It's no bad slight to be the worst in the series - until now it was undeniably Code Veronica with its pseudo 3D engine, camp characters and disjointed gameplay. And yet even that game still reeked of Capcom's legendary RE quality, which is a feel all of the RE games share - an intangible sense of solid reliability and familiarity of interface and control.
With Resident Evil 4, the series took a serious detour - gone were the zombies, gone was the usual Racoon City setting, and dramatically gone were the fixed camera angles in favour of a fully 3D environment.
Resident Evil 5 continues this path, but manages to reel some RE 'feel' in to proceedings with some more familiar environments, some slightly more appropriate music, and the return of 3 major characters from the series.
RE5 is set in Africa where Chris Redfield of the BSAA is investigating a case of bioweapons being stolen by terrorists - teaming up with new partner Sheva, Chris finds himself embroiled back into Umbrella territory and the return of an old friend or two.
First off there is no denying visually it's an impressive piece. Sure, games like Heavy Rain have since superseded this, but RE5 boasts lush environments, convincing models and decent structural settings. It's not the greatest looking game ever, but it's more than sufficient enough.
The sound is similarly impressive - over the top acting with dramatic orchestral soundtracks, and in places appropriately 'Resident Evily' music which gives a familiar buzz to the game lost in RE4.
The problem really lies with the gameplay - in going 3D and losing the other 2 main elements of previous games, like RE4 you can't say this really is an RE game. That's a mark off for a start. Then there's the clunky feel of the controls where you never truly feel in control of Chris - such as when you get hit or reload, and have to wait as the animation finishes during which time you can easily get hit again. It's just a bit late 90s and feels like core structures of the game have been updated while others haven't, and they clash.
And in this day and age, is there really any excuse for the lack of 'sprint'? RE5 is a good game, and no failure, but this series has wavered so far from its roots now that one wonders why fans of the originals would have interest in anything more from the series. Add to that the failure to modernise the gameplay in the face of the modernised polish and engine, and it's a game which doesn't blend as well as previous ones did.
With Resident Evil 4, the series took a serious detour - gone were the zombies, gone was the usual Racoon City setting, and dramatically gone were the fixed camera angles in favour of a fully 3D environment.
Resident Evil 5 continues this path, but manages to reel some RE 'feel' in to proceedings with some more familiar environments, some slightly more appropriate music, and the return of 3 major characters from the series.
RE5 is set in Africa where Chris Redfield of the BSAA is investigating a case of bioweapons being stolen by terrorists - teaming up with new partner Sheva, Chris finds himself embroiled back into Umbrella territory and the return of an old friend or two.
First off there is no denying visually it's an impressive piece. Sure, games like Heavy Rain have since superseded this, but RE5 boasts lush environments, convincing models and decent structural settings. It's not the greatest looking game ever, but it's more than sufficient enough.
The sound is similarly impressive - over the top acting with dramatic orchestral soundtracks, and in places appropriately 'Resident Evily' music which gives a familiar buzz to the game lost in RE4.
The problem really lies with the gameplay - in going 3D and losing the other 2 main elements of previous games, like RE4 you can't say this really is an RE game. That's a mark off for a start. Then there's the clunky feel of the controls where you never truly feel in control of Chris - such as when you get hit or reload, and have to wait as the animation finishes during which time you can easily get hit again. It's just a bit late 90s and feels like core structures of the game have been updated while others haven't, and they clash.
And in this day and age, is there really any excuse for the lack of 'sprint'? RE5 is a good game, and no failure, but this series has wavered so far from its roots now that one wonders why fans of the originals would have interest in anything more from the series. Add to that the failure to modernise the gameplay in the face of the modernised polish and engine, and it's a game which doesn't blend as well as previous ones did.