incredible game with stunning visuals, but hampered by its co-op feature
User Rating: 9 | Resident Evil 5 X360
Well, first things first, this game looks FANTASTIC, perhaps the best that any console has seen, notably during cut-scenes, which are as close as games come to photo-realism. Gears of war 2 has unfortunately (fortunately for us) been dethroned from being the Xbox 360's best looking game, a title that the first Gears held until the sequel came- a full 2 years later, and the sequel is a huge step forward visually to start, so what I'm getting at, is to expect your to retina burned clean out of your head by the visuals of resident evil 5, the new standard for console graphics, which mind you runs steady at 60 fps, for me only once ever dropping-and only slightly. With that matter done with, it's on to the game itself which warrants a slightly less coveted title, not to say that the game itself is not a gem. And here's the BIG issue with why its not the great sequel we were expecting, sheva. Its not the slightly annoying, repetitive dialogue that she has, nor is it her inability to use most weapons effectively or help you out mid-scrap, no, its simply her being there-resident evil games are made to be played alone full stop. Whether their being played partly solo or all the way-this game has unknowingly created itself around the fact of being played alone, and this is hard to ignore- do keep in mind that playing this online or splitscreen is still massively fun- but would be more suited to games such as gears of war etc . With 2 people packed to the brim with weapons, the survival horror element of resident evil (which used to be all that resident evil was) has had the final kick to the guts as it has been bred out somewhat slowly over the last 2 installments of the series. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as the action here is, well, action packed, with fire-fights filling the screen more often than not with explosions, decapitations and all round mutilation a-plenty (and did I mention its incredible looking?). But the pace of the game seems way off as firing shots, then hoarding them back is all a bit rinse and repeat throughout the entire game as is the case for gathering money which is a bit too easy, thanks to the chapter select option. The last point of the game that some would deem "bad" by some is the controls, but it is worth noting that the game has been created with this control scheme in mind, and I preferred the over-the-shoulder viewpoint more than most 3rd person shooters out there. I could go into the issue of racism, but wont, as there is none in the game, full stop. As for overall complaints about the game, they stop there- onto some good things about the game- The bosses are drawn up on an epic scale and, while being amazing to fight- the boss fights are where the co-op really shines, being an instance where the system works, secondly, the weapons are as good as you'd expect them to be in a resi title, the handguns being the best weapons I've used in any game, ever (special note goes out to the S&W magnum-when you have the ammo) and finally, there is a plethora unique and mutated enemies to dispose of, all of which have multiple attacks to choose from depending on the players position and are amazingly realized and placed in-game. The game is ultimately a must-buy, although flawed by sheva's presence is truly awesome. Also worthy to note, that after the game has been completed once, an abundance of new opportunities arise, "the mercenaries" mode returns and new costumes, infinite ammo and difficulty setting (if completed on veteran) present themselves upon completion. Its well worth completing once-if only just for seeing the amazing effort capcom have put into the game and marveling at their always incredible cutscene quality. I strongly recommend resident evil 5, unfortunately not as much as I do for its predecessor resident evil 4- but still demands to be played.
9.0/10
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