Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Delightfully Evil
Here's a very quick background on the story of this game. There is a viral weapon that turns normal people into Zombie like monsters which is going to be sold to terrorists. You play a steroided up Arnold Swartz...er...Chris Redfield who is charged with stopping this from happening. You team up with local partner Sheva and the two of you go off shooting Zombies in the face and stop the evil corporation behind this from destroying all of humanity while finding your humanity in the process.
If it sounds like a stupid summer Hollywood blockbuster, it's because it is. If they made this into a movie instead and released it in June, it would be directed by Michael Bay and make $70 million the first weekend. The story is definitely interesting enough with plenty of twists to keep you engaged throughout the game. And by the time you fight the final bad guy, you just can't wait to kick his ass. When I finally beat him at 3am this past Saturday I happily stood up in my living room and gave him the double middle-finger salute.
If you've read reviews of this game on line, people really picked this game apart. Let me address those issues briefly. First, the inventory system is frustrating but you get used to it. You and your partner get 9 slots each to carry items. If you carry two guns, ammo for the two guns, an armor vest, and two health items, then you only have one spot left. Not good. In the second half of the game, items are everywhere and you just walk right past them, because as nice as it would be to have a rocket launcher, I would rather have ammo for my shotgun.
Second, your partner Sheva is an idiot. She can't be trusted with anything that is scarce (like health) because she'll use it. Again, this is a bigger issue in the beginning of the game than the end. You will walk into a courtyard and she'll see a guy 300 yards away and she'll start opening fire with her handgun. The guy will be no threat to us but that won't stop her from using all of her ammo to prove a point. And if you give her any health at all, she'll use it on you the moment you stub your toe. You get punched in the face once and she comes running over and sprays you in the face like an overly protective mother. Thanks, but how about I hold on to these from now on.
Despite those flaws, the game is a lot of fun to play. You don't need to know anything about the other 4 games in the series to play this one. The story is completely self contained. If you are interested in the back story, they tell it to you in the form of a timeline, but it's not important. The game is touted as this horror masterpiece, but it was never scary. Sure it was gory at times, but never scary. It was summer action popcorn flick.
If you've played Gears of War 2 or Army of Two, then you've got a feel for this game. Scenes in this game seem straight out of Gears of War 2 including a boss fight against a gigantic squid like monster that can only be hurt by using an orbital laser which is conveniently left behind for you to use. If you like those games, then give Resident Evil a try.
There doesn't seem to be many games coming out this summer, so if you missed this in your travels, pick it up and give it try. Or if you are lucky like me, you can have someone give it to you as a gift.
Until next time,
- The 30 Year-old Gamer
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