Gameplay

Right from the get-go, RE5 is chock full of action. Similar to the Ganados from Leon Kennedy’s last adventure, the populace of this small village has been infected with a parasitic virus that makes them very strong and very angry. Unlike the moaning, shambling zombies from earlier games in the series, these “Majini” attack in groups, wielding weapons and often moving toward you at speed. In the latter stages of the game, they wield various guns and grenades, encouraging you to use cover a la Gears of War.

Within the first fifteen minutes of play, you’re thrust into a very sizeable scuffle with these restless locals wherein it’s nearly impossible to kill them all. Stay in one spot and you’ll be overwhelmed, running out of ammo and dying in short order. Instead, you must break through the onslaught, evade enemy advances, climb to higher ground, and quickly search for supplies, all the while waiting for backup.

The smart player will conserve ammunition, using melee attacks when possible, and use the environment to his advantage. Explosive barrels or tanks are not uncommon and chokepoints exist to make better use of grenades, shotguns, and piercing weapons. The bottom line is, you have to keep cool under pressure to succeed. Such is the nature of a game that makes no reservations in deviating even further from the “survival horror” genre than its predecessor.

Don’t believe the hype calling this “the next generation of fear” – there is very little to be scared of in Resident Evil 5. And that’s coming from a guy who usually avoids the horror genre as a whole… I only briefly played the originals, but once rented REmake for the GCN and it scared the bejeezus out of me so bad I never even made it to the second typewriter!

Granted, I’m older now, but nothing in this game gave me that feeling of dread I got when I turned a corner and ran into a zombie or heard a ferocious Doberman crash through the window behind me. Capcom is a bit overzealous in their use of introductory cutscenes, effectively ruining most surprises by giving you 5-10 seconds to realize what’s happening.

The most major fear-reducer is the fact that you virtually always have your partner with you, covering your back. You’ll rarely become separated and even then it is only for a short time during which you remain in each others’ line of sight. There are still a few tense moments, such as wading through a swamp infested with overgrown alligators, but they’re few and far between.


You’ll come across a wide variety of bosses throughout the game, as is par for the course in the series. They range from tougher-than-usual Majini to ginormous mutated monstrosities and you will fight them both traditionally and through interactive cutscenes. Each mega baddie registered differently on my intimidation scale, from “Uh-oh” to “HOLY SHIT!” Most of the encounters are straightforward enough, but a few can be frustrating, to say the least. The worst of them wasn’t even really a boss fight at all, and involved an extreme amount of button mashing.