Resident Evil is back with a bang
If you never played Resident Evil 4, don't worry about not understanding the story. Almost nothing from the previous game's story comes back to this game. Instead, Capcom decided to return to old roots, and create a story that once again revolves around the evil Umbrella. But what makes this story different is that it finally finishes the story, it answers a lot of the questions the previous Resident Evil games left behind. If there is another Resident Evil game, you can be sure that Umbrella will have nothing to do with it.
But what does return from Resident Evil 4 is its revolutionary game play. The game play works like this, it works in a third person perspective. And to shoot you have to stop, aim in a over the shoulder view. Which may sound like a pain, but once again works quite well, just like it did in Resident Evil 4. But not everything in this game returns from Resident Evil 4, they added one feature which has changed the game play dramatically, Co-op.
If there's any one feature that Resident Evil 5 is going to be remembered for doing extremely well, its the Co-op. Resident Evil 5 was built from the ground up to support Co-op, which means at any point in the game you can invite a friend to come and play with you. One person will control series veteran Chris Redfield, who has returned from the first Resident Evil. And the other will control the newest star of the franchise, local B.S.A.A. agent, Sheva Alomar.
The Co-op works very well, from the beginning of the game to its dramatic conclusion, you will have to work together with your partner to get though, well just about everything. To solving some of the games puzzles, to fighting some of the games amazing boss battles. There are moments in the game where the two will have to split up, but they will still have to work together. For example, near the beginning of the game there is a part where Chris helps Sheva jump to another building, so she can unlock the door of the building they're on. But there are enemies waiting for Sheva, so Chris can help take out the other enemies by sniping from the building they are in.
Now I know not everyone will be able to play Co-op with another person, and so did Capcom. The partner AI does its best to work with you, not beside you. I mean you will never feel like you are baby siting your partner when another player is not controlling them. If you are being attacked, your partner will rush over to help you. If you are hurt, if they have a herb they will rush over and heal you. So playing by yourself is still a blast, but playing Co-op is the highlight of the game, but it also has a problem.
No longer do you have do you somehow carry around a suitcase to hold your weapons in. You will have to stop and sort through your inventory right there in the middle of the action. Which adds to the tension to the already intense action. If you are playing alone, you can trade weapons, herbs, and ammo. But if you are playing Co-op, you cannot trade weapons. So if your partner isn't well equip, you are going to have some trouble playing through some of the games bigger battles. This is the only real problem with the Co-op.
Now if there is another problem with the game itself, its that the horror the Resident Evil franchise is famous for, seems to be gone completely. So instead, your left with an very intense, action game. There would be nothing wrong with this, if horror wasn't such an important part of Resident Evil. But in saying that, it has kept the most important aspect of survivor horror, tension. The enemies are faster, and smarter than ever. And dealing with this and the fact that you have to stop to line up your aim, will make things very intense.
Resident Evil 5 is a great game that delivers on almost every level. It delivers a intense, action packed adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. The Co-op is a great new feature and works with the game play better than most people could of hoped. So if your a fan of Resident Evil 4, or a fan of action games period, you need to play Resident Evil 5.