Resident Evil 5 is an interesting case of a game where the various component parts consist of wildly varying quality. The sublime combat of RE4 is ported over basically untouched, with the added thrill of being able to save your friend’s neck from the blades of a chainsaw with a well-placed, high-powered bullet, and the thrill of being saved in turn. The precision pacing of previous titles also returns, however, the set-pieces are engineered towards the goal of providing interesting co-op dynamics rather than being memorable moments on their own, which drains the flow of much of its excitement residual. Most noxious of all is that the game uses imagery that wouldn’t feel out of place in the montage at the end of Spike Lee’s Bamboozled, which regardless of the intent or integrity of the developers themselves, is just plain uncomfortable and off-putting. Put together, Resident Evil 5 adds up to an undeniably fun co-op experience but does not add up to what could be charitably be described as a good game.
-Version Played: Gold Edition