Review of Resident Evil 5 - Xbox 360

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I just beat Resident Evil 5 for the Xbox 360, so I decided to post a review of the game. Here are ten important things you need to know:

1. Graphics RE5's graphics are amazing, and they are some of the best you'll find on a console. They are sharp, the characters are highly detailed, and the lighting makes the environments really stand out and feel real. The cut scenes appear to ramp up the contrast and brightness more than necessary, but that's no big deal.

2. Controls I embraced RE4's control scheme, but the same scheme today feels a bit outdated. You still cannot walk with your gun or knife ready. The developers say it is more realistic this way, but even in cut scenes Chris walks with his gun pointed forward. And now that I think about it, why can't I simply walk up and punch or kick someone? Why must I wait for them to be stunned?

3. Sound A lot of the sounds including the music are very similar to RE4, which is a good thing. It helps make the game keep familiar. I noticed nothing about the sound to complain about, except that it often wasn't creepy enough.

4. Co-op Some of the best fun I had with RE4 was getting together with friends and watching each other play through parts of the game. With RE5, we can now play together. Awesome! One problem with co-op is the fact you can't give weapons to your partner. That doesn't make any sense at all. Also, watch out when using an AI partner for Sheva. She sometimes wastes ammo, refuses to use her powerful weapons, heals you unnecessarily, and dashes off. Surprisingly though, she isn't bad enough to ruin the game.

5. Items All items have been needlessly streamlined. The weapons are less complex, there are no more combinable treasures, and yellow herbs are nowhere to be found. Also, you can buy items anytime between chapters. I liked the merchant in RE4, but he's gone this time around. So who are you buying items from? Apparently, just a menu system. Also, RE5 redesigned the item management system in order to make it more realistic than RE4. I like how it no longer takes me out of the game, but sometimes it is hard to use. The fast equip feature via the D-pad is greatly appreciated, but it doesn't make up for the fact that the process of trading and stacking items can be cumbersome and illogical.

6. Horror RE5's biggest issue is the fact it continues the series' trend of removing all aspects of "horror" from the survival horror genre. In fact, I would just call RE5 an action game with elements of adventure. There is rarely any suspense, the action is almost nonstop, and many of the potentially scary settings occur in daylight. The slogan for this game is "Fear you can't forget." It's more like "Fear you'll never notice."

7. Bosses Simply put, the boss fights in this game are not as original or exciting as RE4's boss fights. Most are easy, unvaried, and unnoteworthy. Some of the boss fights don't even feel like fights, but mere struggles instead.

8. Puzzles Unfortunately, RE5 offers virtually zero puzzles. There's not even the task of combining treasure. If you're ever confused about anything, Sheva will tell you what to do. The only thing remotely close to a puzzle is finding the blue BSAA emblems. Shooting them is a cool way to unlock bonus features. It makes you pay much more attention to your surroundings and get immersed in the environment.

9. Saving I like being able to save my game at various points, and I like being able to start a brand new game, but these features are gone. RE5 keeps track of all items and money you have so that to play previous chapters, you always bring your latest gear. It almost makes it too easy. I miss the typewriters.

10. Charm RE5 lacks a lot of the charm found in RE4. Chris is almost emotionless, whereas Leon was witty and classy. The quick time events in RE5 are overdone and predictable, whereas in RE4 they were fun and surprising. The only character with real "character" in RE5 is Irving. It seemed the whole cast of RE4 stood out.

Conclusion

Resident Evil 5 is a short, fun action game, but it lacks a lot of what made its predecessor so great. The only improvements are the graphics and the addition of multiplayer. The rest of the changes negatively impact the overall fun of the game. Still, it is a fun game, and I recommend it for any Resident Evil fan or those who are looking for a good action game.

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RE4 was a staggering reboot for the ailing franchise; Res Evil's traditionally clunky controls were discarded and scaled back the puzzles in favour of rapid-fire action against far faster and more aggressive enemies than ever before, all wrapped up in amazingly detailed visuals. More than just being the pinnacle of the RE franchise, many people consider RE4 as being among a small handful of the best titles created for the last generation. RE5 has a handful of problems, and is nowhere near in the same league as RE4 in terms of all-time classics, but it does provide a suitably similar mix of exciting action, along with some utterly gorgeous visuals.

Two-player co-op can be played either online, over system link or split-screen. It's great to see Capcom supporting such a wide range of options for the co-op mode. While the general exploration and blasting of monsters plays out very similarly to RE4, the environments have been expanded a little, with many more split paths to give each player enough elbow room to fight. There are some great moments where one player can stun an enemy with a headshot, while the other rushes in and smashes them with a melee attack. It's even possible to link melee attacks together, so one player's punch will send an enemy stumbling back, then the other player's kick knocks them to the ground.

RE5 also adds a minor improvement to the movement controls. RE4's quasi twin-stick movement has been upgraded to today's standard twin-stick 'turning while walking' control system. For some odd reason though, turning with the right stick is disable when you're running. As you'd expect though, your feet are still nailed to the floor while shooting, to retain the usual Res Evil tension. As you've probably gathered, RE5 mirrors the gameplay of RE4 very closely, but this can be both a blessing and a curse. As in RE4 you'll spend the bulk of your time dispatching monsters and scouring the environments for ammo and treasure. You still collect treasure from corpses, cupboards, crates and by shooting it off walls. You still spend it on upgrading the same damage, reload speed and capacity characteristics of a very similar range of pistols, shotguns and machineguns. You're still forced to waste a lot of cash upgrading early weapons, only to have to sell them back for a fraction of the price when the better weapons are unlocked.

In lots of ways it's a good thing that RE5 sticks closely to RE4's brilliant template, but in other ways it's a shame it's progressed so little. A lot has happened in the games industry over the past four years and RE5 does feel dated as a result. It sure doesn't look dated, because the graphics look incredible, but it feels old. Other than the co-op mode and a couple of very minor tweaks here and there, the gameplay is identical to 2005's RE4.

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This game is worth about 20 dollars. The controls are awkward. The camera is flaky at times. The unnecessarily prolonged and repetitive boss battles are very annoying they are extremely easy and just requires you to perform the same sequence of actions for what seems like hours. One of the most annoying aspects of the game is the pseudo cut scenes.. Right when you think you are watching a non interactive cut scene... BAM you better press a button or you die. Very annoying but you get used to it. The game has its good points though, the visual are good and the story is nice.

Another point I would like to make is how TERRIBLE the friendly A.I. is. Although it is better then other games, sometimes your partners actions leaving you questioning if this is supposed to be a punishment for choosing to play by yourself. I would not recommend attempting this solo. I did complete the game solo, I would warn against it. Unless of course you are a masochist like me.

Save your money, get something else instead.

Honest reviews on Resident Evil 5 - Xbox 360

I am a big fan of the series and was a little disappointed in this one. I really don't like that they have gotten away from the original zombie creepy mansion type play. I actually like the camera angels in part one and two. Good game for what it is but if you are a fan of the series I think it is very disappointing.

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After finishing Resident Evil 5, I couldn't help but feel a little bit cheated. I think most people who were around to play the first Resident Evil when it was new will probably agree with me. While Resident Evil 5 looks great, has good controls, and lasts over 10 hours (for most people), it is a serious departure from the RE games before it. And not in a good way.

As others have mentioned, this game is indeed an action packed experience that gives you little chance to breathe. The game starts off slowly, but picks up momentum quickly, and maintains interesting set pieces and graphics that really flow nicely. What bugged me most about it was its complete lack of suspense. Every RE game before this one made an effort to build a mood and tone that kept you on your toes. Not so here. The most effective scene in this game is the very first one where Chris and Sheva are walking through the town, and all the townsfolk are glaring back through dark, yellow eyes. It's creepy, and a very good way to start. Unfortunately, the rest of the game features countless dudes running from around corners acting as shotgun fodder. There is very little challenge in this game, and the A.I. is completely dumb. And where the hell are the zombies?? Aren't zombies what Resident Evil is about? I've never been a fan of the "zombies" that run around corners and use weapons to attack. When someone is running at you with a chainsaw and a bag over his head, he ceases to be a zombie; he is a crazy motherf'er with a chainsaw and a bag over his head. Big difference. Zombies are slow, meandering lumps of flesh that have no means to attack you other than their dead meathooks. I guess I blame the film 28 Days Later for the newer and improved zombie, but I prefer the classic George Romero zombie.

But again, there is no suspense at all in this game, it's all about shooting as many people as you can. Which can be fine, but in a RE game it is not acceptable. And when did Chris Redfield start lifting weights? He looks like some ahole who just stumbled out of the fitness club. His pumped up meathead look seemed to be an attempt to make this installment a war game only, skimping on the horror.

Which leads me to my next gripe. The story in this game is AWFUL. I mean, really bad. And the cliches were absolutely astounding. When are game developers going to stop resting on their laurels and deliver a well-written game? After playing games like Metal Gear Solid 4, the story in Resident Evil 5 is insulting to my intelligence. Lines like "welcome to the party", or "so glad you could make it", or "I will destroy you!", or "this is for our fallen comrades!", or.....I could go on and on here, and Resident Evil 5 has them all. The story and dialog is laughable to say the least.

But, I suspect people find the true value of this game in its online content. I don't really play online, so I'm leaving my review to the one player experience only.

Despite these gripes, the game is still a playable experience. I finished the game which says I enjoyed it enough to stick through it. But only barely. Honestly, there is nothing wrong with the gameplay of RE5, but fundamentally this game misses the mark. To me, Resident Evil 5 is akin to taking the Final Fantasy series and turning it into a first person shooter game. Capcom took the things we all love about the RE series and erased them with bits of other action games.

I would not recommend this game to people who love the RE series. They skimp on the horror, and beef up the action. And with 360 games out there like Gears Of War and Halo 3, you can buy much better action games than this. I really hope Capcom goes back to what made Resident Evil good in the first place....SURVIVAL HORROR.