Resident Evil 5 actually *is* terrible

[Ebonsword]

As folks may have noticed, I've been loving Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City despite the scathing reviews it received.

Well, after putting 40+ hours into it, I'm starting to get a bit burned out.

So, I figured I'd give Resident Evil 5 a shot. Or, rather, another shot. I had tried it on the Xbox 360 a couple of years ago and hated it, but I thought I might view it more favorably today since now I at least expect it to be a third-person shooter instead of a survival horror game.

I also decided to give it a go on the PC, since I recently decided to haul my PC out of my office and hook it up in my home theater room (why I didn't do this years ago is beyond me).

So, after downloading it from Steam I booted it up and started a new game.

First impressions? Damn, it does look good. Now I know why you guys criticize console-based gaming--seeing this in real 1080p instead of whatever upscaled nonsense the Xbox is using makes a big difference. (However, having the game crash every 30 seconds until I deleted a particular Windows update item reminded me what I've always hated about PC gaming.)

Unfortunately, those favorable first impressions didn't last. RE5, sadly, is not a good game.

First of all, the controls are pretty sucky. RE:ORC really spoiled me with being able to move and shoot at the same time. In RE5 it is incredibly frustrating that you can't. Actually, I could maybe live with having to stand still while shooting, but being forced to stand in place while using your knife makes that weapon close to useless.

Of course, the knife was already kind of annoying to use since you have to press and hold a button to use it. Why they didn't just make it an equipable weapon like all of the firearms is beyond me. Something that's also beyond me is why I have to hold down a button while running. Why on earth didn't they make it a toggle?


I might have been able to get used to the shoddy controls, but the terrible AI of your "partner"...yeah, I don't ever see getting used to that. It's like a having a greedy idiot with ADHD as your sidekick. The idea of "ammo conservation" is as foreign to her as "nature conservation" is to an oil company executive. And you can't just take away her weapons, because then she runs off, jumps into a hoard of zombies, and gets herself killed. Which ends your game.

The AI squadmates in RE:ORC may be dumb as bricks, but at least when their stupidity causes their demise, the game doesn't penalize you.


The real crowning insult, though, and the thing that made me throw down my controller in a rage, are the damn quick-time events. At one point, I was attacked by "I-can't-believe-they're-not-zombies" on motorcycles (yes, it was as retarded as it sounds). There then followed a series of "press 'X' not to die" moments which I screwed up. As I sat there fuming, I thought "well, at least I can just memorize the pattern and get through this". The joke was on me. The next time I tried that section, "press 'X' not to die" became "press 'Y' not to die". Since I wasn't expecting that, I screwed up again and died.

AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! FUCK YOU, GAME!!! (This is when the controller-throwing occurred.)


So, yeah, RE:5. Not a good game.

 

[felipepepe]

True, but is extremely fun in couch co-op.

Especially the Mercenaries mode.

 

[Average Manatee]

The Knife is basically useless for normal combat and shouldn't take up an inventory slot. It's for destroying barrels and shit, having it on toggle is better than making it an equipable item.

AI partner is definitely shit. It's a bad sign when your decision of what to give them rests upon which ammo type you care the least about wasting. FYI, from my experience that ammo type is SMG ammo, since the gun is neither high power enough to be important nor reliant on headshots like pistols, and there's plenty of ammo. At least the game spawns ammo based on what weapons you are using.

QTEs are absurdly annoying (I'm just watching the cutscene you faggots, do I look like I want to play your stupid simon says game?) but I didn't find them difficult.

Catching up with the latest shit or not-shit in RE is something I need to do...

 

[Machocruz]

The Leon campaign in RE6 is surprisingly solid. If the whole game was like it, it would be the best of these over-the-shoulder REs. They fixed the partner issue; they don't pick up ammo, and they don't run out. They're not too dumb, but not too smart either. They may be invincible, but I'm not sure.

I loathe QTEs in general, but this time around they're consistent. Same couple of motions for everything, and they don't change.

The knife issue remains, but it doesn't matter since you have melee attacks that are far safer and more effective, and only require one button. In fact, it's useless because even barrel/crate breaking can be done with these melee attacks.

 

[DragoFireheart]

I thought RE5 was more of the same of RE4?

 

[Occasionally Fatal]

Nah, RE5 is decline from RE4 for sure. However, as others have mentioned, it's pretty enjoyable in coop, mainly because you get to make fun of it with someone the entire time you're playing it.

Some declines of RE5:
Worse weapon system with generally uninteresting upgrades iirc
Removed weapon merchant, and I don't remember if you still look for treasure to sell or not
Story is worse (lol)
Levels and enemy design aren't as polished or as interesting
Bosses are worse
Less memorable moments or neat touches, like shooting the lake from the dock or rescuing the dog in RE4

 

[Ebonsword]

The Leon campaign in RE6 is surprisingly solid. If the whole game was like it, it would be the best of these over-the-shoulder REs. They fixed the partner issue; they don't pick up ammo, and they don't run out. They're not too dumb, but not too smart either. They may be invincible, but I'm not sure.

I loathe QTEs in general, but this time around they're consistent. Same couple of motions for everything, and they don't change.

The knife issue remains, but it doesn't matter since you have melee attacks that are far safer and more effective, and only require one button. In fact, it's useless because even barrel/crate breaking can be done with these melee attacks.

Sounds like RE6 may be worth a try. Steam still has it for $40, though--need to wait for a sale!

 

[Tehdagah]

Nah, RE5 is decline from RE4 for sure. However, as others have mentioned, it's pretty enjoyable in coop, mainly because you get to make fun of it with someone the entire time you're playing it.

Some declines of RE5:
Worse weapon system with generally uninteresting upgrades iirc
Removed weapon merchant, and I don't remember if you still look for treasure to sell or not
Story is worse (lol)
Levels and enemy design aren't as polished or as interesting
Bosses are worse
Less memorable moments or neat touches, like shooting the lake from the dock or rescuing the dog in RE4

There are some inclines, like:

- Multiplayer
- Strafe
- Context-sensitive melee when enemies are on the ground
- Mercenaries is even better than before. You have No Mercy mode in the PC version and Mercenaries Reunion in the console version. Both are excellent.

The removal of the weapon merchant is kinda irrelevant.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

First of all, the controls are pretty sucky. RE:ORC really spoiled me with being able to move and shoot at the same time. In RE5 it is incredibly frustrating that you can't. Actually, I could maybe live with having to stand still while shooting, but being forced to stand in place while using your knife makes that weapon close to useless.

Design decision that's been with the series since RE1, being able to shooting while moving allows you to kite enemies which makes them less scary. And the knife is supposed to be a desperate last measure.

 

[Occasionally Fatal]

There are some inclines, like:

- Multiplayer
- Strafe
- Context-sensitive melee when enemies are on the ground
- Mercenaries is even better than before. You have No Mercy mode in the PC version and Mercenaries Reunion in the console version. Both are excellent.

The removal of the weapon merchant is kinda irrelevant.

True. Coop is a really big incline, though I was never much interested in the Mercenaries mode. The removal of the weapon merchant himself is no big deal, I just associated it with the weapon system change.

 

[tuluse]

It's been a long time since I played it, but I thought in RE4 there was an alternate way to use the knife where you didn't have to aim first.

I could be totally making this up.

 

[Gragt]

Could have been better but it was a fun ride.

 

[Excidium]

Couldn't play it too far because of AI frustration. Fucking bitch wastes all her magazine shooting at the boss while he's immune. Fuck I just wanted to see Jill in a catsuit.

 

[Average Manatee]

Your AI usually isn't that poorly off without ammo at all, at least early on. Past the midgame you generally have enough ammo that it isn't too much of a problem.

 

[Ninja Destroyer]

Find someone to play with, the dumb AI is killing fun out of the game.
I agree about QTE's, some of the sequences are horrible and I had to restart over and over again. Not to mention the last boss. Punching the rock, oh yeah baby.

Sounds like RE6 may be worth a try. Steam still has it for $40, though--need to wait for a sale!

From all the hateful reviews in mainstream media I thought it would be horrible. Well, it turned out the introduction part was like that, the main game was a solid co-op experience. The campaigns are long, and there is four of them, some have more emphasis on RE4 mixed gameplay (like Leon scenario), some have more puzzles (Ada and forced agent, who is teleporting through levels ).

 

[sea]

The partner AI is indeed terrible and there are far fewer memorable moments in Resident Evil 5. However, I still thought it was a solid, less-good version of Resident Evil 4. The thing I disliked about it the most was the downsized roster of enemies, lack of interesting bosses, tension was not as high most of the time (especially towards the end of the game), far fewer puzzles/adventure gaming stuff, and the locations were a lot more bland. But for a game in the same vein, it was still decent. Sequels are supposed to be an improvement over the original, though, so it's a bit hard to forgive it.

 

[felipepepe]

RE 6 on the other hand, has more content that RE 4 and 5 together, but sadly they completly removed the inventory and dumbed down the enemies... but is still fun in co-op.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

RE5 I would never play by myself, but me and a buddy played the fuck out of it together.
But never by ourselves. Too shitty for that.

 

[WhiteGuts]

RE6 can literally play itself. Some sequences require pushing a button once in like 10 minutes. It's unbelievably fucked up.

 

[J1M]

Why would you play a non-fighting game made in japan?

 

[tuluse]

Why would you play a non-fighting game made in japan?

They have good platformers too

 

[Volrath]

There are no Resident Evils after Code Veronica

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

http://store.steampowered.com/app/352000/?snr=1_5_9__405

RE5 has now switched to Steamworks and the console DLC released on PC. That's 15 Euroshekel for the Gold Edition upgrade.

Is it worth it?

 

[spekkio]

 

[Ebonsword]

http://store.steampowered.com/app/352000/?snr=1_5_9__405

RE5 has now switched to Steamworks and the console DLC released on PC. That's 15 Euroshekel for the Gold Edition upgrade.

Is it worth it?

No. It's easily the worst in the main line series. I couldn't even finish the damn thing, and I finished 2 1/2 of the RE6 campaigns.


I guess if you were intending to play it co-op with someone, that might change things.