RE5 plays much like its predecessor in that you interact with the world from a nice over-the-shoulder view of your character. A key concern that immediately comes up is how well the controls translate over; RE4 suffered from clunky controls and a surprising lack of mouse support upon its PC release. Fortunately, more consideration has been given for this latest port. Players can freely use the mouse to look around and aim their weapon while using the keyboard to maneuver and strafe, with the numeric keys being used for quick weapon / item selection. Granted, the reliance on having to stop and hold down a "ready weapon" button before you can aim and shoot is something that might throw newcomers to the series at first, and having to respond to "quick time event" prompts by rapidly hunting down sometimes less-than-obvious key combinations can prove frustrating, but I honestly couldn't find any major fault with the game's control system implementation on PC.

The action consists of slinking through the various areas in the game with your partner in tow, cutting down any bad guys dumb enough to get in your way. The game's levels are varied and (as usual) split up across a series of chapters - in between these chapters you have a chance to review the gear each character has, purchase new items, and upgrade existing weapons by spending the cash you collect.

Speaking of inventory management, a really nice change of pace is that the game's inventory system is much more convenient to access than it was in RE4; hitting "E" pops open an overlaid inventory box with all your stuff so you can interact with it in real-time, rather than having to wait for a separate interface to pop up. The system also makes trading gear with your partner (who has their own independent inventory system) a snap.

Like any proper Resident Evil release, there is no shortage of craftily-scripted sequences to pen you in with a whole army of undesirables, forcing you to think fast and try to find the most efficient means to fight your way out. Which isn't to say the game is just one cage match after another; the varied environments provide all sorts of nuances as you progress through the game, including sniper perches, mounted turrets, and even areas where a rudimentary Gears of War-styled cover system comes into play. All of these combine with the game's location-based damage system to make combat pretty darned satisfying, especially when you land that one perfect shot to some poor zombie's skull from half way across the level (right as his chainsaw-wielding friend shambles up behind you).

Sadly, the effectiveness of any attempt at using things like 'tactics' and 'strategy' will start to vary wildly depending on how you're playing the game. Playing in co-op mode, shouting at my friend to "toss another mag" or laying down a hail of gunfire while he runs for better cover was an experience I never got sick of—in single player however, you’re actually fairly limited in what you can tell your AI partner to do beyond modifying their inventory and telling them to "Assault" or "Cover" you.

So much of it comes down to trying to set up your AI partner as best you can, and then praying they do at least half of what you're expecting of them. The AI does make some surprisingly smart moves on occasion in terms of automatically grabbing ammo they need and assisting you when you get pinned down, but overall doesn't provide anywhere near the thrill of having a real friend along for the ride.