The fifth installment of the Resident Evil saga was the first game in the legendary franchise to reach a Microsoft console.
Incredibly, it’s been 12 years since Resident Evil 5 came out. 12 years since I played it while suffering from tonsillitis on horseback (which allowed me to skip classes for a few days, lol) and I was shooting massive amounts of antibiotics. I fondly remember buying trade magazines from the time and I was excited with every new information on this new title, with the return of Chris Redfield and with the opportunity to reinstate a new installment of one of my three favorite sagas in the world of video games.
After the unexpected and brilliant Resident Evil 4, which introduced significant changes in the franchise, fans were eager to see where the series would go next and what other innovations it could add, especially sponsored by the seventh generation of consoles that were still in their early years. It remained to be seen if Resident evil 5 Would he continue the action or would he go back to his survival-horror roots.
In addition, this episode of Resident Evil Assumed duty-free entry in the world of Microsoft consoles, in particular in Xbox 360, reaching many more fans than before.
Building on even more action-oriented gameplay mechanics already established by its predecessor, Resident Evil 5 has reintroduced Chris Redfield as the main protagonist. Chris hadn’t appeared in the main series since the fantastic Resident Evil remake for the Nintendo GameCube even more fantastic in 2002. The problem was that here the character underwent a makeover that amazed locals and foreigners alike. Forget the type of fragile appearance in his STARS uniform. Chris character turned into a muscular macho, able to break pebbles bigger than Mariano Rajoy’s head with his fists.
The plot revolves around Chris, who is now accompanied by a new companion, Sheva, who goes to Africa on a mission. As members of the BSAA, the two team up to investigate the appearance of a new virus in the zone. This virus, called Uroboros, turns the local population into infected bloodthirsty. With little help, they must rely on their own abilities to survive the hell that awaits them.
Resident Evil Games they never showed an exceptional plot, but this time it’s been over-simplified. Despite the introduction of several characters, most of whom were forgettable (I barely remember 2), the argument also did not live up to the quality of previous games.
The establishment of this title also played an important role in creating (or rather breaking) a horror atmosphere. For example, Dead Space, which went on sale a few months earlier, was able to create an atmosphere that still survives. Unfortunately when that title came in March 2009 On Xbox 360, Resident Evil 5 failed to maintain the grand horror setting of previous titles. Gone are the dark and intricate hallways of the Spencer Mansion, the terribly dark Raccoon City or even the dark Spanish (Latino?) Town of Resident Evil 4.
Place players in a sunny and desert environment in Africa did not work well. As disturbing as the local cabins may seem, with animal carcasses decomposing presumably used for ritual purposes, the presumed impact on the environment was minimal. The levels with open desert landscapes, even less.
Resident Evil 5 also kept perspective over the shoulder of the fourth slice. Like before you could shoot enemies in the legs, arms, chest or head to get different results. And the headshots were as bloody and bloody as ever, often blowing the enemy’s entire head. The enemies also followed the pattern of Resident Evil 4, where instead of having the mythical zombies, we had instead normal humans infected with a virus and that they had almost no control over their own actions. It looks a lot like zombies, but these of course they didn’t have the same terrifying aesthetic and looked rather bland. As if that were not enough, the addition of a companion who accompanied us and helped us throughout the adventure, he eliminated almost all types of tension in combat, a clear feature of the saga.
Speaking of partner, one feature of Resident Evil 5 that turned out to be much better than expected was cooperative mode. For the first time in the series (excluding the fantastic Resident Evil Outbreak) we could end the story cooperatively, online or in split screen mode. It affected the already rare atmosphere we talked about earlier, but take down hordes of enemies with a friend or stranger online has spawned unforgettable games.
Work together to take down a boss or interact with the environment in different ways, created a new experience in the saga. With two characters, object management It also became less of a problem, as the two protagonists could swap weapons at any time. The intricate puzzles are also gone some of the previous installments.
Despite everything that has been said so far, Resident Evil 5 has turned out to be a good game. A good action game, to be precise. But not good enough as a survival horror game let alone a saga-worthy title like Resident Evil, something that was approved with the survival horror revival of the seventh and eighth installments of the saga.
This over-the-top approach may not appeal to everyone, but it’s a title that won’t leave you indifferent. Also a very good cooperative mode and a wide assortment of different weapons. It received surprisingly favorable ratings from critics on release (including ourselves), and I remember it myself quite fondly.
If you want to experience it for the first time or give a new pass to Resident evil 5, you can do it by buying the version for Xbox One, which includes improvements for Xbox One X and Xbox Series S / X or, as always, by backward compatibility.
