As of now, I'm only about 70% through the game, due to having to restart it every time another one of my friends/family members comes over, but I believe that I can provide an accurate review. (By the way, this is for the Xbox360 version)
PROS
~ Firstly, the graphics are absolutely stunning. In fact, I can't claim to have seen anything that tops the visuals in Resident Evil 5. Simply put, the entire game is a feast for the eyes ; but, to be fair, there are a couple of times in the game where the graphics take a seemingly random nosedive in quality. Luckily, those times are few and far between.
~ Next are the controls. Veterans of RE4 might find themselves struggling at first with the new control scheme, but you'll get over it before long. In fact, the new controls are a huge improvement over RE4 if you ask me. The ability to strafe is highly appreciated.
~ The knife - The knife is useful now! Perhaps I was just a bad knifer in RE4, or perhaps it's because in RE5 you have a partner to draw enemy attention, but Chris' machete is a force to be reckoned with. Hell, if you knife them in the face just right, their heads explode sometimes.
Of course, you still don't want to use it if you don't have to, but it's nice to know that using the knife doesn't mean certain disaster anymore.
~ Sheva - Veterans of RE4 will undoubtedly remember the insufferable personification of whining incompetence known as Ashley Graham. Well, no more. In RE5, your partner is a girl by the name of Sheva Alomar. Sheva's nothing to scoff at, you can more than trust her to watch your back. Don't be afraid to give her as much ammunition as you can spare, and be sure that you upgrade her weapons as well as your own. In all the time I've played, she hasn't died a single time, although I've had to save her from dying status twice. Sheva = win. Although, this may come as a disappointment for those of you that prefer to go solo, as you're stuck with her for the entire game, from the second you first get control of your character.
~ Quick select - If you place an item in the middle top, middle bottom, middle left, or middle right inventory slots, you can quickly switch to it by tapping that direction on the D-pad. I advise you use those slots for weapons instead of ammunition, but you can if the situation demands it.
~ Carnage - There are few things as satisfying as shooting someone in the face, and then punching him in his eye, causing his head to explode, after which his body crashes through a door and knocks over a bunch of his friends, in which case you immediately run over to the nearest one and stomp his skull in while Sheva stabs another fallen enemy in the heart. Speaking of exploding heads, I always feel a little giddy inside whenever I hear the crunching, splashing noise of an enemy's head blowing up, followed by seeing the bits of brain and skull flying through the air. Unfortunately, the carnage is limited to the head, since you can't sever limbs. (Not counting the fact that an enemy's entire body can be blown up by tripwires)
~ Voice acting - Residents Evils 1-3 were utterly fail in this aspect, whereas Leon in RE4 was prone to some rather corny lines. Although not the best by far, RE5's voice acting is great, and it's not the kind of game you're embarrassed to play around your parents.
CONS
~ Difficulty - The game is unbearably easy, even at the hardest difficulty. In fact, so far the hardest part of the game for me is the place at the beginning where you have to remain alive long enough for the helicopter to save you, and that's only hard if you're playing with a partner who insists on going off on his own. *Glares at Havoc* Perhaps the game's difficulty kicks in late in the game, but that's no good. I was hoping for a challenge. Hell, you can't walk two feet in the game without tripping over ammo.
~ Strategy - The game suffers from a disappointing lack of strategy. Most areas in the game provide a large area for you to do battle in, promoting tactical use of where you fight and when you do it. However, this is never necessary. You can win any battle (Except perhaps the chainsaw maniacs) by simply staying at the beginning of the room, with your back against the wall, shooting at whatever comes near you. The enemy's strength comes in their ability to surround you, or sneak up from behind, but this advantage is painfully simple to take from them. Luckily, the fun you have dispatching your foes does a good job of quelling any distaste you may have for your enemy's futile methods.
~ Horror factor - The game just isn't scary. Not only that, but there aren't even any surprises or spooky places in the game. Perhaps games stop being scary when you get to be a certain age, but it'd be nice if RE5 had at least tried.
~ Aggression - The enemy's aggression seems a bit odd at times. They appear to be rabid, and bent on your utter terrible destruction, however there are times in which you can run right by them and they won't react at all. Often, they'll just hold their weapon in the air, and idly watch you as you brush past them. I find that this normally happens in large groups, and I assume that the game's programming get's confused, trying to figure out which one should lunge at you. I dunno, I'm not a programmer.
~ Stealth and doors - There's a leftover function from RE4, the ability to stealthily slide a door open, or noisily kick it in. This seems tacked on at best, because the enemies will inevitably find you, and usually in a quick manner. In fact, it's uncannt how easily they locate you at times, even if you seem well hidden. There's really no reason to slowly slide a door open.
~ Inventory - The inventory was pretty much perfect in RE4, I don't know why they downgraded back to the old square block system. To make matters worse, your inventory must be used in real time, meaning that the enemies keep coming at you, even if you're an inch from death, rooting around in your backpack for that health spray. That's why I give most of my healing items to Sheva, she always uses them right when they're needed. This is another subtractive factor from the game's difficulty.
~ Dying - There's a new addition to RE5. Now, if you fall below 25% life, you enter dying status, where you slowly start bleeding to death. In this situation, your partner has to save you before you die by pressing the B button while next to you (takes about 20 seconds to bleed to death, and one hit from an enemy can kill you in this state) This makes it very difficult to actually die in the game, since your partner can almost always save you in time, and if either of you has a healing item, it is instantly used upon your rescue. I actually like this feature of the game, but I'm placing it in the CONS section because it subtracts from the game's already diminutive amount of difficulty.
~ Glitches - Of course, glitches are expected in any game. RE5 has the standard "Body parts disappear through objects while aiming" glitch, and the "Enemy totally just missed me but I got hit anyway" glitch, but what's even more startling is that there are a few solid objects you can actually walk through.
~ Why can't I give her half?
- Besides the ease of the game, this is the only thing listed in the CONS section that actually bothers me. Say you have 40 handgun bullets, and Sheva has 5. There is no way for you to give her 20 or so bullets. You either have to give her all of them, or none of them, and vice versa. A simple "give half" option would have been nice. Luckily, ammo is so frequent that this usually is not a problem for long, since you can just let her pick up the next couple of ammo boxes that you find.
OVERALL - 8.7/10
Resident Evil 5 is a truly amazing game. Despite the long list of CONS I just provided, most of them are actually of little to no importance, when weighed against the combined might of it's strong points. I recommend that everyone go buy it immediately, and play it for themselves. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some murderous plague-infested villagers to maim...
*Turns on Xbox*
