Kry Reviews: Resident Evil 5

Resident Evil 5 was released March 13 this year to critical acclaim, much hype, and some controversy about racism. I myself had a very fervent desire to play RE5 after hungrily playing through RE4 and Dead Space earlier in the year. And it was definitely a blast to play through. The game has frustrations and shortcomings, but overall it meets its hype.

First off, what simply must be praised in RE5 is the cinematic element of the game. The graphics are gorgeous, some of the best I’ve ever seen in a game, and they’re so good they make a seamless transition from cut scene to gameplay. RE5 certainly sets a benchmark in the design of a cinematic video game.

It’s unfortunate though that along the way RE5 lost its trademark scariness. There’s no horror in this game, only action and adrenaline; it’s disappointing. And, with all the polish on the game, it’s astonishing how bad the menu system is. It’s frustrating and confusing; an example being that you cannot start a damn game with offline co-op. Instead, one player must join in once the other one starts a solo game. Pretty stupid, eh? Also, you cannot start new games without all your loot and money from previous games, another annoyance.

RE5’s gameplay is almost cut and dry copypasta from RE4, with a few minor innovations/changes. There’s the co-op, which is pretty fun, but I think the game could have been fine with Chris alone as a protagonist. Also, I enjoyed the bevy of new melee attack options with RE5.

The almost universally hated aspect of gameplay in RE5 is the inventory system. Being only able to carry 9 items is pretty harsh compared to RE4’s forgiving inventory system. It becomes a serious hassle midgame, once you have body armor and 3 guns + ammo weighing you down. Trying to pick up healing items with a full inventory (especially trying to combine them) becomes an unnecessary juggling game. It’s poorly thought out, and inventory management grinds the gameplay down to a halt.

I have some more dislikes to quickly note upon. Many of the boss fights in RE5 are gimmick based. The weapon upgrading system is not as deep as RE4; it’s advisable to pretty much just stick with your original weapons and upgrade them to the max. I dislike the tiny laser aiming reticule, it makes shooting anything long distance very difficult. Lastly, I am also greatly displeased that online multiplayer comes at an additional cost, which should be a core component.

All in all, RE5 is really more like RE4.5. It takes the great game of RE4 and puts a fresh coat of paint on it. There’s really not many new innovations in it (I actually thought Dead Space was a more compelling title). But, what can I say, I love RE’s style of gameplay, and if it doesn’t change, heck I’m fine with that.