Right, well its time for another revisitation post and this one is of the survival horror game, Resident Evil 5, which I have recently replayed and finished, so I figured I would look over my original review and update it given that its just paragraphs with no headings! ;-)
So, with that said let's take another look at this game and see how it fairs 11 years on...
And usual warning is coming...
PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
STORY
So, the story takes place five years after the events of RE4 it follows the main character, Chris Redfield who was a former S.T.A.R.S. operative but is now a member of the BSSA (Bioterrorism security assessment alliance) who is sent into Kijuju (which is actually a fictional region in Africa) along with Sheva Alomar, a fellow BSAA operative based in Africa. Chris and Sheva together are sent to aprehend Ricardo Irving, before he can sell a BOW (bio-organic weapon) on the black market.
Chris and Sheva both discover on arriving they find that the locals have been infected with parasites, which they fight off and they are soon rescued by the BSSA delta team, one of whom is Josh Stone, Sheva's mentor. Josh reveals to Chris that he has a data file with a photograph of his sister, Jilly Valentine, who Chris believed to be dead after an encounter with his old foe, Albert Wesker. Chris and Sheva along with the Delta team advance on Irving but he manages to escape, however he leaves behind some documents, which contain information on the whereabouts of the deal, which is in some oil fields.
Chris and Sheva then continue into the marshlands and they track down Irving, who injects himself with a variant of the Las Plagas parasite and he mutates into a monster, whom Chris and Sheva finally defeat and with Irving's dying words he leads them toward a cave belonging to a tribe which holds the flower from which the T and G viruses were created.
From here Chris and Sheva continue their investigation into who and what is behind the BOW attacks (which is soon revealed to be Albert Wesker after all) and also they learn a far greater threat is brewing in the form of a new enhanced bio-organic virus, which they must stop from being used across the world.....
THOUGHTS
As a follow-up to the excellent RE4, Resident Evil 5 does a fine job in doing so and it maintains the movement and gameplay mechanics that RE4 introduced to the series and revolutionised the franchise. RE5 also takes an even newer approach here as the game is largely dependent on its use of co-op gameplay as Chris and Sheva fight together and with one another. This in itself is a welcome change and rapid departure from RE4's Leon and Ashley, where Ashley basically was the damsel in distress, which Leon had to rescue but there is none of that here with Sheva, who can hold her own and Chris and Sheva work well as a team throughout the game.
CO-OP GAMEPLAY
Gameplay wise the game is very similar in style except the single player game now almost takes on almost co-op based style as the main playable character, Chris has Sheva run alongside him and at certain points she has to perform some tasks to open doors or help take out enemies to cover Chris, which again was covered in RE4. Chris and Sheva can both share weapons, ammo and healing items during the game also and heal each other as and when necessary.
Chris and Sheva at certain points in the game also have to perform timed actions together such as bashing down doors and Chris himself at times will be required to carry out physical actions in scenes where he has to evade baddies or perform a melee attack when he is in close contact with an enemy. The game also continues to use the quick time event feature that featured in RE4 and here it can apply to both Chris and Sheva although primarily to Chris alone when evading enemies or counter-attacking them.
ENEMIES
The game features similar enemies to those in RE4 (the Ganados) the Majini who are Africans infected with the parasite and they also can run, wield weapons and dodge attacks. And one of the notable enemies in the game is the return of the crazed leatherface chainsaw psycho (well except this will be an African one rather than Mexican) who Chris will have to run away from fast or he run risk being sliced up (and you are treated to a rather gruesome cutscene if Chris is killed by him!). There are also several bosses to be battled throughout the game most of which are BOW's (biological organic weapon) that Chris and Sheva have to work together to take down.
WEAPONS
Weapons and ammo wise the game is also fairly similar to RE4 in that Chris can pick up ammo from dead foes as well as money, which you can use at the end of a level to upgrade your weapons and ammo as well as buy other items which will help you along the way. Chris can also break open creates and barrels to pick up items. e.g. ammo, first aid sprays or herbs to restore his health.
The weapons in the game are also pretty varied as Chris can pick up various guns such as handguns, shotguns, sub-machine guns, assault rifle and a sniper rifle and as the player can actually select the weapons and health items during the action rather than go into a menu to access what you need. The game also features the standard combat knife which is practically useless except for breaking open crates, but you can also pick up different grenades such as incindenary, flash or frag grenades, which can come in handy.
GRAPHICS
As for the game's visuals RE5 looks stunning as it is the first game in the series to have been made in high definition and the game's environment are richly detailed and sharp. The character models are also great even by today's standards and in some instances almost lifelike and one example is the character Josh Stone, who you could swear is an actual guy when you look at him in the game! Chris and Sheva's charactel models are also excellent as well (and it has to be said that Sheva is rather sexy!).
There is also great graphical variety with the baddies in the game not just the majini infected humans, but also other monsters as well, a giant mutated octopus and also infected dogs, which can split open into two, which looks gross and like something from John Carpenter's The Thing! (probably the influence here!).
So overall, RE5's graphics are one of the game's main highlights and its HD upgrade to the series is very impressive.
MUSIC
The game also features an excellent music score by several Japanese composers that include Kota Suzuki and Akihiko Narita, which contains many exciting, fast paced tracks that are guaranteed to get your adrenaline going. In fact one of the tracks, Majini 2 remains one of my favourite video game music tracks of all time and its pretty intense with its use of strings and African drums, its a superb piece of music. In fact, this score is so good, I would even suggest that it could be listened to it independently from the game. So, yep RE5's score is a real good one.
VOICE ACTING
As for the voice acting, overall its excellent as Roger Craig Smith is fine in his lead role as Chris, who get's some pretty standard serious RE dialogue but also one or two amusing lines aswell such as during Chris's fight scene with Wesker, where Sheva says to him "He's lost it!" and Chris says "He never had "it" in the first place!".
The other voice cast members are also very good such as Eva La Dare as Sheva, Chris's partner and she and Craig Smith work well together as Chris and Sheva's partnership is a convincing one and makes for a refreshing change of the somewhat helpless Ashley in RE4. T.J. Storm as Chris Stone, the BSAA delta team team leader who aids Chris and Sheva. And there is of course D.C. Douglas who delivers a pretty hammy performance as Albert Wesker and his accent is somewhat bizzare as it almost borders on being English, so its almost like he's a Bond villain here!
FLAWS
So as for flaws... well yeah RE5 has some worth a mention...
For starters I think the game feels a bit like a retread of RE4 as it maintains the same combat mechanics, movement and quick time event system although the co-op is a welcome one. However even though RE4 was a landmark in the franchise, it also lead towards RE5 moving further away from the roots of what made Resident Evil good in the first place, the creepy corridors, the dark hallways, moaning zombies or other monsters coming at you out of the shadows. However by RE5, the series really had moved into the action genre and getting a bit further away from its original horror-survival concept, even though this is something the games does pretty well is still immerse the player in the action.
I also was annoyed by the fact that Albert Wesker now has been effectively given an English accent as if all archetypal villains in video games now need to be English in order to be a real badass and in the game his accent just sounds silly anyway! And D.C. Douglas, the voice actor from Wesker, delivers some naff dialogue in such an exaggerated accent such as "You're merely postponing the inevitable!" and "there's no point in hiding!". For me its the worst representation I've seen of Wesker in the series!
I also have issues with the quick time event sequences (introduced in RE4) where you have to press a button on your controller prove to be a bit of a pain in some instances, particularly in the last battle Chris has with Wesker when he has to push a big boulder into lava to clear a path and he will die if he mistimes it. This bit whilst not difficult, does highlight what a pain in the ass all this quick time event nonsense can be these days in video gaming, where the player can be reduced to a raging wreck simply because they couldn't time pressing button just at the right moment!
Further to this issue I think that it becomes really apparent in the encounter where you fight Jill, who is under Wesker's control and you need Chris to remove a device implanted on her chest that Wesker uses to control her. Now, when doing this part of the game, it was a HUGE pain in the ass, as I to constantly keep tapping a specific button frantically over and over to make Chris tear the pendant from Jill but it took AGES to finally do it! And I think its moments like this that drag the game down a little as they mount alot of frustration in a player...or maybe that's just me?! ;-)
I also felt at times the co-op gameplay aspect of the game was a bit frustrating as you had to keep going into the menu to swap weapons and at times this could be awkward when you are surrouned by enemies! This is also the case with asking Sheva for ammo when you run out and yeah OK it happens quick enough but in real pressure moments, it still does leave you vulnerable to enemy attacks.
Another problem is to do with the inventory menu in-between chapters where you can buy new weapons or other items but you CAN'T buy actual ammo for your guns! Instead if you want to get more ammo you need to upgrade your weapon via that menu system otherwise you just need to pray to the RNG Gods that enemies will drop the ammo you need (which to be fair they usually do). However, this was an issue that was in RE4 and sadly they did not fix it here in RE5 either!
I think the game towards the end does overrun a bit too long as the action takes place in the last chapter feels pretty drawn out and by then you think the game has begun to outstay its own welcome. And it was the same in RE4 too even if it was an excellent game it seems to be something CAPCOM are very guilty at in creating games that are really good but not knowing when to end them!
And last of all one of my biggest gripes about the game is the final boss, Wesker himself as his fight is one of the most tediously drawn-out fights I've ever seen in a video game! I mean you have to fight the guy in a hangar and then later on out on a volcanic rock with lava everywhere. I just wish they kept the fight to one location as it is really padded out beyond all belief!
Its also a bit confusing what you need to do in the fight later on as Wesker mutates, his arms turn into tentacles and the tentacles expose a orange core in his chest. Now, it turns out you need to stab him when core is exposed but I spent ages firing rounds into him and nothing happened! So, I really felt it wasn't made clear what you have to do in this fight.
SUM UP
Anyway that all aside Resident Evil 5 is a fine follow up to Resident Evil 4 and its still well worth playing even if its a game that may not please all the fans of the series but it still stands head and shoulders over the mess that was Reisdent Evil 6. The game also keeps you entertained for the most part with its thick and fast action, good voice acting, excellent music score and the inclusion of the co-op gameplay is a neat touch and adds a new dimension to the franchise.
It does of course have some issues with its tiresome use of quick time events, a flawed inventory system not to mention one of the MOST annoying final boss fights in any game! However, despite these issues, Resident Evil 5 is stil worth replaying or even checking out for a first time 11 years on.
Right, that's it for now and I will be back with another post soon, which most likely will be the second part of the E-Space Trilogy from Tom Baker's era of Doctor Who, State of Decay.
So, until then its bye for now!
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