Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 5 is a video game that consists of 20 releases
Reviewed on March 12, 2009
By necessity, Resident Evil 5 makes a smaller impact than its groundbreaking predecessor, but it's still a creepy, fantastic action game in its own right.
Read Brad Shoemaker's full review
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Resident Evil 5 follows series alum Chris Redfield as journeys into West Africa, fighting zombie-like enemies and digging deeper into the Las Plagas mystery.
Overview
Capcom announced Resident Evil 5 on July 20, 2005, released it on March 5, 2009 in Japan, and in North America and Europe on March 13, 2009. Developed by Capcom, Resident Evil 5 marks the franchise's first appearance on the PS3 and Xbox 360. The game stars Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar fighting the latest zombie threat in Africa.Plot
Back off!
Sheva to the rescue!
Story
The game opens with a cutscene of a hooded, masked figure standing next to an African male. The African, hunched over onto his knees, writhes about the floor in what looks to be a dank cellar. Interspersed with the shots of the hooded figure and the African are shots of heavily-armed BSAA troops arriving in Humvees. They park in a large garage and file out. One, Captain DeChant, barks orders at the squad and, speaking into a shoulder-mounted radio, confirms his arrival. Meanwhile, amorphous, eel-like creatures consume the African's body, and the hooded figure leaves the cellar.Chris Redfield is shown driving through the African Savanna, and he laments the fall of Umbrella, for the company's dissolution has lead to the dissemination of Bio-Organic Weapons (B.O.W.) to the black market and to terrorists at large. He recollects that this reorientation of power created the anti-terrorist group, the Bioterrorism Assessment Security Alliance (BSAA). Chris pulls into a small African town, meeting one Sheva Alomar, his partner for the duration in Kijuju, West Africa. This spurns Chris to remember his former partner, Jill Valentine, was killed in action.
The two meet a BSAA-planted mole, an Arab, who gives them their weaponry. The mission: find Ricardo Irving, a major terrorist leader, prominent for the buying and selling of B.O.W.s. The mole asks the pair if they are aware of a B.O.W. called "Uroboros", a veritable doomsday weapon, and tells the pair that Irving is the only link to the Uroboros project. After setting out, Chris and Sheva encounter a lone African in a building, who only moments before was forced to ingest an embryo containing a genetically-altered form of Las Plagas. Uninformed, Chris attempts to communicate with the man, but the interchange is cut short when the man lunges for Redfield and attempts to kill him. The man is quickly neutralized, and after being ambushed by a horde of infected and locking themselves behind a heavy steel door, Chris and Sheva realize the situation is much more complicated than they anticipated.
Soon, Chris and Sheva come to a public assembly. Through a window, they watch as a rabble-rouser and a giant, veiled man wielding a massive axe stand before a mob. Kneeling in front of the rabble-rouser is the Arab Chris and Sheva spoke with only some time earlier. He screams insults at the mob and the rabble-rouser before the executioner swings the axe down unto him, presumably decapitating him. The rabble-rouser, scanning the crowd, sees Chris and Sheva standing in the window, sends the mob and the executioner after the pair. Chris and Sheva fight for minutes on end before Kirk, their support member, flies in with a helicopter and clears the area with an air strike.
After fighting through the streets against more infected, Chris and Sheva come to a building where the bodies of Alpha Team--the team lead by Captain DeChant--are strewn about, all dead. DeChant is found, however, nearly dead. He speaks to the pair about a monster that attacked them, claiming it was a set-up. Before dying, he gives Chris a data disk containing information about Alpha Team's mission. The pair heads into the basement level of the building, where they are confronted by a near-shapeless mass of writhing eels, a B.O.W.. Chris and Sheva lure it into a furnace room, where they trap it and set the monster aflame. Once they defeat the creature, they move into a garage, the garage in which the twin humvees used by Alpha Team are parked. Unbeknownst to them, they are being watched via a surveillance camera by a man connected to the Tricell network. He watches them from a laptop in a small car. Driving the car is the hooded figure.
In the garage, Chris contacts the BSAA West Africa Headquarters and relays the information given to him by DeChant. Chris identifies the locals as being infected with Las Plagas (citing the "Kennedy Report"), and reports their encounter with the new B.O.W., to which BSAA HQ responds by ordering Chris and Sheva to continue their mission without backup, stating that intel suggests Irving has fled to a nearby mine. The pair are informed that Delta Team, another squad of BSAA soldiers, is en route to Kijuju, and that they will assist in the capture of Irving upon arrival. Resistant, Chris and Sheva eventually resign to their duties and follow the trail alone. Fighting through more Majini (the locals infected with Las Plagas) and a lone chainsaw-wielding maniac, and after the death of Kirk at the hands of flying Plagas, the pair reach a clearing where they are ambushed by motorcycle-riding Majini. Delta Team intercepts and neutralizes the Majini before any harm can be brought to Chris and Sheva, and after the threat is extinguished, Sheva introduces Chris to Delta Team's leader, Captain Josh Stone. He confirms HQ's suspicion that Irving has moved into the mines, and tells the pair Delta Team will accompany Chris and Sheva after stragglers Majini in the area have been detained or otherwise neutralized. Before leaving with his team, Josh gives Chris a data chip, which Chris inputs into his PDA. Immediately, a photograph of Jill Valentine appears in his PDA, and Chris's thoughts revert back to an incident in a mansion. Among the images Chris remembers is a flash of Jill falling from a window into a ravine. When Sheva questions Chris's stricken demeanor, he quickly denies any problem. The pair continues forth to the mines.
Coming out of the mines, the pair reach an ore refinery set upon a cliff side precipice. They force their way into the nearest shack and find Ricardo Irving sifting through files. All three--Chris, Sheva, and Irving--draw their weapons, but after a brief standstill, a smoke grenade is thrown into the room, obscuring the pair's vision. Then, the hooded figure crashes through a window, snatches Irving (who taunts the two BSAA agents), and promptly escapes. Chris and Sheva run to the window before the smoke has cleared entirely, but the hooded figure and Irving have disappeared. Chris inspects a file and learns Irving is headed toward an oil refinery past the Marshlands. The lull is short-lived, however, as the building comes under fire from Majini manning heavy artillery and sporting molotov cocktails. The pair fight their way past the Majini until they reach a clearing, at which point a freight truck, driven by a lone Majini, carrens around the narrow cliff path. Out of control, the truck crashes and spins sideways, barricading the path and trapping Chris and Sheva in the clearing. After a moment's silence, the freight truck opens, revealing a giant, bat-like B.O.W. Chris and Sheva, through tactical placement of proximity mines, manage to thwart the B.O.W., and in its feral rage it lunges toward the freight truck, knocking it from the precipice into the deep ravine below.
Chris and Sheva take a moment to peer over the cliff at the broken body of the B.O.W. below. As they collect their breath, a BSAA Humvee drives into the clearing. The driver calls for the pair to board the Humvee, providing them transport to the West Africa BSAA headquarters. During their drive across the savannah, Chris and Sheva are attacked by more motorcycle-Majini, and when they reach the BSAA Headquarters, they find the area completely destroyed, no survivors remain. As Chris, Sheva, and the Humvee driver inspect the area, a lone El Gigante emerges and kills the Humvee driver. Chris and Sheva use the vehicle's turrets to fend off the titanic beast and, once free from immediate danger, the pair tries to organize a plan without the influence of BSAA HQ. Chris argues he has a "personal stake" in continuing the hunt for Irving, whilst Sheva maintains the two of them ought to retreat and let the BSAA deal with the situation more properly. It is here that Chris reveals to Sheva his desire to find Jill, to confirm his suspicion that Jill is alive. Sheva, convinced by Chris's resolve, asks to go along, and together they head into the Marshlands via fanboat. Into the Marshlands, after Irving.
Chris reflects on his last moment with Jill--Chris and Jill received a tip suggesting Albert Wesker was at the mansion of Ozwell Spencer, the founder of Umbrella. He recollects finding Wesker standing over the dead body of Spencer, the fight that erupted, and the death of Jill and Wesker. Sheva explains her motivation for enlisting in the BSAA; her parents were killed during Umbrella's activities and bio-experimentation, which took place across most of the African continent.
They enter the Marshlands and find the corpse of a BSAA soldier, and during their exploration of the swamp the pair discovers the natives, too, have been infected with Las Plagas. Chris and Sheva fight through the infected to the oil refinery, where they meet up with Josh Stone, who was separated from Delta Team during an attack and made his way to the refinery alone. Sheva explains the new situation to Josh--that the headquarters have been destroyed and that Chris believes his partner may be alive, possibly captive--and he quickly agrees to assist them, mentioning a boat docked on the far side of the refinery, near Irving's personal cruiser. Josh separates from the pair, going to ready the boat, and Chris and Sheva confront Irving on his cruiser. However, before they can board it Irving activates a self-destruct sequence, and the pair have less than two minutes to leave the refinery before the sequence commences. In the frenzy, Sheva notices the hooded figure (and identifies the hooded figure's gender: female) speed away from Irving's cruiser in a small speed boat. The pair charge for the boat Josh has readied and race away from the refinery, in hot pursuit of Irving's cruiser, as it is rocked by several massive explosions.
Josh maneuvers the boat through several river-based floodgates and catches up with Irving's cruiser. Chris and Sheva board the cruiser, where they confront Irving, who comments the pair are "making him look bad." He injects himself with a Master Plagas, given to him by the hooded figure (in a narrative break from the story the hooded figure is shown coercing Irving into taking the Plagas--which would transform him permanently--as punishment for failing to stop Chris and Sheva), and, after leaping into the river, he promptly metamorphoses into a massive, tentacled beast. Using the weaponry on the cruiser, the pair quickly dispatch the monster, which spits out the deformed remains of Irving's human body. With his dying breaths, Irving reveals he knows the name Chris Redfield, that a cave nearby holds answers for the BSAA pair, should they choose to enter, and that the Uroboros project is almost finished, spelling certain doom for the world. Lastly, he expresses disappointment at the fact that "Excella" didn't find him worthy of a better B.O.W. Sheva recognizes the name "Excella" but cannot place it, but insists the cave is the last, best option.
Regrouped with Josh, the pair make their way into the cave. There, Sheva notices the boat used by the hooded figure to flee Irving's cruiser. Josh tries one last time to argue Chris and Sheva out of pursuing the hooded figure and the Uroboros project. When they refuse, Josh resigns to their argument. He leaves, vowing to bring backup for the pair. They continue into the cave and find an ancient underground city, populated entirely by infected natives.
Meanwhile, deep within the cave, Excella Gionne is shown tending to Wesker. She administers him a shot and admires his foresight regarding the tactical use of Las Plagas to distract the BSAA from the Uroboros project. Then she implies she ought to have a more central role in Wesker's New World, to which he remarks coldly, "Your position at Tricell is secured." The hooded figure enters the room and informs Excella and Wesker that Chris Redfield has reached the facility. Excella scoffs and gauges Wesker for concern, but he remains stoic, intolerant of delay. The hooded figure and Excella leave the room as Wesker looks back on his murder of Ozwell Spencer. Revelling in satisfaction, Wesker peers out over a collection of missles labeled with the word "Uroboros" and credits the creation of Uroboros to Spencer himself.
Gameplay
The single-player experience is based on the overhaul made to the franchise in Resident Evil 4, but includes cooperative gameplay. The new character, Sheva Alomar, supports Chris with covering fire and can use healing items to mend the party's injuries. When two human players begin a game in co-op, the secondary player controls Sheva. Sheva is left-handed, which orients the camera over her left shoulder, as opposed to the right shoulder in the case of Chris (and Jill Valentine and Albert Wesker in the game's Mercenaries mode).Due to the cooperative nature of the game, Resident Evil 5 departs from the original formula and its gameplay is of a faster-paced, more action-oriented nature . The game pits the player(s) against large groups of enemies, often in wide, mutli-leveled areas. The player does not accompany his/her partner at all times and occasionally the puzzles call for a separation between the pair. Furthermore, players can play the entire game with their friends online or offline through co-op mode via Xbox Live, Playstation Network, system link, or through splitscreen. A new player can jump in and out at any given moment.
The large number of enemies often overwhelm the players may find themselves ambushed by enemies and that is where the cooperative nature of the game comes into play . At some points various enemies grab the characters which could be halted by help of the other partner . The game also features a dying mode which prevent the player from dying after taking too much damage and instead put the character in a vulnerable position unable to do anything but walking slowly until the other partner revive him/her .
Not-Zombie!
Another Improvement to Resident Evil model is that, the inventory is now mapped to a face button where both Chris and Sheva's inventories are shown on the screen and you can request , give or exchange items with your partner . Chris and Sheva each can carry only up to nine items in their inventories which considering the large number of weapons , items , ammo , melee and bullet proof vests seems oddly insufficient (there is no upgrade option concerning the inventory space) . Items can also be assigned to d-pad for instant access . The inventory can only be organized after finishing/reloading missions . There you can upgrade your weapons , change the place of items in your inventory , trade weapons / treasures and transfer useless stuff in your storage . To add to the intensity all inventory management is done in real time meaning you are completely exposed while doing so .
Except for a few traditional puzzles , most of the puzzles in the game are cooperative and require both characters to solve . It should be mentioned that the aforementioned puzzles are also somewhat harder this time around .
The latest entity in the resident evil franchise is significantly more action oriented and most often the player trades heavy gunfire with the enemies , as a result the game allows you to take cover behind objects and walls at scripted sequences where the threat of being shot is present . The system resembles the cover mechanic seen in Gears of War . Most but not all of the covers are indestructible which provides a secure shield for the player to exploit the situation .
Boss battles are an integral part of the experience and contain exciting actions and lengthy quick time events . Like previous games in the series , some bosses can't be defeated by simply shooting them until they die , but must recieve a certain amount of damage in order to advance to a stage at which they can be defeated.
Demo
On Friday, December 5th, 2008 a demo for the game was put on XBLA for Japan. Included in the demo are two stages, Shanty Town and District, which can be played either on your own, or via offline or online Co-op play, which is a highlighted new feature in Resident Evil 5. With some clever snooping on the Internet, one would have been able to the acquire the demo for the 360 version of the game. For those who patiently waited, the 360 demo was released on January 26 via the Xbox Live Marketplace being exclusive to Gold Xbox Live members for a week and then on PS3 via the Playstation Store that week later, February 2nd.Installation
Resident Evil 5 requires a 5GB installation on the PS3, 6.8GB on the 360.Downloadable Content
The "Versus" pack was set to be released soon after the game's initial launch. It features two game types: Slayer's Mode, which is a "point-based game that challenges players to kill Majinis," while Survivor's Mode is the game's take on death-matches. 1v1 or 2v2 is available for both game types. The game's are essentially the classic Mercenaries modes with team based gameplay. The Slayer game modes lets you earn points for killing Majini's and other various creatures. The survivors mode pits players against each other and you have to earn points for getting kills. While Majini's and other creatures will be present in this mode as well, you will not get points for killing them. It costs around $5 on both Xbox Live and the PlayStation network.Unlockables
Several unlockables can be achieved in Resident Evil 5, most if not all are gained when finishing the game once, and most of which are achived by a separate shop system using points gained from performance in the story mode or Mercinaries at the end of the game. Points are then spent for several unlockables listed below.Filters
All filters can be unlocked at the end of the game by purchasing them from the "Bonus Features" menu option for the cost of 0 points. Filters add to the visuals of the game in several different ways and can be accessed by the "Special Settings" menu option. Filters also work during cutscenes.- Filter (Defaultl): The way the game was original designed to look/no change.
- Filter (Classic Horror): Black and White.
- Filter (Retro): Adds a Sepia Effect which is reminicent of old style movies.
- Filter (Noise): Adds a film grain effect.
Mercenaries
Mercenaries is a classic Resident Evil mainstay mini-game which players are thrown either a specific objective in a set amount of time, or in arena style combat which their job is to gain the highest score possible in a set amount of time by means of killing as many enemies as possible. Resident Evil 5 is of the latter.Mercenaries Info
- Mercenaries mode can be unlocked by simply finishing the game on any difficulty.
- A new addition to Mercenaries mode is the ability to earn 5 extra seconds simple by killing a Majini with a melee attack (neckbreaker and throat slit etc.) as opposed to fire arms
- Mercenaries can be played cooperatively via system link, split screen, or Xbox Live.
- The requirements for rankings such as A, S, or SS are doubled when played with a partner.
- The highest ranking is SS
- Points can be earned by successfully finishing a Mercenaries session and are given based on preformance.
- Chris and Sheva (both BSAA) are unlocked in Mercenaries as soon as Mercenaries is unlocked
- Mercenaries features 8 maps and 10 characters.
Character unlocks
- Jill (BSAA) is unlocked when finishing "Public Assembly" in Mercenaries with an A ranking or higher either solo or cooperatively.
- Wesker (Midnight) is unlocked when finishing "The Mines" in Mercenaries with an A ranking or higher either solo or cooperatively.
- Chris (safari) is unlocked when finishing "The Village" in Mercenaries with an A ranking or higher either solo or cooperatively.
- Sheva (Clubbin) is unlocked when finishing "Ancient Ruins" in Mercenaries with an A ranking or higher either solo or cooperatively.
- Chris (Stars) is unlocked when finishing "Experimental Facility" in Mercenaries with an A ranking or higher either solo or cooperatively.
- Sheva (Tribal) is unlocked when finishing "Missile Area" in Mercenaries with an A ranking or higher either solo or cooperatively.
- Jill (Battle Suit) is unlocked when finishing "Ship Deck" in Mercenaries with an A ranking or higher either solo or cooperatively.
- Wesker (STARS) is unlocked when finishing "The Prison" in Mercenaries with an A ranking or higher either solo or cooperatively.
Costumes
Costumes are different "skins" for each playable character in the storyline (Chris and Sheva) that change their appearance, all of which require beating the game once. When these requirements are met, they can be purchased from the "Bonus Features" menu option for the cost of 0, and can be activated in the "Special Settings" menu option. Costumes work in cutscenes as well.- Sheva (Clubbin): Is unlocked when the game is beaten once on any difficulty (all levels must be beaten).
- Chris (Safari): Is unlocked when the game is beaten once on any difficulty (all levels must be beaten).
- Chris (S.T.A.R.S.): Is unlocked when the game is beaten once on any difficulty (all levels must be beaten) and when 25 out of 30 BSAA emblems are found.
- Sheva (Tribal): Is unlocked when the game is beaten once on any difficulty (all levels must be beaten) and when 30 out of 30 BSAA emblems are found.
Weapons
Other than the weapons that can be acquired and bought through playing the story, there are a number of weapons that can be gained after finishing the game and fully upgrading each first generation weapon (the first type of weapon in its class). Fully upgrading any of the weapons can grant you the ability for unlimited ammo from the "bonus features" screen, however the infinite rocket launcher requires a different means of achieving it.Weapon Unlocks
- M93R Pistol Can be purchased by fully upgrading the 9M2 pistol
- Hydra Triple Barrel Shotgun can be purchased by fully upgrading the Ithaca M37 Shotgun
- Longbow (Sheva Only) can be purchased by fully upgrading the S75 Rifle, by outset it has infinite ammo
- Gatling Gun (Chris Only) can be purchased by fully upgrading the VZ61, by outset it has infinite ammo
- S&W M500 A.K.A Handcannon can be purchased by fully upgrading the S&W M29 Magnum
Infinite Ammo
- All weapons short of the rocket launcher and the grenade launcher can receive infinite ammo by fully upgrading the weapon of choice and purchasing the infinite ammo feature for the gun of your choice in the "bonus features" menu option. IMPORTANT: For infinite ammo to be turned on, one must access the "Special Settings" option and activate infinite ammo, on top of that they also must play "New Game " with the option of allowing infinite ammo weapons.
- The infinite rocket launcher can be achieved by beating the game under 5 hours cumulatively. Meaning that it does not matter what order you play the levels, as long as the combined total is under 5 hours you receive the weapon. Note that you must have a rocket launcher to receive its benefits.
Unattainable Weapons
There are two handguns available for specific characters in the Mercenaries and Versus' modes that can't be found in the main game.
- Samurai Edge is the STARS custom pistol that Wesker (STARS) has available in the Mercenaries and Versus' modes.
- PX4 is Jill's (BSAA) unique pistol that can be used in the Mercenaries and Versus' modes
Files
Files are unlocked when finishing chapters throughout the game. There are 12 chapters in all, and by the time you finish the story mode, you will have unlocked all 12 files. These files are biographies, histories, and documents about the game's fiction including topics such as the origin of Umbrella corporation , Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), Biological Organic Weapons (BOWs), S.T.A.R.S , the previous protagonist and heroines , group of eleven and so forth..Trivia
- The face of Sheva was scanned from the Australian actress Michelle Van Der Water.
- The infected in RE5 are called "majini " meaning evil spirit in the African native language .
- In this game, Jill bears an extremely close resemblance to Fiona, the protaganist of the Capcom game Haunting Ground.
- The game was in development for 3 and a half years and approximately 121 people worked on the project .
- RE5 is the last game in the series that follows the RE4 formula .
- Right handed gamers may find playing as Sheva slightly more challenging simply because she is left handed and thus the camera is behind her left shoulder while aiming .
- One of the treasures is called the Power stone. This is a reference to the titular stone from the Capcom game Power Stone.
- Chris Redfield's voice actor in RE5, Roger Craig smith, also voiced antagonist Curtis Miller from the straight to DVD RE feature flick Resident Evil Degeneration.
PC System Requirements
CPU- Minimum: Intel Pentium D Processor or AMD Athlon64 X2.
- Recommended: Intel Core2Quad Processor or AMD Phenom X4
Video card
- Minimum: 256MB VRAM; DirectX9.0c/Shader 3.0; NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series or ATI Radeon HD 2400 Pro.
- Recommended: 512MB VRAM; NVIDIA GeForce 9800 series or ATI Radeon HD 4800 series.
RAM
- Minimum: 512MB if on Windows XP, 1GB in Windows Vista.
- Recommended: 1GB if on Windows XP, 2GB in Windows Vista.
Interface: Keyboard and mouse, or gamepad (Xbox 360 controller recommended).
Hard drive: 8GB
Internet: Broadband recommended for online modes.
Operating system
- Minimum: Windows XP.
- Recommended: Windows Vista.
Sound card: DirectSound Compatible (DirectX9.0c or higher).
| Game Name | Resident Evil 5 |
| Platform(s) | |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Developer(s) | |
| Genres | |
| Themes | |
| Original US Release |
March 13, 2009
need a fuzzy date? |
| Original US Release |
know the real date? |
| Aliases |
RE5 Biohazard 5 |
| OFLC |
OFLC: MA15+
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| BBFC |
BBFC: 18
|
| ESRB |
ESRB: M
|
| PEGI |
PEGI: 16+
|
| CERO |
CERO: D
|
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RE5 Weapon Guide
Resident Evil 5 weapons guide. Where to find all the weapons, and when they are useful.
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RE5 Achievement Guide
This is a full-coverage achievement guide for Resident Evil 5. As far as I know, the trophies are the same.
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