Spartan 117:
Can you use USB drives and alternate hard drives as memory units? The Xbox ones are pricey... ...
OXM SAYS:
An Xbox 360 won't recognize a USB flash drive or another external hard drive as a memory unit, so you can't save...MORE
Posted on: Mar 12, 2009
Resident Evil 5
WORDS BY: Corey Cohen
RE5 bursts with ghouls, gunplay, familiar quirks, and genuine drama. Here's why the series' Xbox 360 debut is a must-play — and the spring's bloodiest, buddiest entertainment.
Some games break you in slow — an opening cutscene, a lengthy tutorial, some easy introductory battles. But not Resident Evil 5. It starts with a cinematic, a few pop-up hints...and within 15 minutes, you and your partner are in a shack besieged by dozens of zombies. You block the doors and scrounge desperately for ammo as the undead storm in and attack in droves. Eventually, the firefight spills over into the surrouding village, where you must hold out for a few frantic minutes until reinforcements arrive by chopper.
It’s a tense encounter…and the first of many. For much of its 15 to 20 hours of playtime, Resident Evil 5 is filled with balls-to-the-wall shootouts and awesome battles. Once upon a time, this series embodied slow-paced survival-horror, but now — in the tradition of Resident Evil 4 — it’s all about fast, intense action.
CONTINENTAL CUISINE
Whereas previous Resident Evils were set in Raccoon City, Europe, and even Antarctica, Resident Evil 5 shifts events to the fictional region of Kijuju, Africa. Franchise fans will recognize returning hero Chris Redfield, who appeared in the very first game as a member of the Raccoon City Police Department. With the fictional Raccoon City long since annihilated — and the Umbrella Corporation, the pharmaceutical giant that made the zombifying virus, having crumbled — Redfield is now part of the BSAA, an organization combating bioterrorism. Joined by Sheva Alomar, who belongs to the BSAA’s West African division, Redfield has been sent to halt a black-market bioweapons deal. Naturally, events go from bad to worse: your backup teams are slaughtered, and in Resident Evil tradition, it’s soon the two of you against a hellish mélange of zombies and virally mutated creatures.
Why Africa? Storywise, it involves the origins of Umbrella’s deadly viruses, but regardless, it’s a fitting setting for a game with so much diversity. Over the course of 16 levels, your adventures take you everywhere from lush green marshlands to dank mines to a flame-spewing oil facility, pitting you against zombified townsfolk, undead dogs, enormous bat creatures, tendril-y masses of goo, chainsaw-wielding zombies (every bit as intimidating as their Resident Evil 4 counterparts), and other crazed creations. Which are better — fast or slow zombies? That great debate isn’t settled here, as they come in all speeds, from lumbering, mask-wearing tribesmen to sprinting, machine-gun–toting soldiers whose virus clearly contains some fine A.I. routines, allowing them to blind-fire and duck effectively behind cover.
It’s all backed by some damn fine production values; in fact, if Resident Evil 5 were a zombie movie, it’d have (by comparison) the biggest budget of any yet produced. The graphics are gorgeous, whether you’re peering out over a dusky desert canyon or getting a too-close view of an attacker’s gory sinew. The sound, music, and voiceovers are all first-rate, and despite a few hokey lines, the cutscenes do a superb job of laying down the characters’ histories and motivations, including Chris’ growing cynicism and Sheva’s tragic backstory. As protagonists, they’re surprisingly interesting — and amid all their undead adversaries, surprisingly human.
Sun, 10/18/2009 - 11:54
Posted by wickland
Wow, I didn't even know there was going to be a Resident Evil 5 game coming out. I'll be looking forward to this.
Wed, 09/23/2009 - 11:37
Posted by SplatterHouse 3
I THINK RESIDENT EVIL 4 FOR THE GAMECUBE IS BETER HAN THIS
Sun, 04/26/2009 - 04:03
Posted by REALKILLAMANE
All around best game on 360 right now but I like the movement better on part 1 & 2 like how the camera changes in certain areas.
Wed, 04/01/2009 - 07:34
Posted by PlayerHaterz12
For someone like myself who has never played a Resident Evil 5 game, its hard to imagine just jumping in and loving it. But, that is exactly what I did, this game by far is one the most top notch games this year. The Graphics are simply amazing (Easily one of the best on the 360). The A.I. really isn't as bad as people say. I usually give Sheva a rifle and pistol and she handles them both pretty well (even though she will use up ammo). The only downside to the game is that the controlls are horrid. Not, that you cant move while you shoot because that doesn't bother me, just the whole set up. But, eventually once you start getting through a couple chapters it becomes 2nd nature to you. The other thing, which doesn't bother me at ALL but does to some other people is that besides on Veteran, the game is pretty easy. I mean, Marshlands are a little tough but your pretty save with everything.
Graphics: 10
Gameplay:9.5
Story:9.5
Controlls:8
Re-play Value:9
Overall: 9.5
OXM had this review perfect, GREAT job guys!
Gamertag: PlayerHaterz
Tue, 03/31/2009 - 18:45
Posted by Rockstuh
RE5.. Took too long to get here.. 9/10 seems appropriate. Co-op is amazing. OXM basically covered everything.. Although, I wish they'd have brought Leon back, with Ashley as his "leg-wench".. I miss Leon. RE6 Maybe?.. And. Good on ya, Skizz.. He can't keep his words right. Although ADD-AD/HD is a possibility?..
Also on an unrelated note.. Broke 20k gamerscore. Pat on the back for myself. =)
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 11:27
Posted by SKizzUMATIK
Wait wtf? I just reread what TheBigMuldoonski or whatever wrote... and it seems like he can't seem to have a rational thought that lasts more than a nanosecond...
Let me check that one more time -
"Waa waa they arent zombies theyre las plagas. Did YOU play the game metal? Its Uroboros, not Las Plagas. And last time i checked, Dead looking fools that try to eat my face ARE zombies. Dont be such a douche. You douche."
So you're saying they're not zombies, they're Plagas. They're not Plagas, it's Uroboros. oh but seriously, they're ZOMBIES!
Figure out what the hell you're trying to say before you call people douches... honestly. It's just rude and you're the one who ends up looking like the dirty orifice.
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 11:21
Posted by SKizzUMATIK
Um actually, it's not Uroboros that's infected them, it's Las Plagas Type-2. Uroboros is what they were planning on infecting the world with. If they were infected with that, everybody would be giant black oozy tentacly freaks absorbing eachother. Plagas 2 is just a slightly weaponized version of the original Plagas (from RE4) so certain higher-ups could control people without having to wait for the parasite to grow inside them for days... it would be just minutes for full gestation. And NO, they're totally not zombies, weren't in 4, weren't in 5. As Chris states, "Sure didn't move like any zombie I've ever seen."
So looks like YOU'RE the douche. You should go suck on one, clean your dirty little mouth out.
Tue, 03/24/2009 - 10:39
Posted by TheBigMuldoonski
Waa waa they arent zombies theyre las plagas. Did YOU play the game metal? Its Uroboros, not Las Plagas. And last time i checked, Dead looking fools that try to eat my face ARE zombies. Dont be such a douche. You douche.
Tue, 03/24/2009 - 09:44
Posted by metalcry
did you guys (oxm) even play this game or pay attention to the story? There are no "zombies". Just mutated people(zombiues dont talk, use weapons, or have decision making abilities). 2ndly, the mutations were not caused by any virus. It was the las plagas perasite.
Fri, 03/20/2009 - 21:52
Posted by morazadarkheart
Item managment and Control issues?
While with Resident Evil i dont have a proublem with no moving and shooting, i cant realy think of a good way to defend it...But for item mangement...Cant we look past the new system? Its all game balancing realy.....
Thu, 03/19/2009 - 15:27
Posted by Corey OXM
Assuming you mean the tomb-like area with the sun beams and the mirror puzzles----I'm definitely with you on the ruins, bmgurney. I thought it was easily the least exciting part of the game (something noted in a caption in the full mag review). Thankfully, the goodness resumes after that slow portion!
Wed, 03/18/2009 - 07:34
Posted by bmgurney88
Up there with the classics in terms of story, the only problem i had was the ruins scenario, it seemed a little far fetched at times, but other than that, this game is kick ass it had me craving more and more, this is a must buy for any fans of the series from the beginning to 4, i wasn't a fan of what they did at first, but thinking about it i read all the books, and the zombies and the monsters in the game were similar to the ones in the books, they evolve so for those of you who were skeptic, please play this game all the way through, the story is awesome and it stays true to it's roots
Tue, 03/17/2009 - 21:30
Posted by PlayerHaterz12
I'm seriously starting to get SICK and TIRED of immature idiots saying OXM is Biased or hates games based on personal opinions. They do an extentive review process to get each game correct. Dead Space was a genious flawed. It had the opportunity to be a GREAT game but failed to give it all, kind of like Assassins Creed!!! All I'm saying is OXM are PROFESSIONALS who work, just like all your mommys and daddys or YES. Mabye even some of you guys. They Do a great job and this game easily deserves a 9/10. GREAT Review OXM!
Gamertag: PlayerHaterz
Tue, 03/17/2009 - 15:40
Posted by Austin Murphy
Hey wats up.Ive beat the game on all difficulties and 1 things for sure I like it even more everytime because it gets harder and harder but I evenually get it.My Opinion is this game deserves a 10 out of 10 stars no matter what anybody says I love the game.
Tue, 03/17/2009 - 05:26
Posted by Heath27
one thing i will say, after reading this review for a second time i am quite impressed with the content and i hope future reviews from this site will maintain this standard.
Tue, 03/17/2009 - 05:12
Posted by Heath27
If this game is worth a 9 and you could only give Dead Space a 6.5 then I am deeply deeply shocked. where is the consistency in these reviews.? Sure there are some in-between, those who hated a game I liked or those who like and i know reviews are simply are what what they are; opinion pieces. But a games reviewer needs to remaim partial, to a degree, and objective. if you criticise aspects of a game you need to back them up - which was a complete failure in your review of dead Space, which is currently universally regarded as the best survival horror game out there at the moment. I will not be bothering in reading anymore reviews from this site again.
i also feel compelled to assert my influence in excluding any reviews from this site that appear on MetaCritic - which can deeply damage a games average rating - as was seen with Dead Space.
Sun, 03/15/2009 - 16:30
Posted by thedude8591
I rented this game and I thought it was pretty good once I got a handle on the controls. It was fun. I had acouple of problems with it though like the inventory system and the fact that the game doesn't keep up well with its setting. I was also annoyed with the fact that I had to fight Wesker tchnically four times in the game. I mean whats the point? He's only going to come back to life magically in the next game.
Sun, 03/15/2009 - 16:02
Posted by xpects the xpctd
Oh and yes, I agree on the graphics, fantastic! And no matter what anyone says, those boss fights can get intense, especially the last one (no spoilers). The story was great (yes I know the whole story, I do my research) and I'm dying to get my hands on RE5 again.
Sun, 03/15/2009 - 15:57
Posted by xpects the xpctd
I will admit, this was the first Resident Evil game I've played all the way through. To be honest, the no walking while shooting thing isn't that bad, and I'm used to playing games like Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4 and WaW. Before anyone says anything, I played throught the whole game with my buddy last night, clocking I think 11 hours with about 1 and a half playthroughs. The game was amazing and I think those 11 hours have convinced me to run out and buy it. Worth every cent.
Sun, 03/15/2009 - 15:29
Posted by Sl8ter13
I guess Japan still hasnt figured how to aim and walk at the same time..... no wonder why they lost WWII.
Thu, 03/12/2009 - 23:11
Posted by Cronos501
I'am trying to get a good idea of how good this game is, some people say it's great game and others say it's just mediorce game that's being safe and don't innovate much except the co-op. I just need to know if i can have the same experience playing RE4 before i blow $60 on the same old,same old