I never played Resident Evil 4. In fact the last Resident Evil I played right through was Resident Evil 2, and that was back in the Playstation 1 era. I was a massive fan of it. By todays standards its terrible, but no one can deny the atmosphere of Resident Evil 2 was eerie. It set the mood and you felt like you were in a fight for your life. At the time it was a spooky experience. My how games have changed today. Resident Evil 5 is an amazing experience, and brings some of the nostalgia I felt the first I played Resident Evil 2.
The 5th installment of Resident Evil puts you in the shoes of Chris Redfield, and you have been teamed up with a young African woman who knows how to handle herself. This pairing up feels similar to the Prince Of Persia/Elika combination, only if you have a controller handy you can use her too. Set in the shanty towns of Africa you are thrust in to an all out blood bath right from the start. The villagers are vicious and they want your brains, well maybe not but you get the idea. This is Survival Horror, with emphasis put on survival. You can try and be Rambo at times, but be warned it won't work all the time. You will find yourself running for your life. And this is what I really enjoy about Resident Evil 5. So many games encourage you to kill every last enemy, but that isn't so easy. Especially when ammunition is quite scarce. You really have to learn to conserve your ammunition.
One thing that shocked me was just how far the zombies have come since the Playstation 1 era. Gone are these walking targets from Resident Evil 1. These zombies can rush you, use weapons, jump through windows and even ride motorbikes. They have pulled out all stops to try and get you. Stale enemy AI can lead to a stale gaming experience. And Resident Evil 5 isn't a stale game.
The co-op mode works extremely well. I for one don't really like relying on AI to get through if I can help it. And a decent co-op mode can really extend the life time of a game. And this game is no exception. It works flawlessly, allowing you to set up ambushes and to snipe from distances while your pal runs through and clears all the close range enemies out. If you have a spare controller handy I highly recommend getting a friend around to play it. In my opinion it will make it a bit easier and a lot more fun.
Graphics are awesome, some of the best Iv'e seen as of late. Colors are beautiful and the textures are varied. It really is a beautiful game. I did notice some frame rate drops, but in all honesty it wasn't that bad. It didn't slow down to an atrocious 3 frames per second, but it was noticeable. But not noticeable enough to completely ruin the game.
Now there are things in this game I feel really let Resident Evil down. And one of the complaints is the controls. Resident Evil always been synonymous with terrible controls. And Resident Evil 5, while definitely an improvement, is still flawed in this regard. The controls felt like a flawed attempt at Gears Of War. Reloading is an absolute disaster. You cant run and reload, or run and shoot. You come to a complete halt and then start shooting or reloading. I feel an option to run and shoot, and reload, would of made it a lot better.
Another thing that let me down was some of the harder enemies you had to defeat. I haven't played Resident Evil since 2000 and automatically I knew how to do defeat these more difficult enemies. And that is rather disappointing for someone who wants to have the living daylights scared out of them. It is a major anti climax.
My last gripe is the atmosphere of the game. Yes its a new generation and game development has come far, but for the majority of the game I didn't feel like I was playing a Resident Evil game. It didn't feel spooky. I enjoyed the fact that just around the corner zombies would jump out at you. I didn't feel this when I played Resident Evil 5. Anyone who remembers playing Resident Evil 3 for the first time would remember what it was like not knowing when Nemesis was going to rear his ugly head. It kept you on edge. Unfortunately this game didn't do it for me. I would take a darker atmosphere over a more violent atmosphere anytime.
Overall Resident Evil 5 is a good game. Unfortunately some aspects of this game really let me down. Don't get me wrong I liked playing it, and anyone who plays it will like it, but what could of been a master piece ended up being just okay. In all honesty rent this game first to see if you will like it. Then see if it justifies its AU$109.95 dollar price tag.
Circana data shows Resident Evil 5 as the best selling Resident Evil game in the US, ahead of Resident Evil 4 remake and Village.
So the most successful RE is the one where a white man is killing Africans.
This can't be real.
Resident Evil 5 launched 15 years ago today - and it continues to stand as a stepping stone from the good to the bad.
One of my favourites because of the co-op. Then Resi 6 arrived and the series nosedived further.
I enjoyed the game co-oping with a friend I know the game in solo the AI can be an idiot but RE5 is way better then RE6. I played RE6 with a friend if it wasn't cheap when I got I would have avoided RE6.
5 was excellent, still play Mercs with my brother.
I would love a fully remastered RE:5, with some added, reworked content. The DLC for 5 was also excellent.
6 was awful.
I never understood why the game was misunderstood. It was a fantastic game at launch and is still fun today to play. It’s as action packed as Resident Evil 4 was, yet that’s regarded a masterpiece 🤷♂️
it was "misunderstood" because they introduced co-op into the franchise at a time when people loved to have fake rage about co-op. like, you could play the game as a solo experience, but people chose to have their bandwagon rage because it was cool at the time lol
What the hell are you talking about? Fake Rage? Bandwagon? Come on.
You can play it solo but you are forced to carry around a shitty AI partner you have to micro manage. It wasn't as fun solo.
Co-op sucked all the horror, tension and suspense from the game because having a partner covering you was like a safety net. Enemy trying to sneak up on you? No sweat the AI will just automatically lock on, alert you while they shoot first telling you where they are basically.
It was the start of Capcoms fall with the Resident Evil series where it basically become an over the top generic action game which betrayed it's own survival horror roots. Least RE4 had a good blend of both but Capcom just went the wrong way with RE5, especially going off what they were going to do during the RE4.5 beta phase before co-op was added.
At least the game was a ton of fun tho. If the game was bad, the outrage would’ve been justified. They simply pivoted for a couple of games. At this point it’s bad because it’s called Resident evil 5? But if was called something else it would’ve been good? Please.
like i said: fake baby rage and bandwagon hate. res4 wasn't really that scary, either, and was already taking the series into more of an action-oriented direction at the time. 5 was a good game that people fake-hated because of co-op that you didn't even have to play lol hence the fake rage and bandwagon hate. i mean, it obviously did well enough for capcom to go ahead and make 6 the way they did, right? if 5 was so bad, they would have changed what 6 was during development. the difference is that 6 was actually just bad.
people "hate" 5 because res4 was so good, and 5 was just unfortunate enough to be its successor. like i said, 4 wasn't scary, either, and relied more on tension than horror, but it was already more of an action game. if you don't wanna like 5 because it's not scary or whatever- that's fine, but it wasn't meant to be strictly a horror game anymore at that point anyways. the gameplay was a lot faster-paced than 4, so saying that the ai helping you by potentially shooting someone that was sneaking up behind you is a moot point. there were more enemies that were more aggressive, along with newer threats.
5 isn't as good as 4, but it's not a bad game by any stretch.
What? I always thought RE5 had fake controversy because it was set in South Africa and you shot a bunch of black zombies. I live in South Africa and thought the game was absolutely awesome, played the whole thing co-op with my brother.
@Foxtrot I think you're confusing the garbage Dead Space 3 with Resident Evil 5. Resident Evil 4 was already a hyper action game and had zero fear factor other than the grotesque appearance of some enemies.
An exploration of whether RE5 is truly the most logical next step for a remake, or whether there are others in line who deserve their day in the sun.
Remake of Resident evil outbreak as well as file 2. Same gameplay as the recent remakes. Choose what ever character you want to play as. With online co op.
I've been dying to see Outbreak come back for years.
Even RE Zero and Code Veronica would be excellent.
But for the love of God, not RE5 or RE6.
One they get around to the aforementioned games, why not remake the original Devil May Cry trilogy? That would be a much better use of time. At the very least, the first two games.
CV is good candidate for a remake but requires way more work for today’s standard. People look at CV through their tinted glasses. I think capcom wants to remake every game up till 6 and fix the plot holes so they can continue the series in one straight story path
Also not sure why only RE have to get remade when there are other capcom games that would be better suited for remakes like oninusha
That's PRECISELY the reason Code Veronica needs a remake. All the other RE games aged pretty well, considering the limitations of the time, but Code Veronica is the game that would be served the best bybremaking it because it feels so archaic these days.
DVA
But it depends if capcom wants a big project or a quick remake. CV will require a lot more work than RE5
IMO they should remake other games before doing RE5
RE5 is the closest to the bottom of the pot(a little smoky flavor but passable in a emergency) before we get to the burned crust that is 6 that not even the pigs would eat
Unpopular opinion here, but I enjoyed 5 and 6. I just think, in terms of Remakes, the classics are the one that should get the treatment above the modern takes of the franchise.
Don’t get wrong, RE4 definitely was an outstanding Remake, but RE5… I just get less excited about a Remake for that over something like Code Veronica.
Nope.
Rather remake other past Capcom & non-mainline RE games ... IF they have to continue churning out Remakes.
I'd rather want a new 3rd person RE spin-off
Dino Crisis and Onimusha Reboot
New IPs after Pragmata ships
Clever Enemy AI eh? how so? just curious because all I have heard is how dumb the AI is... You say they are basically... i don't know other then they improved since RE1. have they changed since RE4 though? Not that I can see. They can't climb a ladder. They rush you yes... until they get about 10 feet from you then they slow to a crawl... They use weapons but... how is that good AI in anyway? They ride a motorcycle but... What does that mean... I mean no offense but from what I have seen in vids and heard from many others the AI is not good. not even bad but p!ss poor...
Not trying to call yo out at all just want your take. Another perspective.
RE 4 is as must buy if you happen to have or get a wii should be your first pick up. imo anyway.
Game on bro
Guess I have to respect opinions no matter how much I disagree with them
"Reloading is an absolute disaster. You cant run and reload, or run and shoot. You come to a complete halt and then start shooting or reloading. I feel an option to run and shoot, and reload, would of made it a lot better."
Would be too easy if you could do that... The games AI works with the fact you cant move and shoot at the same time... I love the fact you stop moving because all your attention is drawn to the aiming... And accurate shooting in this game is so satisfying its unreal! I love the game mechanic...
Good honest review though... But if you think the controls are a pain you wont like Resi4... I love Resi4 though :-P even more so than 5
I got the game for $84 from JB the first week it was out, where the hell do you go if your paying $110?!!
Even after JB had that $84 until the Sunday it only went back to $99.
If you go to EB, take advantage of their price matching, all you should need is a catalogue to prove the price, sometimes not even that. ;)
Oh, not a bad review either.