Resident Evil 5: More action than fright

Surviving over a decade for a games franchise, with a few missteps along the way, is

an impressive enough achievement

. Capcom's Resident Evil 5 (R18) only had to stick to its proven formula, dress it in new next-gen graphics and add a new co-op feature to score a winner with its fans.

In episode five, returning original hero Chris Redfield battles Africa's bioterrorism threat where a corporation experiment has led to humans and pets mutating into mad and menacing mutts and morons. Joining Redfield is a new local female character named Sheva Alomar, providing a welcome co-op dimension as you both battle the zombies and swap healing sprays. Otherwise you could opt for a RE4-type single player experience.

This is not the massive (and awesome) re-write the developers gave the previous outing and not every gamer has been sold on RE's outdated type of controls, with the targeting issues and the inability to upgrade items in the inventory.

Those frustrated at not being able to shoot while running need to consider this is a zombie story and the dead walking don't move with the pace of super-fit American marines, but this is a fair debate.

The developers say this is a deliberate strategy to add to the intensity of the game so you're either going to buy into it or say it's not your thing. This version does emphasise the action so there is a definite in-your-face up close and personal over the shoulder action feel with a much faster pace than before.

And it's a fact we've had some rather scary next-gen games lately in the survival-horror-sci-fi genre. This no longer has the creepy frights Resident Evil did in the past. A game with mere walking zombies has become passe so now the new mutated strain of zombified crazies in RE5 ride motorbikes and wave machine guns. Again this is a deliberate strategy to move beyond the classic survival-horror genre with a faster action focus with lots of surprises around each corner.

So if you loved Resident Evil 4, enjoy a similar outing in HD on either Xbox 360 or PS3 with the added bonus of being able to buddy with a mate in some serious knife-slashing co-op.

But it's now up against heavyweight competition the likes of graphically sophisticated and horrifying Silent Hill, zombie shock multiplayer survivalist Left 4 Dead, and the under-rated futuristic horror Dead Space. There may need to be another major re-vamp of the aging series before Resident Evil 6.

MadGamer rating: 8.5 / 10