I died when I typed that title, I really did.
People, please understand that as a die hard fan of Resident Evil 4, I was anticipating the sequal since the moment a wrecked Saddler with a golden rocket launcher.
So when I first saw those screen shots for RE5, I was pretty psyched for the game. Then the videos rolled out, and I was beginning to have my doubts about the title and how it had a nonexistent level of innovation. Still, I let it slide. I waited until the full game came out.
Fast forward to march '09: It came out, my friend purchased it, and I went over to his house to play it.
It was then that all of my fears came true.
This is my mini review of RE5:
First, the game play has been boiled down into a pure action game, but instead of improving the controls accordingly, we are all stuck with the old-style RE4 controls plus the ability to strafe, but not while shooting. Capcom... seriously? They told us that the "stand in place while shooting" controls serve to increase tension, but what they really meant was that it increases frustration. On top of that, the addition of another character is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it means you can now play with a friend (and you better, because the normal AI for your partner is horrendous). On the other hand, the co-op effectively ruins any remaining tension the game has, and a number of small problems will have you screaming in frustration. First, you can't exchange money, so if you need to pool money together to buy new things from the shop, you can't! That leads me to my second point: no Mr. Merchant! The recession spares no one, apparently, and our teleporting, gun-market-cornering, trench-coat-wearing friend was forced to find another calling.... So now you buy guns and armor in between chapters, from nobody. You just buy stuff, and POOF it's there. Very lame. Third, Sheva's voice makes me want to hurt myself.... badly.
As we played, I found myself having absolutely no fun. It's sad, really, because on paper RE5 seems like a dream come true, but in execution it falls flat. This is due in part to its lack of evolution and the current state of video gaming in general: we have all moved on since RE4 was released in 2005. The industry has changed, and the old game formulas are being thrown to the wayside. A certain 2008 game should have told us that. So now we have RE5, and it feels like a throwback title. Last time I checked, by increasing the number from 4 to 5, they were indicating that RE5 is a step forward from RE4, you know, with 5 being greater than 4 and all of that math stuff. Instead, they have created a title that feels almost like a step back. In short: RE5 is a day late and a dollar short.
The question now remains: is it worth the purchase? Is there no fun to be had pummeling the juice out of poor villagers? The straight truth: no. With all of the high quality offerings available now, don't bother wasting your hard earned cash on this over-hyped pile of decaying flesh.
On a side note: One part of the game has you destroying African tribe property, and then raiding treasure form them, because when you put all the treasure together, they form the key to a lock. First of all, who on earth came up with the idea of a door opened by artifacts (if you currently live in a home secured by an ancient-artifact-locked door, please take a good look at your life and where it is going, and then cry yourself to sleep). Second, why on earth are they stored in UNLOCKED treasure chests in random locations? It's just plain silly.
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