Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360)

Reviewed by Kevin on January 16th, 2010

One of the best games I've ever played. I've completed story mode three times but can't seem to stop playing cause you can keep upgrading your weapons until they become so awesome that you can blow away almost anything. All round solid game, exciting from start to finish, excellent graphics, impressive weaponry, need I go on? Stop reading now, reach for your credit card and buy the game.

Reviewed by Lucky on May 6th, 2009

Im a hardcore resident evil fan ,played every series still reckon the very first one capcom made was the best, some scenes, were unexpected u didnt know what was around that corner u crap yourself with hands trembling on the controller yep that scary mansion to me is number one hooked ever since then, now this game like every other has never compared but in saying so this game is awesome well worth the wait, Chris the man is back and you get to play with a hot partner SHEVA in her bikini jungle outfit holding a magnum, need i say any more,story line good,weapons powerful,overall excellent game one prob cant move and shoot at the same time but who cares weapons are powerful enough to compensate for that and sheva got your back ,you have 4 levels professional the last level, love this game bring on the next series. Hey capcom bring some unexpected to the game where your hands tremble at the controller.

Reviewed by Phil on April 10th, 2009

You'll love this game if you just want more of the same that RE4 provided. Aside from the addition of a partner (a really, really hot one) it's basically the same old thing. That said it's done really well. The graphics are stunning and the production values are excellent. One problem I had with the graphics though, is the really quite dreadful tearing and rippling that you get with a very low refresh rate. Most 360 games seem to refresh at only 60htz so there's always some tearing. But on this game it's much, much more noticeable and pronounced, with rippling appearing almost constantly right across the middle of the screen. I played on a CRT monitor though, so maybe it won't be so bad on a TV or LCD, I don't know.

Other than that the visuals are spectacular, from the detail on the characters to the environments and lighting. It's one of those games that makes you want to affectionately pat your 360.

It's definitely an action game. It's paced well but it seems to be all about gunning down wave after wave of enemies. I read in another review it's taken the series from survival horror to action horror, and that's certainly the case. The combat is done well though, with some genuinely tense moments. There are some awesomely cool monsters, and the levels are quite imaginative and varied which keeps them from becoming monotonous. But the game has done away with puzzles almost completely. There's one but it's so simple you wonder why they bothered (personally I hate puzzles so I didn't mind).

The addition of a partner is a welcome change. She's great to have along and is good in a fight. More banter between her and your character would have been nice though.

The game's biggest shortcoming is the story... or lack thereof; just the same old greedy corporations and their totally irrational obsession with the development of bio weapons. Throw in a hackneyed Matrix wannabe super villain with a stupid hair cut and bad English accent (but at least he's better than the ridiculously comical Spanish midget in the pantaloons from RE4), who's bent on destroying the world and making himself a god. You have to stop him. That's the story. What's more the story is set up rather poorly from the start of the game, which led to me asking myself "What's going on?” "What am I doing here?” Chris Redfield arrives in Africa but you don't know why. Obviously it's something to do with bio terrorism but there're no details. There's something about an illegal arms deal and a guy called Irving and that's it. That's the mission, just catch Irving. Why, what's he done? Who knows, no one bothers to tell you. Although the gameplay is pretty compelling on its own I think a strong story would have really helped make the game a lot more gripping. And some kind of mission briefing at the start of the game would give you a sense of what it is you're doing.

Another minor disappointment for me personally is there are no zombies again. The enemies are the La Plaga infected locals who made their debut in RE4 (with a dash of the 28 Days Later). You could commend the designers for doing something different in RE4, but personally I like my zombies. The infected locals are somewhat zombie-like, sure, but it's just not the same. I want zombies, damn it!

A couple more things I certainly did not like; they've done away with the typewriter in favour of a checkpoint save system. I personally despise the checkpoint system. Ok, the typewriter wasn't perfect but it allowed some degree of control over where you saved your game. In addition, the save system in RE5 doesn't seem to work properly. Sometimes when you quit the game after reaching a checkpoint, then continue the game later, it fails to load that checkpoint and instead loads a previous one, sometimes quite a ways back. Why it does this I don't know. If you die it always reloads the last checkpoint, it's only if you quit the game that this happens. It's like the game is punishing you for quitting. Also, if you want to go back and replay a part of the game (you can reload the last checkpoint but let's say you want to go back further) you can't because you don't know exactly where your save is. You're more likely to find yourself way back at the start of the chapter.

They've also done away with the merchant from RE4. You still buy and sell stuff but instead of a guy in the game there's now a buy/sell/inventory management screen that you access at the start of each game, or when you reload after dying. It also has a storage section where you can stash stuff you don't want to carry around but don't want to sell. I didn't like this because it seemed like cheating. If you die and decide a rocket launcher sure would have helped you out, no problem just buy one and reload. It also doesn't help realism. I mean, where is this stuff coming from? Where is this screen that I'm accessing? I really prefer the merchant from RE4. Ok he was a bit melodramatic, and you could argue that it was silly that there was this guy that kept popping up who for some reason was never attacked by any of the monsters or anything. But I would have preferred they find some sensible way to implement the merchant in the world, than the system they came up with. Plus I miss the safe area that the merchant was often found in. You'd go through a door and hear that music and know you were safe and could relax for a bit.

I had a couple of minor issues with the controls. You still can't move and shoot at the same time. Its 2009, right? It's not that big a deal except when trying to use your knife. If you could move you could step up to an enemy, swipe with the knife then step back to dodge his counter attack. But you can't do that, you just have to stand there, motionless while he wanders up to you and attacks, and if he's got a spear or something long like that then you're stuffed. I also had a problem with having to hold down the A button (with the left stick) to run. Most other 360 games I've played allow you to adjust the character's speed by how far your push the left stick forward. You push forward a little bit to walk, and push it forward all the way to run. If you have to hold down a button to run you have to take your thumb off the other direction stick, and this makes controlling your character unnecessarily awkward. I think it's time the controls took a leap into next gen along with the graphics.

Reviewed by Michael on April 5th, 2009

i had high expectations of this game before i brought it an i was not dissapointed as always the story line in resident evil is great an realy draws you in. the only downfall i felt was the inability to move while shooting which make it quite difficult in a big shootout. that aside this is a great addition for the game collection an sure to keep you hooked from start to end

Reviewed by Mason on March 17th, 2009

This game is THAT GOOD. I loved it, start to end. For all the hardcore fans of the series you will get a big kick out of it. For the idiots out there that complain due to the fact that you cannot move when you shoot or knife....what the hell? You never could in the other games either! To me it adds to the tension, and OMG do you feel tension.
Stop bitching about the little things and comparing it to RE4.
Its a solid game and a solid sequel.

For the Wesker fans......YOU WILL LOVE THIS GAME!

Reviewed by Francois on March 10th, 2009

Having played the demo, I can confidently say that RE5 feels like it will be awesome. While we don't know much about how good the story will be or whether it will live up to what RE4 was and keep you at the edge of your seat, the action is there and it feels very similar to RE4 - with better graphics.

My one big gripe that stops me from giving this game a perfect 5 stars is the controls. They feel down-right clunky, it is similar to Gears of War where you run, stop, shoot, run, stop, shoot, run, stop, shoot. Only, it doesn't work as well in this case since Gears was designed so you take on enemies at a distance, RE is more 'in-the-action' and these controls simply don't work well. The controls are also very inconsistent, while walking, you strafe left/right when pushing the directionals, when running, you turn left/right and stuff like that. These kinds of control quirks is stuff you would expect in RE4 when the gameplay system was new and innovative, the controls should have been revised more cleverly the second time around.

Another concern is that (as mentioned earlier) the game feels almost identical to RE4 (with better graphics), this is both good and bad. RE4 was a truly epic game and the formula worked well, it is quite dated now though and RE5's similarity to RE4 can both make or break the game. I expect it will always be compared directly to RE4 because of its identical gameplay, whereas, you'd never compare RE3 & RE4 that way since they were very different games. RE4 was both epic and different which made it a hit, RE5 might be epic, but it's just not different enough and has a lot to live up to because of RE4's success. Finally, I guess I'm a Leon fan and will greatly miss playing as him.

I don't think these issues will stop this from being a really amazing game though and I have high expectations of this title. Despite the clunky controls and recycled gameplay, I would still highly recommend this one to everyone and believe it will become a classic of the current console generation.

Reviewed by Shamar on February 10th, 2009

I have recently finished playing through the demo. I have played both stages 3-4 times through each, I'm also a long time fan of the series.

Visually the game is quite stunning, the detail is amazing and the game still runs smoothly even when your character and partner plus 5-6 zombies are all on the screen at once.

The game still maintains an eerie atmosphere that you would expect from an RE series.... However my main gripe is that the controls of the game need some SERIOUS work, it is very awkward to control your character, and it feels quite cumbersome in the fact that you cannot move and reload at the same time and cannot move while holding your gun up to aim. There has been no advancement in terms of controls since RE4. This personally disappoints me as it detracts from what could be fast paced game play and slows things down, in a counter to this, the zombies now slow down to a crawl and they draw near you, presumably to give you time to try move your tank of a character around to face and shoot them.

I'm going to hold off on this title until after release and see how the finished product turns out, however I really cannot imagine them re-inventing the control system this close to release.

Over all I think this game will have a great story and be fun to play but will be held back from being something great by this issue.

Reviewed by Mike on February 3rd, 2009

Throughout recent times, game (and movie) sequels can be frought with high anticipation and a huge amount of hype, only to disappoint when they don't live up to expectations upon final release. It's an unfortunate fact, but it's one that lingered in the back of my mind when I downloaded the demo version of RE5 on Xbox Live.

On loading up and playing the demo today I can say however that my worries in this regard were happily put to rest. RE5 looks to be a great game, and Capcom should be congratulated for bringing what I deem a successful fifth game to the series. The gameplay and cut-scene graphics are amazing, players and enemies alike are rendered very well with lots of gore true to the style of the RE franchise.

The ability to play the game co-operatively is a welcome addition, as the extra pair of hands (or extra gun) is very handy in those mass zombie attack / boss monster tight spots. You can also share weapons, ammo and health freely between you, which allows for a new dimension in strategic gameplay. Enemies also drop gold (I assume to buy weapon upgrades later), and ammo when dispatched, keeping your gun loaded just enough for those nasty encounters with the horde.

My only issue with this game is that its controls are a bit complex and frustrating to use in the middle of a fight, and may need some getting used to should they make it to the final game. Also having played all of this game's predecessors, to me RE is becoming less and less scary (the original scared the sh*t out of me), but maybe that's because I've grown old and insensitive to blood, guts and flesh eating corpes over the years.

Reviewed by Tony on January 31st, 2009

After playing the demo, I believe that Resident Evil 5 will be one of the many great games lined up for 09. Judging by the demo, the gameplay is intense, just like all the other Resident Evils. The plot looks awesome, the gameplay is more refined, and you still get to play as Chris from the previous Resident Evil. My only problem would be is that there are still no actual zombies...

Despite that, this game is a must-try, at least try out the demo, because this game is smoking!