Everyone was a little skeptical about Resident Evil 5 when it was first announced that it’d be a co-op game. Would two player action really change the survival horror series into a whole new franchise? Don’t worry people; although the game has changed from its former counterparts, it’s still a worthy addition to the series.

Resident Evil 5 leaves off after Resident Evil 4; Leon finished off the Ganados but Albert Wesker now has the virus in his hands. Chris Redfield is our hero this time around along with his new partner Sheva Alomar. You’ll be happy to have a partner seeing as how the zombies aren’t your normal slugs but rather like RE4’s fast, smart, weapon wielding ones.

The story is pretty simple, stop the virus/terrorist and try to find more info about your old missing partner. But honestly, the story isn’t really what this game is about. It’s about the action. And there’s plenty of violence and gore to go around.

The game is pretty much RE4 but with co-op. The game uses the same over the shoulder aiming; although you still can’t walk while aiming, sadly. One new element is now both Chris and Sheva can only hold 9 items at a time. Oh yeah, and the game doesn’t pause when you open your inventory. Players need to be quick if they want to swap items during an attack.

One good thing is that you can hot key items to the 4 directions on the D-pad. Overall, the controls are easy to work with and offer 4 different button layouts and different aiming speeds to suit your style.

The AI in this game will either be your best friend or worst enemy. The good thing is the AI is better than playing with a noob. Your partner seems to have 100% accuracy and is quick to revive you when you’re in dying status. When a zombie grabs you, if you hit B your partner will put saving you as top priority. Too bad the list stops there.

The AI gets more and more frustrating as you get better at the game. They have 100% accuracy, but they often aim for arms and torso; the worst parts to hit. Your partner will waste all it’s ammo at seemingly impossible speeds. They often waste healing items at the worst times. Once you get the hang of the game, it’s better to just have your AI partner hold ammo for your guns and nothing else.

Another annoyance with the AI is its inability to grab money. You can’t be close to the money but you also can’t be running past it. Your partner will only grab treasure if you are standing still. If you start moving toward some money it’s going to grab, it’ll run away. JUST GRAB THE DAMN TREASURE AND SAVE ME 2 SECONDS OF WORK!

Enough about that though. The enemies in the game are a good challenge. They’re zombies but they move fast, use weapons, and will hunt you down. If you knock down a ladder when you’re on the roof expect them to stand it back up or even leap up to attack you. As you progress through the game and get better guns, your enemies will also advance and get more lethal. Expect a challenge up until the end.

If you are looking for some zombie gore, Resident Evil 5 won’t let you down. From you getting your head chain sawed off to you sniping zombies and watching their heads explode, this game will always fill your bloody needs. The graphics are beautiful, taking you from Africa’s villages to the Marshlands. The facial expressions are pretty detailed, although Chris most of the time looks pissed off or confused, or a mixture of both.

The voice acting is fitting, although there are a fair number of corny lines. No big beef about the voice quality though. All the enemies sound great as well as the players.

The game is fun and challenging and offers some good replay value. After the main game you can go back through and unlock guns and infinity ammo, upgrade your guns, and best off all, mess around on Mercenaries. Mercenaries is a little side mini game where the goal is to destroy as many zombies as you can in the limited time given to you. It’s a great distraction from the main game.

Although the AI sucks, the game experience is great if you play with a friend or online. If you love mercenaries too, they have extra modes you can download and compete against others in killing zombies or even each other.

The game is great, gory, and fun to replay. Although your partner AI sucks at times, it isn’t enough to diminish the fun of the game. It’s a great multiplayer experience and a great edition to the Resident Evil series.