Dissenting Opinion: Resident Evil 5

3/18/2009 7:17 PM | 7 Comments | Page 2 of 4

The actual shooting is also unlike any other shooter's, which is why many people don't care for the controls. Shooting in Resident Evil 5 is always a deliberate action, requiring care and calculation. Which means this fantasy of gunplay doesn't blur into the thousand other videogaming fantasies of gunplay. Even the studiously tactical Gears of War 2 has instances of running backwards and shooting, something that has never actually happened in the history of people actually shooting at each other (I know this from watching movies). Resident Evil 5, like its predecessor, is about having to stop. You do not run and gun. You plant your feet. You aim. You shoot. You might even imagine something about squeeeezing the trigger instead of pulling. And whenever you get a free moment, you make sure to reload, enjoying the crisp click of sliding clips, chambered rounds and set breaches. Every bullet counts, whether you're loading them or shooting them.

This is where the wonderful graphics come into effect. For all the great lighting and the detailed shantytowns and the canned drive across the savannah (simultaneously the most beautiful and boring bit), the real eye candy is the animation. Specifically, the way zombies get shot. Each hit generates a reaction animation based on where you hit your zombie target. Whether knocking them back with a shotgun, gimping them with a leg shot, splattering their heads, or just reducing them to paste with a grenade, there are a thousand ways to kill a zombie, each lovingly presented to reinforce that you are a totally bad-ass zombie killer. The crunch of your boots on gravel and the rustle of your gear reinforce this bad-ass-ness even between the shotgun blasts.

Yeah, okay, it all looks pretty silly. Chris' bicep is as big as his stupid head. Sheva is as unlikely an antiterrorism agent as you'll ever see, and that's even before you unlock her goofy "clubbin'" outfit or the bikini that's culturally authentic for how it makes her look like she works at a strip club in downtown Mombasa. Resident Evil 5 is never not an adult cartoon, which is to say it is a thoroughly juvenile fantasy about violence without repercussions. Zombies are perfect for this. It's worth noting that everyone in this game is too busy putting down the infected to worry about curing them. Before it ends, it veers awfully close to being some run-of-the-mill Ubisoft shooter, complete with a half-assed cover system. But for the most part, the gunplay's the thing.

Undeath Wish

The story in Resident Evil 5 isn't really the story. Instead, the story is a recursive set of playthroughs -- at higher difficulty levels, on Game+ options or just to collect things you need. Your first playthrough will be your most challenging, but it's the warm-up. You're dropped immediately into a village siege with nothing but a handgun. This might frustrate you. It's supposed to. You will remember this place. You will remember it well. Then you will return with a shotgun, an assault rifle or maybe a grenade launcher. You might bring all three. In time, this village siege will be a massacre. I'd argue this is the point of Resident Evil 5's gameplay: the return to really give these zombie jerks the what for.