365//365: Day 163 – Resident Evil 5 (360)

If there’s one thing I cannot stand, it’s watching a successful franchise get a near massive overhaul, and for it to fail miserably. Things change. Times change. We can’t always fault a company for trying to change a somewhat tired formula. Capcom has retooled their Street Fighter series numerous times, with a majority of the time garnering success across the board. But how did we go from a universally successful Resident Evil 4, to a lopsided and convoluted Resident Evil 5?

Why is it that Sheva’s AI is about as intelligent as a sack of screwdrivers? Oftentimes, if I am engaging an enemy, she’ll be behind me, aiming at the enemy I am taking down, and proceed to unload clip after clip into my back, wasting bullets. On occasions, she won’t follow me unless I call for her. Sheva’s AI routine is one of the most piss poor excuses of a partner AI ever witnessed. You’ll end up having to play babysitter in order to not only make sure she follows you, but make sure she doesn’t die from lack of ammunition, thanks to her AI routine unloading clip after clip of bullets into your back.

Man, this is an action packed game! I'm so glad I lack the ability to fire my weapons while moving! That would actually be plausible!

Now before I hear the argument of “Sheva is meant to be played by another human, as this is a co-op experience”, straight away, you’re only half right. Yes, this is a co-op experience, however, it has a CPU controlled teammate for the times you wish to play solo.  If RE5 was meant to be strictly co-op only, and no CPU playing your partner, the game would have been marketed and created as such. Not everyone has an XBL Gold account (for some odd reason) nor people around them to play the game at the drop of a hat. For those unfortunate enough to be in this bracket, RE5 is painful, as Chris will be doing most of the dirty work, and Sheva will be spraying bullets into your back. With a friend playing Sheva, to be honest, the game isn’t much better.

The main issue with RE5 is it’s lack of a distinct identity. Is this an action game?  A Survival Horror game? If this is an action game, why am I stuck with a control system that focuses on slow reactions, stiff movements, and has barely changed over the last decade? If this is a survival horror, why is this game missing not only scary moments, but the tension and paranoia that something is around the next corner? There is nothing scary about a predominately outdoor adventure. There’s too much focus on fast paced action and brightly lit scenery, yet this leads up to the next major hindrance — the controls.

Capcom managed to put together a beautiful game to look at, with a wealth of quality all around. A shame the gameplay is nothing but spare change.

For a game with a larger focus on action, I find RE5′s controls to fail big time. Mobility is still sluggish beyond what gamers should expect for this period of time we’re in. Those zombies have better agility and a better sense of speed than Chris or Sheva. This is a control and combat system that has not changed much over the last fifteen years or so. For an action game, the inability to run and shoot, or even walk and shoot, is a major shortcoming. Even if the game were to adhere to a much slower pace, like Resident Evil 2, it’s been way too long with the same old mechanics, with the tweaks not coming in the right spots. It doesn’t win me over, and in fact, it really does turn me off from playing for long stretches of time.

About the only strong points to RE5 comes in the for of the beautifully detailed world and the clarity and quality of the sound effects. Even if the game world you visit has a large focus on the outdoor world, the detail is astounding, as well as the character models of Chris and Sheva. You’ll never see any instances of choppy frame rates or any kind of quirks in the animations. The voice acting isn’t bad in RE5, neither are the sound effects. Explosions are well done, your weapons have their own distinct sounds, and nothing comes off as a low budget, low quality bit, like the first RE, although the camp value for the first title warranted the cheesy voice acting and silly script.

Unfortunately, Resident Evil 5 is a game with an identity crisis, not to mention some major faults to it. The gameplay is too slow and sluggish to be a proper action game, the lack of fear factor and suspense makes this installment feel nothing like a survival horror game, co-op gameplay is not really that much fun in part to the controls that are still stuck in the 90′s, and your CPU AI is one of the most brain-dead partners ever. Even if Resident Evil 4 didn’t have a massive overhaul to its controls, the core game was outstanding, and it knew exactly what genre it wanted to be. Resident Evil 5 is far from outstanding, and far from good. There’s absolutely no brilliance to be found outside the gorgeous graphics. While you’ll find more entertainment in RE5 than you’ll find in RE0, it’s still doesn’t make up for the fact that Capcom dropped the ball big time. A massive control overhaul is long overdue.

KILL HER! GOD JUST KILL HER, KILL HER, KILL HER!

Rating: 5.3