Resident Evil 5 arrived on the 26th of March. On the 12th of April I have beaten it. I feel complete. So complete. After hearing many negative nitpicks, I stand untouched by them. Sheva is a good mule and the inventory system was... passable.

After last year's magnificent burst with Resident Evil 4 on my PS2 which featured one of my longest play sessions ever, approximately 10 months (I don't know why the hell I was playing that game in such chunks), I was left with a high anticipation for Resident Evil 5. March 2009 came along and so did RE5. And after two weeks, the game is beaten. I'm not implying that I find RE5 a better game, since I've beaten it in a faster time, there have just been some matters in the past that prolonged the eventual finishing of RE4. Which I personally find more enjoyable as a whole. If I have to go to the straight facts, the main thing that I didn't like in RE5 is Sheva. And I'm not talking about her AI mental capabilities, those didn't bother me at all most of the time, I was bothered that someone was with me. In RE4 the main build up for its epic gameplay was the fact that you were alone in this Spanish village surrounded by unfamiliar and lethal hazards. When Chris Redfield arrives in Africa, it's a sunny day and Sheva tags along right away. Sure, there are freaky African residents infected with a mutagenic virus that turns them into psychos, but I had Sheva covering my back all the way. That is the main quirk why I fancy RE4 before RE5. Ideally RE5 would win over RE4 if, it you were completely alone the entire time, the story would unfold at night and there would be more fucked up and unexplainable paranormal activities. Like Chris stumbling across a tribal ceremony (with sacrifices!) and trying to escape from them. Now that would make RE5 more horrific and better. But what I most like about the game is the fact that you really get the feel that this is an adventure that occurs in one day, through various set pieces, which unfold a truly magnificent adventure, that you ponder upon numerous times after you beat the game.

Other than that, the so to speak "main" issues of RE5, like Sheva, the inventory system and the constant action did not harm my experience in a significant way. I solved Sheva by constantly upgrading her pistol and never giving her any other piece of weapon. She has a very good aim and I used that by giving her a high rate of damage by her pistol and a large slot of ammunition. We're talking about her secondary function, killing zombies. Her primary function was being my mule that carried ammunition, grenades and medical equipment. She indeed is a good mule. Once I gave her a machine gun and set her on Attack mode. She used up all her ammunition in less than one minute and I believe there were only two zombies to kill somewhere. Speaking of the inventory system, it sucks. I tried to solve its moronic design by keeping it organized, but I just loathed when I had to change weapons or combine herbs in-game instead of in a menu screen, completely safe, like in RE4. The enemies in the game gave me more of a laugh than a scare, since most of them were copied directly from RE4. I'm talking about the chainsaw guy, the guys with the machine guns and a few more. But overall, I think that RE5 is a very solid package. I've just fully discovered this Mercenaries mode and I'm enjoying the challenge very much. In RE4 I toyed around with it a bit, but nothing serious. However in RE5 it's completely different, most likely because the game is still very fresh to me. It's a game that certainly winks at me and suggests me playing it multiple times, which is something I'll explore during this summer, along with MGS4 and Uncharted. I believe that kind of a fact says a lot about the game.

I'm still fighting my way through Fight Night Round 3 and I'm trying to accept Devil May Cry 4 into my heart. It's a painful process, to be honest, but I'm comforted by the fact that it's from Capcom. Also, the Nintendo DS has been placed on my agenda of interest. I'm moving back and forward on whether I should buy it or not. That's something that I'll explore further on in the following two weeks, since the actual purchase should take in the third week.