Review by: Brian Rowe

The Resident Evil (RE) series is in its 13th year, with more sequels, spin-offs, and remakes than the number 5 lets on, so what makes this time around so special? Why does it seem like the pressure is higher than ever? For those of us who have been here from the beginning, we finally get closure to the mystery of Chris Redfield, but also, because of the extraordinary success of RE4. It twisted the series in a new, combat-driven direction and sent tremors through action and shooter genres alike. We’ve waited four years in anticipation of the next epiphany, only to be faced with suspicious familiarity.

RE5 basks in the intensity of RE4’s initial village sequences, of crashing through windows and barricading doors with a dozen zombies clambering at your back, and yes, I called Los Ganados “zombies.” A game could do a lot worse as far as inspiration goes, as RE4 is generally considered one of the best, of the series. There’s a point when flattery turns to plagiarism though, as Las Plagas is back, chainsaw-wielding maniacs are axe-toting giants, and the pacing from the first village (as seen in the demo) to the wilderness and a secret lab is a mirror of its predecessor. Even the boating section makes a comeback.

Looking at Chris Redfield’s rippling arms and over-compensating knife (cue Crocodile Dundee quote), there is no doubt that this is RE4 on steroids. Unlike Leon’s adventure though, Chris’s journey through the fictitious land of Kijuju isn’t as quick to dissolve back into the old days of roaming mansion corridors in search of medallions and gems to open esoteric locks. Whether winding through the claustrophobic slums, tribal villages, or industrial landscapes, Capcom keeps the action-throttle held forward and the puzzles, usually of the ‘pull-a-lever’ variety, to a soothing minimum. While RE5 sees fit to slough off many of survival-horror’s conventions, it still can’t part with the worst the genre has to offer.

Once again, our hero moves with the grace of an over-juiced bodybuilder and, despite his specialized training, can’t walk and pop a trigger at the same time. Even 50 Cent, the human bullet-magnet, safely managed that feat. Capcom claims that the cumbersome controls are to maintain tension and keep RE5 from becoming a run-n-gun shooter, and also to make past RE players feel instantly at home. First off, Dead Space and Left 4 Dead admirably proved that tension and agility are not mutually exclusive. Secondly, where is this mysterious colony of gamers that haven’t touched controllers in four years?