Resident Evil 5 might be light on horror but the solid action and game play make it a worthy experience.
You get to play as Chris Redfield in a mission to hunt down a bio terrorist. To help you find your way around, your organization has arranged for Sheva, a local agent, to go with you. Her help is not optional and from the very start, you got yourself a partner.
Resident Evil 5 was designed to be a cooperative game, with a partner or the AI. It's been divided into chapters, lasting from 20 minutes to one hour in the first attempt, and are clearly meant for cooperative short sessions. Also, there are plenty of checkpoints during chapters, when it's allowed to invite a friend to join.
Most chapters have been designed with two levers or buttons that must be pulled or pushed at the same time but the cooperative take on RE5 runs much deeper. Some levels will require you to watch your partner's back while she moves through areas you can't reach. Also, as you can only carry 9 items in your inventory (and some protective vests take 2 slots) it's imperative to exchange items and to use different weapons so you will never run into infected dogs without a shotgun or into bow wielding infected without a sniper rifle.
All inventory management has to be done in real time because the game does not allow one to browse the inventory with the game paused. Shortcuts for weapons and for healing a dying companion are provided but it's impossible not to die from stumbling on the controls on a critical situation. It's not a bad thing since it adds up to the tension and heat of the situation. Sheva gets a lot of fire for being a stupid AI but combat requires coordination and even with a human companion things can simply go wrong.
Once beaten, chapters can be revisited for ammunition, money or fun. This is useful because your inventory will be the same throughout your RE5 experience. Once you've beaten the game, all of your weapons, healing items and ammunition will remain in your possession should you decide to play the game again. This remains true to weapon upgrades, which are mandatory on harder difficulty levels. Weapons are really cool and satisfying, specially the ones not initially available like the S&W 500 Magnum.
The graphics are breathtaking and even though its possible to debate on the aesthetics (the choice for Africa, the well lit environments etc), it's hard to deny they're technically impressive. The game uses the same over the shoulder camera as RE4 but with a much better sense of depth and perception of your surroundings. You'll be presented with a fair amount of in game movies for story progression and action sequences. Action sequences will offer a nice break from the original combat mechanics and require one to press a specific button in order not to get killed or to perform a critical action (quick time events). I find this much better than endlessly watching movies without the feeling of actually being there.
The plot is enough to get this action game going and the boss fights are more than enough to warrant a feeling of accomplishment at the end of each chapter.
I myself played the game for the first time entirely with a friend. Played again on veteran difficulty with an AI controlled Sheva and then on Professional with both a friend and the AI Sheva. Sheva does tend to use herbs and healing items on the wrong time but she's also much better than another player when targeting enemies outside your field of view. It's not perfect but just as it happens with any AI, you gotta figure a way to prevent or lower the losses of its mistakes.
It's a great cooperative action game. Though the change from survival horror to action is subject to debate, I think RE5 is a very good and engrossing action game, with enough plot to get the action going, a solid combat system, nice boss fights and plenty of replay value. I think it should be experienced by RE fans and newcomers alike.