Resident Evil 5 Game Review - Xbox 360

OUR RATING:

8.7

GREAT

TANGIBLES:

Gameplay:		9
Visuals:		9
Audio:		8
Value:		8
Quality:		9

Why you should buy it: Co-op is great fun, while the visuals and boss fights all add to the experience.

Why you should rent it: Anyone who is looking for a Resident Evil of old, one that sticks to the survival-horror formula, may well be disappointed. In this case, a rental is the way to go.

UNIQUE RATING:

8.7

SUGGESTION:

Buy It

Resident Evil 5

Written by: Edward Love | Tags: Resident Evil 5, Xbox 360

March 27,2009 - In the realm of “survival horror”, Resident Evil is ace. After more than a decade of quality installments there is no denying that Capcom wears the scare-fest crown, though this has never been more evident than in Resident Evil 4 – perhaps their best work to date – a brilliant fright-fest brimming with shambling zombies, hair-raising set pieces and the staple stop-and-shoot gameplay. Unsurprisingly, after a title of that quality, something had to give. Where Resident Evil 4 embarked on a tour of an eerie Eastern Europe, its sequel basks in the African sun. Aptly named Resident Evil 5 reintroduces brawny Chris Redfield, a recognizable face from the original incarnation, though he has undergone a change: A change that sees his musculature conveyed with all the detail one expects from 2009. This change then, is not surprising, though the game’s decision to go from the dark spooks of before into a land much brighter, more action-orientated is.

As if the ordeal of Resident Evil 1 was not enough, Chris lands in Kijuju to uncover more bio-terrorism madness with the help of fellow B.S.S.A. agent Sheva. This from the outset distinguishes Resident Evil 5, for it is a two-player game through and through, whether you sit with a friend and play together or rely on Sheva’s AI. As a result, the lonely forays through darkened dungeons are gone and in their place is a teamwork affair where Chris and Sheva must help one another stay alive. It’s obviously best if a friend takes Sheva’s womanly reins but her own AI is solid enough, though you’ll begin to curse her as you dwindle down the game’s twelve hour clock. Firstly, she has a knack of running into danger and crying for your help, forcing you to abandon what you’re doing to save her. Secondly, she has the uncomfortable habit of getting in your way, as if your every movement dictates her own, á la a puppet master and his puppet. But this is understandable: AI has its limitations and Capcom obviously want you to be sensible and enlist the services of a friend. Therefore, Resident Evil 5 has gone from the lonely retreat of before into a social affair where, surprisingly, fun, not fear, is a priority.

For one, Chris has learnt the knack of strafing, and though he has to stop and take aim before firing, this extra maneuverability is a welcome, though less tense addition. Like other shooters, the game also lets you maneuver the viewpoint around, which gives a clearer view of proceedings. And at times Resident Evil 5 does feel more like a shooter than ever before. The principally bright locales do little to heighten your fear and while claustrophobic clashes are rife – chainsaw-wielding menaces being particularly scary – you never feel that you have to be quite as wary as you did in say, Resident Evil 4. Then again, every series has to adapt and with the successes of Gears of War and others, Capcom has dropped its own hand into the action jar and come up with something that borders survival horror, borders run-and-gun-shooter, yet never gets either quite right.