(Reviewer's Note: Yes, I know the enemies in this game are not really zombies, but I am still going to refer to them as that anyways; it just comes more naturally, and that is what I normally refer to them as anyways)

First of all, this is not a survival horror game. Second of all, it is still a really fun game. This was one of the first games that I got on the PS3, and I have to say I don't regret it. This game gets a bad wrap for not being survival horror while supposedly being a Resident Evil game, but taken as it is it is still a really fun game, especially if you have a second person to play it with you.

Gameplay/ addictiveness: This is definitely one of the best multiplayer experiences I have ever had in a game, right up there with Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. The entire game can be played in two player, and it really benefits it. I have been playing this game with my dad and we have both been having a great time. If you have another person to play with you, I would suggest playing it with them, as I hear that in single player the partner A.I. is pretty dumb. Anyways, the cooperativeness isn't like in many shooters with a two player option; there is a lot of team work and strategizing necessary in order to make it through many of the levels, and times when the two of the players are separated by the game. It is these moments that really shine and stand out for me. For example, there is one part where one of the players has to throw the other one up on a higher pathway so that they can go down it in order to get the key, and then some of the monsters attack the player that is still on the ground, so that person has to defend himself until the partner gets back. Another part has it so that one person is running around a zombie filled building while the other is in a safe one, and he can help out by sniping out the zombies in the other person's building. Moments like these come pretty frequent in the game, and it is just really awesome for the two players to be actually doing different things. The adventure is much more satisfying and epic with a friend experiencing it alongside you.
   The game itself plays pretty well. You can bring up your gun and fire pretty quickly when you are in a pinch. When you are in danger, you can run away pretty quickly by holding down the X button. Basically, it the controls are like your average 3rd person shooter. However, there are a couple of gripes that I have with the controls. For one, you cannot move around while you are firing. When shooting, you always stand completely still. This does add a little to the strategy of where to fire, and does add to the need of partners watching each other's backs, but it would have been nice if you could at least move a little. This is a pretty minor complaint, really, except for one circumstance; reloading. This rule still stands when you are reloading. Many times I have died from a one-hit killing chainsaw guy because I was busy reloading my sniper rifle. Some of the guns take a few seconds to reload, and during that time you are a sitting duck. You can't move around and you can't cancel the action. This means you really have to pay attention to your ammo, because if you are going to shoot a powerful enemy to slow him down a little, but end up reloading, you're pretty much dead there. It can also get annoying when the only way you can crouch is when you make it to a context sensitive area. It can be a bother when you are under machine gun fire while standing up near a waist-high wall, but you can't crouch behind it because the context sensitive command hasn't come up. Other than that, the controls are fine.
   While this game plays a lot like Resident Evil 4, it really is more action oriented. Now, I have not played that many Resident Evil games; before I got this I had started playing Code: Veronica and have recently gotten Revelations on the 3DS (which, surprisingly, has scared me many times). After playing some of Code: Veronica, I was expecting this to be scary, too. However, I felt relatively safe behind my array of weaponry in the daylight in wide open spaces. This game is more about blasting the heads off of zombies that are trying to get at you, with ammunition being available everywhere. The zombies are really more like normal enemies than things that will scare you, although some do have some pretty neat designs. They can use weapons, and run at you angrily. They will come at you in mobs, but can be dispatched of with enough skill and ammunition. The action is pretty intense in this game. There are some quick-time moments in the game, but some of them do work, and they are pretty short and far between. But, to be honest, I do rather enjoy t when there is a cutscene with quick-time events. It keeps you in the game and attentive, rather than watching the characters do stuff on their own and knowing that they will make it through.

Graphics/ Design: This game is really nice to look at. The lighting is truly superb, as when you are walking around the desert in the daytime, the sunlight really seems intense. When you are walking through a barely lit cave, it really feels somewhat dark and eerie. The character animations are smooth, too, moving pretty realistically and smooth. You don't really see the motion faze like in some other games; they just smoothly change actions when you need them to. I have not really experienced any frame rate problems with this game, either, which is always a good thing.
   There is a wide variety of places that you will visit in this game; from a modern African city, to a primitive village in the swamps, to some ancient ruins. The wide variety of scenery really does keep the game feel fresh, as all of these new locations are all interesting to look at and change up the feel a bit. As I said before, the lighting in all of these places is done really well, and it just really makes you want to see more of this game. 
   The enemy models in this game are really awesome as well. Sure, you got the typical humanoid monsters that run around with weapons, and are really only distinguishable as non-human through the look of their eyes, but they do get better. Sometimes, when their heads are blown off, a giant snake will come out of their neck, or a winged monster will come out and fly around. One enemy has sort of a bag over their head, is really tall, and runs around with a chainsaw. There is even a giant Kraken-like monster to fight along the way. The variety of enemy in this game is pretty vast, and very welcome. It would just be boring to spend the whole game fighting monsters that pretty much look like humans, after all.

Sound: The sound effects in this game are really satisfying. There is nothing quite like pointing a sniper rifle at a zombie's head, hearing the "crack" as the gun is fired, and hearing a satisfying "boom" as the creatures head flies in five different directions. It really satisfies the savage, barbaric part of our brains that enjoys the violence in video games (hey, its not pretty, but it's true). The shouts of the zombies as they start coming to attack really do keep you on your toes as you know you are about to get into some heavy action, and can build up a little suspense as you initially aren't sure where they will be coming from. 
   As far as voice acting goes, there isn't that much to say. It's pretty good; not terrible, but not really award winning. I mean, it's still better than in the original (as well as the dialogue). No Jill-sandwiches here! I did, however, really enjoy the voice acting for Irving, the mad scientist in the game. It sort of reminded me of Little Kuriboh's impersonation of Joey Wheeler in the Yugioh Abridged Series, if he had inhaled a lot of helium before hand.

Story: There really isn't much to say about the story, either. It's sort of slow for most of the game, as you are just looking for and chasing around the scientist guy. There is much more gameplay here than story, basically. However, the story does pick up once you get towards the last act of the game, but I don't want to spoil that for anyone. The story takes such a backseat during the bulk of the game that when Chris Redfield proclaims "We've made it to the Oil Refinery", I asked "Why were we going to the oil refinery?" However, the plot does take it up a notch towards the end and I had such fun playing the game and fighting through hordes of zombies alongside my dad, that I didn't really mind. I actually looked forward to what challenge would be around the corner rather hoping for some plot progression. This game is more about the experience than the story, and I am alright with that.

Depth: This game is a game well worth your money. It is really long, and fun. The levels are really big and this game just takes a long time to beat, which I'm glad it does. There are also a wide variety of weapons you can pick up, from a shotgun, to a grenade launcher, to a sniper rifle and more. This encourages exploration within the environments, as while you can buy these things in the store that comes up on the preparation screen between levels, they are really expensive. You can also find a bunch of treasures if you look around enough, which can be sold for good money and are pretty fun to find. There is also a really good variety of gameplay here; one level has you looking for items to open a gate while riding around between different locations via motorboat. This level sort of reminded me of The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker, and was one of my favorite parts of the game. There are also portions where one player has to cover fire for the other player as they are away from danger, which I actually don't really care for in single player games, but here where it is a friend of yours that you are protecting, it makes it a lot more satisfying.

Conclusion: While I do have some minor gripes with some of the choices for controls in this game, Resident Evil 5 is actually a really fun action game. It has some of the best cooperative action that I have ever seen in a video game, and looks amazing. The moments where you have to strategize how to get through a certain part really shine through as the most memorable parts of the game. While this game's story really takes a backseat, the gameplay really makes up for that, especially if you are playing this with a friend. As long as you have someone to play this with and you really enjoy cooperative gameplay, I would have to say that this game is a must buy. It really feels like you and the other person are going on an adventure together, and it is just a blast. Sure, it may not be the survival horror that the Resident Evil series is known for, but this game is still really fun and should not be overlooked just because of that.

This was a great review! When ever I see a review with a new poster, I usually have to say something bad about it but this was good.