Resident Evil 5

The Resident Evil series, first released in 1996 on the Sony PlayStation, was a revolution in horror gaming. It was known for its tight camera angles, jump out of your seat moments, puzzle solving and extremely corny voice acting. Since then, the series has gone from strength to strength, including a number of spin-offs and a Hollywood movie series. The last game, Resident Evil 4, changed the series from its pre-rendered backgrounds and fixed camera angles, to an over the shoulder view in a fully realised 3D world, with a new control system that revitalised the franchise. It even received two perfect scores for the Wii version from the notoriously harsh editors at Japan's Famitsu magazine. So can Resident Evil 5, the latest game in the series and one of the most anticipated titles for early 2009, hold a flame to its predecessor?

Resident Evil 5 is a 3^rd person action game following the adventures of Chris Redfield and his partner Sheva Alomar. The protagonists work for the anti-terrorist organisation, BSAA, and are sent to a village in Africa to report on the suspected use of biological weapons in the area. The story itself runs like an action film, with huge set pieces and nonstop zombie attacks, and is pushed along by cut scenes and creative heart-stopping boss fights. If you haven't played a Resident Evil game in the past, some of the story might fly over your head, but it is still easy to get into and you will find yourself wanting to know what happens next.

The primary way of playing RE5 is in an over the shoulder camera view similar to RE4 and other games like Gears of War and Ghost Recon. You control your character with LS and the camera with RS, which is identical to RE4.

This control method might have been revolutionary at the time of RE4, but it doesn't hold up very well today. In more recent 3^rd person shooters like Gears of War, the system has been perfected with 'run and gun' play and a well realised cover system. In RE5, when you pull LT you go into an aiming mode, the camera zooms in closer and you can control your aim with RS. The problem with this system is you cannot move whilst in aiming mode. This can slow the action down quite a lot and make dodging lots of enemies a hassle. To try and make up for this, your enemies will slow down just before they attack, giving you time to shoot or, as you will find in many places, just run away.

The game also employs quick-time events during cut scenes or random spots during the game. These can be kind of cool, but they are so random and infrequent you will often find yourself getting caught off guard and dying the first time they happen. The game still includes the inventory system of the past games, but now it is in real time, so you have to find a safe area before you access the inventory to combine or use certain items. The inventory has very limited space, which can be annoying and become a huge hassle to manage with many items in the game not stacking and taking up space. For example, if you pick up a snake egg, it will take up the same amount of space as a rocket launcher! The game also has a shop, which is presented before you start each mission and anytime you die. In the shop you can use the currency you collect within the game to buy upgrades to all your existing guns or new weapons and items.

The most recognisable new feature of the game is having your constant partner, Sheva. Sheva follows you everywhere and is controlled by the AI or can be played by a buddy. The problem with playing alone is the AI isn't as smart as a human and can become more of a hindrance than a help. Sheva will blow through all her ammo in no time, she doesn't handle her own inventory, which means you will have to manage hers and your own, and on harder difficulties, you will constantly be saving her butt. All these problems though are not present when playing with a mate, which is highly recommended.

The horror factor of the old games is not present, but it is more than compensated for by the nonstop action, gore, disgusting monster design and frenetic pace that zombies constantly come rushing at you.

After you complete the main story of the game it unlocks mercenary mode, which is a timed zombie hunter mode where you have to kill as many zombies as you can in a certain time period. This mode can be fun and addictive as you try to beat your own scores or even just survive.

From the start of the game you know you are in for something amazing graphics wise. RE5 looks like a living breathing modern Africa; from the long shots of the Savannas showing dusty planes, sparse vegetation and heat waves generating off the ground; to the dank and dark wetlands with muddy water, tall reeds and crocodiles.

When the game play starts, you feel like you're almost in a movie like Black Hawk Down or The Constant Gardener. The streets are dirty and houses are made of mud or corrugated iron. Walking along brings up clouds of dust, or startles ravens that have been pecking at a dead carcass. Part of the reason this world looks so amazing is the lighting and texture work. Shadows are realistic and if you look at the sun it can blind. Also, objects wouldn't look like objects without textures and in RE5 these are amazingly detailed. From the rust on old walkways to the wooden counter tops in buildings, everything looks realistic and is done to the highest quality. Even walking up close to these surfaces doesn't cause them to lose their detail. Character detail is also very well done. People look like real people, their animations are fluid and realistic, and even the facial details are impressive.

Fire, explosions and water all look incredible, especially when in combat. Crocodiles explode out of the water. Vehicles can blow up with amazing bloom effects that light up a darkened night. There is also on-rails shooting segments from the back of a jeep, which are truly impressive. You really get a great sense of speed from the experience, and not to mention you're also being attacked by tons of zombies on motorbikes, which gets the adrenaline pumping.

The design of the bosses is also a creative masterpiece. These monsters are huge, impressive beasts, some towering three stories, with all kinds of claws, teeth and fists to kill you with. Most importantly, all have crazy and dangerous ways to kill them.

Over all, I would say RE5 has some of the most impressive graphics in this console generation.

The music in RE5 wouldn't go astray in a James Bond film and is fitting to the right moments of the game. In quiet scenes, it is muted or nonexistent to just set the scene, while it becomes tenser when monsters are nearby and peaks to a full blown orchestral-drum and bass soundtrack for the crazy, racing action scenes.

Sound effects in the game are capable. Water sounds like water whether you're just wading through it or it's splashing on the deck of a ship. Explosions have force behind them, as do the stabbing noises of knives and pitchforks going into your character's chest. However, the effects of the guns lack a punch that I would expect, and in a way, lessen the perceived power of these weapons. You don't really feel like they're doing any damage until the enemy falls over dead.

Voice acting in the game is up and down. Chris and Sheva sound realistic and hit the right emotions for the scenes. Yet some characters are either really flat, like the actor wasn't into it or they're so hammy and over the top that it's like something from a cartoon. Though, at times these problems don't stem from the actors, but from a weird and corny script.

The main aspect of multiplayer in RE5 is the co-op. A mate joining you online or by split-screen can come along at any point within the game and take control of Sheva. Co-op with a friend is highly recommended because of all the AI problems with Sheva listed earlier, which of course become nonexistent when controlled by a human.

Another online mode is being offered as DLC on the Xbox Live Marketplace. This mode, called Verses, includes a standard slayer kill each other mode and a verses mode in the mercenaries' game. This costs 400 MS points, yet it hardly seems worth the purchase with other 3^rd person action games offering a better play style for multiplayer that's included for free. A trend I have been seeing on the XBL Marketplace is paying for unlocks within a game as opposed to real DLC. With the Verses DLC for RE5 costing 400 MS points, yet coming in at a mere 1.8mb download, you can't help thinking that you're paying to unlock a feature already on the disk.

Coming in at around 15 hours play time, Resident Evil 5 has a bit of meat to it, but not much reason for you to come back for a second helping. Unless you're a completionist, really enjoy Mercenaries' mode or want to shell out for the Verses DLC, there isn't much here to make you want to keep playing once you've finished.

Overall, Resident Evil 5 is a solid, albeit slightly flawed, package with amazing graphics and heart stopping action that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Overall Score: 8/10