Game Review: Resident Evil 5

It’s fair to say that Resident Evil 4 was a catalyst for the dramatic identity change the Resident Evil franchise would go through in the late-2000s. Prior to Resident Evil 4, the series was so closely attached to the survival horror genre that you really couldn’t imagine it working under any other genre.  Shinji Mikami and his development team probably didn’t know it at the time, but their success with giving the franchise a more action-orientated spin with Resident Evil 4 put the series on a collision course that would nearly see the franchise die out if not for the long hiatus and eventual return to survival horror with Resident Evil 7. There was no greater warning sign that the action-orientated focus was dramatically taking over though than there was with Resident Evil 5.

Development on Resident Evil 5 began around 2005 with both Yasuhiro Anpo and Kenichi Ueda taking up the roles as co-directors on the project. It was a big project for Capcom at the time, with over 100 staff members from multiple different corners of Capcom’s sub-divisions coming into assist in production. Working with the newer hardware offered by the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles at the time, Capcom were keen to expand on the scale of the game design.  With the decision to introduce co-operative gameplay for the first time, the studio had to approach the design philosophy with this in mind. Mix that with the action-gameplay they were leaning towards, it’s fair to say Resident Evil 5 shifted direction considerably when compared to the prior releases.

It wasn’t only the shift in gameplay design that raised eyebrows on the game either.  After the 2007 E3 trailer was revealed to show Chris Redfield as the main protagonist in an African setting killing native residents who appeared to be infected, it flared up a notable bit of controversy about depictions of racism.  I remember this discourse quite vividly as I was often reading gaming sub-forums at the time and seeing articles being shared touting the games decision to put a white protagonist against black enemies as racially insensitive.  I think like today, it was a lot of fuss over nothing, as with prior games, the native residents of the setting the title is set in unfortunately become victims of the resident infection. The controversy may have had the inverse effect upon reflection too, as it didn’t really stop the game from selling well if the numbers online are anything to go by.

Released on March 5th 2009 on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Resident Evil 5 was a major commercial success. In the first two weeks of its release, the PlayStation 3 version became the top-selling game in Japan with over 319,590 copies sold.  In the UK, the game became the fastest-selling game in the franchise at the time and was also the biggest Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game release in the country.  On the critical end, the game garnered an impressive 84 average critical score on Metacritic and the game did actually receive a fair few nominations across the board during the award season that year.

The narrative of Resident Evil 5 takes place in the west-African region of Kijuju in which Chris Redfield is sent by the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance.  His mission in the region will see him paired with fellow BSAA agent Sheva Alomar as the duo are ordered to seek out and apprehend black market dealer Richardo Irving before he can sell bio-organic weapons there.  They soon discover however that the local population have already been infected with the Las Plagas parasite, which we previously saw in Resident Evil 4. As all hell breaks loose; Chris, Sheva and the remainder of the BSAA detachment much fight through the local infected horde to accomplish their mission.  It soon becomes clear however that Irving is small-fish and is simply working under the guidance of a much deadlier enemy.  As Chris and Sheva progress further through the nightmare, they soon come to realize that a fair deadlier plot is unfolding beneath the African savanna; a plot which will force Chris to face an old enemy as they enact their plan for complete global saturation.

I know as a franchise, Resident Evil has never been one to stick to a grounded and serious plot line. From the very start, the series has come to embrace some of it’s more wackier elements and that’s fine.  There’s often been a decent balance in which the games are able to deliver a semi-serious story while often alleviating some of the tension through their unique brand of humour. Resident Evil 5 tries to pretend it’s taking itself seriously with how macho Chris comes across and the action-heavy set pieces, but the narrative in itself is all kind of ridiculous, so much so that I honestly think it’s the most iconic aspect of the game.  The way the game always tries to come off like it’s being serious in the face of some of the most bat-shit insane sequences of events will always make me laugh.  The dialogue is campy in a way you can tell was never intentional and the way the game progresses from small-scale to world-ending implications is in no way subtle or smooth.  It’s a completely ridiculous plotline and any other time I’d dismiss the game because of it, but honestly? I’ve come to really adore Resident Evil 5 just because of how outrageous it is.  Now I will agree, on an objective level it’s filled with pacing issues and plot conveniences, but it does it all in such a bizarre fashion that you honestly don’t end up caring because you’re just looking forward to what other ridiculous shit the story is going to throw at you.

I do want to take a moment to discuss the encounter and sequence design in this game however, as I think is the root of my biggest gripe with Resident Evil 5. It’s clear as day that Capcom not only sought to take influence from Resident Evil 4 but they went too far in copying it sequence for sequence at times. Whether it’s the Las Plagas parasite and the similar style of enemies you will face or the downright copy and pasted segments including chainsaw-wielding enemies with bags over their heads like Dr Salvador or the El Gigante rail-shooter segment.  This game will constantly go out of its way to remind you that Resident Evil 4 birthed these sequences while doing very little to improve upon or add its own interesting spin to it. What this ultimately does is remind you Resident Evil 4 did these moments better and it will make you wish you were playing that game in the moment as opposed to playing Resident Evil 5.  It’s by some grace the developers did at least include some of their own original sequences into the game and that to me is where the game design feels the most memorable, when it’s actively trying to do its own thing in its own ridiculous way.

The gameplay of Resident Evil 5 will feel very familiar to you if you are playing it coming off of Resident Evil 4.  Included is the same tank-style control scheme in which you can only aim while stopped and there’s no fluid motion to the way your character can walk.  I think I’ve been spoiled ultimately with the more modern control schemes as I felt at odds with this particular control scheme for the most part.  You get used to it after enough time, but it does make navigating some of the more intense sequences of the games all the most stressful when you are fighting the controls as much as you are the enemies.  Capcom also decided to do away with the expansive inventory options from Resident Evil 4, as you and your partner are limited to 9 inventory slots each from start to finish.  I imagine this was done in a way to make the game fair and balanced in line with the new co-op gameplay, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss its inclusion in the game ultimately.  In terms of weaponry and usable items, Resident Evil 5 really goes all out on the arsenal of weapons and items available to you, which is a nice benefit of the more action-orientated focus.  Most weapons you obtain through the course of the game have their own upgrade options too which helps generate the sense of progression the game offers as you come to face more difficult enemies as the game move along.

As far as the presentation of the game goes, you can see why the game was well-regarded at the time of release for its visual presentation and audio work.  Comparing this game to Resident Evil 4’s graphics, you really see the upgrade in technology that allowed Capcom to really take advantage in the world and character design.  The environmental design is varied for the most part and there’s a great amount of detail in each level that really helps to immerse you in the west-African environment.  Character design and animation is also pretty good for the time it was released, when I think of Chris Redfield, it’s this character design that always come to mind despite the character’s constant design changes throughout the years. Kota Suzuki, Hideki Okugawa, Akihiko Narita and Seiko Kobuchi all contributed to the score of the game and what a score it is. It does a good embracing the culture of it’s west-African setting while also progressing into a more serious and high-stake score as the game progresses.  Winds of Madness has firmly landed itself on my Spotify playlist and that is the highest praise I can offer in all honesty.

It’d hard to land on a concrete opinion when it comes to concluding my time with Resident Evil 5.  It’s not a product devoid of any actual value when you consider all of its components.  In its best moments it’s able to offer you and a co-op partner some truly out-there and ridiculous sequences that you get to blow up and punch your way out of. Yet in its worst moments it’s showing you how little originality it has at its core and how much it is relying on the action genre over the survival horror genre. It sadly set a precedent for the direction the franchise was going and the absolute car crash that was about to unfold on the franchise with the game that followed.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐