Zombies for Gamerscore

Published March 24, 2009

The trademark stop and shoot survival-horror gameplay of Resident Evil 5 is rife with tension while fighting through intimidating odds and facing off against nightmarish bosses. There's a load of Gamerscore to be had in this game, and added satisfaction to go along with the points.

Looks like the Fireworks achievement to me.

RE5 in particular provides an excellent array of tantalizing achievements, all of them feasible for the dedicated player. Let's take a look at several of the action-based achievements, and how best to earn them. In the interest of spoilers, I'll stay away from as many plot details as possible.

War Hero (70 Gamerscore)
Before we get to some of the action-specific achievements, it's worth noting that the Professional difficulty setting required for the War Hero achievement is only unlocked after you've completed the game on Veteran. Unless you want to play through the game twice before unlocking Professional difficulty, go with Veteran from the start.

The Works (15 Gamerscore)
You must string together a melee attack combination for this achievement, and while there's a chance you can score this on a large variety of enemies, you run the risk of killing standard enemies before you can pull off enough hits. Rather, focus on the Big Man Majini (the big guys with no shirt) found throughout the game, particularly in the early levels.

One bite and you're dead.

Shoot the Big Man Majini in the leg until he's stunned. Then, run up to him and tap X to hit him. Next, your partner (preferably human rather than A.I.) should run up and hit them a second time, and then finally you can charge in for the third total attack (your second). Achievement unlocked.

Drive By (30 Gamerscore)
This achievement requires you shoot down the driver of an armored truck, and while the truck sequence in Chapter 2-1 seems like the appropriate place, it's not. Rather it's the on-rails Chapter 2-3 that pits you against the appropriate trucks.

The only trick here is that it's tough to crank the machinegun to the left or right far enough to get an angle on the driver if you're playing cooperatively as Sheva, who's stuck in the lower position. If you have trouble, try reloading the chapter on your own so you can play as Chris, and make use of an easier angle of attack.

Heart Stopper (15 Gamerscore)
The only trouble with this achievement is knowing which "certain enemy" you need to stab in the heart. The answer is the Beta Lickers, which are in surplus throughout Chapter 5. Use the shotgun to knock them on their back in order to stab them. Once they're in position, charge up and tap X when the button prompt appears.

I smell a boss fight!

If you find yourself knocking them too far back so that they hop to their feet before you can reach them, try shooting a nearby Licker that's close to a wall. This way, they won't fly far away from you.

Lead Aspirin (30 Gamerscore)
Defeating an enemy with a headshot mid-jump may seem like a tall order, but with an upgraded shotgun at the ready, a steady hand and a good eye for the environment, you should score this without any great trial on your patience.

The enemies you encounter throughout Chapter 3 make particularly good targets for this achievement, as they'll leap up at you whenever you're above them. Likewise, there are a couple of spots (such as the beginning of Chapter 3-2) where enemies will be forced to leap across small gaps, presenting another opportunity to tag them mid-air.

If you're having trouble with this achievement, I recommend loading a level on Normal or Amateur difficulty. This way, you won't have to soften up the enemy before they jump. One good shotgun round anywhere near the face should do the trick.

Ride the Lightning (15 Gamerscore)
You'll need to kill an enemy by shocking them with a transformer for this achievement. While there's several transformers scattered throughout the game, your best opportunity is just before or during the Chainsaw Majini fight in Chapter 2-1.

Good opportunity for the Be a Knife achievement.

Take a gander skyward just before the steps that lead up to releasing the Chainsaw Majini and you should spot the transformer. Shoot it to knock it down and then shoot it again anytime an enemy walks near it. If you're playing on Veteran or Professional, you may want to soften the enemy up with a few shots first. Whatever the case, make sure it's the shock from the transformer that lands the killing blow and you'll be 15 Gamerscore richer for your trouble.

Crowd Control, Bull's-eye (15 Gamerscore)
You'll need to kill thirty enemies with the Gatling Gun (exclusive to Chris) and Longbow (exclusive to Sheva) respectively to earn these achievements. Considering these are enormously powerful weapons with unlimited ammo, polishing off the required number of enemies should be no great challenge. Unlocking the weapons on the other hand is a different story.

You unlock the Gatling Gun by completing all the upgrade paths for the VZ61 submachine gun. Note that the VZ61's ammo capacity is 300, so even if the upgrade bar appears full, keep spending that money until you hit 300. Likewise, Sheva's Longbow is unlocked by fully upgrading the S75 rifle.

While you can complete the upgrades for both weapons before you complete the game, the Longbow and Gatling Gun won't be available for purchase until after you've beaten the game.

There's a transformer nearby …

Bad Blood (15 Gamerscore)
"Inflict a set amount of damage to your greatest enemy," does not make a conclusive achievement description. We'll stay spoiler free for this one, but know the enemy in question is found in the boss encounter at the end of Chapter 5-3.

You can only reliably hit the boss here whenever he's not looking at you or he's not yet aware of your presence, so spend the time to hide around corners or otherwise break his line of sight on you. While you can conceivably score this achievement by using standard weaponry, you can speed things up considerably by buying a rocket launcher.

Line up a shot on the boss with your rocket launcher and, provided he hasn't spotted you, he should grab the rocket in mid-air after you fire. If you then take out your weapon and shoot the rocket, you should instantly score the achievement.

Be the Knife (60 Gamerscore)
Deflecting an arrow with your knife will take a bit of patience, but provided you can line yourself up with a bow-wielding enemy, it shouldn't take too long to properly time your knife attack to cut the arrow out of the air. That said, it's worth playing on Amateur for this if for no other reason than it will take longer for the arrows to whittle you down if they get through to you.

Need your gold ring treasure? He drops it.

The larger problem is trying to score this achievement with an A.I.-controlled partner intent on shooting enemies. If you run into this problem, open up the inventory window and strip Sheva of her weapons. Problem solved.

Who Do You Trust? (30 Gamerscore)
Once again, Resident Evil 5 keeps things vague with its "Build up a certain level of trust with your partner," description. However, all that's really required here is for you to thank Sheva any time she heals you, helps you out of a jam, or gives you items. Tap B to thank her any time she assists you in any way and you should unlock this achievement in the natural course of play.

The one-thousand Gamerscore of Resident Evil 5 is within reach for any gamer with a solid grasp of the gameplay and a dedicated mindset. There are no monstrously difficult achievements, and with the preceding tips, a sharp eye (needed to spot those BSAA emblems!), and your own homebrew tactics, the full thousand should be yours. Happy achievement hunting!

Article by Ryan Treit