Resident Evil 4 changed what the Resident Evil series would be all about, third person shooting and an intense horror survival scenario. It is considered one of the best games of all time. Even I enjoyed it, and I don’t play a lot of horror survival games at all. I was excited when I heard about Resident Evil 5 coming out, and I just couldn’t wait for it to be available for rental on Gamefly.com. I had it on the top of my list the week before it came out, and right at the last second, I took it off because I remembered how scary the 4th game was. After a few months though, I decided to pick it up and play it. So, is this as scary as heck? Or is it just some guy in a zombie mask?
The setting takes place in Africa in a desert town called Kijuju. Chris Redfield, who is a long time fan favorite character from past Resident Evil series was called in to check out the disappearance of the alpha team that went in to investigate the village a few weeks earlier. A new female character named Sheva Alomar then joins him. They are both trying to find this man called Ricardo Irving. Early in the game, they find out that the whole town and most of Africa was infected with a virus, which is similar to the virus found in Resident Evil 4, Las Plagas. All the villagers in Kijuju were turned into things called Majini, which means evil spirit in Swahili. Now it is up to the two agents to take down the infected life on African soil, and find out who is causing all of this. It basically plays out like an average sci-fi movie, but it gets the job done, and you won’t really care about it. All you need to know is that there are zombies and other infected things everywhere, and you will need every last bullet to survive.
The game play is a third person horror survival game, where you control Chris as you go through villages, shooting down the local zombies and other things with a gun. You have your basic pistol, and throughout the game, you can find more guns throughout the levels. There is also some minor puzzle-solving from time to time, like finding a pair of keys or moving a stone. The enemy variety is scarce, but there are hoards of them, so it doesn’t really matter. The main zombies in the game are kind of like the ones found in Resident Evil 4. They look normal, but the virus infects them, and some will even have the virus pop out of their heads or torsos. It’s gross. There are also zombie wild dogs, giant bugs, armored zombies, and infected tribal people. The bosses are just amazing. They range from just gross to just really creepy-looking, but they are mostly gross. Some of them even remind me of the demons in Princess Mononoke. Surprisingly, the game isn’t that scary, but it is intense, which might cause some people to get frightened or something like that since you can’t move while shooting. There are also some quick-time events from time to time, but they won’t be near as many, which will really test your reflexes. Instead of walking up to a creepy guy selling guns, you can buy or upgrade weapons in-between stages, or if you’re just starting up again after dying.
The graphics happen to be some of the best of this year. They are truly as good or a little better then the graphics found in games like Metal Gear Solid 4. The music is also very nice, and it puts you in the mood of the fear of zombies surrounding you or just trying to survive. I have found my heart pounding fast from time to time, since you don’t know what might pop up around the corner or from above or below. The voice acting was also good, even though some feel like out of an old-fashioned grind house film. The controls are also well implemented and are responsive.
Time to take out your guns and shoot down the bad parts. The first things I found annoying are the red herbs found in the game. My friend and I never found a good use for them, and you can’t use them to heal yourself when you really need it. I think they are used for reviving you from near death, but I don’t know. I would recommend playing the game with a friend since it’s kind of awkward playing by yourself, and having to protect you and your friend. A lot of people complain about the controls, but I don’t really think they are that bad. The only time I got upset was if I pressed the wrong button, like instead of aiming, I pressed the “got to get out my big knife” button, though that is just my small opinion on the matter
All and all, I found this game to be really enjoyable. It’s not my total cup of tea, but I was glad that I played it. I would recommend getting this for the PS3 or 360 since who wants to spend 2000 dollars on a new computer with a 500-dollar graphics card installed in the computer to make it even more expensive? I don’t. I’m surprised Capcom topped Resident Evil 4 with this game. I wonder how they will top Resident Evil 5 with the next game.
This game gets a 9 out of 10
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