Redfield, Jill, Wesker and newcomer Sheva Alomar. The cast of Resident Evil 4 was quite weak compared to this, so thats a major improvement. Also, the storyline touches on the older games much more than Resident Evil 4 did, which was just about nothing in the previous installment. They are also more memorable than the cast of 4. Chris is jacked as crazy now, he has more personality then Leon S. Kennedy, and there is more of a story to him. Wesker is in a different league when it comes to being a villain more than Saddler (arguably the weakest villain in all of Resident Evil), as Wesker is actually a lot closer to destroying the world than Saddler was, and there is a personal side to Wesker and Chris. Sheva is a much better teammate than Ashley (more on that later), and Jill Valentine and another new character, Josh Stone, are great side characters that add depth to the cast.
The gameplay mechanics are similar to that of Resident Evil 4: the over-the-shoulder view with the laser pointer. The controls feel a bit sluggish, but if your an old Resident Evil fan, this is no problem. New fans, however, will have to adjust to a new learning curve.
There are a bunch of weapons in the game, with several types of pistols, machine guns, shotguns, rifles, and magnums, as well as a grenade launcher and rocket launcher. The only problem with the weapons in this one compared to Resident Evil 4 is that the weapons don't distinguish themselves that well. For example, in Resident Evil 4, there were three shotguns: the shotgun, riot gun and striker, and they were all quite different. However, in 5, the different types of shotguns, rifles, pistols, etc, aren't that distinguished unless you do some reseach.
The inventory has also been re-vamped. Instead of the old silver case that magically freezes time, you can now have nine slots, and the four directional arrows will bring up the weapons in the top, right, left and bottom boxes. You can also store different items away and bring them back after every new chapter, and every time you die.
There is also something majorly different: co-op play. You can team up with a friend online or offline and be able to assist each other in this, and it is absolutely great. I rarely played alone, and when I did, I didn't have any problems, so I haven't seen any of the Al's problems.
Also, the Mercenaries have been vastly improved. There are around double the amount of maps that there were in 4, and instead of just going on a killing spree, you have to be smarter since melee kills are much more important in this, but that can be explored on your own as you play the game yourself. Like the main game, Mercenaries can also be played in co-op.
The environment in this game is a weakness. Compared to the other games, which were all very dark, this game takes place in sunny Africa and inside compexes, so there is no scare factor in this game compared to the other ones. However, it seems like Resident Evil 5 isn't meant to be scary, so that really can't be factored it.
That said, the graphics are absolutely beautiful. The environment and character designs are all amazing, quite possible the greatest looking video game as of now. All of the enemies have their own unique design, and it just looks absolutely realistic. The graphics are a massive strength in this game.
The value of the game is also great. Though the game isn't as long as Resident Evil 4, the Mercenaries mode makes up for it, and there are a lot more unlockable features in this, such as new costumes, filters and a lot of other things to make this game worth the money.
However, the best part of 5 may not be the graphics, value, or co-op, and is something rather unexpected and not usually factored in when reviewing games: the boss battles. The battles are best the Resident Evil history, and they are ALL very fun to play. While I won't spoil the game, the greatest boss battle has you on a boat out on a stormy sea, and you must destroy this massive water demon using the two different types of turrets on the boats side, and you must blast away tentacles slamming the boat as well as the man that transformed into it. Another boss is perhaps the largest boss ever, and requires the use of a sattelite laser and careful aiming in order to destroy it.
Overall, Resident Evil 5 is definetly worth the money. It can't be said to be as revolutionary as 4, and I won't argue with that. 5 isn't meant to be as much of a change as 4 was, and it would be unfair to knock the score down because of that. However, it does beat Resident Evil 4 due to a much better cast and storyline, gameplay, value, Mercenaries and Co-op.