2009 Capcom - Capcom - XBox 360 (Also on PS3)
Undead Demolition
I'd like to start off saying that usually when I have extremely high expectations for a game, I tend to end up turning it off at the end of the day with at least some degree of disappointment; this was not the case for Resident Evil 5.
In a quite bought of congratulations or encouragement, whatever you want to call it, Capcom outdid itself. Really, they did. Honestly, I haven't had this much fun with a Capcom game since they released Onimusha: Warlords for the PS2.
To give a quick rundown of my ratings, I'll start with the storyline. Hopefully you have played the older Resident Evil games and hopefully at least familiar with the general plot setting, so I'm going to go ahead and act like you know what's going on. Umbrella's pretty much back and in business another pharmaceutical company called Tricell. Albert Wesker returns and is the ultimate bad ass that he was since you played the first Resident Evil, Chris Redfield returns (a God compared to Leon Kennedy) and some flashbacks show up to help with understanding.
Anyway, you, Chris Redfield, gets sent to Africa to help bust up some terrorist biological warfare trades and end up getting through into a pit of experimentation. Like the previous installments, your objective is survival and completion of a mission. There isn't much for character development, mainly because it's been going on for a decade now (except for the new main character, Sheva) but the continuation of attitude and storyline pieces together well.
As for gameplay, I couldn't possibly consider giving this game anything less than a 10/10. Like in all of the past third-person Resident Evil games, you cannot move and attack at the same time. To me, I love that they didn't change it. It really helps build up suspense taking that time to ready your firearm or knife and continues to press the fight or flight decision. I've never had a problem with response from controls or any character action nor yet to find any glitches. Sure sometimes you can get angles on zombies where they don't see you, but hey, it happens.
I'd also like to mention that this is the first Resident Evil where accessing your inventory does not pause the game. The inventory comes up as a translucent box with the rest of the game continuing, thus making the quick combine reload only an advantage to the more skilled batch of gamers.
With more technology comes more expectations for aesthetics. I'm happy to say that Capcom really used up the potential of the XBox 360 (and possibly PS3, yet to see it on that console) to create a rather beautiful game. The environments are rich, the character designs are extremely life-like and lighting is done very well. Again, I give a ten.
Sound is where I get picky with my games, I nearly gave this one an eight. The sounds of wood breaking, zombies moaning, dogs barking, guns reloading, chainsaws roaring, feet stepping, glass shattering... is all great, but it was just missing something. I really can't place my finger on it, but it's just hard to give games nines or tens on sound when there's no soundtrack and I've played Medal of Honor: Frontline that I feel I must compare it to. The saving factor in this category is the quick communication system. By pressing B on the controller, you call your partner over. If you're in earshot, you hear their voice, but if you're a bit further away, you hear it over a radio. A very nice, and saving, touch.
With the cost of games and consoles today, replayability is a big factor when it comes to buying a new video game. Lacking a standard online match-making/versus/battle mode, they really had to dig deep here and they dug deeper than you can see. With about 25 or so weapons, all but five are upgradeable. This upgrading feature really gets you to replay the game for more firepower, capacity, reload time, piercing, range... you name it. And ultimately unlimited ammo for every weapon (except the grenade launcher) at your disposal. Also, the split-screen and online co-op functions are more than enough to replay through multiple times. You'll definitely get your money's worth.
After so many years so much has already been done. The creators of Resident Evil 5 really tried hard to keep the game fresh, and I feel that they did. For starters, they had an Ocarina of Time style puzzle at one part that made me content and unused enough to be considered original. The "dying" feature when so much damage is inflicted is a nice touch but reminded me too much of Gears of War's bleed out and revive system, but I feel that Resident Evil's was done better. It's hard to put the originality into words, then again, I worked ten hours of construction today and am ready to pass out now at 9:50pm.
Far from a let-down, I'm giving this game a solid ten out of ten. I really don't know how to sum this up with words, but I'd definitely mark this a buy and keep game that will refuse to get old. With four difficulty ratings, an unlockable mini-game, time completion rewards, extensive upgrade system, co-op... the game easily hits my all-time best list.
Ratings
Storyline: 9/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 9/10
Replayability: 10/10
Originality: 9/10
Overall: 10/10
//Nate
