Back in early 2005, if you asked me if I’d ever want to play a survival-horror game, my answer would have been an emphatic ‘hell no.’ Often plagued with poor controls and even worse camera angles, I was never quite sure how this genre managed to spawn famous video game franchises like Silent Hill, Alone in the Dark and, of course, Resident Evil.
Then, as that year came to a close, I noticed that Resident Evil 4 was raking in awards, including Game of the Year from Spike’s Video Game Awards and — more respectably and notably — from the ever-popular game Web site Gamespot. After seeing these awards, I figured I needed to see for myself whether this game was actually worth playing, or if game critics had just gone completely insane. Suffice it to say, the critics were not mentally ill. Resident Evil 4 was a fantastic game that broke all of the rules of the old dinosaur that was the survival-horror genre, creating an intense, visceral experience that left players hankering for more.
And, quite frankly, last week’s release of Resident Evil 5 for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC delivers more of this powerful game play in spades. Even though the game plays very much like RE4, there are more than enough improvements as well as additions to the game’s core mechanics that make the sequel feel superior to its four-year-old predecessor.
Beside the obvious graphical improvements that come with each new platform iteration, there is one immediately glaring change to the RE formula that, arguably, removes the ‘horror’ from the game, making it more like a ‘survival-action’ game. While the game still pits the player against overwhelming swarms of grotesque enemies, the fact that you are not alone certainly makes the ride a more comfortable one. RE5 thrusts the player into the role of Chris Redfield (of Resident Evil 1 fame), but he is now constantly accompanied by his new partner, Sheva Alomar. When playing by yourself, Sheva is a slightly-above-idiotic AI controlled puppet that allows you to progress through the game reasonably well, but the game also allows for your friends to join the action via split-screen or Xbox Live multi-player. It may be needless to say this, but the game is almost always more fun with a human player, even if it means cutting down the screen size to play locally.
The developers also seemed to strike a good balance when tweaking the control scheme for modern-day audiences. Because a flood of third-person shooters hit the market after the release of RE4, including the insanely popular Gears of War games, RE5 has changed just enough to feel more accessible while also retaining the series’ old quirks. Players can now strafe and take cover, but still have to remain stationary to shoot and have to equip items from their inventory to use them. While the retention of these archaic control choices may annoy some players, the game is designed such that the controls can rarely be faulted for the appearance of a “Game Over” screen.
At this point you may be wondering why I haven’t mentioned the plot of RE5 yet. Well, truth be told, the game does not offer a whole lot on that front. The narrative is basically a mix of every generic biological virus sci-fi horror story you’ve ever heard combined with a handful of predictable plot twists that are standard fare in Japanese game storytelling. If you just make it 12 hours long and set it in Africa, RE5 is the end result. Great pacing and enemy design, however, keeps the whole campaign feeling fresh. Paired with a hearty list of unlockables and extra features, like the return of the combo-based time attack frenzy that is “The Mercenaries” mode, RE5 is more than worth the $60 price tag.
I barreled through RE5’s single-player in only three sittings, but, even now, I have a pretty strong desire to check out everything I’ve unlocked and play through the campaign at least one more time; if that’s not a testament to how strong a title Resident Evil 5 is, then I don’t know what is.
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