eXpert Review

by Sokkus

From the Resident Evil franchises long history, going into this game, players would be forgiven for expecting a horror/survival experience like previous installments in the series, or the recent Dead Space. However, in a genre bending move Resident Evil 5 has come out, with all guns blazing, blown apart its dusty roots and dragged its protagonists kicking and screaming into an action game setting. Huzzah!

Arriving in the African town of Kijuju to investigate a black market weapons deal, evidence of a powerful biological weapon code-named Uroboros emerges and it becomes apparent that something much more sinister is going on. Assuming control of BSAA agent Chris Redfield players must embark on a mission to discover the source of this new threat and eliminate it before it's too late.

The game handles in a similar way to Gears of War; with the over the shoulder camera angle and minimalistic HUD giving the game a very immersive, cinematic feel. Level design is fairly linear, having to move from point A to point B through X number of bad guys and even a fairly recognizable cover mechanic comes into play towards the pointy end of the campaign.

Resident Evil 5 is co-operative centric and the incorporation of a partner into the game works rather well as many of the obstacles experienced during the story have been designed to require teamwork to navigate. Similar to Army of Two, your partner also acts an additional source of information, back up in a fire fight, will aid you in times of need and can even help stave off your death with a hefty punch to the sternum. Utilizing Xbox Live or split-screen, another player can step into Sheva's shoes via two player co-op enabling a pair to tackle the campaign together, adding hours to game play.

The combat is fast paced and frequent, so it is good to note that there is a nice variety of weapons available. Following the successful completion of a level or after a game over screen, players will be able to buy and upgrade weapons from a mid-mission shop. The application of different upgrades will increase the stats on each weapon, making level progression just that little bit easier. So thoroughly exploring levels and keeping a sharp eye out for treasures during missions for additional upgrades becomes more important as the story develops.

The different enemies encountered along the way are numerous and deadly with some truly epic boss fights. The numerous enemy types are well conceived and often require different tactics to eliminate. Unfortunately though, despite the diversity in enemies, there is often not enough variety to combat. Some levels have an over-abundance of standard zombies, with the occasional variant thrown in to the mix. It's not game breaking, but seeing variation a bit more frequently would have been appreciated.

The graphics are impressive with enemies, character models and environments, all being superbly detailed. The variety of environments keeps players immersed and the gritty visual style is excellent. The audio proportion of the game is stellar, with quality voice acting, believable ambient noise and realistic sound effects. And to top it off, the animation is fantastic, something you would expect with the production value that has gone into its development.

For all of its positives, the game also has its drawbacks. Players are unable to move and shoot simultaneously, restricting movement and often leaving Chris open to ranged attackers. The aiming mechanism could also have used an adjustment as targeting seems to be cumbersome and unresponsive. Whilst these mechanics admittedly add to urgency in combat, which may have been the developers' intention, it still renders the combat frustrating at times.

The campaign mode will last up to 12 hours the first time through and players will need to revisit it in order to obtain all of those hidden items, weapons and collectibles. There is a lot of content to unlock in Resident Evil 5 including: character skins, difficulty settings, a survival mode and bonus weapons, all of which provide ample motivation to keep players interested. The implementation of scores and leader boards, along with the recently released DLC multiplayer mode offer players some additional competition, only adding to its longevity.

Resident Evil 5 is a worthy addition to any Xbox library. The addition of co-operative mode and almost flawless game play, high degree of replayability, top notch visual and audio presentation and compelling story make this feature-packed zombie fest of an action game something every gamer should experience.

Overall: 8.5/10