Zero Punctuation: Resident Evil 5

[Kekon3]

(Yatzee's Review Translation for those who like resident evil 1) i hate resident evil 1 even though in earlier reviews i said i loved it, and now i for some reason love resident evil 4 even though in earlier reviews i said i hate it, oh and Resident evil 5 is going back to the basic fun of resident evil 1 but/w stupid add ons that everyone may hate at one point or another, well in short i Ben "Yahtzee" give resident evil 5 a recommendation because in a few episodes i will start saying how i loved the bloody thing!!!!!!

 

[Kekon3]

any thing where you have to mash or press buttons repeatedly.

Should there have been co-op mode in RE5?

F#$@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@k yes!!!!

 

[Kekon3]

whats a quick time event?

a moment where a cutscene will make you click a button or swing your wiimote across the room to avoid something or to make something have effect, in resident evil 5 there are moments where the infected will grab you and the game will tell you to constantly move your movement stick from left to right rapidly to avoid getting your tits ripped off, or when your about to get your ass kicked by a giant fish and you have to click a button to avoid the giant fish.

 

[Indiana Jones]

Side step a pot hole to fall off a bridge. Fucking awesome.

 

[Jurassic Rob]

Yahtzee does it again. points out the flaws that drive everyone up the bloody wall!

 

[Xzeox]

The fact that Yahtzee went into the racism "issue" at all kind of disappoints me.

The game is set in Africa, so in turn there are going to be mostly blacks that reside there. End of story.
It sickens me that Capcom even modified the game at all just to throw in the random whites, asians and hispanics WHEN IT MADE ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE FOR THEM TO BE THERE.

ANYWAYS, I've been a huge fan of the series since RE2, and this game didn't disappoint. I just hope they try to get back to the "horror" and "survival" elements in the next game.

 

[Icelus]

So is the game worth getting? I didn't get RE4 and haven't played a RE game since RE3 on my PS2. I was thinking about getting this or Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X., since I'm a big fan of Ace Combat 6 for the 360.

 

[hoov]

It's so depressing that people are completly unable to really understand the racism issue.

The point is part of the fear the game is trying to create, plays on the fears of negative sterotypes about africa. You have to consider why capcom thought it would be a good idea to set the game in africa in the first place, and what that says about a person that they thought Africa would be a good place to set a horror game in. The story could pretty much have worked if it had been set in any other continent, but that being said there were some other legitamite reasons for setting it there.
As Yahtzee said, they aren't being racist, they just didn't think through the portrayal very carefully.

Imagine if you will a zombie game where a Black African agent goest to America, but the entiritey of America is shown as being like the town in deliverance even though the game is set in New York. And zombies are shown sitting outside wooden huts wearing dungarees, playing banjo's and eating hamburgers before they attack you.
Now obviously RE5's portrayal isn't anywhere near as crass as that but it's the area we're dealing with.

Also the design of sheva, yes she is technically black, but she's very pale, and her features aren't particulary african, it's as if capcom thought having a woman who looked more typically african wouldn't be so sexy, and so would be less appealing to gamers.

 

[Yegargeburble]

Imagine if you will a zombie game where a Black African agent goest to America, but the entiritey of America is shown as being like the town in deliverance even though the game is set in New York. And zombies are shown sitting outside wooden huts wearing dungarees, playing banjo's and eating hamburgers before they attack you.

Hate to say it, but I think I would enjoy that if it was a game...

 

[hoov]

I'm willing to expand on this idea and sell the rights to any developers that would be interested.

 

[xopher]

^^^Yep!

The only RE I played was RE:Zero for the GameCube. I didn't even get past the 2nd level because I was so bored with it, and it moved entirely too slow. I'm not really into the RE series, but I bust out laughing when he said "You're carrying armor in the pocket of your armor!"

 

[coda di lup]

I believe that the throwing spears enemies (with shields too) are but a re-edit of RE4's monks with shields and medieval weapons...
I don't think capcom intended them to be offensive, is just a misunderstanding.
I suppose that, if we see them as racist, then also the ganados from RE4 are racist. I mean, they depict spanish people living in a filthy 20th century feudality...

 

[Shaeam]

Hahaha "Carrying your armor in a pocket of your armor" That's so awesome!!!! And it's true... I've already beat Resident Evil 5, rented it while my PC was broke for 3 or 4 days... It wasnt all that great, the ending was kinda lame, no spoilers.

 

[Demagogue]

Was wating for this review, hit the nail on the head with the AI 'teammate' she is supposed to help you... right?

 

[TorenRocksRobots]

I'm biracial (half Italian half African American) and the idea of people claiming that this game is racist has always been a bit bizarre to me. I mean, the amount of white people I've needlessly slaughtered in my years of gaming far trumps the body count of any other racial demographic, and no one seems to have ever complained.

and sure, I'm certain that the Africans in this game aren't fairly or realistically depicted, but when has Capcom been able to pull off a fair and realistic depiction of anyone?

 

[TorenRocksRobots]

It's so depressing that people are completly unable to really understand the racism issue.

The point is part of the fear the game is trying to create, plays on the fears of negative sterotypes about africa. You have to consider why capcom thought it would be a good idea to set the game in africa in the first place, and what that says about a person that they thought Africa would be a good place to set a horror game in. The story could pretty much have worked if it had been set in any other continent, but that being said there were some other legitamite reasons for setting it there.
As Yahtzee said, they aren't being racist, they just didn't think through the portrayal very carefully.

Imagine if you will a zombie game where a Black African agent goest to America, but the entiritey of America is shown as being like the town in deliverance even though the game is set in New York. And zombies are shown sitting outside wooden huts wearing dungarees, playing banjo's and eating hamburgers before they attack you.
Now obviously RE5's portrayal isn't anywhere near as crass as that but it's the area we're dealing with.

Also the design of sheva, yes she is technically black, but she's very pale, and her features aren't particulary african, it's as if capcom thought having a woman who looked more typically african wouldn't be so sexy, and so would be less appealing to gamers.

...I feel as though, if you let a video game (of all things) about killing zombies in Africa shape your thoughts around an entire race of people, you've got bigger problems than being racist.

I think it's all dependent on how seriously people are meant to take this game, and it being a game I'm going to guess, not seriously at all. Now, I'm sure that there are moment in the game that have some pretty stereotypical shit in it, but I doubt its really all that bad. which doesn't make it right, but assuming you're playing this game at the age the "M" on the box suggests, then you should be able to let it roll of your back with no sweat.

 

[IamQ]

Great review as always!

 

[farrell]

youre in africa, theres a high percentage of black people there, odds are youre going to end up killing a black person...

this whole crit is pretty pointless, most games have a shitty storyline, they are games.

OMG the herbs take as much space as a gun!!! oh no!, wait, its a f*cking game, who cares. If you want reality, read a book... its a means to an end, called gameplay

the point to the limited inventory system is to have a challenge, if you have 20 spaces what would be the challenge in playing? the point is you can CHOOSE what you want at every chapter AND every time you die, that should be enough to play the game.

as for sheva, yes shes a pain but she is basically a walking inventory also. I gave her two weapons and the rest is for me when I run out. I also leave her in charge of healing me so I dont have to do it, I actually see this as an advantage, she only uses f-aid sprays when half youre life points are gone...

I played this way and everything was fine

 

[NeoDeath90]

As a matter of fact, Yahtzee was the reason I joined this site. But that;s all besides the point.

I have now officially been swayed away from this game thanks to the review. Anyone more annoying than Ashley (not to mention one that tries to be useful) is definitely a fatal flaw for a series like this. Plus, the inventory system and the blatant RE4 ripoffness really put a damper on my enthusiasm.

 

[Satoz]

Im surprised you didnt hit on the fact that most of the game was not scary...The fact that they tweaked the re4 formula isnt bad, its just learning, unfortunately their learning costs us all a whopping 60$ and in your case even more. The game is super fun with a friend (or brother) but it never quite gets scary. I mean how scared can you be when your partner has a magnum trained on a monsters head, and your shotgun just blows any enemy away, or when you can snipe... The afrian stuff didnt bug me in the slightest, and the tribal stuff wasnt bad. I mean again how many people did you hear saying re4 was super racist, or that re2 was racist? I think people should shut up and play. The inventory system is annoying as hell though.
I mean I have a pistol, rifle, and shotgun, which all take up 2 spots if you want any ammo, then the bullet vest and melee vest, leaving me with one space for a stun rod or some grenades. Seriously I think the vests should have added inventory space! i mean all those extra pockets should come in handy right.

The co-op was a giant step up though, making this game a much more enjoyable experience if you have a competent partner. Though I must say this game deviated in some sections with RE4 its feel was so similar that you would at times feel like you were playing the same game. also we need the sales guy back..