Silhouette Reviews - Resident Evil 5 for PS3

Overview

This is the 7th installment into the Resident Evil gaming series developed by Capcom and was released on March 13th in Europe on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. This is also the first Resident Evil game to feature 2 Player Co-Op (Excluding the uncanonical Resident Evil Outbreak 1 + 2) including both Online Co-Op and Split Screen. The game features the return of Chris Redfield as a central character along with the introduction of a new character Sheva Alomar, his partner in crime in the game and, in 2 player Co-Op, the character that the 2nd player adopts control of.

Plot 7.5/ 10

The game takes place 6 years after the destruction of Umbrella Corporation in Africa as Chris Redfield, now a member of the BSAA (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance) meets up with fellow BSAA member Sheva Alomar to investigate reports of smuggling of BOW(Bio Organic Weapons) in the area.

The two of them are tasked with meeting up with the BSAA Alpha Team who are planning to intercept the supposed BOW seller Ricardo Irving.
During their journey Chris learns of the potential whereabouts of MIA BSAA member Jill Valentine and the plot thickens even more when they discover that Ex-Umbrella Researcher Albert Wesker may play a role in the events that follow.

As the game unfolds Chris and Sheva encounter old and new enemies and are tested to their limits.

Gameplay 8/10

Resident Evil 5 is the 2nd Resident Evil game to use the new Over-the-Shoulder style Camera View with the HUD (As seen in the above pic) represented in the bottom-right hand corner of the screen with a green circle representing Health and your current equipped weapon within that circle with Ammo off to one side. Because of the 2 Party System when controlled by the CPU your partner's vital statistics are represented just above the 1st Players in a smaller circle to make it easier to tell when she's in need.
All actions such as opening doors or melée attacks are initiated via a prompt that appears in the centre of the screen when these actions are possible.

When changing equipment there is a quick inventory that appears showing (in Single Player) both yours and Sheva's inventory. This allows for swapping items and weapons between characters (very handy if Sheva picks up the last Green Herb!). Each player has 9 Inventory slots.
The Game also uses the D-Pad as Item shortcuts mapped to the corresponding Inventory slots in your Inventory screen.

Audio/ Music 8/10
The game features an excellent soundtrack. Much like it's predecessors the in-game music is well crafted enough to create tension in the dramatic moments, get your pulse racing in the action scenes and still remain atmospheric the rest of the time.

Graphics 7.5/ 10
The graphics are definitely a big plus as they are stunning. Although the graphics aren't perfect they can most certainly hold their own compared to most over games they come across. Also, with a great draw distance and plenty of zombies on screen at once with no real complaints from the PS3 it is quite an impressive feat.

Verdict 7.5/ 10
Whether you're just interested in the story or the Multiplayer experience Resident Evil 5 really covers all the bases as a fun-filled action game with a compelling, but not overwhelming, story. An excellent installment into the Resident Evil series that features the return of characters from previous games along with the return of Mercenary mode. Both of which give this game replayability and that extra bit of fun for true Resident Evil fans. However, that's not to say that those who haven't played the previous games won't enjoy this one as any references are explained and the game serves very well as a standalone action game as well.