Resident Evil 5

Resident Evil 5

Expertly paced difficulty along a path strewn with spectacular and strategic battles keeps this bio-warfare saga in stunningly good shape.

The highest of expectations have dogged the latest Resident Evil since it was first unveiled nearly four years ago. As it turns out, most of the items on a fan’s shopping list are delivered with aplomb though not all. You’ll never quite get over the control issues, Chris Redfield manoeuvres like a well-worn supermarket trolley, but this doesn’t stand in the way of the overall, overwhelmingly exhilarating experience.

Resident Evil fans may remember when one running zombie was a handful. In Part 5 you’re invariably confronted by huge gangs. Initially they’re just crazed, although still cunning, and it’s their speed and agility that catches you off-guard. Later on you’ll encounter military trained outfits whose superhuman strength and animal rage serve to strengthen more calculated assaults. Early locations give you opportunity to run free while formulating some kind of strategy. Closer to your goal there’s less chance of an easy escape. One particularly huge and tricky B.O.W. (Bio-Organic Weapon) is swiftly disposed of during an early mission thanks to a handy incinerator. You’ll tussle with him again later but this time with no such shortcuts available…of course by then you’ll be more prepared: better equipped, and crucially better trained.

Opening the game with frenetic scenes that involve roof-top chases and reliance on scatter-gun over pin-point accuracy turns out to be a smart gameplay decision from the designers at Capcom: If you’re wise about treating the shanty town and mines as training grounds you’ll be grateful for having mastered such techniques as melee attacks that are only available after targeting the head or specific limbs. Both skills require patience, but save your life deeper into the game. Besides, side-kicking a zombie back through an open window after he took an age to stumble through it is always hilarious.

As with EA’s Dead Space, which borrows heavily from previous Resident Evil outings, the rules of the game, its basic structure, are obvious to the point of being intrusive. You’ll certainly be cursing the peculiar control method in the preliminary stages as you practice finding your target – luckily you have the excellent support character, Sheva Alomar, to cover your early attempts at combat. Throughout the game Sheva, who can also resuscitate Chris from the brink of death, is equal parts guardian angel and teeth-grinding hindrance. But if you’re less gung-ho you’ll find that the AI works very well and it feels good to work as a team.

In addition to back-up firepower and medical supplies, lithe and strong Sheva lends a hand bashing open doors, lifting heavy objects and simultaneously pushing buttons or pulling levers to raise gates or trigger mysterious switches. It’s a convention you’ll have encountered plenty of times, but enforces the co-op theme pretty well.

There’s a point at which you stop wanting Resident Evil 5 to handle like Gears of War, a better version of Dead Space, or tactically as efficient as Ghost Recon. Admittedly this happens midway through the whole campaign, but when it does this is quite the revelation. It’s the point where you appreciate that at its cold ruthless heart Resident Evil 5 is really one big strategic puzzle. This core gameplay element affects every cubic inch that Chris and Sheva dare to tread.

You have no run and gun options, for starters. The cover system, limited to very specific locations, is almost redundant. But this forces you to think very carefully about the type of damage inflicted and operational range of the weapons in your possession. Such depth has never featured in a Resident Evil game, and it rivals the best of the first-person-shooter brigade. Better yet, your outfield inventory is restricted to what Chris and Sheva could, as realistically as possible given the ludicrous premise, actually carry between them. A few firearms, spare ammo and room for First Aid. Managing resources in the field heightens the tension too.

Further adding to the ongoing puzzle / strategy theme is the search for treasure in all locations. Treasures (gold coins, statues, gems, etc) are sold in exchange for cash to purchase weapon upgrades or else new weapon types entirely. Therefore you are encouraged to explore every corner of the map, bashing open barrels and crates for goodies other than ammo and meds. This does get tiresome, but you’re glad to have taken the effort when you’re spending the cash. Alternatively you can risk life and limb by tackling larger enemies, reminiscent of the Nemesis battles in Resident Evil 3, that’ll use up your supplies and often lead to death, but ultimately pay big dividends.

Resident Evil 5 resists giving you all the best parts first. It even dares to suggest that it may never contain the same horrors that characterised earlier games in the series. Rest assured the grand finale is coming! And before then several encounters with bad guys that are the size of the screen that’ll bash you with a giant club or crush you in their pincers. Gameplay is kept varied too with a handful of entertaining ‘on rails’ sections giving you a much welcome excuse to just hose away from a gun turret.

Meantime the cut scenes are thrilling, well directed and ably acted. Make the effort to read documents littered around locations, diaries especially, and you’ll appreciate more deeply the direction of the plot. It’s more mystical and searching than the surface suggests, albeit with an Indiana Jones sense of the fantastical in its quest for the unknown. You won’t need to have played any previous games to enjoy the story, but long-term fans will certainly relish the return of familiar faces and all they entail.

There are two major issues preventing Resident Evil 5 from being one of the best action-adventures of the decade. Most notably the control system never feels comfortable and will generally infuriate you under pressure. It’s acutely old school and frankly unacceptable. The second concern we have is long term appeal. Bearing in mind that the control system is so troublesome, the recently announced online versus game – that’ll cost us extra don’t forget that – doesn’t seem so tempting.

Caveats aside Resident Evil 5 really does progress the series in a manner that most gamers will appreciate. It rivals Gears of War 2 for boss battles with jaw-dropping creature design and betters Dead Space in terms of gameplay progression. Almost worth buying one of those Limited Edition Xbox 360 Elite consoles just to play...

4 out of 5