[PS3] Resident Evil 5

Introduction

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. When Resident Evil 4 was released in the beginning of 2005 on the Gamecube, Capcom took the gameplay of the old Resident Evil games and completely re-made it. Gone were the creepy (but sometimes annoying) camera angles, pre-rendered backgrounds and mindless enemies, which were replaced with a camera that stays behind your character, excellent graphics, a much improved aiming system, a faster pace, and enemies that were more than just mindless zombies. It was so successful that Capcom later ported it to the PS2, PC and Wii.

Unfortunately, Resident Evil 5 does none of that. Instead, it seems like Capcom took two steps forward and two miles backwards.

Single Player

In the main game, you’re playing as Chris Redfield (from the original Resident Evil), who is now a member of the BSAA, an organization who was formed by the US government to stop bio-terrorism. Chris is on a mission to Africa where he needs to capture Ricardo Irving, who has viruses left over from Umbrella in his possession, and he’s planning to sell them. There’s a possibility of another outbreak similar to the one that happened in Raccoon City, so that’s why Chris needs to stop him. When he gets there, he is met by his partner on the mission. Her name is Sheva Alomar, and they’re teamed up throughout the game. Of course, there’s already been an outbreak that you have to survive through. The story is completely predictable up to the final hour or two. As for the game itself, it’s structured like Resident Evil 4. It’s part action game, part survival-horror, where you’ll have to shoot zombies, and other biological weapons (well, not zombies. The same enemies that were in Resident Evil 4), solve puzzles, and progress through the story. It’s kind of difficult to explain, but if you’ve played Resident Evil before, you’ll know what to expect.

Multiplayer

Resident Evil 5’s biggest addition has to be its multiplayer. The game has a drop-in drop-out co-op mode (think Lego Star Wars) that allows a second player to play as Sheva, and you can do it offline or online. There’s also a versus mode that’s available as downloadable content, but it costs $5 (in the US), and it was originally supposed to be on the disc.

Gameplay

The good news; this is just like Resident Evil 4. The bad news; this is just like Resident Evil 4! Yes, this game is exactly the same as RE4. From the aiming system (you still can’t move and aim) to the initial setting being in a villiage. Hell, Capcom even recycled some of the bosses and even some animation from Resident Evil 4. That’s just lazy. There were only very slight changes made to the gameplay, and what actually did get changed simply should have been left alone.

First of all, calling this game survival-horror is an absolute joke, since most of the time the game is brighter than the damn sun. It also doesn’t help that your partner is always with you, so you never feel alone. Even Resident Evil 4 had at least a few scary moments (or at least surprising). But you’ll get none of that here; Just a predictable action game.

Speaking of action, that’s another area where Capcom tried and failed to innovate. There are no longer any menus to speak of. Everything, from picking up items to opening your map and even navigating through your inventory, is done right in the middle of the action. Even the typewriters have been taken out, and instead the game automatically saves. This is just fine when you’re picking up items (I actually prefer it that way), but navigating your inventory is an absolute chore. You can’t even move when you’re digging through your inventory, which makes you a sitting duck, completely vulnerable to an attack. The game does allow you to use a not-so-obvious “Item Shortcut” that allows you to map four items in your inventory to your d-pad, but you still have to stop and search through your inventory if you want to give something to your partner or to use something that isn’t in the item shortcut.

The supposed versus mode

Also, instead of being able to carry everything with you like in RE4, you have to use an inventory box to store your stuff between chapters and when you die. Yes, Capcom has brought back the archaic inventory box from the older Resident Evil games. Of course, it doesn’t help that each character can only carry nine items at a time (Another annoyance that Capcom has resurrected). I don’t even understand how the idea of bringing those things back was even considered, since these things were the most universally despised aspect of the old RE games.

Another big problem is the AI. Not the enemy AI, but the partner AI. If your partner isn’t being controlled by a human or living organism of some sort, he/she will get in your way. This is partly because you have no control over them whatsoever. In Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 0, you could at least tell your partner to wait or follow you, but in RE5, you can only tell them to follow you. You can’t tell them to wait, or even to stop taking all of the ammo. In one particularly unbearable instance, I was trying to get the “Be the Knife” trophy (deflect a bow gun arrow with a knife), but I couldn’t get it because Sheva kept killing all of the enemies with Bow Guns. I did eventually get the trophy, but only after I took all of the ammo for myself.

The controls are also a big problem. The default control scheme (oddly labeled Type D) is extremely awkward, with controls that resemble that of an FPS game. You’re able to strafe now, but it’s completely useless since you can’t move while aiming, even though you use the right stick to aim while the left stick remains unused). Luckily, there’s a control scheme (Type A. Go figure) that is exactly like RE4, and you’re probably going to want to go with that. At least the load times are really short (but you have to sit through a 15 minute-long installation process when you first start it up), and there are a lot of extras to get after you beat the main game. And of course, the big Resident Evil fans are going to want to play this through anyway, just to see what happens in the story, which does fill in a lot of the blanks. Too bad it has one of the worst endings ever conceived.

Graphics and Sound

I have heard some people talk about how good the graphics are, but I just don’t see it. The game certainly has better (or at least brighter) lighting effects, and it’s compatible with High-definition televisions of course, but the overall graphical quality really isn’t much better than RE4 (some of the textures look really muddy up close). It doesn’t necessarily look bad, but it could definitely be better. The voice acting is as good as it was in RE4, and the background music is also decent.

Conclusion

Resident Evil 5 is a huge disappointment. Its gameplay is unoriginal, your partner is frustrating, the controls feel unfinished, and the game just feels old. Resident Evil fans are going to want it for the story, but if you’re not here for that, just stay away. The last thing I’m going to say about it is that there’s no reason why Capcom couldn’t have ported this to Wii. Oh, well. Maybe Dark Side Chronicles will be good.

+ Graphics are good (despite being rough in some places)
+ Voice acting is good
+ Story
+ Nice extras after you beat it
+ co-op mode

- Poor controls
- Reuses RE4's gameplay engine
- Your partner is a pain sometimes
- Why are those damn inventory boxes back?
- THAT ENDING

. Rent

While I disagree with the game being bad.

I have to say this is a very well written review.

Nice work.

I am quite sure you severly underrated this game.

But thanks for the review.

RE5 outputs in 720p. WHY ON EARTH it does that I don't know. I have a full HD TV going to waste on 720.
The "Zombies" are ganandos (Gosh TDMH ), but yeah it was more or less a disappointment. Sheva is... well, bright as night on Pluto. Sheva's (lack of) AI and the absolute pain that is the item slots are the biggest burdens, and they did make it a bit bright. I gotta say though, some of the cutsenes are absolutely gorgeus (bd spelur) for 720.

Its a nice additon to the collection, though RE4 still takes the cake.
Sadly, I don't have a Wii anymore so I can't play RE4

Originally Posted by ProjectTitan313

Sadly, I don't have a Wii anymore so I can't play RE4

Backwards compatability?

PS2 version?

Buy your Wii back? D:

mine isn't compatable
Dirt poor.
Sad face
I did like the review though

Yes Capcom, wonderful idea.

Make a shooter but keep retardedly stupid horror controls, and everything else that's wrong with the horror genre, and then put them into a game completely devoid of horror (or fun for that matter) and then charge us for what's on the disc.