Capcom Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition Action/adventure Game - Xbox 360 (xb3cap33022)

Personally, this installment of RE is what I've been craving! From the very beginning, there are TONS of *zombies* to shoot, and they just keep coming. Also, the weapon/combat system is amazing in that you can decide how you want to deal with the legion of bad guys coming at you - frag 'em with grenades, push them back with a pistol, snipe them one at a time, or just turn them into mincemeat with an automatic weapon! Of course this doesn't encompass the entireity of weapons and playstyles there are, and the choices seem endless. Also, it's great to have a constant partner this time, and especially one that can provide you with assistance when you need it. The in-play item selection system is a bit lacking, especially if you don't hotkey your health items, but having a partner who can grab a first aid spray and use it on you in a split second is EXTREMELY beneficial. The graphics absolutely rock, with the models being the most realistic I've seen in any of the RE games. The characters move with fluidity, and the AI seems strikingly less artificial in most aspects (a quirk of mine - just like in RE4, the bad guys will be running at you with a weapon raised, stop, then make a slow and deliberate sidestep, then continue at you - first, you think, "why...?" then you blast them away!). There are only 2 drawbacks to the game that I can put my finger on, and they aren't really drawbacks per se. First is that after you've collected a decent number of guns and items, you will easily run out of room in your storage bin. This makes you really think about which weapons/items you want/need to keep, and which ones are merely for show. Second is that you accumulate points slowly, and you need to play through the game (or chapter) multiple times to get enough points for what you want. This can make the game seem a little repetitive, but that's the nature of the beast. As for the multiplayer, I haven't played it that much due to some bad experiences (not the games fault, just poor players). I was trying just for achievements, but the opposing players tend to disconnect at the end of a game they're losing, thereby robbing you of a victory. Oh well, says I. The multiplayers not that superb anyway. As for the downloadable bonus content that's included with the Gold Edition, everything is great except when I tried to play the Mercenaries Reunion (I think that's what it's called). The game freezes, then my 360 tells me that the disc is unreadable (???) and resets to the 360 Dashboard. I haven't come up with any solutions to this problem after searching online, so I figure someday I may get to play that chapter. Other than that, everything else works and plays great. Overall, you can pretty much tell that I think this game is amazing. If you want to get more hyped up, read this review again. Then buy the game. Or blow the dust off of it and play it again.

A good solid game. Not quite the scare you may get from playing resident evil 4, with more action now and a little less horror. The extras in the gold edition helped bump the rating up. Excellent co-op game. I suggest to play it at night.