The "Resident Evil" series has always been the king of survival horror shooters by showcasing cutting-edge graphics, intriguing stories, and adrenaline-pumping gameplay. The latest installment in the series, "Resident Evil 5" for the Xbox 360 and PS3, keeps up the healthy tradition with a well-rounded, smoothly presented game that has a host of features to satisfy both fans of the series and newcomers alike.
There is much praise to be given to the story of "RE5," but given the twist and turns that occur within it, I can only be vague in its description without spoiling everything. A new virus has broken out in Africa, where "Resident Evil" veteran Chris Redfield is dispatched to investigate alongside the newest addition to the "Resident Evil" character roster, Sheva Alomar. Further investigation into the outbreak and origins of this new virus lead to some "surprising" answers. Many of the plot's twists can be seen coming from a mile away if you know anything about "Resident Evil," but it's still exciting to see them unfold. Everything is presented in a truly polished and cinematic fashion. The exception is Sheva's accent, which seems to change from scene to scene. The cutscenes and storyline are on par with those found in Hideo Kojima's masterful "Metal Gear Solid" games.
To the uninitiated, "RE5," like most Resident Evil games, is done in the third person and in this case, you control either Chris or Sheva from an over-the-shoulder view. Whatever character you're not playing as will be taken over by the AI or you can team up with a buddy to play through the story. This is a fantastic addition to the series since with the exception of the light-gun Resident Evil games for the Wii, there has never been a co-op mode in any of the Resident Evil titles. It makes for a welcome change and the developers from Capcom handled it pretty well.
The game puts a huge emphasis on this element of teamwork, often including puzzles or level designs that require Chris and Sheva to split up in an effort to find a key or open a locked door. Combat is structured similarly, and if you want to have any hope for success, constant cooperation is a requisite. For instance, many enemies can grab on to players or otherwise incapacitate them, but their teammate can rush over and free them. Likewise, if a player gets severely wounded, he or she will begin to bleed out and slowly lose health as they become unable to perform any action, save for walking at an incredibly slow pace. Their only chance at survival is if their teammate comes over to either heal them (if healing resources are available) or resuscitate them, which allows them to regain all their abilities, but keeps them on a small amount of reserve health. Some of the cooperative elements feel a bit forced, such as one level in which Sheva needs to be thrown up to the upper level of a building, only to look through the window and hop back down. For the most part, however, the team element is well implemented, making for some very satisfying moments of teamwork.
There is also a weapon upgrade system featured in the game that, while it is not a new feature, is still a great part of "RE5." As you fight through levels, you can find gold or other treasures that can be sold for gold, and that money can be used at your weapon load-out, which comes at the end of the level or whenever you die, to purchase either new weapons or upgrade ones that you already own. Being able to upgrade your weapons' firepower, reload speed, clip capacity, and even special abilities is a great way to encourage exploration for that extra treasure and cash. If upgraded enough, your weapons' stats can be maxed-out, which not only results in a ridiculously powerful gun, but in some cases also unlocks additional special weapons for purchase.
The weapon shop and upgrade system is not flawless however, as some elements of it are intentionally handled in an rather annoying manner. It has always been something of a staple in "Resident Evil" games to have enough, but not ample, ammunition spread about the level, which encourages the player to shoot accurately and conserve ammunition. While I can appreciate this extra challenge, I do think that it's a little foolish that you cannot buy ammo with your hard-earned cash, which often results in starting a brand-new level with little to no ammunition. There is a much greater flaw with the set-up, however, beyond the ammo issue. Though it first appears that you may upgrade your weapons as much as you like so long as you have the money, this is not the case. Depending on where you are in the game, you can only upgrade certain stats to a certain point, which, in many cases, means that most of the unlockable weapons are not available until the end of the game. It detracts from the sense of freedom that the upgrade system gives to the player and you can't help but feel like it's all a little contrived when you realize that your upgrades and "customization" is still ultimately decided by the story.
My biggest beef with the game is not the holes in the weapons shop, but rather it is the control scheme, which can be also found in the dictionary under "counterintuitive." Your inventory consists of three squares by three squares, which each of the nine slots available for anything from armor and health to guns and grenades. There is no designated "switch weapon" button like in every other shooter known to man, rather, a weapon has to be placed in any of the middle slots on the edges of the square, i.e. where the different directions--up, down, left, right--on the D-pad are. My inability to describe this set up alone tells me that it makes no sense. Whatever direction you press on the D-pad will determine what weapon you pull out. This means if you pick up a weapon and it gets placed in one of the four corner squares or the middle square, which is probably will, since you'll have your weapons designated to each of the four directions, you won't be able to equip it until you go to your inventory and place it in one of the four squares that corresponds to either up, down, left, or right. Doing this as you are being swarmed by hordes of murderous zombies is not an enviable task.
It's equally stupid when it comes to healing, which often needs to be done on the fly. The only way to heal yourself and your partner is to stop moving, enter your inventory, select the healing item, and select "Use" from a pull-down menu. Technically, healing items are supposed to be used automatically when helping a partner who is bleeding out, but for some reason this is not always the case, often leaving it to players to suffer through the idiotic control scheme just to heal up.
Aside from the poor control and inventory set up, the rest of the game is incredible with the graphics being one of its shining traits. The game's visuals look are nothing short of fantastic. Cutscenes look shockingly realistic, featuring wonderful looking characters and fluid animations. Even extreme close-ups of Chris and Sheva's faces work well, with their facial expressions and body language appearing especially natural. That being said, the in-game graphics aren't far from the stunning beauty of the game's cutscenes; environments are crisp, water and fire effects look great, and handfuls of the beautifully rendered character models can fill up the screen at one time without a single bit of slowdown. The game's default graphics have a dark, shadowy atmosphere to them that fits the nature of the story very well, but multiple filters are also supplied, allowing you to set the visuals to suit your taste. It may be relatively common knowledge that the 360's hardware is hefty, but you'll still be blown away at how amazing everything looks.
The sheer amount of content and things to do in this game is equally staggering. Capcom is typically pretty good about including multiple gameplay modes, loads of unlockables, and otherwise finding ways to beef up the game's replayability, and "RE5" is no exception. Depending on which of the three initial difficulties you play on, the game's story spans anywhere from 8 to 16 hours and as mentioned before, the story mode can be played through on single player with the computer AI controlling whatever character you aren't using or played through on co-op mode with a buddy locally (split-screen) or over Xbox Live. While the computer's AI is serviceable, it's a far cry from playing with another human, so playing the game cooperatively is almost another experience entirely. The length of your run-throughs on levels will change, person-to-person communication improves teamwork, and unique tactics and strategies can be adopted to undertake the game's more difficult challenges.
The Mercenaries game mode from "Resident Evil 4" has also made a return, which allows Chris and Sheva to team up, either in single player or local/online co-op, and take down as many enemies as they can within a set time limit. There is a litany of venues to choose from, each of them locales taken straight from the campaign mode, complete with whatever monsters happen to inhabit that area. Both maps and characters can be unlocked as a result of good performance in Mercenaries; each of the characters--some of which are only playable in Mercenaries, some of which are Chris and Sheva in alternate costumes--have their own custom weapon load-out, which is also a nice touch, since it gives players the opportunity to use new weapons like Sheva's longbow. The only drawback to this is that the load-outs are preset and therefore any weapons you may have bought or unlocked are not usable in Mercenaries. Nevertheless, the Mercenaries mode is intense and fast-paced--albeit somewhat simplistic--and breathes additional life into the game, extending its playability by many hours.
Unlockables in the game are not strictly limited to Mercenaries however, as there is an absolute wealth of extras for players to work towards. Alternate costumes for Chris and Sheva can be unlocked, which look fantastic (even if they are a bit silly. Sheva's "Clubbin'" outfit involves a lot of gold and spandex), as well as a multitude of figurines, which can be viewed in the game's gallery. An extra difficulty level can also be unlocked if certain criteria are met. While this is a great reason for gamers to play through the game again with an added challenge, it may be a little too much for some. Considering Capcom's propensity to take the term "Hard" very seriously, I suppose this isn't terribly surprising, but for the average to relatively skilled gamer, beating the game on Professional mode is nigh impossible. Enemies are freakishly strong, their attacks are powerful enough to kill you in one or two hits, and players can bleed out in the blink of an eye. Professional mode is not for the faint of heart, and it's truly awful for your self-esteem; trust me, I would know. I can't get past the first level with a human partner, and it's making me reconsider my abilities (or lack thereof) as a gamer.
There are plenty of other extras that can be unlocked in the game, including figurines, cheats and new weapons. Granted, as mentioned before, the weapons are technically unlocked whenever you max out other weapons that are found in the game, but given how the upgrade system holds off upgrades, you are in many cases forced to wait until the end of the game to fully upgrade a weapon. This, in essence, makes most of your newly acquired weapons only available once you hit subsequent playthroughs. While frustrating, it cannot be denied that it encourages players to give the game another spin. Some of the extra weapons are just too damn cool to unlock and never try out. Ultimately, the weapons, along with the other extras like cheats (infinite ammo for certain weapons) and the figurines are, if nothing else, fun to work towards and add another layer to the gameplay.
I can't think of any reason a gamer shouldn't play "Resident Evil 5," save for fear of the survival horror genre. It looks beautiful, the gameplay is intense, the co-op element is refreshing, and there is just so much to do here that you can play it for months to come. Do yourself a favor and go get the pants scared off of you today.
Grant Hatchimonji
Resident Evil 5 Review
The "Resident Evil" series has always been the king of survival horror shooters by showcasing cutting-edge graphics, intriguing stories, and adrenaline-pumping gameplay. The latest installment in the series, "Resident Evil 5" for the Xbox 360 and PS3, keeps up the healthy tradition with a well-rounded, smoothly presented game that has a host of features to satisfy both fans of the series and newcomers alike.
There is much praise to be given to the story of "RE5," but given the twist and turns that occur within it, I can only be vague in its description without spoiling everything. A new virus has broken out in Africa, where "Resident Evil" veteran Chris Redfield is dispatched to investigate alongside the newest addition to the "Resident Evil" character roster, Sheva Alomar. Further investigation into the outbreak and origins of this new virus lead to some "surprising" answers. Many of the plot's twists can be seen coming from a mile away if you know anything about "Resident Evil," but it's still exciting to see them unfold. Everything is presented in a truly polished and cinematic fashion. The exception is Sheva's accent, which seems to change from scene to scene. The cutscenes and storyline are on par with those found in Hideo Kojima's masterful "Metal Gear Solid" games.
To the uninitiated, "RE5," like most Resident Evil games, is done in the third person and in this case, you control either Chris or Sheva from an over-the-shoulder view. Whatever character you're not playing as will be taken over by the AI or you can team up with a buddy to play through the story. This is a fantastic addition to the series since with the exception of the light-gun Resident Evil games for the Wii, there has never been a co-op mode in any of the Resident Evil titles. It makes for a welcome change and the developers from Capcom handled it pretty well.
The game puts a huge emphasis on this element of teamwork, often including puzzles or level designs that require Chris and Sheva to split up in an effort to find a key or open a locked door. Combat is structured similarly, and if you want to have any hope for success, constant cooperation is a requisite. For instance, many enemies can grab on to players or otherwise incapacitate them, but their teammate can rush over and free them. Likewise, if a player gets severely wounded, he or she will begin to bleed out and slowly lose health as they become unable to perform any action, save for walking at an incredibly slow pace. Their only chance at survival is if their teammate comes over to either heal them (if healing resources are available) or resuscitate them, which allows them to regain all their abilities, but keeps them on a small amount of reserve health. Some of the cooperative elements feel a bit forced, such as one level in which Sheva needs to be thrown up to the upper level of a building, only to look through the window and hop back down. For the most part, however, the team element is well implemented, making for some very satisfying moments of teamwork.
There is also a weapon upgrade system featured in the game that, while it is not a new feature, is still a great part of "RE5." As you fight through levels, you can find gold or other treasures that can be sold for gold, and that money can be used at your weapon load-out, which comes at the end of the level or whenever you die, to purchase either new weapons or upgrade ones that you already own. Being able to upgrade your weapons' firepower, reload speed, clip capacity, and even special abilities is a great way to encourage exploration for that extra treasure and cash. If upgraded enough, your weapons' stats can be maxed-out, which not only results in a ridiculously powerful gun, but in some cases also unlocks additional special weapons for purchase.
The weapon shop and upgrade system is not flawless however, as some elements of it are intentionally handled in an rather annoying manner. It has always been something of a staple in "Resident Evil" games to have enough, but not ample, ammunition spread about the level, which encourages the player to shoot accurately and conserve ammunition. While I can appreciate this extra challenge, I do think that it's a little foolish that you cannot buy ammo with your hard-earned cash, which often results in starting a brand-new level with little to no ammunition. There is a much greater flaw with the set-up, however, beyond the ammo issue. Though it first appears that you may upgrade your weapons as much as you like so long as you have the money, this is not the case. Depending on where you are in the game, you can only upgrade certain stats to a certain point, which, in many cases, means that most of the unlockable weapons are not available until the end of the game. It detracts from the sense of freedom that the upgrade system gives to the player and you can't help but feel like it's all a little contrived when you realize that your upgrades and "customization" is still ultimately decided by the story.
My biggest beef with the game is not the holes in the weapons shop, but rather it is the control scheme, which can be also found in the dictionary under "counterintuitive." Your inventory consists of three squares by three squares, which each of the nine slots available for anything from armor and health to guns and grenades. There is no designated "switch weapon" button like in every other shooter known to man, rather, a weapon has to be placed in any of the middle slots on the edges of the square, i.e. where the different directions--up, down, left, right--on the D-pad are. My inability to describe this set up alone tells me that it makes no sense. Whatever direction you press on the D-pad will determine what weapon you pull out. This means if you pick up a weapon and it gets placed in one of the four corner squares or the middle square, which is probably will, since you'll have your weapons designated to each of the four directions, you won't be able to equip it until you go to your inventory and place it in one of the four squares that corresponds to either up, down, left, or right. Doing this as you are being swarmed by hordes of murderous zombies is not an enviable task.
It's equally stupid when it comes to healing, which often needs to be done on the fly. The only way to heal yourself and your partner is to stop moving, enter your inventory, select the healing item, and select "Use" from a pull-down menu. Technically, healing items are supposed to be used automatically when helping a partner who is bleeding out, but for some reason this is not always the case, often leaving it to players to suffer through the idiotic control scheme just to heal up.
Aside from the poor control and inventory set up, the rest of the game is incredible with the graphics being one of its shining traits. The game's visuals look are nothing short of fantastic. Cutscenes look shockingly realistic, featuring wonderful looking characters and fluid animations. Even extreme close-ups of Chris and Sheva's faces work well, with their facial expressions and body language appearing especially natural. That being said, the in-game graphics aren't far from the stunning beauty of the game's cutscenes; environments are crisp, water and fire effects look great, and handfuls of the beautifully rendered character models can fill up the screen at one time without a single bit of slowdown. The game's default graphics have a dark, shadowy atmosphere to them that fits the nature of the story very well, but multiple filters are also supplied, allowing you to set the visuals to suit your taste. It may be relatively common knowledge that the 360's hardware is hefty, but you'll still be blown away at how amazing everything looks.
The sheer amount of content and things to do in this game is equally staggering. Capcom is typically pretty good about including multiple gameplay modes, loads of unlockables, and otherwise finding ways to beef up the game's replayability, and "RE5" is no exception. Depending on which of the three initial difficulties you play on, the game's story spans anywhere from 8 to 16 hours and as mentioned before, the story mode can be played through on single player with the computer AI controlling whatever character you aren't using or played through on co-op mode with a buddy locally (split-screen) or over Xbox Live. While the computer's AI is serviceable, it's a far cry from playing with another human, so playing the game cooperatively is almost another experience entirely. The length of your run-throughs on levels will change, person-to-person communication improves teamwork, and unique tactics and strategies can be adopted to undertake the game's more difficult challenges.
The Mercenaries game mode from "Resident Evil 4" has also made a return, which allows Chris and Sheva to team up, either in single player or local/online co-op, and take down as many enemies as they can within a set time limit. There is a litany of venues to choose from, each of them locales taken straight from the campaign mode, complete with whatever monsters happen to inhabit that area. Both maps and characters can be unlocked as a result of good performance in Mercenaries; each of the characters--some of which are only playable in Mercenaries, some of which are Chris and Sheva in alternate costumes--have their own custom weapon load-out, which is also a nice touch, since it gives players the opportunity to use new weapons like Sheva's longbow. The only drawback to this is that the load-outs are preset and therefore any weapons you may have bought or unlocked are not usable in Mercenaries. Nevertheless, the Mercenaries mode is intense and fast-paced--albeit somewhat simplistic--and breathes additional life into the game, extending its playability by many hours.
Unlockables in the game are not strictly limited to Mercenaries however, as there is an absolute wealth of extras for players to work towards. Alternate costumes for Chris and Sheva can be unlocked, which look fantastic (even if they are a bit silly. Sheva's "Clubbin'" outfit involves a lot of gold and spandex), as well as a multitude of figurines, which can be viewed in the game's gallery. An extra difficulty level can also be unlocked if certain criteria are met. While this is a great reason for gamers to play through the game again with an added challenge, it may be a little too much for some. Considering Capcom's propensity to take the term "Hard" very seriously, I suppose this isn't terribly surprising, but for the average to relatively skilled gamer, beating the game on Professional mode is nigh impossible. Enemies are freakishly strong, their attacks are powerful enough to kill you in one or two hits, and players can bleed out in the blink of an eye. Professional mode is not for the faint of heart, and it's truly awful for your self-esteem; trust me, I would know. I can't get past the first level with a human partner, and it's making me reconsider my abilities (or lack thereof) as a gamer.
There are plenty of other extras that can be unlocked in the game, including figurines, cheats and new weapons. Granted, as mentioned before, the weapons are technically unlocked whenever you max out other weapons that are found in the game, but given how the upgrade system holds off upgrades, you are in many cases forced to wait until the end of the game to fully upgrade a weapon. This, in essence, makes most of your newly acquired weapons only available once you hit subsequent playthroughs. While frustrating, it cannot be denied that it encourages players to give the game another spin. Some of the extra weapons are just too damn cool to unlock and never try out. Ultimately, the weapons, along with the other extras like cheats (infinite ammo for certain weapons) and the figurines are, if nothing else, fun to work towards and add another layer to the gameplay.
I can't think of any reason a gamer shouldn't play "Resident Evil 5," save for fear of the survival horror genre. It looks beautiful, the gameplay is intense, the co-op element is refreshing, and there is just so much to do here that you can play it for months to come. Do yourself a favor and go get the pants scared off of you today.
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