Resident... Pew-Pew?
Capcom continues the Resident Evil series' slide into action over horror with seriously mixed results in Resident Evil 5.
Published: March 12, 2009
The result is a game that largely ignores or even undoes much of the good that Resident Evil 4 introduced and instead turns what was a game inching away from the horror aspects of the series into a big, dumb action flick. That would have been fine if this was some kind of spin-off series, but this is Resident Evil 5, and that number in the title indicates this is a direct follow-up to the last game, which isn't exactly what the experience suggests.
All that inventory management that was minimized in the last game? Yeah, it's back, and since you can only buy new stuff (but not ammo, frustratingly) in between chapters, your new co-op partner (more on that in a second) goes from being a helpful resource to an ammo- and healing item-chewing liability and I ended up just turning her into a pack mule for most of my single-player experience, which is hardly what I think Capcom had in mind.
The idea of "puzzles" is so loosely applied that it all but feels like an afterthought. With the exception of a rotation puzzle where the controls are the complete opposite of every game that has ever used the very same mechanic, which lead to a couple of cheap, accidental deaths -- which the game grades you on at the end of the level -- anything that's not fighting is so obviously phoned in that it requires absolutely no thought (turn this crank, collect these items and shove 'em in a door, etc.). In fact, there were more than a few cheap deaths in the game, be it from a handful of enemies that can kill your character instantly or from having to babysit Sheva, your normally fairly capable AI- or friend-driven partner.
All that really leaves is a game that's almost purely action driven. There wasn't a single part in the entire game while playing solo that approached even being more than trivially spooky, and even that one moment passed quickly. Capcom has asked us to keep the spoilers to a minimum, so I may end up referencing things in this review that are intentionally nebulous, but when an enemy that was downright terrifying in the older games is reduced to something you can slowly walk past, you know the soul of the series has been somehow tainted.
The lack of fear stems from the game's decided action bent, yes, but it also comes down to the fact that you're no longer a solitary combatant in a hot zone of shuffling, lurching enemies. Sheva Alomar, your local guide/partner in the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (RE5's version of S.T.A.R.S.) is a capable accompaniment; more lithe and agile than the 'roided-out version of Chris Redfield that serves as the male lead this time around. She's also capable of being boosted across gaps and up onto landings that Chris couldn't get to, so she's more than a pretty face with a gun.
Sheva's presence not only staves off a sense of isolation, it provides the series with easily the biggest shift in how things are played. At any point during your normal adventures through the storyline (so long as you've flicked on the option at the start of your play session), you can have a friend -- or anyone that opts to, really, if you've set it up so that non-friends listers can join -- hop in and play through the entire experience with you. The tag-teaming aspect does make the game a bit easier, and with boss fights that are already rather easy, any sense of fear or even tension is all but removed.
