[Review] Resident Evil 5

[Knightshade Dragon]

I've reviewed Resident Evil 5 for you guys - in short, if you are an RE fan you won't be disappointed.  If you are new to the series, you might find something you like here - thankfully you have a demo to try before you buy.

Looking forward to your feedback!

[JCC]

Bummed about further confirmation of the short length. Do you get to replay with all your weapons/upgrades from when you finished as in 4? That was one of my favorite parts of that game.

[Knightshade Dragon]

Bummed about further confirmation of the short length. Do you get to replay with all your weapons/upgrades from when you finished as in 4? That was one of my favorite parts of that game.

We aren't supposed to mention what you get when you finish the game but uh....

yes. 

[ProTrac]

Looks like resident evil 5 is available for xbox 360 while supplies last but I really wanted RE 5 for wii system.. I'll just have to wait for that to come out..

[metallicorphan]

nice review

a few questions

is the 9 hr run time including the mercenary mode?,its just that you say the game is devided into 6 chapters at roughly an hour each,and that doesnt add up,unless we are including the merc mode

is there a difficulty selection?(easy,normal,hard)

DLC..does anyone have any idea what this could be?,it would help that run time if it was an extension to the story,but knowing Capcom it will probably be more outfits for Sheva,like SF4 has been doing recently

[Chaz]

Damn, less than ten hours? That's half of what RE4 was.  Just solidifies my decision to wait until I can get it for $20-30.

[CeeKay]

Looks like resident evil 5 is available for xbox 360 while supplies last

I doubt they are going to run out of supplies.

[Knightshade Dragon]

nice review

Thanks!

is the 9 hr run time including the mercenary mode?,its just that you say the game is devided into 6 chapters at roughly an hour each,and that doesnt add up,unless we are including the merc mode

Some of the latter chapters are a tag longer.  It'll take about 9 hours to beat the game in single player or co-op.  The merc mode is in addition to that.  I never factor any time with multiplayer into my time estimates. 

is there a difficulty selection?(easy,normal,hard)

Yep.

DLC..does anyone have any idea what this could be?,it would help that run time if it was an extension to the story,but knowing Capcom it will probably be more outfits for Sheva,like SF4 has been doing recently

Don't know on that one...the only DLC I typically grab is Rock Band tracks.

[kronovan]

Damn, less than ten hours? That's half of what RE4 was.  Just solidifies my decision to wait until I can get it for $20-30.

Nevermind 4, that's 1/2 the length of REmake and Zero too. Personally I'm going to just rent the game for now. Other than RE 2, I own every RE game that was released for the Cube and Wii and I'll eventually add this to my collection, but not until it's price has reduced.

[Octavious230]

9 hours makes for a perfect rental. Of course finding it to rent will take months but whatever I have a billion other things to play anyway.

[farley2k]

is there a difficulty selection?(easy,normal,hard)

Yep.

Really....how easy is easy?  I am a wimp, and I don't have much gaming time but I like the stories, I actually don't mind the gameplay mechanics.

[Knightshade Dragon]

is there a difficulty selection?(easy,normal,hard)

Yep.

Really....how easy is easy?  I am a wimp, and I don't have much gaming time but I like the stories, I actually don't mind the gameplay mechanics.

Overall the game is very easy, even on normal.  Only the boss battles will give you a hard time.

[MonkeyFinger]

Are you guys aware you can pick this up for $20 with two trade-ins from this list at EB/GameStop? Worked out for me as I had two games on there I knew I would never play again.

[JCC]

Well, I had vowed to wait till it was cheaper, but I found myself in Target today with my wife and I have a $50 credit with Target left over from my birthday and well... I now have RE5. I have played through the first part that was in the demo. Frankly, my opinion isn't that changed. I died 3 times despite playing on easy so that first part is pretty tough. The graphics are awesome. I find Sheva more useful than annoying (she is also quite hot... nothing like lusting for pixels on the TV...). Looking forward to seeing new content when I get back to it later this weekend.

[depward]

Did you assign the number scores based on the American grade scale or the Canadian one?

[shon]

I've read many reviews where they say normal is easy and I guess that I suck at this game.  I am playing with a friend and we had to go down to normal because the enemies were just hounding us.  We also don't have much ammo either so I'm not sure what is going on.

Anyway we are really enjoying the split screen co-op with a smaller screen window there is more tense feelings, especially certain enemies that really chase you. My friend who never played RE4  hasn't really said anything about
not being able to run and shoot it makes for a tense situation and really hasn't bothered me at all.  This game is a blast to play and I certainly will be playing it through multiple times.  There is so much to collect and weapons to upgrade
you could play this for a long time.

Don't rent, go pick it up and support the developers who made a great game. 

[Ridah]

Is this gonna be the impressions thread? Might as well be...

In short, this is one of the best console co-op games I've ever played. If you were looking for the definitive game to play with a buddy sitting next to you, this is it. My hat goes off to Capcom, I've been waiting for this since fucking Contra.

[Ridah]

Hey Ron, reading the review I get the impression you didn't get a chance to play through the game with a human partner?

[godhugh]

Is this gonna be the impressions thread? Might as well be...

In short, this is one of the best console co-op games I've ever played. If you were looking for the definitive game to play with a buddy sitting next to you, this is it. My hat goes off to Capcom, I've been waiting for this since fucking Contra.

Definitely, this is just a ton of fun co-op. Also, it seems that the single-player partner AI has been much improved from the demo. I don't find them nearly as annoying in the full game.

[Turtle]

Co-op is excellent.

We each keep weapons that fit our preferences.  I like the hard hitting the slower shooting weapons like the magnum and the sniper rifles.  My friend likes the machineguns and shotgun for their room clearing power.  He also gets all the grenades because I just don't use them that much.

We die a few times in some places, but it's not really frustrating if you're just having fun with friends.

A great way to deal with the bosses is you can shoot them anywhere in the head with the hard hitting weapons like the sniper rifles or magnum, and they'll be stunned enough to be knocked down.  Shoot them with a magnum or highly upgraded shotgun anywhere else and they'll be knocked slightly, but no opportunity for a melee attack.  Then, there is also some kind of 3 hit combo system between co-op partners.  If one person melees an enemy, the partner can then melee him, and then the first hitter can melee him again.  This does even more damage than just separate melee hits.  So what happens is I'll pop the boss in the head with the sniper rifle, my friend runs up and decks him, then I attack, then he attacks and we both back up.

Even with the chainsaw bosses they pause just before they swing the chainsaw, enough to line up a headshot for the stun.

You can also grind for upgrades and loot if you find yourself underpowered, which is a nice feature.

[ProTrac]

You'll face new enemies with faster reflexes and improved AI, I sure hope I am up to that.. An enemy with faster reflexes like I need faster reflexes or an easy button..

[shon]

I finished the game with split-screen coop last night.  Took about 12 hours on normal.  This is one of the best co-op games that I have played and it needs to be since I'll have to play it through about 3 times with different friends.  After completing the game it only said that we had completed 25% of the game. 

The mercenaries mode is really good as well and they really send waves of the "zombies" after you so you constantly are kept moving through the level.

[mikeg]

How can completing the game only be 25%?   I am puzzled.  I could see maybe missing a few enemies or not finding all the stuff lying around and all, but that should not account for 75%.   


Hmmmm

[TiLT]

It probably means he's unlocked 25% of the content. I'm sure things such as weapon upgrades and bonus features are part of that score.

[shon]

Yes I think the 25% is with the collectables and the weapon upgrades.   There are I think 60 of these badges that are hidden around the maps and we only found about 3 of them. 

[JCC]

Put in some more time today. I have played a good bit beyond the demo levels. (The second part of the demo was far easier in the game due to me having way more fire power.) I think this is just outstanding. Of course I offer the caveat that I like the RE4 formula with its gameplay limitations over the more frenetic fast paced options of more modern 3rd person shooters. I simply love Sheva as a partner and am enjoying the goofy story so far. It's a beautified version of RE4, and not much else, but I find it very compelling.

[Starshifter]

Put in some more time today. I have played a good bit beyond the demo levels. (The second part of the demo was far easier in the game due to me having way more fire power.) I think this is just outstanding. Of course I offer the caveat that I like the RE4 formula with its gameplay limitations over the more frenetic fast paced options of more modern 3rd person shooters. I simply love Sheva as a partner and am enjoying the goofy story so far. It's a beautified version of RE4, and not much else, but I find it very compelling.

I'm with JCC on this one.  I'm on Chapter 2-1 and loving the game.  Great fun.  I'm finding I care a lot about Sheva too.  I'm always making sure she is okay and helping her out.

[KePoW]

Awesome game, and the graphics are incredible.

Not sure why a lot of people on this forum are categorizing it as just rental quality... it's a top notch game all around.  Very similar to RE4 though, so if you hated that game or its controls then stay away from RE5.

Other than that I would highly recommend it as a buy.

[Pharaoh]

Beat it this weekend, very fun game, although it doesn't really feel like resident evil...its more like The Thing, where you just fight giant organic monsters without much rhyme or reason. Nothing really is scary anymore, there is only one puzzle, and its pretty much an action movie, but its a damn fun one.

Bravo!

[TheGameAh]

Played a few hours over the weekend.

Like the last few have said, a solid opinion from me as well.  Good action, good sidekick.  The story is still in the early phases, but I have no doubt the standard "RE-craziness" story will take off soon.

I think Sheva is a worthy addition to the game so far.  I've heard complaints about having a sidekick.  But didn't RE-0 follow this same formula?

[Laner]

I think Sheva is a worthy addition to the game so far.  I've heard complaints about having a sidekick.  But didn't RE-0 follow this same formula?

It did, but it was still a single-player experience, so the game wasn't designed to rely on the second character very heavily; the difference here is that RE5 seems to have been developed as a co-op game from the start, making a single-player runthrough lacking in comparison.

[Turtle]

Also, in previous RE games you'd constantly get split up with your "partner" or decide to split up for no good reason.  That always seemed sillier to me than the whole zombies and strange puzzles and stupid villains.

[Scraper]

I've played through chapter 2 entirely in co-op and I have to say that co-op play is outstanding. Still haven't tried single player yet. I will say the graphics are good but I don't think they are the best we have seen this gen. Metal Solid 4 still holds that crown for me.

[ProTrac]

Great game I played a little on a friends xbox system and got killed several times, the weapons vary greatly and upgrading to a new weapon makes it fun.. I am still waiting for a wii version of resident evil 5 to come out though..

[Knightshade Dragon]

Hey Ron, reading the review I get the impression you didn't get a chance to play through the game with a human partner?

Through the whole game?  No.  I played a bit - enough to see how it played with a human at the controls.  Obviously the co-op is better, but the AI isn't that bad, most of the time.

[JCC]

I am at around chapter 4-2 or so now, and I still think it's outstanding. I must really suck cause I find Amateur to be a challenge (though nothing impossible). I admit to being a bit lost at all the past RE continuity being referenced. Probably won't get back to this for a while with the tourney in full swing this weekend.

[metallicorphan]

I am at around chapter 4-2 or so now, and I still think it's outstanding. I must really suck cause I find Amateur to be a challenge (though nothing impossible). I admit to being a bit lost at all the past RE continuity being referenced. Probably won't get back to this for a while with the tourney in full swing this weekend.

Amateur it is for me then when i get it,i found the demo rock solid!!!

[leo8877]

I am at chapter 2-1 now.  The game is really nice looking.  The controls are still horrible, but now that I've had a chance to use them for a bit it's not as bad as I was thinking during the demo.  It seems like there's less ammo to go around, or maybe it's because it's spread over two people.  It seems like Sheva runs for every item and takes it.  That or she's just getting in my way.  AI does not seem to be very solid.  It's no Dead Space, but I'll keep playing to see the story.

[TiLT]

Those complaining about Sheva's ammo use must be playing in a very selfish way. If you're nearby and she doesn't have immediate use for ammo that you both use (ie. she needs it to get a full clip in her gun), she'll leave ammo pickups alone. If you move away, don't need the ammo, or she definitely needs it more than you, she'll grab it. If it's ammo she doesn't need but you do, and you're not nearby, she'll grab it and give it to you as soon as you're next to each other again. Her only fault when it comes to ammo is that she's not all that good at following up handgun attacks with melee attacks. If she's alone against enemies, she can go through ammo somewhat fast that way.

Make sure you set her behavior properly too. She'll play very defensively on the default Cover mode, almost always using nothing but the handgun. If you want her to fight better and use different weapons, set her to Attack.

[Kevin Grey]

Yeah, I'm somewhat disappointed in the game so far (though still enjoying it) but I think Sheva's AI is quite competent.