Zombies Everywhere! (Or the Incredibly Late Blog of Lazyness)

I hope you brought a shotgun!

If i have ever enjoyed zombie movies or games involving a zombie apocalypse, then Resident Evil 5 is up your alley. Released for the Xbox 360, PC, and possibly the PS3, Resident Evil 5 is the latest installment of the series of zombie horror games, where you have to fight through countless numbers of infected, bloodthirsty maniacs. The game starts off in an fictional village in Africa, where agent Chris Redfield is investigating a possible virus outbreak, accompanied by his new partner, Sheva Alomar. The situation quickly turns horrifying, as the entire population suddenly goes senile and attacks the pair at practically every turn, apparently being infected by the virus that Chris was investigating in the first place. Now the two have to find the source of this catastrophe and take it out before the virus spreads any farther.

The first thing to notice about the game is that it is beautiful, especially with the lighting and shader effects having that realistic look. This is further enhanced by its ability to utilize DirectX 10 for better graphics processing and optimization. Combine all of that with incredibly well made models and textures everywhere you look (most specifically, Chris Redfield), and you got a game that is sure to please to eye. A major warning for you PC gamers out their: RE5 will require a pretty decent system in order to have every graphical setting set to max without causing slow downs, though won't have to break the bank too much to upgrade what you need.

The controls function in a similar vain to RE4's scheme, with an over-the-shoulder third person view and using both the left and mouse buttons to aim and fire for starters. One of my favorite things that can be done control wise is a context sensitive feature called Partner Actions, which can range from you helping Sheva up a broken ladder to find something, to both of you busting down a door at the same time. You can also use this ability to help your partner out a jam whenever the need arises and the button appears on the screen. A cool feature that can be used is the ability to open up your items menu and select what you want to use in just a couple keystrokes, all while playing in the game. Not only that, but you can also use the number keys to switch between each of your items without having to look at the menu first, which will come in handy during a fight when you need health in a hurry. You can also make a full 180 degree turn with the single press of a key, perfect for when you want to get a quick kill from behind. Granted, the controls may take some getting used to, as it was the case with me. But once you the hang of things, you'll be killing stuff in no time.

An interesting feature to note is that you can actually choose to play with someone else cooperatively via online or through a LAN (Local Area Network), which only doubles the amount of fun you can have with this game, especially when the partner you get is at least somewhat competent at killing zombies here. But as I've basically said in many of my previous blogs, your online experience can and will vary, so don't be surprised if you find yourself stuck with a jerk. All in all, Resident Evil 5 is a game I have enjoyed so far (though I have yet to beat it sadly), and I would recommend that you fans of action games ought to at least give this bad boy a shot.

Before I finish, I would like to apologize for not updating my blog for as long as I have, for I was being particularly lazy, sorry professor!

Game Trailer: