Resident Evil 5 – PS3

Building upon such a genre-defining game as Resident Evil 4 was never going to be easy. It broke the mould in terms of third-person action games and veered the ailing survival horror franchise into new territory to the acclaim of both critics and fans. What could be added to this successful formula that wouldn’t pollute it? Co-operative play and a radically different setting says Capcom!

If the shooting mechanics of RE4 took franchise fans by surprise the partner dynamic is set to do the same. Not being alone in a survival horror is strange at first – not having to constantly check behind you and the regular conversations to break the silence feel odd to begin with. Partners and squadmates are usually an irritating burden when they try to join in on the action but Sheva, for the most part, does a fairly stand-up job of thinning out the zombie hordes. The AI is particularly robust and will even collect goodies and supply you with ammo when needed!


The sections designed specifically for teamwork (usually meaning splitting you up) aren’t exactly groundbreaking with only a couple of decent “cover me” moments and the rest just plain old lever pulling. The system comes into its own, however, when playing with a human partner (although preferably not in the eye-straining split-screen mode) as you can really improvise your own rules of engagement and tactically work yr way through the masses.

Having a partner bends the difficulty curve quite a bit too. I found with an AI partner the game seemed a tad easy to begin with as trusty old Sheva does quite a bit of the work for you if you let her but conversely she becomes less useful as the game gets harder. With a human by your side its obviously going to be an easier task with Normal mode being a breeze in 2-player.

Difficulty in general is quite lenient with little need to be resourceful with your ammo or health supplies even on Veteran. The ability of your partner to give you an instant health top-up (regardless of supplies) in your “hour of need” only exacerbates this leniency.

The other major change, the change of location to rural Africa, is also largely a success. The initial shanty town locale with its sun-soaked dirt paths and contrastingly dark and grimy alleys is a graphical tour de force and equal to anything on the PS3. The unnerving feeling of being an unwanted outsider is also played upon to great success in these early levels and adds immeasurably to the tension. The developers do their best to vary things with swamps, caves, industrial sections etc. and to their credit it certainly breaks things up.


But, and this is a big but, its not as spine-tinglingly chilling as a haunted mansion, a dilapidated city or an ancient castle as seen in previous games. It does try to echo some of the franchise’s classic imagery with the likes of abandoned laboratories but they only serve as a reminder of previous successes. I suppose there are only so many times you can re-visit such themes before they become tired and Capcom can only be praised for trying something different and maybe we should be careful what we wish for (I’ve no doubt that Capcom will have us revisit the Arklay Mansion or RPD Headquarters one day!)

Gameplay-wise very little has changed from the predecessor – crowd control, a few simple puzzles and some gigantic boss fights. The latter being slightly disappointing with some very samey bosses and reliance on using prescribed super-weapons. A minor departure in general gun-play is seen towards the end of the game with the use of cover becoming more prevalent and a more “military shooter” feel to proceedings as you regularly come up against AK-47 and RPG toting zombies. This is handled well though and feels as solid as the rest. The less said about the on-rails shooting level the better!

Overall this is an excellent shooter with a reasonably long campaign and plenty of replay value (an extended Mercenaries mode returns, as well as the usual plethora of hidden stuff). The co-operative play is a great feature and with upgradeable weapons its always asking to be played again on a higher difficulty setting. It mightn’t tick all the boxes as far as survival horror is concerned but there’s enough of the classic Resident Evil themes of evil corporations and maniacal enemies, silly plot twists (with some nice surprises and tie-ups of old stories) and the essential cheesy dialogue to keep fans happy.

Movie Round Up

The Wrestler (2008 / USA)

Bleak and despairing drama with some of the most miserable backdrops in any film. The outstanding performances from the two leads make what otherwise may have become a sentimental slush-fest into some truly believable scenes. Worthy of its many plaudits.

Severance (2006 / UK)

Disastrous comic horror with utterly feeble jokes and no sense of originality. There are some slightly redeeming “anti-cliché” scenes towards the end but if you make it that far is another matter.

Cronos (1993 / Mexico)

Unconventional horror with strong characters and that dreamlike atmosphere Del Toro is so good at. The revelations are fairly predictable but the sound delivery and the quirky charm of it all makes for a little gem of a movie.

Bride of Re-Animator (1991 / USA)

Almost on a par with the original in terms of gore and humour. An even more tongue-in-cheek affair with some surprisingly good effects.

Movie Round Up

The Unborn (2009/USA)

Below average supernatural horror. Maintains a decent sense of momentum but rethreads too much old ground and rarely provides a much needed fright.

Spiderman 2 (2004/USA)

A well measured and expertly crafted superhero romp. The love story can get a bit twee and it’s fairly slow paced but it has bags of character and delivers the action at the right times. It mightn’t be as spectacular as some of its genre contemporaries but it has what most of them don’t - a coherent plot! A worthy sequel to the genre defining original.

Spiderman 3 (2007/USA)

A faster, more action-packed film than #2. Like the predecessors it develops the existing characters well and introduces some interesting new ones. There are a couple of disappointing sub-plots that let the film down somewhat but it re-dresses the balance with a grand-slam finale.

Black Book (2006/Nederlands)

A thrilling WWII drama/adventure that is refreshingly different despite covering a lot of well-explored territory. The plot has a great balance of pace mixing suspense and action with twists and turns aplenty. The fantastic performance of Carice van Houten in the lead role only added to what is a thoroughly enjoyable film.

The Interpreter (2005/USA)

Below-par political thriller that takes an age to get into gear and when it does it only delivers one truly suspenseful scene and a laughable conclusion. The attempt to contrive a chemistry between Penn and Kidman was cringeworthy.

When a Stranger Calls (2006/USA)

Terrible horror/thriller that is stupendously sluggish and can’t even get it’s clichés right!

Movie Round Up

W (2008/USA)

The glossing over of historical facts aside this is a deplorably shallow film with irritatingly hollow caricatures and scenes played for cheap laughs or even cheaper sentiment. Gratingly dull and rarely venturing beyond the press-release viewpoint, this is just awful.

100 Feet (2008/USA)

Average haunted house affair that despite it’s reasonable premise and a couple of nervy scenes never really cuts it. The special effects are of note though, especially those of the apparition.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008/USA)

This sci-fi remake is ill-deserving of its universal criticism. The plot progresses at a good pace and the acting is good on the whole (Reeves is born to play the slow-speaking, blank expression-wearing alien!). It lacks a certain creative touch to bring it beyond the average though.

Re-animator (1985/USA)

Classic madcap horror that’s as gorey as it is silly. The HP Lovecraft story, on which it is based, adds a certain solidity to the plot and characters. Added to this some surprisingly good special effects it makes for an unmissible cheese-fest.

Adrift (2006/USA)

Dull thriller with little imagination and even worse characters. A frustratingly stupid film that really sinks (excuse the pun) in the middle and never recovers.

Movie Round Up

My Little Eye (UK/USA 2002)

The reality TV scenario provides a great backdrop for skilfully crafted tension percolated with some great jumps and surprises. The audience is kept guessing right up to the twists in the finale in what is a superior horror.







Sex Drive (USA/2008)

Above average teen comedy whose characters help redress the balance of the generic plot. The obnoxious older-brother steels the show but is unfortunately not featured a lot. The comedy element begins to run out of steam towards the end, when the inevitable romance takes over, but its amusing whilst it lasts.






Dead or Alive (Japan/2000)

Wacky characters and an even stranger sense of humour are what you expect from Takashi Miike, and this Yakuza tale is no different. After an incomprehensible opening, the plot takes a while to come together but what it lacks in pace it makes up for with atmosphere.








Suspiria (Italy/1977)

All the effort in this dull horror appears to have gone on set design and mood lighting. The best moments are saved for the final 20mins or so but the viewer will be quite weary of the pathetic attempts to create suspense they’ve had to endure for the previous hour or so.







The International (USA/Germany /2009)

This pseudo-intelligent thriller disappoints on all fronts. It drags the audience by the nose through an irksome plot at an unbearably pedestrian pace. It is riddled with pointless and ill-conceived scenes that can’t cover the cracks of this clueless mish-mash of a film.





The Ruins (USA /2008)

A grizzly horror with some great gorey moments and a couple of well thought-out scenes. A good pace coupled with the lingering tension makes for a movie that will appease horror fans.

Movie Reviews

Slumber Party Massacre 2 (USA/1987)

Disastrous mish-mash of a music video and teen slasher. Having an extra from Grease as the killer is bad enough but when the 50’s rock n’roll pastiche kicks in before each slaying it becomes unbearable. Awful (and not in a good way!)

Death Race (USA/2008)

90% of this film consists of cars with guns, shooting each other and crashing. It manages to get away with it, although the action scenes are a bit of a mixed bag, as it’s just so unashamedly convoluted and silly. More could’ve been made of the media aspect of the reality tv show but I don’t think this was a project which was open to such things as satire and wit.

Taken (France/USA 2008)

Standard thriller that “does exactly what it says on the tin”. Not too many surprises in what is a solid movie (even if it does stretch your suspension of disbelief at times) with some good camerawork – particularly in the fight scenes.

Choke (USA/2008)

Laid back comedy-drama that casts a psychological insight into the life of the morally bankrupt protagonist. Some fine performances from the supporting cast (as equally disturbed individuals) adds much needed gravity to the fantastical plot. Thoroughly enjoyable.

They Live (USA/1988)

Satirical sci-fi that has a strong anti-consumerism message. The subliminal-message visuals, the impoverished 80’s setting and the doses of black comedy all aid the satire in what is a very entertaining film.

Resistance 2 (PS3)

The original Resistance had an even share of fans and critics but most would have agreed that it laid a solid foundation for the franchise to expand and, with some polishing, a top class sequel to be built upon. Fall of Man’s major triumphs came from it’s intriguing scenario supported by it’s atmosphere, detailed environments and compelling plot. So one would imagine that these, at the very least, would be the backbone of the sequel….

The game begins badly, in a generic “facility” with the same old pipe and crate filled corridors seen in countless FPS games (largely ones from the previous console generation it has to be said). Unfortunately it takes a long time before you encounter anything close to the quality of the first game’s environments as you are dragged through a dull canyon, another facility and an uninspiring alien vessel, before finally getting to experience a bit of post-war Americana.

All of the early levels (well most of the game actually) begin and end the same – dropped off and collected by helicopter – as you are given your next target and move on with scant regard for plot progression. Being pushed from pillar to post in such a manner is a real momentum killer. In R:FOM, the gradual build-up of information on the Chimeran invasion coupled with the sombre narration between missions was a real boon in terms of atmosphere and this lacks such a device to drive the story. (One could probably argue that there isn’t much of a story to drive in the first place!)

Environments and plot aside, there is something rotten at the core of the game. The balance to the gunplay, the cornerstone of any FPS, is badly askew. The waves of bog-standard Chimeran fighters are easier to brush aside than they should be but the real deal-breaker are the bigger, less-frequent foes who rely on weaponry and endurance from an unfathomable rule-set. This leads to many choke-points and, worse still, a sense of unfairness.

The clever and varied weapon-set is intact from the first game. The new additions aren’t as inventive and are rarely incorporated. The choice to make most of the enemy not relinquish their guns upon death seems at first to be a bug but later you discover that the developers like to prescribe guns to each situation, denying the player the chance to utilise their favourite weapon-set in any situation which again seems like a bad move.

The online modes offer variety, with the co-op missions providing some genuine entertainment, but there’s nothing spectacular on offer and certainly nothing to rival the best in the genre.

So with the epic feel and intriguing narrative all but gone there really is nothing left to recommend this over, or even to supplement, the best PS3 shooters out there. And with Killzone 2 looming on the horizon this maybe pushed even further down the pecking order.