Resident Evil 5 - A Full Review

Resident Evil 5. The 7th in the main series, and, as far as I am concerned the best. This time you follow Chris Redfield (roughly 10 years after the first game), now a part of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA). He is sent to investigate a terrorist threat of Umbrella's weapons in an African desert area in Kijuju, and meets up with his partner Sheva Alomar.

STORY

As far as story goes, this one is grand. Some parts might require a little bit of knowledge of the other games, but only if you truly want to get the full understanding. I won't give any spoilers here, but some people from past games make GRAND appearances. Though not as long as Resident Evil 4, the story is still enthralling, and engaging. The characters are believable(with one small exception...there always has to be a crazy white guy, or a crazy midget(see RE4), otherwise in a world with a company like Umbrella, I could see these characters existing.

GAMEPLAY

While similar to RE4 in controls, RE5 has taken the gameplay and stepped it up further. Accessing your inventory no longer pauses the game, making it more of a challenge. You also have an AI controlled partner, instead of someone you're trying to escort out. At first you can only play as Chris, however after beating the game, you can also play as Sheva. You can either have Sheva AI controlled, or play split screen with a friend, or over the Internet. As an AI controlled partner, Sheva is OK. You can set her to either cover (which she will only attack if someone attacks her, and conserve all ammo) or attack (in which she will do just that, and burn through ammo). As before in RE4, there are several weapons to find and upgrade, as well as several to unlock through upgrading original weapons. There is a soon to be released Versus mode (released as DLC) where you can play against your friends and people on-line, and the unlockable Mercenaries Mode, which has appeared in previous games. In Mercs mode, you, either alone or with a friend, fend off zombie attacks, and try to score points to unlock new characters in Mercs mode. You are timed, but can find more time throughout each level.

Sound and Graphics

Not too much to say in this area, the graphics and sound are phenomenal. Even on a regular TV(and especially in HD) this game looks spectacular. The sound is also stunning, in surround especially. I jumped quite a few times from things sneaking up on me.

All in all I'd say this is a must buy, especially if you're a fan of the series. If you're not, this could be the one that gets you hooked. Maybe I'll even see you in Versus mode...