Fusing frantic action admirably with survival horror, Resident Evil 5 injects a relentless fear you can't forget...
Contains: Strong Bloody Violence, Threat, Horror and Gore
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Resident Evil 5 is a survival horror themed third-person shooter that revolves around Bioterrorism within the heart of a fictional African setting.
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STORY - 4/5
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Chris Redfield, a former STARS member and now part of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), is dispatched to Kikuyu (a fictional African town), to work with Sheva Alomar to investigate a terrorist threat and apprehend Ricardo Irving before he can sell a bio-organic weapon (BOW) on the black market. Upon arriving, they discover the locals have been converted by parasites into Majini, and that the members of the BSAA's Alpha team have been killed. Soon, the sudden realisation of what is at stake takes them from one shocking find to the next around African locations with secrets to be uncovered and villains to be thwarted. Chris also becomes embroiled in a personal mission of his own and is preoccupied with the lead that his former partner Jill Valentine, who was presumed dead after a past confrontation with Albert Wesker (also believed to have been killed), could still be alive. Many flashbacks piece together the past that haunts Chris in the present, and fills in the emotional slots that buried his partnership in a grave of mystery. But the evidence he finds not only reassures him of the answer he seeks, but forces him and Sheva to come to terms with the fact that Albert Wesker is at the centre of all the villainous events and very much alive, which leads them onto more disturbing discoveries that the entire planet is under threat unless Chris and Sheva can stop Wesker once and for all before his globally catastrophic plan is fulfilled and ignited on billions of innocent and unaware people.
The story never becomes dull with the sharp script, entertaining cutscenes and the sustained threat from the evil villain encompassed at the core of the events, and the thrilling climax will leave you satisfied and rallied up for more.
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CHARACTERS - 5/5
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Chris Redfield may have a slightly exaggerated physical appearance with bulging muscles that even Schwarzenegger would be proud of, but putting his biceps aside, Chris is a really solid and likeable protagonist with an equally likeable, tough (and dare I say sexy) sidekick Sheva Alomar, whose partnership goals are clear, heroic attitudes evident, and minds determined on saving the world no matter what it takes. Since the game takes place in 2009, 11 years after the events of the original Resident Evil, some light is shed on the protagonist at infrequent stages of the plot that explores Chris's life during the decade between the two games, feeding you some necessary back-story to the development of the virus and the main antagonist Albert Wesker. Chris Redfield and Albert Wesker have a cold history between each other, and their meetings during the game's cutscenes are mightily impressive thanks to exceptionally good dialogue and terrifically choreographed fight scenes that at times have a movie-like essence to them, making them all the more captivating to watch as the viewer. Sheva does impeccably well too as your partner throughout the story; never becoming a nuisance and always getting involved and proving a notable character in her own right, wanting to see justice in the face of evil and lending her combat prowess wherever possible.
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GAMEPLAY - 5/5
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Trigger-happy players may not like the stand-and-shoot mechanics that revolutionized the Resident Evil series in the predecessor, and will have to get used to sparing ammo frequently and, even sometimes, holstering your weapon and moving on sharply because of the large amount of foes that you just don't have enough ammo to gun down with. Another disappointing aspect that survival horror fans crave, and may be displeased with, is the action orientated focus of gameplay with very little in terms of a scare factor. But Resident Evil 5 makes the most of these missed opportunities, and tension remarkably defines the entire experience you'll have, and is an integral element of the gameplay.
Item management is a key part to the Resident Evil 5 experience, and proves just how important cooperation is, since you must not only look out for yourself, but balance out and share items, weapons and money for you and your partner to produce a trust in your partnership and complete the mission without casualties. Conserving ammo is standard procedure in this horror action adventure, and it works to make the combat frantic and exciting. It increases tension, not only because of the fact that you are fully immersed when bringing up the menus as there is no pause to gameplay, but because you'll come to rely on your partner, and she'll come to rely on you during tense shootouts against hordes of zombified enemies where you'll need to react quickly and effectively to survive the odds stacked high against you. Cooperation with your partner is required to progress through each sequence of gameplay, from giving her a hand when struggling against multiple foes, to helping her reach an inaccessible area; and it is established that there is much to consider when there are two protagonists as opposed to just a single one.
The gameplay doesn't just continue as a normal third-person shooter either, but is nicely injected with a variety of scenarios to keep repetition at bay, the fun factor sustained at a high level and a sense of unpredictability that carries around every corner. There are a few interesting puzzle sequences filled with danger, challenging and amazing boss fights against massive monsters, turret sections upon moving vehicles, and impressive quick-time events implemented into some of the cutscenes. There is also a great deal of exploration elements thrown in for good measure, proving more important than initially thought since careful observations can highlight deviously hidden treasures amongst the environment up high or off the main linear path, whilst gold and ammo is commonly found within breakable objects. These are important for upgrading your weapons and so exploration is an essential on-foot procedure for subtle discoveries that hold a big impact on future scenes of gunplay. Gunplay is very solid and extremely enjoyable for the length of the game, more-or-less unchanging as you progress apart from using a variety of powerful guns, but all the while accessible for beginners aswell as veterans of this style of game, and becoming embattled is tense and forces tactical teamwork.
There is a healthy assortment of guns to choose from, but you'll likely keep the first of each type you pick up due to the upgrades you have implemented before encountering them, and investing in some damage upgrades is costly so it's worth treasuring the weapons that now possess the advancements rather than selling it for no profit and very little change. However they all feel good to shoot. Though the rocket launcher is a forgettable piece of weaponry within your arsenal due to it's expensive cost for a single use before you discard it, and it never produces satisfying sights when fired, as enemies don't explode in a gut wrenching mess, but instead seemingly vanish without a trace of blood or bone with a small explosion covering their disappearance. Defeated enemies not only boil away in a bubbling pool upon death, but sometimes drop much-needed items including health and ammo which is always something you'll want to snatch up at the earliest convenience.
Chris's massive muscles soon become clear that they are in fact a vital attribute for melee combat and not just for jaw-dropping moments in cutscenes as his physique fills much of the screen. On stunned enemies, Chris can punch or kick foes a good 10 feet; Can even explode downed Majini's heads with a stomp attack; Can wrestle with tentacle appendages and come away better off; And can smash down solid metal doors with Sheva's help. Once you realise these gratifying arsenal of melee moves on stunned enemies or when caught in a grapple hold by strange, monstrous enemies, you'll never doubt the reason behind that muscular appearance again. Melee is also a very strategic way to conserve ammo, as you can shoot an enemy in the leg to put them off balance and then unleash a meaningful approach attack to finish the job and save the bullets for another infected corpse.
Resident Evil 5 distinguishes itself from other games in the genre and justifies an extremely entertaining and frantic evolution of Resident Evil 4's unique and compelling breakthrough gameplay, where the fun factor never drains out of the third-person shooting and the cooperative focus to succeed makes shootouts tense and involving for the safety of yourself and your partner.
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GRAPHICS - 5/5
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Demonstrating a true next-gen game, Resident Evil 5 is a graphical master class with tremendous amounts of detail gone into creating hostile environments aswell as including sophisticated lighting effects that create unease since you almost certainly associate sunlit environments with a sense of safety. However, there is no assurance to security in the sunny back alleys of African shanty towns and tribal villages, since enemies can entrance from anywhere, and so you'll be just as on edge with unease in the light as you will in the dark. The scenery changes but never falters with drawing you in with it's unique amount of stunning detail that gives each new area something to stare at, and you'll be going to a lot of interesting areas within the African setting that the plot does so well to provide new combat and exploration grounds, from Marshlands, shanty towns, and even underground caves. The environmental lighting is so influential to the overall graphics, presenting everything to you with correct shadows and illumination to what you see and come into contact with, making it technically and artistically commendable. Character models are also full of detail and compliment this perfect game department admirably with believable and realistic animations where turning is naturally slow, and sprinting with a heavy weapon is deliberately authentic to eliminate any lack of seriousness you associate within a game that revolves around a near-future advanced scientific premise with horror elements, and never makes you feel certain actions or set pieces are exaggerated merely for enjoyment purposes.
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SOUND - 5/5
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The music is constantly ominous, which keeps you on your toes consistently as you walk silently through dark corridors or trudge cautiously through murky swamp water, awaiting a nasty surprise and never ceasing to be menacing in it's existence within the background, harmfully making you feel nervous and uneasy with delivering the right effect it tries to create upon you. And when something does entrance onto the scene the audio amps up while the sound effects do the rest. Direct hits with firearms will show a splash of blood (more commonly red, but occasionally yellow) with each bullet that lands the target, showing damage inflicted and making the gunplay feel, look and sound really good, and each weapon generates a sound that makes it seem powerful and efficient for the blood that's spilt and the heads that get exploded on screen.
To round off the sublime sound design of Resident Evil 5, the voice acting is top-notch, with sharp dialogue spoken with authority and meaning between both the good cast trying to prevent a catastrophe on the world and the villainous crew attempting to destroy it.
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CONTROLS - 4/5
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The over-the-shoulder perspective works exceedingly well and has the gameplay to match it, and even more surprising is the effectiveness of the controls which are challenging but not annoying to get used to. The slow, deliberate movement may not be welcomed by all who play this horror action adventure, but its implementation grants enhanced tension in gameplay and is worth the price of quick dashes and other common animations seen in most games. As soon as you aim your gun you are held in the stationary position, and may only move if you lower your weapon. It is difficult to get used to since it makes gunplay that much more important to succeeding through outnumbered scenarios, where precision is essential and careful moderation of the bullets you use is key to not being left with an empty clip. The item menu keeps you fully immersed in gameplay, and while it's displayed you can also open up another menu to confirm what items your partner has. You can request your partner for an item by highlighting it and pressing 'x' and can select 'Give' to pass on items to her. Precious little time is often available during gameplay and so assigning items to up, down, left, and right will allow you to quickly switch to those items/weapons without opening up your item menu or causing a momentary panic that could cost you dearly.
The control scheme is large and gives you plenty to memorise and think about when under pressure as different action occur when holding other buttons. For instance, you can only reload and fire when aiming your weapon, and so when not doing so you'll perform other manoeuvres instead such as sprinting or cooperative actions, and getting the gist of what everything does will take time, but not overly long before it sinks in and feels good. Although the cover system is executed poorly and makes popping in and out of cover awkward at various points where it's needed most, it only comes into gameplay in the second half of the game when enemies start using militia weapons, and likely won't hinder your progress or your enjoyment (thankfully).
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ATMOSPHERE - 5/5
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Despite no genuinely frightening moments and scares, and very few instances of darkness other than inside claustrophobic caves and pitch black tunnel systems, don't let the sunlight evaporate the thought of having little or no tension, because if you do, you'll be largely mistaken. Resident Evil 5 is full of nightmarish scenes that are unbelievably nerve-wracking and tense even under direct sunlight due to the calculated and unpredictable entrances from zombified African residents that make every action segment unsettling. Then add a sidekick to events which require cautious awareness of your surroundings, the health of each other and a functioning relationship to cooperate effectively to evade danger and death, and you have an atmosphere that is generated perfectly and portrayed realistically even when the lack of true horror and scares is absent from the experience.
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ENEMY AI - 4/5
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The parasite (known as Las Plagas) that transforms people into zombies (referred to as Majini) is orally forced into its victim, and upon maturation in a host, the parasite quickly replaces the host's will and self-awareness and attaches itself to the central nervous system, rendering them highly susceptible to control by another and, beyond anything else, extremely deadly. Resident Evil 5 doesn't contain your typical zombie strain from a virus depicted in numerous films, but instead provides a catastrophic outcome when biotechnology hazardly goes awry on purpose by power-hungry villains intent on world domination of an insane degree. These varying types of advanced Majini can carry weapons and use them efficiently, launch an attack in groups on your position and conceal their appearance (whether in darkness or behind doors) to provide a nasty shock to you, and overall are enemies worth fearing and dreading for your inevitable next encounter with them.
All sorts of human or beast infected with the virus have potential to mutate further into something hideous and disgusting when damaged enough, like concealed tentacles that burst from within the neck, appendages that protrude from the fleshy torso, dog heads that split in half and winged bat-like creatures that hatch from the back's of enemies. Thus making it pose even more of a threat than it already was, and a primary target that must be vanquished as soon as possible because of the high level of damage the new mutation can inflict including instant death attacks if caught in an unfortunate position. Bosses are rare variants of the virus, and range from a colossal octopus-like beast and a flesh-seeking tentacle monstrosity, that prove challenging tasks to use environment-based advantages and damage exposed weaknesses. Sub-bosses can be just as challenging, and one of the most terrifying types is the chainsaw majini, which is extremely menacing and frightening as it lunges towards you with a deadly tool for a gory demise if unavoided.
Probably the most important AI intelligence is that of your partner. Sheva's intelligence is quite good despite the drawbacks, and with such a large focus on cooperation it had to be. She responds to your actions and follows your orders when possible, and can fend for herself very well with a variety of hand-to-hand combat moves that chain together with your own on certain majini. She impresses with some calculated actions involving recognising the environment (especially in puzzle sections so she is in no danger to be killed accidentally) and helping you out when in potentially sticky situations that require a second pair of hands. Changing Sheva's stance from cover to attack or vice versa is largely pointless throughout the game though, as she basically just alternates to a more offensive type of weapon such as an assault rifle. Unfortunately she doesn't balance out her weapon distribution well at all, and will solely use one weapon until she has no remaining ammo before switching to another one in her inventory, rather than selecting varying guns for possibly different enemies or boss fights. This negative feature overall makes her a liability in some cases, where she won't use the right weapon to get the job done right, and wastes ammo by not aiming for headshots or not observing what you are doing when against an armoured boss. It is annoying, and it's a shame the developer's didn't balance it out correctly so that you didn't have to bemoan about the aspect, and you can only hope the problem will be addressed in the inevitable sequel.
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LENGTH - 5/5
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The story of Resident Evil 5 is made of 6 chapters and a varying number of sub-chapters that last anywhere between 20 to 50 minutes each, and so the campaign can last a very good length of up to 20 hours if you're keen on exploration and aren't aiming for high ranks upon completing the level. At the end of each sub-chapter where you have an interval to sell items, buy new equipment and upgrade yours and your partner's current arsenal you unlock character and enemy profiles, and these are worthwhile unlockables if you wish to view some history on the characters and events of Resident Evil, dating back to where it all began decades ago.
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REPLAY VALUE - 5/5
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Not only is there a large weapon selection that isn't possible to upgrade in a single playthrough (you'll unlikely get to even experiment with each weapon let alone purchase it), there is also plenty of bonus features to keep you preoccupied during mid-level pauses for item management. At the end of a level you get awarded a rank based on your abilities, such as time to complete the level, accuracy, enemies killed, and any deaths you had. This is then collectively recorded and an overall rating will be awarded to you with a certain amount of points. These points go towards bonus features of the game that are optional to engage yourself in, like spending them on any souvenir figurines you've unlocked (with the rarest, and often best, models being hardest to acquire) or special weapon features for infinite ammo once you've fully upgraded a weapon in particular. Figurines are collectable, detailed models featuring all the major characters and creature types in suitable action poses, allowing you to inspect each with simple control and possibly notice details you may have missed in-game such as the long tongue of a Licker or the Majini's face-hugging fangs. Some figurines also require extra things to have done throughout the game, such as shooting BSAA emblems hidden around and attaining the highest rank for each sub-chapter. So as you can see, there is lots of replay value within Resident Evil 5 for those who strive for 100% completion statistics and respectable rewards for those who seek the challenge. A 'new game +' option also makes Sheva a playable character for subsequent playthroughs, aswell as a couple of neat new weapons that only become available in future playthroughs of the single player, so going through the campaign is made even more worthwhile for extra variety especially as upgraded weapons carry over.
With the intense moments of item management where you can only equip weapons and items in the midst of gameplay (the game still runs real-time as you manipulate the inventory), as opposed to the game pausing, many thrilling sequences will surely erupt as you panic during an onslaught of infected enemies against a backdrop of dramatic audio, and cause you to be fatally accurate where every bullet counts towards keeping you alive and breathing. This is the dramatic circumstances that surround every instance of shooting in Resident Evil 5, whether on-foot or behind a turret of a moving vehicle you'll constantly feel the heat of battle and the pressure riding on your shoulders as you strive heroically to prevent billions from suffering the agonising consequences if evil prevails over the efforts from the valiant. Movie-like storytelling, engaging character confrontations with thrilling bouts of exciting action, a well generated atmosphere filled with dread and your worst nightmares, and an outstanding visual design do a fine job of making your experience memorable in extremely unlikely situations that test your will to survive by cooperating, while constantly throwing unpredictable elements of gameplay your way to make you relish the accomplishment once you pass the challenge blocking your path to answers. This horror action adventure has established a quantum leap in the gaming industry, not only revolutionising the genre it splits up between third-person shooter and survival horror, but defining how to make a game extremely fun despite some absent traits usually expected within such a classically depicted, popular genre of this kind. And the unfamiliar controls and shooting mechanics that merge fantastically into every gameplay sequence with the input of monstrous and smart enemies to test your ability to adapt under all kinds of threats make Resident Evil 5 the evolution you would hope for, with a thrilling climax to culminate a series worth investing in until the inevitable next instalment and injecting you with a fear you won't forget.
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OVERALL SUMMARY - 9/10
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Good Points: Stunning graphics and environmental lighting, Item management forces thoughtful cooperation with your AI partner whilst never breaking the immersion during action, Deliberately slow movement and stationary shooting controls make for challenging and frantic sequences of gameplay, Detailed character models and realistic animations, Superb sound design that contains menacing audio and convincing voice acting, Persistently foreboding atmosphere, Many types of threatening enemies and large bosses keep you on your toes to change tactics accordingly, Massive range of weapons and upgrades yields high replay value, Likeable protagonists and equally relishable main villain, Neat use of quick-time events in some of the highly watchable cutscenes.
Bad Points: AI partner wastes ammo and doesn't pick weapons wisely, Poor cover system.