It's been a bit of time since the 4th installment in Capcom’s popular survival horror franchise that revolutionized action games. Now resident evil 5 attempts to step into those shoes, but to call it a survival horror game is quite a stretch. This is definitely not the resident evil game you had come to expect.
This 5th installment plays more like an action game, and pays the price for it. Thought it's a fun game, you begin to see why focusing on fist pumping action, doesn't work with the set controls. There is no cover system, aiming is similar to that found in resident evil 4 and overall it feels like a dinosaur among contemporary action games. The newly carried out (forced) co-op is both good and bad. If you are playing the game by yourself, Your A.I companion, Sheva, is a pain too big to bear. She is about as stupid as it comes and often times I saw myself dying because of her. The game's main campaign is of descent length and there are some fine moments to be had, but the only thing that held it together was the production values.
The story is engaging enough, but the visuals are dazzling. It features some of the best character models and lighting found in video games, though sometimes the textures can be hit or miss. The art direction also sets quite an arresting horrific mood. Audio is solid, though voice acting can be off sometimes. The overall the game features a great looking and sounding package, as it's come to be expected from Resident Evil game.
Once you're done with the single player, the value is extended to online co-op or mercenaries’ mode. Both are enjoyable game modes to compliment the excellent valued package.
Overall: Resident evil 5 is somewhat of a well-intentioned entry into the franchise. Not because it lives up to expectations, but because it's a decent game. Ultimately I was extremely irritated with the game-play as I had to force myself to enjoy the story, visuals and audio to get through the game. Its frustrations would have been easily resolved had the developers added modern controls to the otherwise aging gameplay mechanics that the game has.