Though it lacks the feel and charm of RE 4 it is still an Excellent game to play.......
But inspite of being an Amazing game on the PS2 and the Gamecube, the PC port was poorly done. Luckily for me, i had a USB Joystick and i could really achieve all the fun that a PS2 or a gamecube owner could.
So, Resident Evil 5 made a guarantee that the PC port will be much better than RE 4. The result. RE 5 is one of the BEST PC Ports ever made.
The first part that impressed me was when you handled your joystick the controls automatically changed to joystick and when you handled the keyboard vice versa. So if you are unable to complete a level with your keyboard, you can immediately switch to joystick (Quick Time Events or QTEs can be pretty tough on keyboard. Sometimes A+D pops up and suddenly E+V pops up) without going to the Main Menu - Options - etc. etc. which will make things a lot easier.
Story:
Resident Evil 5 does not have Leon Kennedy, Ashley or Ada Wong. That was disappointing to hear as i really loved those characters and had a growing attachment towards them as i played through Resident Evil 4.
Resident Evil 5 has Chris Redfield instead of Leon and Sheva instead of Ada Wong or Ashley. Unlike some resident evils like resident evil 0, RE 5 is a direct continuation of RE4. As you all know RE 4 took place in Spain in Europe. This edition of RE takes place in Africa (God! Why is everybody choosing Africa? Far Cry 2! Meh). Anyways it takes some time to get used to the new characters but then eventually you will tend to like them.
So, now apart from the Las Plagas virus which originated in Spain, you now have the T-virus, T-veronica Virus plus two other deadly viruses called the Progenitor virus and Uroborus Virus.
Umbrella Corporation is back but it isn't very active. It is only mentioned in one level. Instead two new corporations are introduced. Tricell and Uroborus.
Basically, the story of RE 5 is no where near as EPIC as RE 4. Though its a bit similar. Instead of saving the president's daughter, you now have to save Jill Valentine from.....Albert Wesker. Yes! Wesker finally makes a return and is one of the coolest looking characters you will ever see in a CAPCOM game.
Gameplay:
Gameplay is upgraded from RE 4 or should i say downgraded? Well for starters, you have combos which look cool but not as cool as RE 4. You had Belly to belly, suplex and many cool moves in RE 4. But here you only have a Straight punch, Uppercut and Sheva does her flashy kicks. Yeah you also have neckbreaker and some other moves. But personally i feel they could have done a lot more with those moves. Also chris redfield is way more Stronger than Leon kennedy and cannot perform moves like a Suplex.
You no longer play alone. You are always with sheva. This means larger inventory which means more fun right? Nopes. Unfortunately Sheva is a woman who lost her brains somewhere in the african forest. She cannot combine items and she always gets in the WAY which is very annoying and did i mention? She LOVES to die.
But this only adds to the challenge which makes the game frustratingly fun lol.
You have new guns and many stuffs are retained from RE 4 but there is no Yellow Herb!! WTF i was very disappointed. I played in normal mode and i explored everywhere but i never found one single yellow herb. There are only Red and Green Herbs. Ofcourse you don't need one in this EASY game but still......its like playing Devil May Cry without the gold or yellow orb!
Since this is a great PC Port, you will never have any problems with the aiming as you had in PC version of RE 4. The gameplay will be like Dead Space on the PC, smooth. Some people had problems with controls. But they are just dorks. Don't listen to them. If you are genuinely a decent gamer who doesn't mind some adjustments, i promise there won't be any problems with the controls.
One more disappointing aspect was the TREASURE feature. In RE4 the jewels you received weren't merely for selling. You could embed a jewel like emerald inside a slot of a crown. All those aspects have been REMOVED!! You get stones simply to sell! Oh! And the cool Shopkeeper is missing. Yes! I forgot, he can't travel all the way from Spain to Africa. Right!
You no longer have typewriters for saving. The game automatically does the saving for you which is a good and improved feature. Buying and Selling option has been made DMCish with options of buying, selling and upgrading all done at the start of a level or after death. Though i miss the shop guy of RE 4, this is still not a bad feature.
Notes randomly scattered provide better information than RE 4 but give out too much. RE 4 had clues. But RE 5 looks to give you a clue but the clue has everything. Though more informative, the notes simply lack the intrigued feeling of "What could this be??" of RE 4.
Though the ending of RE 4 story wise was epic, the ending gameplay specifically of RE 5 blows the ending gameplay of RE 4.
Graphics:
The graphics of this game are simply AMAZING. But its like this. In some levels it beats the likes of Uncharted 2 but in some levels it looks like Resident Evil 4. Quite uneven graphics to say the least.
Enemies look great. But there is not much variety except for a couple of annoying dogs that look like DMC 3's Cerberus's puppy. The start has some african enemies. But after that its only those tribal idiots you have to contend with till the end. RE4 definitely has more variety.
But when it comes to BOSSES, RE 5 bosses not only look amazing but they also add more variety compared to RE 4. The ship on the ocean level has such amazing graphics and an amazing boss, it will make Modern warfare's ship level look like PS2 graphics.
Extras:
You have new costumes and if you found Sheva annoying you get a chance to replay the entire game without her and with only Chris after you complete the game once. Also the Mercenaries mode is BACK but is easier than RE 4. Overall game itself lacks the challenge that RE 4 had.
Oh! One more thing. This game is not even quarter as scary as RE 4. It makes Dead Space look like the Exorcist of games.
Overall:
Do NOT compare this with RE 4. You will be disappointed. Its exactly what Devil May Cry 4 is for Devil May Cry 3.
Though it does not match up to its predecessor it still exceeds in some aspects like DMC 4 did which is important to note and not ignore.
Its one of the BEST Games of 2009. However due to intense competition (too many great games this year compared to 2008), it could not make its mark anywhere. Also due to the fact RE 4 was such an unreachable standard, it was obviously difficult infact impossible for RE 5 to break that standard. Its like if RE 4 was never released, this would have easily won in some categories of the GOTY awards as there would have been no question of a benchmark. That's why i feel sorry for games such as RE 5, Modern Warfare 2 or Far Cry 2. Their predecessors had set such high standards unlike Assassin's Creed 1 or Uncharted 1 whose sequels had easy benchmarks to pass.
Finally i suggest - Do not miss this game. Its one of the most enjoyable games of 2009 and one of the best PC ports.