Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360, 2009)

Graphics: 10/10
The graphics are beautiful, there's no other way to put it. The movement of the characters was created by real time actors in suits with movement trackers and the results are stunning. The realism is incredible and everything looks as if it could happen in real life. The graphics themselves look better than ever - it's almost as if the pre-rendered backgrounds from the Gamecube came to live in an ever interactive environment in which many things can be destroyed or used.

Story: 9/10
There will be no spoilers in this section. The story naturally continues from where Resident Evil 4 ended. The Ganados were pretty much taken care of, but Albert Wesker (the series' main antagonist - with his characteristic black coat, permanent black sunshades, a botox face and a classical horrible villainous accent) got a hold of the virus. Africa is the new setting of the series and it's up to Chris Redfield, one of the series' returning main protagonists, to stop Wesker at all costs.

Chris is accompanied by a female partner called Sheva Alomar, who is a surprisingly interesting (read: so hot, I wanna take my clothes off) character as you traverse deeper in the game. There is chemistry between Chris and Sheva, and this game might as well be called quite righteously a 'buddy game' (compared to 'buddy movies'). As I don't want to spoil anything more about the story, it suffices to say that the story is one of the better told scripts in the gaming world, and the most interesting of the series since Resident Evil 2.

The Gameplay: 10/10
If you've played Resident Evil 4 you know what to expect. The controls and gameplay are kept true to the revolutionary fourth part of the series, and with it the added element of co-op play online.

No, you can't move and shoot at the same time, but I'm of the opinion that this isn't a bad thing at all. In fact the complaints seem to come from a so called priming effect. Let me elaborate. If you've been playing games such as Left 4 Dead, Dead Space or Fallout 3 and you've been playing in 3rd person, you've gotten used to strifing/running and shooting at the same time. These games have similar gameplay mechanics and the enemies are not like the enemies in RE5. Not being able to move and shoot at the same time will feel a little weird in RE5. Funny thing is, would you have been playing Resident Evil 5 (or similar games with similar controls - if they would exist), and you would then start playing one of the games mentioned before, you might find yourself wanting to perform a quick turn and getting smacked by a creature because of your spasm movement that you wanted to be a quick turn. Resident Evil 5's controls suit the game. The enemies are adjusted to the principles of Resident Evil, and if you remove these very elements of the series, you'd end up with (even) less 'RE feel' than you would now.

Summary:

Graphics: 10/10
The Story: 9/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Sound: 9/10

+ The game breathes awesomeness.
- Fear you *can* forget. There are only a few little creepy moments, but the continuous suspense of the earlier games is never achieved.
- If you're a RE veteran you'll find that many scenes have been recycled, and after a while you may get the feeling that you've seen that by now.
- Sometimes, scenes as well as gameplay are a little over the top. Often this is a great thing, but every now and then it just pushes your limits over the edge as to what is still acceptable as realistic in a Resident Evil game.