Resident Evil 5 is an action shooter with survival horror elements.
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Story & Themes
Resident Evil 5 stars Chris Redfield, a member of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance who is sent to the fictional nation of Kijuju in Africa. A dangerous virus carried by parasites has been unleashed on the local villagers, turning many of them into bloodthirsty, zombie-equivalent beings. Redfield teams up with an agent named Sheva Alomar to trace the virus and eradicate the undead threat. Throughout their mission, the two begin to untangle a series of conspiracies involving the Umbrella Corporation and Redfield's former partner, Jill Valentine.
Save Points
The game saves at checkpoints.
Difficulty
The game's fast pace and sometimes cumbersome controls serve to increase the level of difficulty a bit. Aside from this, the gameplay isn't supposed to be especially challenging.
Heads Up!
Violence Players attack enemy combatants with a variety of guns and melee weapons. A successful strike can generate a spray of blood and, depending on the weapon in question, may cause dismemberment or decapitation.
Scary Imagery While Resident Evil 5 is technically more of a shooter than a survival horror game, its creepy enemies may be scary to some players.
Strong Language Strong language, such as "f*ck" and "b*tch," appears consistently in dialogue.
Consumerism Resident Evil 5 is part of a longstanding franchise which includes other video games as well as movie adaptations.
Discrimination Resident Evil 5 has come under fire for featuring a white hero in an African setting. As a result, many of the zombie enemies our white protagonist is killing are black. Allegations of racism have been ongoing ever since the release of the first trailer and are further complicated by the fact that the game's secondary protagonist, Sheva, is of mixed African descent.
Online Community
Resident Evil 5 includes a co-op mode that can be played online as well as locally. When playing online, players will have access to an unregulated chat system.
Conversation Starters
- Do you think there's a big difference between killing human characters in a game versus killing humanoid zombies? Why or why not?
- Have you ever played the game in co-op mode? If so, did you appreciate the elements of teamwork incorporated into the gameplay mechanics?
- Do you think Resident Evil 5 deserves the controversy it has garnered? How might the game's reception be different if it was set in Europe instead? What about Asia?
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