Resident Evil 5: The Resident Evil…ing?

So Resident Evil 5 came out this weekend and I finally got a chance to actually sit down and play it for a bit. While the storyline so far seems a bit soft compared to previous installments the game play and graphics are definitely there as well as the overall creepiness. The only major problem I have with the game is that, unless you’re playing co-op your partner is more useful as extra bag space than she is as an actual partner. She’ll shoot when she feels like it and if you’re being attacked by an enemy she may or may not help you. This is a slightly bigger improvement over Resident Evil 4’s buddy system with the President’s daughter (since all she did do was run, die, and help you with puzzles) but only slightly.

Cooperative is definitely the way to go with this game but even in single player mode I’m still enjoying it and feel as if it gives the game more challenge since you have to manage both inventories (which means giving each character health, weapons, and adequate ammo) and you have to struggle to keep her alive (as well as yourself since the game is tailored to two people) through the game. This then gives you more things to think about and forces you to make some tougher decisions on how you want Chris and Sheva to act.

I think the problem is that games like Dead Space and Gears of War have spoiled me on the whole third-person shooter concept. I’ve gotten so used to being able to run and shoot at the same time that I find that I have to force myself not to try in Resident Evil. Dead Space just proved that you don’t have to be a slow game to keep it scary and that is constantly running through the back of my mind. I mean, the main character of Resident Evil is a hardened military soldier who has been through these situations time and time again but can’t aim accurately while moving any more than he could in 1996 while an engineer wearing a massive metal suit in space can without even flinching? The numbers and the reality of the situations don’t add up. Of course, we are talking about killing zombies in Haiti and hellspawn in space so reality doesn’t really have precedence here.

The storyline, as stated earlier, seems to be really stale so far. I can’t decide on if it’s because I’m slowly getting tired hearing about Umbrella and all of its evil deeds or because it just doesn’t seem to have the same flair that previous installments did. It doesn’t make the game unplayable but can make it painful to hear the conversations between all the characters. That could change since I’m only about halfway through but if it sounds and looks like a bad storyline halfway through the game chances are the second half will be just as cliche. I look at it like a horror movie; you can’t expect award-winning performances and seeing the heads pop off of zombies always brings a smile to my face so it’s a fair compromise.