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Release Date: March 5th, 2009 Movie Release Year: 2009

Resident Evil 5

Overview -

The latest installment in Capcom’s best-selling Resident Evil franchise took us on a decidedly different adventure from previous games in the series. In many ways it continued what its predecessor, Resident Evil 4, started, by focusing more on action and spectacle over horror and a creepy setting. Gone are the staples of the survival horror genre, like ammo conservation, sudden scares, and a foreboding atmosphere. Taking their place is the hot and sunny setting of Africa, an arsenal of guns and ammo to help you tackle any scenario, and most notably, co-op.

OVERALL:
Rating Breakdown
VIDEO
AUDIO
Tech Specs & Release Details
Video Resolution/Codec:
1080p
Audio Formats:
Dolby Digital 5.1
Release Date:
March 5th, 2009

Video Review

Ranking:

It’s been more than two years since Resident Evil 5 launched worldwide, and it’s still one of the best looking games out there. A ton of time and creativity was invested into the world surrounding you, from the special effects to the textures, to make everything look and act realistically. The character models are great, and the animations really bring them to life. The motion capture work and the fact that they brought on film director Jim Sonzero (2006’s Pulse) to craft the cut-scenes gives everything a cinematic look to it.

With the entire game taking place in and around, above and below the fictional area of Kijuju, Africa, this gave Capcom the chance to give us a setting that’s pretty different from most other games. You’ll be exploring ransacked shanty towns, massive underground labs, tribal villages, and ancient ruins, and each time the scenery brings with it a unique look and feel that keeps the game from looking like more of the same thing over and over again. It’s also obvious that Capcom invested quite a bit of time into making sure Resident Evil 5 looked as spectacular as possible on HDTVs, with full 1080p support, high-resolution textures, and gorgeous cinematics. This game really is a feast for the eyes.

Audio Review

Ranking:

To go with it’s more Michael Bay-esque action, explosions, and deliciously cheesy dialogue; Resident Evil 5’s soundtrack is much more in your face and noticeable. Gone are most of the ambient sounds that make you wonder what’s waiting for you around the next corner. Instead, they’ve been replaced by a faster, more orchestral score that no longer sits idly with the sole purpose of building up the tension. Sure, there are a few moments where that’s its duty, but those sections are few and far between.

The voice acting is top notch, and there’s palpable chemistry between Chris and Sheva. The rest of the cast is good, particularly Wesker, who sounds as evil as any archetypal villain whose hell-bent on world domination before him. Unfortunately, everything’s brought down by some awful writing and a story that teeters between totally unbelievable and unintentionally humorous.

As I said before, Resident Evil 5 is all about the action, and this is something the game does extremely well. The bigger foes sound intimidating, the weapons are realistic and satisfying, and this game has easily some of the best monster sound effects I’ve heard in a game.

Resident Evil 4 was a departure from many of the things that made the series iconic, replacing the tense survival horror atmosphere and frenetic fights with hordes of the undead with a more action-oriented approach to horror. Resident Evil 5 continues to stray from its horror roots even further, to a point where it’s difficult to call this even an action horror series anymore. If the thought of mowing down waves of enemies with a variety of weapons, grenades, and hummers equipped with dual mini-gun turrets, then this probably won’t disappoint.