Resident Evil 5 Impressions

I picked up Resident Evil 5 this past Friday and have been enjoying it since. I’m only on Stage 3-2 or so of some 6-X stages, but I think I’ve experienced enough to give some basic impressions of the game. You may also want to note that these impressions are based on the veteran difficulty (hardest right out of the gate), because that’s just how I roll.

Evil Never Looked So Good

I picked up the Xbox 360 version of RE5. There aren’t many reasons I did, other than being a sucker for achievements and preferring LIVE over PSN most of the time. The 360 version looks great, as far as I can tell, and probably offers little to no difference in comparison to the PS3 version.

Now that thats out of the way, the game looks fantastic. The character models and animations are really well done and the atmosphere of the game really draws you in. So far I haven’t really noticed any hitches or problems with the graphics and I’m quite pleased at that.

If I had to find something to be unsatisfied with, in regards to the visuals, I’d have a hard time doing so. However, maybe my opinion will change later in the game.

Partner or Escortee from Hell? (single-player)

In RE5 you play Chris Redfield and along the way to help you is newcomer Sheva Alomar. Honestly, I have mixed feelings on this. If you asked gamers to describe their least favorite type of level in a game then I have no doubt that a vast majority of them would say “escort missions” and at times the game feels like a gigantic escort mission. Not only do you have to share your ammo and weapons with her, but also your medical supplies. Oh, and she also loves to mess up your items. There have been at least two instances where she combined my herbs. I also highly suggest you don’t rely on her to cover your back because I can’t count the number of times I assumed she was, only to turn around in enough time to see a mining pick enter my skull.

Aside from her wasting your ammo and health supplies, she can come in useful at times. I found the best way to deal with her is to give her ALL of the handgun ammo rather than share it. She seems to be the least wasteful with a pistol, especially after I sunk a hefty bit of money into upgrading hers. Sheva also goes around picking up items and breaking barrels, and if she finds an ammo type that you use then she’ll run over and give it to you. It’s also nice to have her around to kick zombies off of you and pick you up when you’re dying, but keep in mind she expects you to return the favor and you’ll find yourself doing it often.

Gameplay – Change Isn’t Always Good

For the most part Resident Evil 5 plays great. It’s not that different from RE4, other than a few tweaks to the control scheme, and it’s still fun and enjoyable. Still, it would be great if you could move and shoot at the same time. Dead Space was able to pull it off quite well, but RE5 chose not to go that path. Honestly, I can only assume it’s to make the game seem a little more intense, but it really doesn’t bother me that much. Aiming and shooting feels great and the weapon variety is nice. Not only are there basic on-foot sections, but also some neat levels where you get to man turrets. I can only imagine what is in store for the second half of the game.

One thing that really bothers me, however, is the new inventory system. It’s a small 3×3 grid where each item takes one space, unless they stack, regardless of size. I really preferred Resident Evil 4’s system with the upgradeable attache case. I should also make mention that it’s an active inventory system (no pausing), which might bother you, or it might not. Dead Space had a similar system and I was able to work with it well enough, but sometimes I miss the safety of my attache case from RE4.

If I had to pick my biggest complaint, it would have to be the lack of a Merchant character. I loved that shady guy in RE4 and was pretty bummed when I found out there was no RE5 counterpart. Instead of finding your mysterious weapon seller mid-mission, you get to buy/sell/upgrade your stuff at the end of each level. Or if you choose to quit out of the game and resume play later, or if you die and continue they let you access the store as well. Honestly, this seems weird to me and makes little sense how the characters are getting supplied randomly.

Final Thoughts… For Now

I really like the game. The positives vastly outweigh the negatives but, to be quite honest, it feels like the game was built to be a cooperative experience and playing it by yourself can be difficult and less rewarding. Unfortunately I can’t convince Keen to join me on my trek through Africa, so after I finish the game by myself I’ll be looking for a partner on Xbox LIVE. There also seems to be a good deal of unlockable stuff, so that should add to the replay value of the game.

Oh, and the game isn’t racist. Seriously, people need to stop saying that.