Post 26: Resident Evil 5

Who doesn't know about Resident Evil?  It is literally one of the greatest, and most successful, gaming franchises in video gaming history.  Not only have there been a ton of cross-platform games that started with the original from the PS1 in 1996.  Since that inception point, there have been sequels, prequels, offshoots, and four live-action movies the most recent one in stunning 3D.  The games are the epitome of survival horror games and involve one, or two in the more recent games, characters trying to solve a mystery, escape or destroy zombies, and stop the plots of evil villains from the Umbrella pharmaceutical corporation.  Each of the early games surrounded the original events in Raccoon City, where Umbrella originally unleashed the T-Virus, the virus that revives dead cells and subsequently created the zombie infestation.  In Resident Evil 4, it is discovered that the original creatures that the makings of this virus came from still exist.  The fifth game brings a lot of the mysteries to a conclusion and wraps back in one of the original characters and villains for a stunning end of the game for any fan of the series.  I'm going to talk about the gameplay for Resident Evil 5 today, but going forward, I may wrap in a few of the older and newer games as I continue to delve into the series.

His pants are oddly bunched...

The game centers around one of the first game's main protagonists: Chris Redfield.  He goes to Africa as part of an international group battling biological terrorists in an ultimate quest to end the Umbrella corporation once and for all.  Once there, he teams up with Sheva Alemar, the character that the second player will be, and they head out as a team to fight against a zombie plague that's taken over portions of Africa.  The game plays very similarly to Resident Evil 4, in which you use the controller to switch between Ready mode and Movement mode.  Ready mode allows you to shoot or knife enemies, while Movement mode allows you to move and perform actions.  Some of the actions in the game force you to work with your partner to jump large gaps, climb large buildings, or even move a raft while the other player has to dodge giant crocodiles.  The two-player option here really shines out as it can make for a very intense gaming session even though the horror aspect is downplayed a bit when you have a friend with you.

Gotta love item management like this.

At the end of every level you get to use the money you've collected to buy weapons, items, and upgrades.  There's also a treasure hunt that spans the entire game.  Each individual one can be extremely hard to find, so you need to keep your eyes peeled if you're trying to get the achievement of gathering the entire hoard.  Now that we've learned how the whole shebang works, let's dig into the meat of the damn game.

Giant boss action.  Shoot him in the face!

So as I said, you travel throughout Africa killing zombies and uncovering the secrets of the T-Virus.  The first area that you travel in is a couple of random villages.  There are some good moments here where you have some covering fire from a helicopter while you push your way through a ton of zombies that poke their heads out from hiding to fire a few random shots at you every now and again.  Right, these aren't your brainless zombies, instead they're humans that have been infected by creatures that are cousins to the T-Virus.  In any case, at the end of the level you face off against a crazy black-goo monster that you have to take out using a bit of strategy and flaming explosive gas barrels.  Fuck yeah.  You find a document and head out into the marshes where you fight in a free-roaming area against sniper zombies, crocodiles, and crazed tribals while collecting pieces of a key to open a door into the tribal village.  This is a difficult area due to the fact that one person has to drive a boat while the other has to manage to fend off all of the snipers.  It makes for some fun, but damn is it hard the first time through.  The boss here is a giant squid type-thing that you take out with missile turrets.  Another sweet boss battle down and you head into a cave leading down to some ruins.

Chrrrrriiiiiiissssss~!

The ruins lead down into a cave that leads into a facility that created the virus that came before the T-Virus.  Here's where the story comes full circle, but I'm just going to ignore that and continue on with the game.  If I were to tell the whole story, we'd be here forever.  This is where you first encounter the most annoying ass enemy in the game, save for the final boss.  Fucking dog/brain/tongue monsters are damn tough.  Not only are they difficult to hit, but they strangle you.  What's better, they come in frickin' herds rather than one-by-one.  Fun, right?  Further into the facility, you fight a giant-ass spider boss.  This guy needs to be shot up until he opens his mouth, then you toss a grenade in.  He goes down pretty easy and you move onto the end of the ruins where you have your first taste of Wesker.

Does Albert Wesker need to choke a bitch?

It took me a long time to master this fight with Wesker.  You have to catch him unawares to actually damage him, but it's difficult since he's a superhuman infused with T-Virus.  Once you beat him, he runs away to his big 'ol ship where you eventually follow, but you need to first rip a giant red thing off of Jill Valentine's chest.  The second part of this fight isn't too difficult, you just need to get in close and tap buttons at the right time.  Once Jill's free of the technological control of whatever the fuck that red thing on her chest was.  Chris and Sheva run to catch Wesker.  On the tanker ship, you battle more and more zombies with increasing difficulty and stronger weaponry.  Also found on the ship is a huge number of missiles containing a virus that Wesker believes will push evolution to the max and make the strong the rulers of the Earth.  Why yes, Wesker does have some mental instability, most likely as a side-effect of the virus that he constantly injects himself with.  Once you finish with the tanker area, you find Wesker boarding a plane armed with some of the missiles.  This fight is a bit easier than the first time with the boss because of the free missile launchers everywhere.  Pick up those bad boys, shoot the fucker in the face, and then stab him with an injector.  A few shots of that shit and he tries to leave, but you hop into the plane before he gets away.

I'm thinking he needs his sunglasses back.

After what I thought was the final battle is a battle after you crash in a volcano.  That's right a fucking volcano.  You've now crashed, Wesker has transformed into a damn demon, and you have to fight him with whatever ammo you have left IN A VOLCANO.  It's like the developers threw everything they could into the same fight.  I'm surprised that there aren't any tornadoes, hurricanes, magnetic storms, lightning bursts, and gateways to hell opening up in the same vicinity.  It's like, why not put every hazard we can in the same fight?  Task one is to reach Wesker by running through the volcano, which is easier said than done unless you've played before.  Then, when you finally reach the bastard, it literally drains every shot you have to take him out, and get this, he even has the strength left to try to take you out as you leave in a helicopter.  Man, this guy is like Agent Smith on crack.

This game is overall excellent, I just had a few issues with some of the enemies that seem to be a bit unfair.  The challenge isn't bad at all, it's just something that I wasn't expecting.  My second time through was easier than the first because I knew what to expect.  But isn't that what a survival horror game should be like?  I shouldn't have known what was coming and it should have some decent difficulty, so shouldn't I be happy with it?  Well, even with my own issues, this game is a great addition to the series and is a must-have for any system.  If you've never played Resident Evil because you're scared or too young; whatever the reason, play this game as a starter to the series and work your way back.  It's a great time and you can complete the experience with books, movies, and anime.  Just get out there and start some zombie-killing fun.