Introduction
Resident Evil 5 takes place ten years after the S.T.A.R.S members were sent to the Spencer Estate to investigative the T-Virus outbreak, that would eventually destroy Racoon City. You play as the former S.T.A.R.S member Chris Redfield who is now part of a team called Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance. Chris is deployed to Kijuju, Africa, to join Sheva Alomar in a mission to arrest Ricardo Irving, who is attempting to sell a bio-organic weapon on the black market.
Gameplay
Since the release of Resident Evil 5, 5.3 million copies worldwide have been sold making this the best selling Resident Evil game so far. These sale figures are no surprise because Resident Evil 5 is well developed game, while the controls may take some getting used to once you are familiar with the stop to shoot game mechanics there are hours of fun to be had. Resident Evil 5 includes a lengthy campaign that can be played in a co-operative online mode. There are also additional game modes that can be unlocked and there are plenty of weapons and items to buy and upgrade.
In previous Resident Evil games inventory management would pause the game, this made things easier as you could use this time to heal up and reload weapons. Resident Evil 5 offers no such luxury all inventory management is done real time. Because of this an element of strategy is created and you will need to plan when and where you will dive into your back pack looking for that First Aid Spray you just picked up. With Resident Evil's new fast pace game play Capcom have introduced quick selection, this allows you to place items on highlighted positions in your backpack for quick selection.
Quick time events that were first introduced to Resident Evil 4 make a return in number 5, however this time around if you are playing co-operatively there are various points throughout the game where one team mate will have to perform an action in order to save a team mates life.
Resident Evil 5 is a better experience when played with a friend; the AI like in many other games is mostly a burden and enjoys nothing more than to waste your limited supply of ammo lucky enough you can buy an electric baton for the AI to eliminate this problem.
Numerous improvements have been made to Resident Evil 5, Capcom have managed to keep the core game mechanics that made the Resident Evil franchise a success. This includes the linear level design and the planning of your're movements.
Summary
Resident Evil 5 has been a huge success selling over 5.3 million copies worldwide. The controls take some getting used to but once mastered there are hours of fun to be had, especially if you choose to play the lengthy campaign with a human team mate in a co-operative online mode. New to Resident Evil 5 is the real time inventory management this adds tactical element to game. Quick time events have been implemented well into both single and co-operative game play. While it is a shame that the AI is more of a burden if you let it lose with a weapon, the AI does work very well as a caddy.
Score: 9.0/10
written by AsH 09/06/2010