Before a couple days ago I hadn't played this game in well over 10 years and forgot how much I loved it honestly. It's not quite the masterpiece RE 4 is, but it is pretty damn close.
I'll start by getting this out of the way, the game's AI is infamously bad for a reason, but it's still fully manageable and a very fun experience regardless, it just gets even better playing co-op with a friend.
The story is arguably my fave in the whole series, Chris and Sheva working for the BSAA tracking a terrorist in Africa and quickly they come across a much grander conspiracy that brings Chris' thought to be dead arch nemesis Albert Wesker to the forefront (And we all know Wesker is the best and most iconic RE super villain) with this game being Wesker's big staring role and D.C. Douglas voicing him, you know it's going to be great.
The shooting mechanics are basically the same as RE 4, though now there's a Gears-like wall cover option and the series transition from horror to action has been completed. Speaking of the action, the scenes in this game are just as Matrix like as RE 4 and they're just as great too, especially anything that involves Wesker.
The characters are great as always. Chris doesn't have that same kind of action hero star personality Leon has, but is more like a hardened war vet who has PTSD (Especially after believing he lost his old partner and best friend at the start of the game) and because of this he doesn't want to get too close to anyone, but he slowly opens up to Sheva throughout the game. Sheva herself doesn't get as much depth, but she wants to stop the terrorists to protect her homeland and it's relatable enough. Jill doesn't have a huge part in the game, but she's Jill so for what little she's in it, you know she's going to be badass, even when she's being mind-controlled and as I've said before Wesker is one of the best villains in all of video games and he only got better when he turned into an evil version of Neo from the Matrix because he's stylish, intimidating, campy, charismatic, over-the-top and his one liners and dialogue in this game are as iconic as Leon's in RE 4.
Level design in this game isn't quite as memorable as RE 4 and very same-y to me, however the Indiana Jones like temple ruins area is great and the game still has most of the iconic RE staples like the mines, the lab, the swamp, the village etc. It's also much more straightforward and linear compared to RE 4 since it's split into a chapter select DMC style story progression and there's no real backtracking. You can still find treasures to sell and purchase weapon upgrades on an inventory load-out screen before each mission at least, but no charismatic merchant makes me sad. Also the inventory being a 3X3 square compared to the RE4 Tetris management briefcase just sucks.
Boss fights are more plentiful, but also less memorable than RE 4 as well, but every fight with Wesker in the second half is great and the game makes up for some lackluster early bosses by having one of the greatest final bosses ever, fighting Wesker in a volcano over the most John Williams-like orchestral music while he monologues about evolution and Chris punches a boulder will forever be iconic and unbeatable.
RE 5 has an insane amount of replay value as well, much like RE 4 there's plenty of side content like Mercenaries mode, some DLC chapters, collectables like BSAA emblems and if you're a completionist like myself just going through the game many times to get the money to upgrade and unlock all weapons is fun enough in itself, being able to play with a friend makes it even better.
All in all RE 5 is simply an iconic game that brings a massive chapter of the RE story to a close. The AI is super inconsistent, the level design and most boss fights while solid just aren't quite as good as RE 4 and the inventory management is completely inferior, but a strong story and even stronger cast of characters with one of the best villains of all time getting his starring lead role makes Chris Redfield and Albert Wesker's final showdown one to remember and a mandatory part in any RE fan's collection.
I'll start by getting this out of the way, the game's AI is infamously bad for a reason, but it's still fully manageable and a very fun experience regardless, it just gets even better playing co-op with a friend.
The story is arguably my fave in the whole series, Chris and Sheva working for the BSAA tracking a terrorist in Africa and quickly they come across a much grander conspiracy that brings Chris' thought to be dead arch nemesis Albert Wesker to the forefront (And we all know Wesker is the best and most iconic RE super villain) with this game being Wesker's big staring role and D.C. Douglas voicing him, you know it's going to be great.
The shooting mechanics are basically the same as RE 4, though now there's a Gears-like wall cover option and the series transition from horror to action has been completed. Speaking of the action, the scenes in this game are just as Matrix like as RE 4 and they're just as great too, especially anything that involves Wesker.
The characters are great as always. Chris doesn't have that same kind of action hero star personality Leon has, but is more like a hardened war vet who has PTSD (Especially after believing he lost his old partner and best friend at the start of the game) and because of this he doesn't want to get too close to anyone, but he slowly opens up to Sheva throughout the game. Sheva herself doesn't get as much depth, but she wants to stop the terrorists to protect her homeland and it's relatable enough. Jill doesn't have a huge part in the game, but she's Jill so for what little she's in it, you know she's going to be badass, even when she's being mind-controlled and as I've said before Wesker is one of the best villains in all of video games and he only got better when he turned into an evil version of Neo from the Matrix because he's stylish, intimidating, campy, charismatic, over-the-top and his one liners and dialogue in this game are as iconic as Leon's in RE 4.
Level design in this game isn't quite as memorable as RE 4 and very same-y to me, however the Indiana Jones like temple ruins area is great and the game still has most of the iconic RE staples like the mines, the lab, the swamp, the village etc. It's also much more straightforward and linear compared to RE 4 since it's split into a chapter select DMC style story progression and there's no real backtracking. You can still find treasures to sell and purchase weapon upgrades on an inventory load-out screen before each mission at least, but no charismatic merchant makes me sad. Also the inventory being a 3X3 square compared to the RE4 Tetris management briefcase just sucks.
Boss fights are more plentiful, but also less memorable than RE 4 as well, but every fight with Wesker in the second half is great and the game makes up for some lackluster early bosses by having one of the greatest final bosses ever, fighting Wesker in a volcano over the most John Williams-like orchestral music while he monologues about evolution and Chris punches a boulder will forever be iconic and unbeatable.
RE 5 has an insane amount of replay value as well, much like RE 4 there's plenty of side content like Mercenaries mode, some DLC chapters, collectables like BSAA emblems and if you're a completionist like myself just going through the game many times to get the money to upgrade and unlock all weapons is fun enough in itself, being able to play with a friend makes it even better.
All in all RE 5 is simply an iconic game that brings a massive chapter of the RE story to a close. The AI is super inconsistent, the level design and most boss fights while solid just aren't quite as good as RE 4 and the inventory management is completely inferior, but a strong story and even stronger cast of characters with one of the best villains of all time getting his starring lead role makes Chris Redfield and Albert Wesker's final showdown one to remember and a mandatory part in any RE fan's collection.