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Resident Evil 5 Review

By Jason - April 2, 2009 - 12:01 UTC

When I think of Resident Evil, especially in the old days, I think of a few things.  I think T-Virus, I think “Jill Sandwich”, I think of the frustration of having no ammo and I think of killing a boss to get a square key to open a red door to a hallway with a locked door and a switch half way across the map which I need to pull just to let my character use the toilet, because that’s how complex mansions were built.

In the case of Resident Evil 5, a lot of those conceptions are long gone.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does change the franchise; something that would have first been noticed in Resident Evil 4, which took such a drastic (but not unwanted) turn from its predecessors.  No longer was there cramped hallways, edge-of-your-seat atmosphere and frustrating puzzles that would have you wandering all over the map to find clues to its solution.  All of that is replaced by upgradeable guns, treasure to sell, and a horde of zombies (not really zombies anymore, these are ‘Las Plagas’ or ‘Manjinis’ (Swahili for ‘evil spirit’) who are just aching to be head-shotted.  Constantly.

Without giving away too much, the story starts off with Chris Redfield, an old RE franchise favourite and his “my body’s too bootylicious” partner Sheva Alomar.  Both of these two characters work for the BSAA (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance) to try and take out an arms dealer called Ricardo Irving.  Before long, Chris and Sheva are put into the midst of the action, with Manjinis looking forward to ruining their day.

At the end of every level (and every time you die) you’re met with a replacement for RE 4’s merchant (What’re ya buyin’?).  A simple interface in which to sell treasure (no combining for higher value here, folks) upgrade weapons, sell of various pieces of gear you picked up but don’t want, and so on.  I found this made the game simpler, as you could die, go back to the previous checkpoint with upgraded/different weapons as you knew exactly what was coming.  It also breaks up the action and whatever tenseness you can get from the atmosphere of the game.

The game has brought in a new set of collectibles as well this time around.  Still around are the “action figures” purchased with points (which are in turn earned by how well you do in a mission), but added are BSAA emblems (little blue emblems hidden around the levels), and the constant hunt for treasure.  Some weapons are also unlocked specifically by upgrading other weapons all the way (the base handgun, for example) which annoying only unlocks its higher upgrades as the mission progresses, so no matter how much money you have, until you’re on the final chapter you just can’t buy the highest upgrades.  There’s also unlockable costumes, new “filters” which change the look of the game and finally eggs.

Yes, that’s right, I said eggs.  You can collect 4 types of eggs (white, brown, gold, rotten) from different chickens and random drops from the manjinis; they can be sold for cash, they can be eaten for health, and thrown at enemies for an achievement.  A strange system, it feels very out of place and I have no idea what its all about, but its there.

The controls of the game are decent.  You need to aim to shoot and be stationary to aim, which is a much complained about thing in the community.  In my eyes, it’s been there since the original Resident Evil games, and changing it now would be taking away something that was so well known in the RE franchise.  There’s a few places in the game you need to use your partner; he or she is usually pretty responsive, but there will be a few times during your play when she will be off saving the world or collecting handgun ammo (more handgun ammo, seriously?) to save your life when you’re dying, but besides that, the AI is quite solid.

The story is…a Resident Evil game.  Plenty of plot holes, as you’d expect, but on the surface its a decent tale.  My main gripe with the game is its length.  I did a runthrough in 3 hours, start to finish, so that’s a little disappointing.  I’d say it’d weigh in at around 75% of the length of RE 4.

This game is meant to be enjoyed mostly in co-op, and I would argue it’s one of the better co-op experiences on the Xbox 360.  Loads of replay value as you seek to upgrade your weapons, collect all the collectibles, finish harder difficulties, or just fool around with infinite ammo weapons.

The Verdict

Pros:

• Fun ‘zombie’ shooter

• Fantastic co-op experience

• Masses of replay value

Cons:

• Too short

• A bit too easy on most difficulties

• Too much ammo for the handgun and not enough for other weapons (rifles, SMGs etc)

Final Score
9/10