PS3 Review – Resident Evil 5
Welcome to Kijuju, a breeding ground for bio-terrorists and black market weapon sales, located in West Africa. As it turns out, the Umbrella corporation had research facilities in Kijuju but has since gone bankrupt, and pharmaceutical company ‘Tricell’ has reopened those facilities. This spells trouble for the natives of the Kijuju as strange occurences start to become more frequent.
You play as Chris Redfield, a member of the now defunct S.T.A.R.S. and a returning cast member from the original Resident Evil game. Chris now works for B.S.A.A. and is sent to Kijuju to capture and arrest Ricardo Irving. Chris isn’t the only one tasked to locate Irving, as your partner this time around is Sheva Alomar. What Sheva is lacking in brawn and biceps, she makes up for it with cunning and good looks. She provides backup for Chris, assisting with opening doors and numerous other tasks. But Sheva does act a bit reckless at times, unloading clip after clip into the Majini, the natives infected with an advanced version of the Las Plagas virus.
This isn’t the Resident Evil you are used to. Gone are the suspenseful, creepy moments. In fact, you don’t really get scared throughout Resident Evil 5, as it’s more focused on action this time around. Most of the screens and trailers of the game show a bright, sunny, sandy environment, but soon you will find yourself playing in some more familiar areas, such as murky swamps, and bat infested caves. Even with the eerie surroundings, you don’t get the same feeling you would while playing the previous installments of Resident Evil, as you are never alone throughout your playthrough.
The addition of Sheva takes away that feeling of desperation, but makes up for it by saving your ass countless times. This game was built to be played with a friend, or even a stranger, both online and offline. Co-op takes the center stage, and the better the other player is, the easier your play time will be. Your partner’s A.I. isn’t all that bad and will definitely get the job done. You might have to forgive her for a few annoyances, such as giving you items you just don’t want, especially after having made some extra room in your inventory. But it certainly doesn’t ruin the experience. It’s also important to note the benefits of an AI character automatically supplying you with potentially important items.
The Majini are relentless, attacking from all angles, and the hordes of ‘em never seem to stop coming. You will have to keep a variety of weapons in your inventory to deal with the different enemy types throughout your journey, many of which are new to the series. I have to admit, I am a tad disappointed by all the accusations of racism the game faced when it was first shown, as the enemies within this game fit the region they occupy. Regardless, you get over this pretty quickly as you will be too busy trying to stay alive to notice who is trying to kill you.
Boss fights are some of the best the series has offered, with each boss boasting some of the smoothest animations I have seen during this console generation. Each boss offers a pattern that you must pick up on and use to your advantage to finally take it down. And when you do, the feeling you get is quite rewarding, especially since your heart finally stops pounding.
When I first played Resident Evil 5 I was instantly disappointed by the control scheme, as they haven’t changed much since RE4. Especially after playing other westernized games with previously clunky controls, such as Metal Gear Solid 4, I longed for more fluidity. Having to stop and plant your feet just to swing your knife, or aim your gun, is my biggest complaint by far. After about an hour into the game, you get acclimated to the control scheme and it becomes second nature. So don’t let the prehistoric controls keep you from enjoying this masterpiece.
This title gives you plenty of reason to play again and again, featuring a ton of hidden treasures, unlockables, and various weapons for you to upgrade. Since your inventory is very limited, you might not get a chance to toy with all of the different weapons, but you sure can make up for it on subsequent playthroughs. Upon firing Resident Evil 5 up for the first time; there is a mandatory 5 GB install. Before you moan, your HDD space woes aren’t for naught, as it speeds up load times considerably compared to its Xbox 360 counterpart, making the PS3 version the clear choice for multi console owners.
This latest iteration strays from the formula that helped make Resident Evil such a successful franchise, but it makes for a unique co-operative experience. Blood, gore, and mindless Majini will give you the ‘Resident Evil feel’ you are looking for; though the other mainstays such as as mind-boggling puzzles and back-tracking are very few and far between. This may not be such a bad thing, but for long-time fans of the series, ‘Evil’ may not be the biggest resident in this game. Nevertheless, if you are a long-time fan, or just finding yourself interested in the series for the first time, this is not a game to miss.
PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score
A ton of hidden items and unlockables. Takes series in a new direction with compelling Co-op. |
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33 Responses to “PS3 Review – Resident Evil 5”
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March 12th, 2009 at 2:11 PM
good review.. i might eventually pick this up if i see it somewhere on sale for 20 or 30 bones.
March 12th, 2009 at 2:29 PM
Very good review. I may pick this up eventually as well. The demo kind of turned me off, but if what your saying is true I may eventually really like this.
@TheHater although I do agree with you somewhat about the controls they do not bother me to much. I’ve read where people complained that you can not walk in shoot or run and shoot like Dead Space and Gears of War, but honestly who was running and gunning in those games. Dead Space your ammo was so limited and space was so tight I found myself standing in place most of the time so I wouldn’t waste a shot, and Gears well if you do not use cover you will be dead in a second. Look at Killzone when you play on a higher difficulty are you running around shooting people no you are behind cover peaking out and shooting.
Where RE games make up for the fact you can’t move is with the slow dumb AI and although not being able to move may be thing of the past all these game are similar they just implement them a different way.
March 12th, 2009 at 2:37 PM
I didn’t like the demo either at first, but it was lot more fun when I was playing it in Co-op. I know a few people that are picking it up, so I’ll give it another shot.
March 12th, 2009 at 2:59 PM
Good review. I honestly didn’t mind the demo and I loved the animation. Sure, Capcom used dumb excuses to keep that old control scheme in place (excluding it would make the game less scary), especially when Dead Space did it so well and managed to scare the s*** out of me. But like you said, the mechanic is far from broken and all it takes is a bit of getting used to.
March 12th, 2009 at 3:55 PM
I love the controls ^_^
and I really liked the demo
March 12th, 2009 at 4:16 PM
Got used to the demo controls after 3rd playthrough So want this game it is fun and not hard to look at either
March 12th, 2009 at 4:58 PM
Sev! You didn’t mention anything about Home as an advantage over the 360 version.
March 12th, 2009 at 7:52 PM
@The Hater
This game doesn’t deserve a 5/5. Its a fricken have last generation controls and horriable animations. <- WTF does this sentence even mean first of all?
Wow, your name suits you very well. You played a demo and say the full game sucks? Where were you the last ten years to complain about RE controls? I am sorry not every game lets you run and gun like crazy, jeez man, get over it. I would much rather trust Sev, who has played the game extensively and hated the demo, to the point where he was thinking about not buying the game. Sev, thanks for not changing my mind about buying the game, I remember when I asked you before you said wait until the full game comes out. Sounds awesome and I can’t wait to play it tomorrow. It is just adding another game to the list!
March 12th, 2009 at 10:07 PM
Glad I traded in some old games for this today. Looking forward to picking it up in the morning since there’s no midnight launch in my area.
March 13th, 2009 at 9:50 AM
This game deserves a 5/5 for sure, this one is epic and wonderful
March 13th, 2009 at 3:02 PM
I don’t think I’ll pick this up. I’m really not a RE fan.
Though, I still enjoyed the review. Good job, Sev.
March 14th, 2009 at 5:38 AM
I hated the controls since I first played the demo. I have to admit after the 4th time playing the demo the controls kinda grow on you. Like some sort of fungal virus. Not like the T virus but some good funky smelly stank “fungal” virus…. u know. Big ups to Sev nice review. Got the SE version.
Anyone for co-op?
March 16th, 2009 at 4:31 PM
This is becoming one of my favorite games of all time, it just gets better and better.
March 17th, 2009 at 8:07 AM
i just cant get this game because well killzone is way better, and i think it is really stupid that they are making people pay to get multiplayer. That should not be DLC that should be a free download or it should be put in the game
March 23rd, 2009 at 11:30 AM
I agree about the DLC. It should be free. I am not going to buy this game unless it is amazing. I have it on my Gamefly list but thats probably the only way I am getting it. I prefer the old style RE games.
March 24th, 2009 at 11:01 AM
I played the demo. I’m going to say that the whole game sucks based on that. That and the PS3 only sold 100 units since release and SONY is going out of business. Now can I get a job over at N4G?
The article here was dead on with my feelings about the game. I was mad that I didn’t wait until the price went down and felt duped my own internal Resident Evil Hype Machine. Then, the first boss battle and I realized “hey, I have no real complaints”.
That RE4 was as phenominal as it was set a really high bar. I think I for one let that hurt my initial feelings to RE5.
May 1st, 2009 at 6:55 PM
Good review and I agree this game deserves a 5/5 since you get used to the controls.
May 30th, 2009 at 3:10 PM
the game needs some tweeking but overall is a good game.. the controls do become second nature after awhile.
June 28th, 2009 at 2:24 PM
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August 2nd, 2009 at 3:57 PM
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August 14th, 2009 at 12:50 AM
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August 23rd, 2009 at 6:20 PM
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September 25th, 2009 at 5:57 PM
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November 3rd, 2009 at 10:17 PM
The demo was bad. i wished they would have allowed you to walk and shoot.
November 8th, 2009 at 4:55 PM
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April 22nd, 2010 at 6:46 AM
Going to try the demo and if i like it, i will probably get the game
May 10th, 2010 at 11:01 PM
Awesome game I got this at launch two years for $60 and its really good probably better than RE4 but not as great. I even love the DLC truly makes the game worth getting the Gold edition not the regular edition.