One of, if not the best, third-person shooter of all time, unfortunately widely misunderstood as a lackluster horror game. No doubt, if you judge RE5 as a horror game, you'll be disappointed. But, as a sequel to RE4, this game succeeds in just about every way.
The melee system has been further developed, with each character having different moves for many different shot locations, with different properties. For example, some attacks prevent enemy transformations but are more difficult to land. The inventory system has been refined, with a sensible item limit that prevents you from hoarding ammo and healing like you could in RE4. In addition, the menu is real-time, which forces on-the-fly decision-making and even allows you to reload during melee animations, which feels absolutely divine and gives the combat a greater sense of flow compared to any other RE. Positioning and crowd control are most important here, so in that sense it's pretty reminiscent of Capcom's beat-em-ups, even moreso than RE4 and 6. Play on Type B controls for the best experience, since it lets you quick-turn with your laser reticle.
To compliment the improved combat, enemy AI is smarter and faster, there are more enemy types, and there are more enemies in general in any given area compared to 4. What ties it all together is incredible animation work and sound design, both for the playable characters and the enemies who react to every single thing you do. They aren't just static bullet sponges. The guns sound way more impactful here compared to later RE games. The core gameplay system is so excellent that the game could have only been Mercenaries and it still would have been one of the best Resident Evil games. In fact, that already exists and it's called Mercenaries 3D.
Of course, you can't have great mechanics and systems without great maps, and RE5 delivers there too. Public Assembly and Village are standouts, but they're all great... maybe except Experimental Facility. I especially like the destructible environments.
In my opinion, Mercenaries (and by extension, the Versus Mode) is the meat of the game. I've spent dozens of hours playing these modes alone or with friends, and it never gets old. The PC Gold version even has mods for 4 players, which is simply incredible. Of course, the campaign is cool too, and the AI is honestly less of a hindrance than most people make it out to be. I think it works better here than in either 4 or 4 Remake. The QTEs are annoying yet again, but they can thankfully be turned off in later editions.
Which version of RE5 is the best? Usually I'd say to go with the original release, but in this case I think it's the PC port of Gold, the only one with mod support. Both PC Gold and Remastered come with all DLC and No Mercy mode (360/PS3 Gold doesn't have No Mercy), and only Remastered has Mercenaries United. United is a bit unbalanced because it combines all characters from both previous Mercs modes which had different enemy loadouts and scoring systems. However, it works better as a more casual experience with friends since you can freely select any character you like. But, there's a mod for Gold that essentially adds United, and with 4 players, so that's the version I recommend.
RE5 may not be scary, there may not be any puzzles, but it's such a fun game to play. Highly recommended for fans of third-person shooters and arcade-style action games and beat-em-ups. Lots of fun to be had in both single- and multiplayer.
The melee system has been further developed, with each character having different moves for many different shot locations, with different properties. For example, some attacks prevent enemy transformations but are more difficult to land. The inventory system has been refined, with a sensible item limit that prevents you from hoarding ammo and healing like you could in RE4. In addition, the menu is real-time, which forces on-the-fly decision-making and even allows you to reload during melee animations, which feels absolutely divine and gives the combat a greater sense of flow compared to any other RE. Positioning and crowd control are most important here, so in that sense it's pretty reminiscent of Capcom's beat-em-ups, even moreso than RE4 and 6. Play on Type B controls for the best experience, since it lets you quick-turn with your laser reticle.
To compliment the improved combat, enemy AI is smarter and faster, there are more enemy types, and there are more enemies in general in any given area compared to 4. What ties it all together is incredible animation work and sound design, both for the playable characters and the enemies who react to every single thing you do. They aren't just static bullet sponges. The guns sound way more impactful here compared to later RE games. The core gameplay system is so excellent that the game could have only been Mercenaries and it still would have been one of the best Resident Evil games. In fact, that already exists and it's called Mercenaries 3D.
Of course, you can't have great mechanics and systems without great maps, and RE5 delivers there too. Public Assembly and Village are standouts, but they're all great... maybe except Experimental Facility. I especially like the destructible environments.
In my opinion, Mercenaries (and by extension, the Versus Mode) is the meat of the game. I've spent dozens of hours playing these modes alone or with friends, and it never gets old. The PC Gold version even has mods for 4 players, which is simply incredible. Of course, the campaign is cool too, and the AI is honestly less of a hindrance than most people make it out to be. I think it works better here than in either 4 or 4 Remake. The QTEs are annoying yet again, but they can thankfully be turned off in later editions.
Which version of RE5 is the best? Usually I'd say to go with the original release, but in this case I think it's the PC port of Gold, the only one with mod support. Both PC Gold and Remastered come with all DLC and No Mercy mode (360/PS3 Gold doesn't have No Mercy), and only Remastered has Mercenaries United. United is a bit unbalanced because it combines all characters from both previous Mercs modes which had different enemy loadouts and scoring systems. However, it works better as a more casual experience with friends since you can freely select any character you like. But, there's a mod for Gold that essentially adds United, and with 4 players, so that's the version I recommend.
RE5 may not be scary, there may not be any puzzles, but it's such a fun game to play. Highly recommended for fans of third-person shooters and arcade-style action games and beat-em-ups. Lots of fun to be had in both single- and multiplayer.
2 Comments
There are a few scary scenes, but it's not really the focus. I'm also not easily frightened.
Ach
22 days ago