Any game that's the sequel to a game in my top 20 is going to be under monumental pressure, but none more so than the sequel to Resident Evil 4', which is currently sat high as my 2nd Favouritest Game Evar. So, after YEARS of waiting, Resident Evil 5 is finally here. And it's awesome.
I'll get the burning question out of the way first: is it better than Resi 4? Well, in a word, no. I don't think so. Resi 4 was such a move forward for the series, completely changing the formula and really re-inventing itself that it was gonna be very hard for its immediate sequel to live up to the same expectations. Resi 5 does come close, but not quite. This is for several reasons, which I will divulge...now.
First off, as you're almost certainly aware, Resi 5 is a co-op experience. Or at least, it should be. Playing the game through on my own felt somewhat empty after I'd beaten a solid chunk of the game with a friend on split-screen co-op. This is because Sheva's A.I. was designed by a retarded squirrel who, rather than using the most aptly sized nut, flings the smallest in its collection away like confetti until it has no choice but to use up the really sizable ones. Sheva's tactics are essentially that of her maker: you could be fighting a horde of lickers with the ferocity of a horny rhinoceros, but Sheva will adamantly stand there and blat-blat her handgun at said horde while you get your limbs eaten off by the faceless wonders. Only when she's exhausted her handgun ammo does she consider pulling out the shotgun, which she will then aim with the precision of a monster-truck. As far as zombie-horde combatant sidekicks go, I'm thinking Stevie Wonder would be a decent upgrade from Sheva Alomar. For an African chick, she's also in possession of a suspiciously English-sounding accent. Should you get the chance to play online with a friend though, I highly recommend you do so. It's the way the game was meant to be played (clearly, or they'd have made Sheva slightly more practical) and this way also saves you from compromising half your ammo to the computer, who will show no hesitation in wasting it. Elika, she ain't.
I was truly saddened to learn of the loss of one of the staples of the Resident Evil series. A true hero of a character. Eyes squinting furiously, hands slightly stained from the years of chain-smoking, cloak billowing in the wind, his cockney rasp of a voice will be eternally missed. Yes, it is with great regret that I confirm the Merchant is not in Resident Evil 5. Buying a handcannon will never be the same again without the Merchant's approving "Stranger, stranger! Now that's a weapon!" Half the reason you worked so hard to upgrade all your weapons in Resi 4 was to hear what gem of a phrase good old pink-eyed Merchant would throw at you. Who can forget "What are you doing with that Stranger! Hunting an elephant?" Whoever thought to take him out of the series after Resi 4 need be ashamed. What's taken his place is a rather generic upgrade menu that works almost the same last time, only without the Merchant's commentary. Cash is just as hard to come by in this installment, perhaps even more so, although being able to select chapters and play through them again, collecting Africa's treasure as you kill its inhabitants and pillage the villages does somewhat defeat the object. On several occasions my friend and I simply went back to earlier levels and replayed them, for the sole purpose of amounting capital to use on upgrades. It's a lengthy but beneficial process, and the producers at least had the sense to limit your upgrading capabilities depending on your progress throughout the game's story mode. On the whole though, I'm slightly underwhelmed by the weapons in RE5. The handguns are all modern, and none have the presence of RE4's Red9. The shotguns are by and large the same, except for the cool-as-fuck Hydra which is so indescribably bad-ass that your character even holds it differently to other shotties. Machine guns have been improved upon though, and it's no longer simply a toss-up between the blat-blat of the TMP or the kaCHINK-kaCHINK of the ridiculously overpowered Chicago Typewriter; variety has come to town, but once again the guns are all modern and somewhat unsatisfying. The rifles, as always, are a thing of beauty, particularly the pure sex of the S75 bolt-action rifle. I purposely did not upgrade the reload speed of that gun just to observe the gorgeousness of it being reloaded. The Grenade Launcher is an interesting addition with six different variants on ammunition, it is, for once not the overpowered gun that you always intentionally leave in your inventory and never use, and it's actually a great deal of fun to use - particularly with the acid rounds.
The story is....oh wait sorry, wrong game. This is Resident Evil. There are zombies, they are bad, they want to eat us and we SHOOT THEM. The depth of the story is as follows: Chris and Sheva are GOOD, Wesker is BAD and is armed with yet another world-destroying virus and an English accent (which is perhaps the best English accent in a video game since Metal Gear Solid's Liquid Snake). The writers actually went to the length of trying to keep the "mysterious figure" in the beginning of the game an actual mystery, which makes for "suspense" that is at first hilarious and then later just plain tear-inducingly bad. WE KNOW IT'S YOU, JILL!! The dialogue is as magnificently shit as ever. Chris Redfield's heroic bravado is the rhetorical one-dimensional cack that plagued an entire decade of action-movies, while Sheva's whiny-princess-with-an-axe-to-grind is the perfect accompaniment. In one seriously cringe-worthy scene, Chris recounts the tale of his last encounter with Wesker to Sheva as they skim across a river into the African sunset on a hover-craft (as if that wasn't enough). After, Sheva reveals her parents died in an accident related to Umbrella "and someone has to pay for that!" She calls Chris a superhero to which he replies "I'm no superhero" with a downward shake of his head, and the two of them resolve to "make a stand for our fallen brothers!" It is quite horrifying. But would I have it any other way? Hell no. There's a certain charm to the unbreakable cheese of the game, and it just wouldn't be Resident Evil without it.
On the other hand, the files and information you unlock through playing the game are surprisingly intriguing and actually make for interesting reading - a shame that whoever wrote these wasn't also charged with the task of improving the dialogue. Here you can actually find a degree of depth to the history of Resident Evil and its characters - it feels like Capcom put this stuff in for the people who want it, and only put the bare minimum of genuine plot into the actual game so that the assumed majority can skip ahead and pop zombie heads. It's a shame they didn't try to enrich it a little more, but I suppose that's not the RE way.
The graphics are great, and there isn't much more to say. RE4 really pushed the Gamecube and PS2 to its limits, but RE5 feels like a product of its time - the next-gen graphics aren't anything to shout about anymore, they are simply next-gen.
The difficulty of the game is hard to gauge - normal mode is a little too easy and veteran is fine until you get to a mission without the use of your guns, such as the Sahara chase with just your gattling guns and your frustration. Beating the Il Giganto is frustratingly hard at this level, and my friend and I ended up just quitting and going back to normal. I look forward to seeing Professional mode though, and I will undoubtedly play it through at least once on this level. What kind of gamer would I be if I didn't? On normal mode at least though, I've been disappointed by the bosses. None of them have really pushed me and I hope things are more challenging on veteran.
The unlockables in the game are excellent motivation for multiple play-throughs, and I intend to get everything - RE just inspires the must-have-it factor that other games somehow lack. Even if you complete the game in a day, which is entirely possible, you'll have plenty to go back and get the second, third and even fourth time. And then you have The Mercenaries to play through, which is obviously going to be excellent.
My only real quibble with the game is one that many other gamers have been waving the flag about, and that is the scare factor. I haven't been scared in Resident Evil 5 once. At no point have I genuinely had to brace myself before going around a corner. Whether this is due to the new co-op mode, I don't know, but I think it's quite possible. Having a friend to play with does eliminate the feeling of being alone with some THING, and you have each other to rely upon. But I don't think co-op is solely responsible. It just feels like they aren't trying to scare you anymore - RE5 has been turned into a fully adjusted action game in a horror setting - minus the horror. RE4 still managed to make the transition while maintaining some truly shit-your-pants moments, like stepping into a dark room and hearing the raspy, stuttery breathing of the Regenerators and knowing what's waiting for you round the corner but not having the stones to face it. Or running through the sewers and hearing your enemies all around but not being able to find the bastards before they were mounting you and savaging your face off with acid-cum. In RE5, the closest thing I've encountered to scary is the crocodiles in the Marshlands level, but the problem is there is no real need for confrontation - you can simply run around them and as a result, the panic is fleeting and never sustainable enough to really enjoy.
Rumours are circulating that the next Resident Evil game will be a series-reboot, ala Batman Begins, but the 'style' of RE4 and RE5 would be kept - meaning action orientated. I can see the benefits in some ways, but part of me thinks if it ain't broke...all I'd ask for is the re-establishing of the scare factor and an improved A.I. team mate. Plus, we'd be losing our favourite characters and the history that someone (not the dialogue writer) went to the effort of making - personally I'd love to see Ada in the spotlight for once with her signature red dress pumping rounds into mofo's. Oh, and that it's not quite as long a wait this time. No need to go putting the next game on the PS4 or Xbox 720 - just get the damn thing out here.
In the mean-time, I'm going to get started on Professional.
I'll get the burning question out of the way first: is it better than Resi 4? Well, in a word, no. I don't think so. Resi 4 was such a move forward for the series, completely changing the formula and really re-inventing itself that it was gonna be very hard for its immediate sequel to live up to the same expectations. Resi 5 does come close, but not quite. This is for several reasons, which I will divulge...now.
First off, as you're almost certainly aware, Resi 5 is a co-op experience. Or at least, it should be. Playing the game through on my own felt somewhat empty after I'd beaten a solid chunk of the game with a friend on split-screen co-op. This is because Sheva's A.I. was designed by a retarded squirrel who, rather than using the most aptly sized nut, flings the smallest in its collection away like confetti until it has no choice but to use up the really sizable ones. Sheva's tactics are essentially that of her maker: you could be fighting a horde of lickers with the ferocity of a horny rhinoceros, but Sheva will adamantly stand there and blat-blat her handgun at said horde while you get your limbs eaten off by the faceless wonders. Only when she's exhausted her handgun ammo does she consider pulling out the shotgun, which she will then aim with the precision of a monster-truck. As far as zombie-horde combatant sidekicks go, I'm thinking Stevie Wonder would be a decent upgrade from Sheva Alomar. For an African chick, she's also in possession of a suspiciously English-sounding accent. Should you get the chance to play online with a friend though, I highly recommend you do so. It's the way the game was meant to be played (clearly, or they'd have made Sheva slightly more practical) and this way also saves you from compromising half your ammo to the computer, who will show no hesitation in wasting it. Elika, she ain't.
I was truly saddened to learn of the loss of one of the staples of the Resident Evil series. A true hero of a character. Eyes squinting furiously, hands slightly stained from the years of chain-smoking, cloak billowing in the wind, his cockney rasp of a voice will be eternally missed. Yes, it is with great regret that I confirm the Merchant is not in Resident Evil 5. Buying a handcannon will never be the same again without the Merchant's approving "Stranger, stranger! Now that's a weapon!" Half the reason you worked so hard to upgrade all your weapons in Resi 4 was to hear what gem of a phrase good old pink-eyed Merchant would throw at you. Who can forget "What are you doing with that Stranger! Hunting an elephant?" Whoever thought to take him out of the series after Resi 4 need be ashamed. What's taken his place is a rather generic upgrade menu that works almost the same last time, only without the Merchant's commentary. Cash is just as hard to come by in this installment, perhaps even more so, although being able to select chapters and play through them again, collecting Africa's treasure as you kill its inhabitants and pillage the villages does somewhat defeat the object. On several occasions my friend and I simply went back to earlier levels and replayed them, for the sole purpose of amounting capital to use on upgrades. It's a lengthy but beneficial process, and the producers at least had the sense to limit your upgrading capabilities depending on your progress throughout the game's story mode. On the whole though, I'm slightly underwhelmed by the weapons in RE5. The handguns are all modern, and none have the presence of RE4's Red9. The shotguns are by and large the same, except for the cool-as-fuck Hydra which is so indescribably bad-ass that your character even holds it differently to other shotties. Machine guns have been improved upon though, and it's no longer simply a toss-up between the blat-blat of the TMP or the kaCHINK-kaCHINK of the ridiculously overpowered Chicago Typewriter; variety has come to town, but once again the guns are all modern and somewhat unsatisfying. The rifles, as always, are a thing of beauty, particularly the pure sex of the S75 bolt-action rifle. I purposely did not upgrade the reload speed of that gun just to observe the gorgeousness of it being reloaded. The Grenade Launcher is an interesting addition with six different variants on ammunition, it is, for once not the overpowered gun that you always intentionally leave in your inventory and never use, and it's actually a great deal of fun to use - particularly with the acid rounds.
The story is....oh wait sorry, wrong game. This is Resident Evil. There are zombies, they are bad, they want to eat us and we SHOOT THEM. The depth of the story is as follows: Chris and Sheva are GOOD, Wesker is BAD and is armed with yet another world-destroying virus and an English accent (which is perhaps the best English accent in a video game since Metal Gear Solid's Liquid Snake). The writers actually went to the length of trying to keep the "mysterious figure" in the beginning of the game an actual mystery, which makes for "suspense" that is at first hilarious and then later just plain tear-inducingly bad. WE KNOW IT'S YOU, JILL!! The dialogue is as magnificently shit as ever. Chris Redfield's heroic bravado is the rhetorical one-dimensional cack that plagued an entire decade of action-movies, while Sheva's whiny-princess-with-an-axe-to-grind is the perfect accompaniment. In one seriously cringe-worthy scene, Chris recounts the tale of his last encounter with Wesker to Sheva as they skim across a river into the African sunset on a hover-craft (as if that wasn't enough). After, Sheva reveals her parents died in an accident related to Umbrella "and someone has to pay for that!" She calls Chris a superhero to which he replies "I'm no superhero" with a downward shake of his head, and the two of them resolve to "make a stand for our fallen brothers!" It is quite horrifying. But would I have it any other way? Hell no. There's a certain charm to the unbreakable cheese of the game, and it just wouldn't be Resident Evil without it.
On the other hand, the files and information you unlock through playing the game are surprisingly intriguing and actually make for interesting reading - a shame that whoever wrote these wasn't also charged with the task of improving the dialogue. Here you can actually find a degree of depth to the history of Resident Evil and its characters - it feels like Capcom put this stuff in for the people who want it, and only put the bare minimum of genuine plot into the actual game so that the assumed majority can skip ahead and pop zombie heads. It's a shame they didn't try to enrich it a little more, but I suppose that's not the RE way.
The graphics are great, and there isn't much more to say. RE4 really pushed the Gamecube and PS2 to its limits, but RE5 feels like a product of its time - the next-gen graphics aren't anything to shout about anymore, they are simply next-gen.
The difficulty of the game is hard to gauge - normal mode is a little too easy and veteran is fine until you get to a mission without the use of your guns, such as the Sahara chase with just your gattling guns and your frustration. Beating the Il Giganto is frustratingly hard at this level, and my friend and I ended up just quitting and going back to normal. I look forward to seeing Professional mode though, and I will undoubtedly play it through at least once on this level. What kind of gamer would I be if I didn't? On normal mode at least though, I've been disappointed by the bosses. None of them have really pushed me and I hope things are more challenging on veteran.
The unlockables in the game are excellent motivation for multiple play-throughs, and I intend to get everything - RE just inspires the must-have-it factor that other games somehow lack. Even if you complete the game in a day, which is entirely possible, you'll have plenty to go back and get the second, third and even fourth time. And then you have The Mercenaries to play through, which is obviously going to be excellent.
My only real quibble with the game is one that many other gamers have been waving the flag about, and that is the scare factor. I haven't been scared in Resident Evil 5 once. At no point have I genuinely had to brace myself before going around a corner. Whether this is due to the new co-op mode, I don't know, but I think it's quite possible. Having a friend to play with does eliminate the feeling of being alone with some THING, and you have each other to rely upon. But I don't think co-op is solely responsible. It just feels like they aren't trying to scare you anymore - RE5 has been turned into a fully adjusted action game in a horror setting - minus the horror. RE4 still managed to make the transition while maintaining some truly shit-your-pants moments, like stepping into a dark room and hearing the raspy, stuttery breathing of the Regenerators and knowing what's waiting for you round the corner but not having the stones to face it. Or running through the sewers and hearing your enemies all around but not being able to find the bastards before they were mounting you and savaging your face off with acid-cum. In RE5, the closest thing I've encountered to scary is the crocodiles in the Marshlands level, but the problem is there is no real need for confrontation - you can simply run around them and as a result, the panic is fleeting and never sustainable enough to really enjoy.
Rumours are circulating that the next Resident Evil game will be a series-reboot, ala Batman Begins, but the 'style' of RE4 and RE5 would be kept - meaning action orientated. I can see the benefits in some ways, but part of me thinks if it ain't broke...all I'd ask for is the re-establishing of the scare factor and an improved A.I. team mate. Plus, we'd be losing our favourite characters and the history that someone (not the dialogue writer) went to the effort of making - personally I'd love to see Ada in the spotlight for once with her signature red dress pumping rounds into mofo's. Oh, and that it's not quite as long a wait this time. No need to go putting the next game on the PS4 or Xbox 720 - just get the damn thing out here.
In the mean-time, I'm going to get started on Professional.
