First off - Resident Evil 5 is available on both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, I reviewed the Xbox 360 version for reference.
STORY -
The story revolves around Chris Redfield and his new partner Sheva Alomar, they are members of the B.S.A.A which stands for Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance. They have been sent into this location in Africa to try and catch a major bio-terrorist, they are put in the shit right away. As you walk through the first part of the game you have no weapons of any kind as you witness several locals beating another man. This moment for me was actually kind of confusing as you listen to the dialogue and view this man getting beat down fairly brutally. Within another few moments you meet your contact and get your weapons, now you are set to lay the fucking smack down on some zombie bitches. Your contact advises you to find someone named Irving whom is the Bio-terrorist you have come to take down. In the next few scenes you are treated to someone getting infected by being fed something (and I mean some THING). As you proceed through the game you are introduced to many other characters and some that you have seen before if you are a fan of the series, including as seen in several screenshots so it's hopefully not a spoiler by this point - Albert Wesker, whom is as always a complete asshole but also a super crazy ninja type dude. Not going to deep into the plot as not to ruin anything for others, it's a decently gripping story that moves along like a movie, has it's twists and turns and eventually you saving the entire world which is common place.
End Point - The whole thing feels just like a Resident Evil story should and has some great cutscenes to move along the story even further than in-game dialogue. Now that that has been said, WHERE THE FUCK ARE THE ZOMBIES!??!? I mean, I'm all for this biological terror thing and everything, but whatever happened to the plain old zombies? Last I saw a REAL zombie in a Resident Evil game was like - I dunno .. one of those game-cube remakes of the originals I guess?
GRAPHICS -
To say this is not a very pretty game would be a complete and utter lie. Some points of the game are so amazingly beautiful and stunning I sat there for a moment and just looked at the detail of everything. The Cutscenes are no disappointment either, they look slightly more beautiful than the gameplay as it's more polished but otherwise fits extremely well into the game. I did notice a few frame-rate struggles while playing the Merc's mode after beating the game, but that will most likely be addressed in a future patch and even then it did not happen often enough for it to matter. Infected people and animals look spot on and are very detailed, in-fact the dogs are just plain creepy...and even worse when their head explodes in two and reveals a twisted monstrosity. One of the big high-lights of the series has always been the bosses, and RE5 does not disappoint with some HUGE bosses that look incredible and also some that just look plain creepy. Lighting is also near perfect, which is most evident in the mine sequence where your partner has to hold a light for you to see and while holding said light only you can fire. Blood effects (which I'm sure is the only reason you are reading this portion about graphics) are spot on and look absolutely disgusting! When you shoot a infected villager point blank with a shotgun it can blow them into little gib-lets that is always satisfying to see.
End point - the ONLY point I really take away from the graphics is actually - a silly one, Sheva has a unlockable tribal outfit and well....the breasts on her are large enough...but - why don't they jiggle? Couldn't they have put some of those Havok physics on them so as she ran they bounced? And if they really do bounce then obviously they don't bounce enough! I mean....it's not that hard to do - Just look at Dead Or Alive - Or Ninja Gaiden 1 or 2!
SOUND -
Didn't think I'd cover this because it's not the MOST important thing, but at the same time...poor sound can cause some people to stop playing games (depending how horrific it is). RE5 has sound quality on par with all the other big names out there, and the surround works well. The weapons sound like the weapons as you would imagine them to sound. Explosions are nice and forceful and loud, along with perfect fire crackling...hehehe. The infected villagers speak in the native tongue I assume and they all sound good. Cutscenes are hit and miss, as with most Resident Evil games, some of the voice-acting is perfect......and well - some leaves a bad sound in your ear and makes you wonder if the actor was drunk during that line or possibly stoned. Music works well through-out the game as it picks up when infected people are near and when you clear them out you hear the music fade off, indicating to you and your partner that at least for that second - the coast is clear. So really there isn't too much to talk about when it comes to sound, it's good...that's about it.
End Point - Why is it even the tiniest movement that I make - no matter how small - ends with what sounds like several buckles moving around on my character? And why oh why after so so so so so so so many games and a cult classic (Resident Evil - the original) have Capcom not learned to fine tune the voices and dialogue in the game? Most of it is quite decent in this newest version, but at the same time I found myself laughing at just how out of place some of the dialogue was...not because it was the wrong words, but because the voice actor delivered it either in the wrong tone, or just drunk I guess? Oh well, I guess it's always going to just be...."It's not just a poisonous snake......it's a MON-STAR!!" - quote from Resident Evil 1 (ugh)
GAMEPLAY -
This game can be frustrating, but it's mostly because of things that Resident Evil has always done, so to expect different would be because you are new to the series. Lets get the obvious out of the way - No you cannot move while aiming ANY weapons. Now that's out of the way we can move on to the actual aiming mechanics, it's hard to tell right away where you are aiming sometimes as the little red dot can be hard to see in frantic situations so it can be a pain if you have a few infected closing in and you quickly try to aim and pop one in the head, unless you practise then I bet you just missed. Sounds about typical for a RE game so far. The biggest and really only issue I have with the gameplay is the whole partner thing, if you do NOT have a friend playing with you why oh why do you HAVE to have this stupid as shit AI character constantly getting in your way or stealing your ammo? On top of that, they are not too bright and request help every few seconds with an annoying "help me" command they can give. How I wished I could just stick a grenade up sheva's ass and let her explode in a glorious red mist. Since I couldn't do that I used her as a storage mule, giving her bare essentials so she could shoot, but making sure she held onto all my extra ammo and herbs. The only downside to THAT, is the fact it's a pain in the ass to request shit from her, it's like asking a cat to do a fucking backflip and requires no fewer than, lemmie count....1 button, 2 button, 3 button....at LEAST 3 button pushes and since the inventory is in real time now, if there are infected around you are going to get chomped as you fumble with inventory. Capcom thinks they make the game more intense for doing this, yet all it is doing is frustrating me as I try and heal myself in the middle of a fucking infected orgy. Once you get used to the gameplay though it is nice and smooth for the most part, and the few quicktime events that are actually in the game are not to hard to hit as they give you a decent amount of time to press the buttons that flash on screen. First play through the game the boss fights feel perfect and epic, and require some puzzle solving sometimes to figure out the best or easiest way to take them out.
End Point - If you are going to play this game, take my advice - play with a friend co-op and make sure you get along with them and you will have a BLAST playing. As long as they save you during the quicktime events, first one that came up ended up with me taking a chain to the face and dying, but since it was unexpected it was quite the funny moment as we laughed for a solid 30 seconds at what just happened. Capcom, for future reference, I and many others out there HATE escort missions so when you make a game that essentially is a escort mission the entire time if not playing with a friend....it can get annoying. At least give me something more than a half mentally ill, half brain damaged woman as a partner.
OVERALL -
Overall the game is very enjoyable and a must for fans of the series or people who like sort-of maybe, could, possibly resemble zombie like creatures. If you are a person who has to unlock and complete everything then this game has it all for you, 4 difficulty modes (one is unlocked after beating it on the hardest of 3), tons of unlockable trinkets and toys, and of course mercenaries mode which gives you a timer and scores you on how many bitches you kill and you even get points for killing in a combo. Personal recommendation is as stated, to play with a friend, as without one it may become more frustrating than actually fun, depending on how quickly you learn all the inventory controls. With upgrades and unlockables galore you can play for a very long time before running out of things to do, plus if on Xbox 360 at least you can strive to get the achievements, which range from finish a level, all the way to - collect all 4 types of eggs. When everything is said and done, and the credits are rolling, you feel a sense of accomplishment as you have just saved the entire freaking world! Good for you! Now try and get that elusive minigun, or infinite rocket launcher.
End Point - Overall the game is very fun and has a good amount of extras to keep you coming back for more. If you are looking for some scares thou, you are missing out....there is not a single scary portion of the game. Play with a friend if you have one or maybe just invite someone randomly online to join you and then realize they are total assholes and kick them from your game so you can go back to dealing with your half brain damaged and half mentally ill sidekick...I know I'm gonna go back online now and throw a egg in her face, just for fun...to see if she even notices......I doubt it.
TOTAL SCORE - 3/4 Baked or Percentage = 90%/100%
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