Resident Evil 5

When Acquired: December, 2009

Date Completed: 3/2/2010

Thoughts: Releasing after the phenomenally well-received Resident Evil 4, 5 never seemed to have the hype or expectations of it's predecessor. As if the fans knew that because it wasn't in development for as long as RE4, their expectations should be limited. Don't get me wrong, it still had hype, and reviewed well, it just didn't seem to be as much as you'd expect for the RE4 successor. This game represented a lot of firsts for the series. First game on a next gen console, first game that integrated co-op into the RE formula, and the first RE game to launch simultaneously on multiple consoles. These factors propelled the game to phenomenal sales.

Co-op is a required part of the game, no matter if you choose to play with a friend, or solo. The AI does respectively, but unlike Left 4 Dead, when the AI characters have incredible aim, and are actually more efficient and reliable than human players, the AI partner in Resident Evil is fallable. You'll rarely lose because of it, but neither will you be able to count on your partner to carry you through the game. The game is at it's most enjoyable when you're playing with a friend, either through split screen, or online. When working with a friend you can work out strategies to deal with the enemies together, unlike the partner AI that will just follow you around like a puppy.

The biggest downside for this title is the complete lack of suspense and horror that has always been a stalwart of the series. Likely a large portion of that is due to the decision to make the game multiplayer, and Capcom seems to understand this would be the case and instead of trying to cheesily force it to be a scary game, it accepts it and steers the story in a different direction.

The story isn't really a stand out factor for the game. It's a pretty simple motivation and climax. The game attempts to drop little tidbits in for those who have completed the previous games, including little blurbs while the game loads, but for people like myself who haven't finished all the games, I was a bit in the dark at times, but not enough to keep me from enjoying the game.

The most compelling part of the game for me was the upgrade system. I was compelled to upgrade my guns and buy new ones as quickly as possible. And the game rewards your first play through by allowing you to purchase infinite ammo for each individual gun. You don't get unlimited ammo for all the guns, you have to use the points you get for finishing each level to unlock the ammo. Most likely when you finish the game the first time you'll have enough to get unlimited ammo for one of the lower tier guns. That was not for me, I kept replaying individual levels until I had enough points to get unlimited ammo for the most powerful gun in the game. (of course you can't unlock the unlimited ammo unless you also purchase every upgrade for the gun, and to unlock THIS gun, I had to fully upgrade a different gun and then purchase it. This was made much easier by exploiting the rotten egg trick) Now as I'm playing through again with my buddy on the hardest setting, enemies fall by the wayside. Of course when I get to the parts where I don't use your guns, those parts aren't made any easier with my unlimited super gun.

Resident Evil 5 represents a huge departure from the RE formula. I wondered durin my playthrough if this should have been given a number in the series instead of perhaps an offshoot, but regardless of the differences, it's a great game. Visually stunning, addictive and a blast to play in co-op. I definately recommend it.

To do on this game: Play through on the hardest difficulty settings, nab some more achievements.