RESIDENT EVIL 5
Xbox 360 version
By: Gustavo Lazo
Issue date: 4/28/09 Section: Entertainment
Partners can attack cooperatively. If one person is being held by an enemy, the other person can come to their rescue with a push of the B button. If they weaken an enemy, they can perform melee attacks together and conserve ammo. Some situations call for one character to assist another in order to advance to a next area. Sheva in the single-player story mode isn't the worst artificially-controlled partner I've worked with in a video game, but she's not the sharpest tool in the shed either. I highly recommend the two-player cooperative mode because it's not only enjoyable, but rewarding, thoughtful, and the teamwork is definitely more natural and realistic.
Single-player Sheva is like your child that you have to take with you to work when the babysitter is sick. She'll run around and explore and pick things up that you don't want her to touch but rather than wag your finger at her, you just open up her inventory and take those items away. You can also set your partner in "Attack" mode, where they go on a killing spree, using every last bullet, or the more reasonable "Cover," where they learn to conserve ammo. The resource management game of Resident Evil is as pivotal as ever. In many cases, you'll find yourself low on ammo and will have to rely on your partner for more or make use of melee attacks. The difficulty as the game progresses fairly increases. Enemies are, in addition to being quite monstrous, challenging and never really unfair. In fact, Resident Evil 5 may be the least punishing of the series because it allows players to replay through the game's chapters, collecting extra weapons and treasure and allowing you to transfer your inventory to new games and new chapters. This makes unlocking the substantial amounts of bonuses by the game's end a cinch. Even quick-timer events during cut-scenes are few and far in between. There are some great and terrifying boss battles to be found here, despite how easy they are to defeat.
What I enjoy about Resident Evil 5 the most is how unapologetically Hollywood it is and the efforts the designers went to make it feel like a big movie that's opening on the Fourth of July weekend. It's loud and explosive in presentation, visuals, and audio. Its score consists of tense big-budget action pieces worthy of Harry Gregson-Williams. The controls are decent at best-why can't I aim and move at the same time? The cooperative mode, a first in a canonical Resident Evil title, works surprisingly well, even local games not using an internet connection. It hasn't changed drastically since 2005, but this is still the best Resident Evil game since the last one. Take it from someone who isn't even a big fan of the series.
Single-player Sheva is like your child that you have to take with you to work when the babysitter is sick. She'll run around and explore and pick things up that you don't want her to touch but rather than wag your finger at her, you just open up her inventory and take those items away. You can also set your partner in "Attack" mode, where they go on a killing spree, using every last bullet, or the more reasonable "Cover," where they learn to conserve ammo. The resource management game of Resident Evil is as pivotal as ever. In many cases, you'll find yourself low on ammo and will have to rely on your partner for more or make use of melee attacks. The difficulty as the game progresses fairly increases. Enemies are, in addition to being quite monstrous, challenging and never really unfair. In fact, Resident Evil 5 may be the least punishing of the series because it allows players to replay through the game's chapters, collecting extra weapons and treasure and allowing you to transfer your inventory to new games and new chapters. This makes unlocking the substantial amounts of bonuses by the game's end a cinch. Even quick-timer events during cut-scenes are few and far in between. There are some great and terrifying boss battles to be found here, despite how easy they are to defeat.
What I enjoy about Resident Evil 5 the most is how unapologetically Hollywood it is and the efforts the designers went to make it feel like a big movie that's opening on the Fourth of July weekend. It's loud and explosive in presentation, visuals, and audio. Its score consists of tense big-budget action pieces worthy of Harry Gregson-Williams. The controls are decent at best-why can't I aim and move at the same time? The cooperative mode, a first in a canonical Resident Evil title, works surprisingly well, even local games not using an internet connection. It hasn't changed drastically since 2005, but this is still the best Resident Evil game since the last one. Take it from someone who isn't even a big fan of the series.
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