Resident Evil 5 (18)

Xbox 360, also PS3.
Lets slay together
Everybody (apart from the odd girlfriend) loves to shoot zombies, and they’re experiencing quite the renaissance at the moment, heralded by Left 4 Dead’s ground breaking co-op action. Freed from the boundaries of moral recompense, they provide nothing more than icky target fodder and a blank canvas unto which writers can ascribe any reflections of society they choose.
Resident Evil 5 has no zombies in it though. Like its stylistic precursor, it chooses to launch sentient infected upon you, clever enough to ride motorbikes, fire crossbows and carry an amusingly plentiful supply of ammo and gold in true videogaming fashion.
Of course, beset by monsters and blood crazed humans that are gestating mind controlling parasites, the only option is to shoot first and kick them when they’re down. Choosing to stick to the formula of Resident Evil 4, the emphasis is on action, sharp shooting and crowd management.
RE5 sticks so closely to the formula of 4 though that you could be forgiven to thinking you’re playing the same game. Sure, the location has moved to Africa and it’s all shiny with its HD gore and Saharan dust clouds but the AI and character animations are identical.
Controls too haven’t moved on, much to the despise of many a gamer screaming in frustration at the downloadable demo. RE4 reinvented the series and was remarkably fresh at the time. Now, in the age of Gears of War and Uncharted, the controls feel clunky and dated.
Once you’re over the shock of the old though, the game settles into a good rhythm, providing plenty of entertaining hours avoiding madmen with chainsaws and dogs with heads that split open to reveal tentacles with teeth.
To talk of Left 4 Dead is more apt than just the zombie-ish brotherhood too, as RE5 reveals its series innovation – co-op play. Plug in an extra controller or go online and a friend can take control of Shiva, an ever present AI partner to the lead character, transforming RE5 from a shiny rehash into something glorious where team work becomes the new raison d’être of a series that was only ever multiplayer when friends solved puzzles together.
7/10