Resident Evil 5
PlayStation 3
Nostalgia Factor:
I have an interesting history with this game. I was an enormous fan of the Resident Evil series growing up. Resident Evil 4 was a giant departure from the formula of the main series, but I still loved the game and played the absolute heck out of it. As a result, I was really excited for Resident Evil 5. It would be coming out on a new, next generation console (the PS3) and it would likely have improved sound, graphics, and performance. Most importantly, it would expand on (and hopefully improve) the formula presented in Resident Evil 4. How could things possibly go wrong?
Well, they went wrong. This game was an even bigger departure from the original Resident Evil series. There is nothing scary about this game. Nothing. It's all action, gun fights, and giant exploding set pieces. They had turned my beloved and creepy John Romero Resident Evil series into a freaking Michael Bay production.
The game itself wasn't bad, it just wasn't Resident Evil to me. Sure, Resident Evil 4 was a departure from the main series, but it still retained a lot of elements that made Resident Evil Resident Evil. This game, however, was nothing more than an action title. To say I was disappointed would be a bit of an understatement.
This was back in 2009. In fact, looking at my trophy list, it was June 8th of 2009 to be exact. Despite my misgivings about the game, I still managed to beat it in just one day, finishing on June 9th. I would never play the game again, however, until now: 2024.
Would my feelings for the game change after 15 years, or would I still find it to be a giant disappointment? Let's find out.
Story:
This game lost me with its storyline pretty quickly. It's a shame, too. I always liked to immerse myself in the lore of Resident Evil when I played these games on the PS1. Now, I found myself skipping story logs and zoning out during the cutscenes.
The action takes place somewhere in Africa, where Chris Redfield and his partner Sheva are sent to investigate some bio weapons bullshit. There is absolutely nothing interesting about this game's storyline. It's basically giant battle and giant action set pieces one after the other, the storyline taking a complete backseat to everything else.
Wesker turns out to be the big bad guy. There are some tie-ins to early Resident Evil games with a surprise appearance from Jill. So much stuff happens between games that isn't really explained. It makes the game confusing sometimes. If you pick this up right after Resident Evil 4, you are going to wonder what the hell has transpired between games. This is where the lore of the series really starts to get convoluted, and I stopped caring about it.
Gameplay:
Since the format of Resident Evil 4 was such a big success, they decided to do the same thing with Resident Evil 5. It's a fairly linear over the shoulder shooter. This game places less of an emphasis on exploring and puzzle solving, and more of an emphasis on action and defeating big swarms of enemies.
I've already reviewed Resident Evil 4 a whopping three times (the Gamecube game, a re-review of the Gamecube game, and a review of the PS4 remake) so I am not going to take much time to break down the gameplay of this title. It's very similar to those other games. You shoot things, you pick up items and ammunition, you advance through the game's stages. This game seems a bit more linear in nature than its predecessor. There is no central hub, and there are no areas that you will return to after you leave them. My favorite stage is about halfway through the game. You ride a boat around an open area, collecting three items you need to open a gate in order to advance the story. It's one of the few levels that allows you to explore, and to use your brain, rather than just pushing you forward through one giant fight after another.
The main departure from RE4 is in the game's partner system. Unless you are playing the game online (which I never bothered with), your partner Sheva, who you are stuck with the entire game, is controlled by computer AI. You not only have to manage your own inventory, you have to manage hers as well. She is fairly useful in a fight, so you want to make sure she always has ammo. I like to give her only one healing item, as she often uses them when I do not want her to.
You have to watch Sheva's health, as well. If she dies, you die. I expected to hate this mechanic when I first started playing the game, but it grew on me after a while. I suppose it gives RE5 a bit of its own identity when held up against other games in the series.
Back in 2009, I was very conflicted with how I felt about this game. It was an okay game, but it just didn't feel like Resident Evil anymore. I still kinda feel the same way. I enjoyed this as a video game experience. But is it a good Resident Evil game? Not really. I held this against the game when I played it 15 years ago. I am going to try to not do the same thing this time. It may not feel like Resident Evil, but I had a good time playing it, right? I did, actually.
Graphics:
This game is a mixed bag visually. On the surface, the game looks fine. The main characters and the enemies are well designed. The environments are rich with detail. There are nice gore effects. Some big cinematic moments. There were a few times in the game where I was wowed with how impressive everything looked.
BUT.
This game was not the technical leap I expected going from RE4 on the Gamecube to RE 5 on the PS3. I'd call it more of a lateral move than anything, but in many ways, RE4 looks much better than this. And why does everything have that greyish/yellow tint to it? Like in a movie, when the action takes place in Mexico, but it is like this for the whole game. So many other PS3 titles of this era do this same thing, and it drives me bonkers. Metal Gear Solid 4, Fallout, this game... I am sure there are many more, but I just can't think of them right now.
I guess overall the game looks fine. But I am not exactly jumping out of my seat over the visuals.
Sound:
Nothing about this game's music or sound effects stood out to me. That's either a good thing or a bad thing. It's good because if the music and sound effects were terrible, I would have noticed. It's bad because clearly the game did nothing in this department to make it stand out from the crowd. Resident Evil 4 had some fun moments with Leon and Ashley, and is was also nice to hear the enemies yelling and saying things about Lord Saddler. And who can forget the merchant?
This game has none of that.
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Overall:
As I said earlier in my review, this is a good game, but it is not a good Resident Evil game. How do I reconcile the two in my mind? I guess I'm going to go with the "it's a good game" side, even though I am not particularly happy about it. This game simply does not feel like a Resident Evil game, and I wish they'd continued making games more in the slow, tension-filled, survival horror format of the PS1 originals. Luckily, they've been coming back around to that in recent years. I look at RE5 (and RE6, which I will get to at a later time) as the dark period of the franchise.
While I was certainly disappointed in the game when it was released, I am able to come back to it with an open mind and appreciate it for being a fun game to play. I started playing this a month or two AFTER I started Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga, and I cruised through this in about a week. I'm still playing Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga, and dragging my feet each and every step of the way. That game is a critical darling while this one is not. I know they aren't really similar games to compare, but it says something that I'd rather play this game than return to the other. Give me Resident Evil 5 any day of the week.
Good game? Yes. I definitely was too harsh on it when it first came out. While I think it pales in comparison to the rest of the series, it is still a fun title and I am glad I was able to revisit it and change my mind on the game.
THE GRADE:
B
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