PS3 Review: Resident Evil 5
After two play-throughs and hours of Mercenaries, I’m finally sitting down to write a review of Resident Evil 5. Ready your shotguns and prepare for a gruesome monster fest littered with quick-time events and teamwork.
What You’ll Like
Welcome to the Jungle
Resident Evil 5 picks up where Leon Kennedy’s plaga-infested romp with Spaniards left off, and now the interactive gameplay that made us drool while cursing Ashley Graham takes on a whole new meaning. Co-operative play reigns as you work alongside the fresh face of Sheva Alomar; although you can plow through the game on single-player, the real value emerges when two players band together to cleanse the African terrain of Umbrella’s handiwork.
Chris: It's what's for dinner.
I Got You, Babe
Between Chris Redfield and his new partner, the total available inventory consists of eighteen uniform spots. In other words, whether you’re carrying a melee vest or a rotten egg, each item you take consumes one square of precious space. Thankfully, items are completely exchangeable—by both request and individual decision—and weapons can be transferred via the main inventory screen. Positioning items into the top, bottom, left, and right slots allows the player to quickly and conveniently switch between those central items instead of opening the inventory in real-time.
The latest installment in the series heavily involves back-and-forth relay between both players, which makes the experience incredibly unique and engaging. If enemies are bombarding you from all sides, you and your partner can watch each others’ backs; if you need your friend to distract a larger boss while you fire away, the entire tactical plan depends on your say-so. In fact, communication proves direly essential to piling the bodies and progressing through the game successfully.
"I warned you not to eat that Majini's chili dog."
They Just Had an Extreme Makeover
Visually, Resident Evil 5 stands as the poster-child for next-gen graphics. Both regular gameplay and cut-scenes are remarkably crisp and dripping with amazing detail. The endless possibilities for team-ups barely cover the scope of options the game offers. The popular Mercenaries mode, the DLC Versus, and a wealth of extras will keep you coming back for a long time—so you won’t want to rent this baby.
What You Won’t Like
Back to the Not-Too-Distant Future
While its highly-praised predecessor, RE4, blew us away with its innovation and zombie-free re-imagining of the series, Resident Evil 5 fails to capture that magic in many ways. Most of what you encounter fills you with a disappointed feeling of deja vu—from taking down armored trucks barreling toward you to confronting chainsaw-wielding Majinis (sound familiar?). RE5‘s story and gameplay translates into even less of a survival horror game than Leon Kennedy’s adventure; while the voice-acting and story then renewed our hopes for the future, the characters who charge through Africa can’t manage to pull through one scene without awkward, cheesy dialogue and melodramatic moments.
"Hang on, you've got something in your ... EYE!
Somebody Call Barry
The Neo-wannabe, Albert Wesker, does sport a new layer of badass, but the end battle with him works two ways: 1) frustrating and ridiculous, and 2) way too easy. The return of Jill Valentine looks fantastic until she opens her mouth and the eye-rolling drama ensues. The only worthwhile new character turns out to be Ricardo Irving, just for his crazy quips which rival Alfred Ashford’s fun insanity. Unfortunately, we don’t see nearly enough of Irving in the game, which overall feels incredibly predictable and chains one disgusting baddie after another for no apparent reason other than, “Oh, yeah, we need blood and gore, right?”
Recommendation
If you can ignore the painful-to-watch story and the floundered attempt to reiterate the wonder of RE4, then Resident Evil 5 will give you a fantastic gameplay experience brimming with added content that guarantees countless hours with the controller in-hand. However, if you’re not playing with a real-life friend, then the AI version of Sheva will send you into a downward spiral of frustration and loathing (her accuracy ranks high, but she wastes unbelievable amounts of ammo and health—which apparently now comes in aerosol form). Not to mention the first part of the final battle is needlessly cumbersome and makes me want to throw my controller against the wall every time. Lesson? QTAs suck, but with the exception of the last chapter, RE5 implements them surprisingly well for such frequency. The two-player co-op will keep this game on your favorite shelf for months.
Nothing beats a good shotgun. Uhm, not even a really big, sharp axe. Yeah.
