Resident Evil 5
Encyclopedia
Resident Evil 5, known in Japan as , is a survival horror third-person shooter
video game developed and published by Capcom
. The game is the seventh installment in the Resident Evil survival horror series, and was released on March 5, 2009 in Japan and on March 13, 2009 in North America and Europe for the PlayStation 3
and Xbox 360
and September 2009 for Microsoft Windows
. The story of Resident Evil 5 revolves around Chris Redfield
's and Sheva Alomar's investigation of a terrorist threat in Kijuju, a fictional town in Africa
.
Resident Evil 5 features similar gameplay to Resident Evil 4
, with context-sensitive controls and dynamic cutscenes also making a return.
The player can control either Chris Redfield
or Sheva Alomar in a similar fashion to Leon S. Kennedy
in Resident Evil 4, with the same over-the-shoulder perspective. The game's environment plays a significant role. The Mercenaries minigame
, featured in previous Resident Evil games, is present in Resident Evil 5. At launch, the multiplayer mode in the minigame was offline only, but a launch day patch
gave the game online multiplayer modes as well.
Instead of zombies, the game's humanoid enemies are called "Majini", meaning evil spirit in Swahili
. They bear many resemblances to the Ganados of Resident Evil 4, because they speak, run, dodge and wield weapons. Like in Resident Evil 4, the number of weapon variations is increased compared to the previous games in the series; there are now several varieties of the handgun, shotgun, submachine gun, assault rifle and rifle to choose from. Like inventory systems in two previous Resident Evil titles Resident Evil Outbreak
and Resident Evil Outbreak File #2, the player can only equip weapons and items in the midst of gameplay (the game still runs real-time as you manipulate the inventory), as opposed to the game pausing.
The game features some online elements. Resident Evil 5's main story mode can be played with two players, in a co-operative online mode. The feature will allow players to enter or leave anytime during the game. Players will not always stick together, and can be separated at points during the gameplay. However, if one player were to have critical health, only their partner can resuscitate them. An offline co-op mode is also in the game with the same co-op experience offered by the online co-op mode, only with two local players controlling the action in split screen or by a system link.
to the Resident Evil series, and continues chronologically after Resident Evil 4. The player characters and protagonists are Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar, and the game takes place in 2009, eleven years after the events of the original Resident Evil. The story explores Chris' life during the decade between the two games.
During the game's events, he is a member of a group known as Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), and sent to investigate a terrorist bio-organic weapon (BOW) threat in an African desert
area in Kijuju, that serves as the game's setting. The antagonists of the game include Albert Wesker
, a returning antagonist to the series, and Excella Gionne, a relative of the founder of the Tricell Pharmaceutical Company who operates the company's African branch. Ozwell E. Spencer, the founder of Umbrella Corp. and a key figure in the background story of the series since the original Resident Evil, is also included in a flashback.
to apprehend Ricardo Irving before he can sell a bio-organic weapon (BOW) on the black market. Upon arriving, they discover the locals have been converted by parasites into Majini, and that the members of the BSAA's Alpha team have been killed. Chris and Sheva are rescued by BSAA's Delta team, whose membership includes Sheva's mentor Josh Stone. In the data provided by Josh, Chris sees a photograph of Jill Valentine
, his old partner, presumed dead after a confrontation with Albert Wesker
. Chris, Sheva, and Delta team close in on Irving, but he manages to escape with the help of a hooded figure, leaving behind documents that lead Chris and Sheva to oil fields in the marshlands where Irving's deal is to occur. They soon discover this was a diversion created by Irving to allow the deal to take place. Chris and Sheva attempt to regroup with Delta team, but at the rendezvous, find the team slaughtered by a BOW; Sheva cannot find Josh among the bodies. Chris refuses to report to headquarters, revealing his determination to learn if Jill is still alive.
Continuing through the marshlands, they find Josh injured but safe, and with his help track down Irving's boat. Irving injects himself with a variant of the parasite, Las Plagas, and mutates into a colossal octopus-like beast. Chris and Sheva defeat him, and with his dying words, directs the pair to a nearby cave to learn more. The cave, home of the Ndipaya tribe, is the source of the flower used to create the Progenitor virus, which led to the creation of the T- and G-viruses. Chris and Sheva find evidence that Tricell, the company funding the BSAA, had taken over a former Umbrella underground laboratory and continued Umbrella's research. In the facility are thousands of capsules holding human test subjects. Chris discovers one of the capsules belongs to Jill, but when they search it, they find the capsule empty. As they leave, they discover Tricell agent Excella Gionne has been plotting with Wesker to unleash a number of missiles with the Uroboros virus across the globe. Chris and Sheva pursue Excella, but are stopped by Wesker and the hooded figure, later revealed to be Jill, enslaved by a mind-control device on her chest. Excella and Wesker escape to a Tricell oil tanker while Chris and Sheva fight Jill, eventually subduing her and removing the device from her chest. After a brief reunion, Jill orders Chris to follow Wesker.
As Chris and Sheva make their way aboard the tanker, they come across Excella, who escapes, but drops a case of syringes. Sheva holds on to a number of them. When Chris and Sheva arrive on the main deck of the tanker, Wesker, through the tanker's intercom, reveals he has betrayed and infected Excella with Uroboros. She mutates into a giant monster which Chris and Sheva eventually defeat. Jill radios in and informs Chris and Sheva that Wesker must regularly take precisely measured doses of a drug to maintain his superhuman strength and speed; a larger or smaller dose would act as poison for Wesker. Sheva then realizes the syringes she recovered from Excella are doses of that drug. Chris and Sheva follow Wesker to a bomber aboard the tanker loaded with missiles containing the Uroboros virus. Eventually, the two are able to subdue Wesker long enough to inject him with additional doses. Wesker attempts to escape on the bomber, but is followed by Chris and Sheva who disable the bomber, causing it to crash land in a volcano. An enraged Wesker exposes himself to Uroboros, and pursues Chris and Sheva through the volcano. Chris and Sheva fight and weaken Wesker to the point where he falls into the lava. They are then rescued by a helicopter piloted by Jill and Josh. In his dying breaths, Wesker attempts to drag the helicopter into the volcano, but Chris and Sheva kill him with Rocket-propelled grenades, before he is able to do so. In the final cutscene of the game, Chris ponders whether it is truly worth fighting to preserve what is left of humanity. He looks at Sheva and Jill and decides that it is worth it in order to live in a world without fear.
, took over producer duties from Hiroyuki Kobayashi. Keiji Inafune
, who served as promotional producer for Resident Evil 2
and executive producer for the PlayStation 2
version of Resident Evil 4, oversaw the project. In February 2007, members of Capcom’s Clover Studio
were also called upon to help develop the game. However, many developers from the studio moved on to work on the Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, which debuted for the Wii
. Several staff members who also worked on the original Resident Evil
were involved in development. Takeuchi announced the game would utilize the same gameplay model introduced in Resident Evil 4, while implementing thematics from the original Resident Evil. Resident Evil 5 runs on version 1.4 of Capcom's internally developed MT Framework
engine. The game's scenario was written by Haruo Murata and Yoshiaki Hirabayashi, based on a story idea by concept director Kenichi Ueda. Tsukasa Takenaka provided additional story background and created the in-game files. In a May 2008 interview, Capcom chairman and CEO Kenzo Tsujimoto estimated the game's development costs up to that point at more than 2 billion yen (approx. US$19.3M).
On January 21, 2009 D+PAD Magazine reported that Resident Evil 5 would be released with Limited Edition Xbox 360 box art, pictures of the Limited Edition box claiming to allow 2–16 players to play offline via system link. Capcom initially responded stating that their "box art isn't lying", but refused to give any more details. However, soon after, Capcom issued another statement that contradicted their original response stating that the information on the box art was an error and that the correct number of players supported by system link is only two.
at the Newman Scoring Stage at 20th Century Fox
Studios, with a 103-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony
. Additional orchestral music and the orchestral arrangements were created by Wataru Hokoyama, who conducted the orchestra himself.
Capcom recorded in Los Angeles because they wanted a Hollywood-style soundtrack that would increase the game's cinematic value and global interest. The game’s soundtrack features an original theme song as well as live orchestral music compositions, a first for the game series. The theme song is composed by Kota Suzuki and sung by Oulimata Niang.
and the PlayStation Network. The Versus content contains two different online game types. Slayers is a point-based game that challenges players to kill Majini, while in Survivors players must hunt each other while dodging attacking Majini. Players may also play Team Survivors or Team Slayers in which there are four players, two on each side. Versus is a four player, online only, mode.
During Sony
's press conference at the Tokyo Game Show
2009, Capcom announced that Biohazard 5: Alternative Edition would be released in Japan in Spring 2010 for PlayStation 3
. This PS3 exclusive version includes a new scenario titled "Lost in Nightmares", where protagonists Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine infiltrate one of Spencer's estates in 2006. Capcom has announced that the new content will be released in DLC format for Australia, Europe and America.
A western version of Biohazard 5: Alternative Edition was announced for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the form of Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition. Gold Edition will include the "Lost In Nightmares" episode. It was announced that the Gold Edition would include another campaign expansion called "Desperate Escape." In this episode players control Josh Stone and Jill Valentine as they journey to assist Chris and Sheva. Gold Edition will also include the previously released Versus mode DLC, four new costumes, and an alternate Mercenaries mode, "The Mercenaries Reunion." Mercenaries Reunion features eight new playable characters as well as new item and time placement for the Mercenaries levels.
On December 10, a video was released revealing the first two Mercenaries Reunion characters: Warrior Chris and Fairytale Sheva. On December 16, 2009, Famitsu magazine revealed the first screenshots of the "Desperate Escape" episode, as well as three more characters for Mercenaries Reunion: Heavy Metal Chris, Business Suit Sheva and Josh Stone. Excella Gionne was announced as another playable character in Famitsu. According to Famitsu, Rebecca Chambers and Barry Burton are confirmed to be the final playable characters.
Alternatively, for those who do not purchase the Gold Edition, both episodes as well as both costume packs will be available as downloadable content (DLC), with two of the eight new Mercenaries Reunion characters bundled with each downloadable item. This means that by buying all five of sets DLC, players will then own all of the content on the disc. However, this only applies to the PlayStation 3 version, due to the fact that the Xbox 360 version will not contain DLC on the disc. The Xbox 360 Gold comes with a download token, allowing for a free download of all of the DLC while the PlayStation 3 Gold Edition has all of the new content on disc.
The disc was released in the US on March 9, 2010, while the European release was March 12, 2010. The DLC release dates were as follows: "Lost in Nightmares" and the first costume pack were available for download on February 17 for Xbox 360 and February 18 for PS3, while "Desperate Escape", the second episode, and costume pack were released on March 3 for Xbox 360 and 4 for PlayStation 3.
Press Conference at Tokyo Game Show
2009, Capcom announced that Biohazard 5: Alternative Edition would be released in Japan in Spring 2010 for the PlayStation 3. During that same press conference it was also announced that this new version would feature support for Sony's motion controller (now officially named "Move") and the game was demoed using the controller. It was confirmed in a GameSpot article that the original versions of both Biohazard 5 and the western Resident Evil 5 would not feature motion controller support. Only the Gold Edition is Move-compatible, with a patch released September 14, 2010.
and the PlayStation Network Store on July 26, 2007. In late March 2008, the April issue of Famitsu Wave
was bundled with a DVD containing a preview of the game. Takeuchi gave new information on the game and showed new gameplay footage. A new trailer shown at Captivate '08 debuted on Spike TV
's show Gametrailers TV, on May 31, 2008, as well as the GameTrailers
.com website. A playable demo of the game was released in Japan on December 5, 2008 for the Xbox 360. The demo was later released in North America and Europe for the Xbox 360 on January 26, 2009, and on February 2, 2009 for the PlayStation 3. Microsoft released a limited edition red Xbox 360 Elite console that was sold along with the game. This bundle included a Resident Evil Premium Theme for the Xbox 360 Dashboard and a voucher for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix over Xbox Live. In the Netherlands the limited edition of the Xbox 360 Elite that was packaged with Resident Evil 5 was black instead of red.
. This space is called the Resident Evil 5 "Studio Lot" (or Biohazard 5 "Film Studio" for Japan). This space is themed around the in-game opening location of Kijuju. The lounge offers Resident Evil 5-related items, a variety of events, a full game launching support feature, and is the first Home space to offer an in-lounge shop. Some areas in the space are only available to users who own Resident Evil 5. This space is available to all regions of PlayStation Home and was released on March 5, 2009. The game of Resident Evil 5 also supports Home rewards, such as Chris Redfield, Sheva Alomar, Jill Valentine and Albert Wesker ornaments for achieving certain trophies in Resident Evil 5.
and Xbox Live
services, with over 1.8 million of these downloads taking place in the first three days.
The PlayStation 3 version of Resident Evil 5 was the top-selling game in Japan in the two weeks following its release, with 319,590 units sold. Resident Evil 5 became the fastest-selling game in the franchise in the United Kingdom
, additionally becoming the biggest Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game launch to date in the region. In France
, the game sold 110,555 units during its first week, approximately half of the available stock in the country at the time. As of June 30, 2011, Resident Evil 5 has sold 5.6 million copies worldwide since launch, becoming the best selling Resident Evil game ever made.
complimented the game's fast pace of action and called the graphics gorgeous. X-Play
noted that while the game's graphics were exceptional, the single player AI was hard to play through. In addition, they expressed disappointment, as they felt the controls were taken from Resident Evil 4. Game Informer
complimented Resident Evil 5 saying it had the best graphics of any game to date and that the music helped make enemies come alive. Edge
complimented Resident Evil 5's gameplay calling it exhilarating and frantic, but criticised the control system. IGN
stated in their review that split screen co-op was very confusing and that the game had a surprisingly high replay value. 1UP! repeatedly compared Resident Evil 5 to Gears of War 2
. But while they compared the games multiple times in their review, they complained about Resident Evil 5's new controls. Eurogamer
noted that Resident Evil 5 felt a lot like past games in the franchise and that it is just like any other third person action shooter.
GameZone's Louis Bedigian gave the game an 8.5/10, saying "The fact that Resident Evil 5 was worth playing through twice in one weekend shows how compelling the gameplay is, and how it's able to rise above a number of disappointing flaws."
Steven Hopper gave the Lost in Nightmares DLC an 8/10, saying "Even though the episode is pretty short, there is some good replay value here and the added multiplayer elements are a nice touch. All in all, this is a worthy investment for fans of the original game."
Resident Evil 5s 2007 E3 trailer was questioned for its depiction of a white
protagonist killing black
enemies in a small African village. Newsweek
editor N'Gai Croal began the criticism, stating, "There was a lot of imagery in that trailer that dovetailed with classic racist
imagery." He acknowledged that only the preview had been released.
The second trailer for the game, released on May 31, 2008, revealed a more racially diverse group of enemies, as well as Sheva, a BSAA agent who assists the protagonist. However, designer Jun Takeuchi
denied that complaints about racism
had any effect in altering the design of Resident Evil 5. Takeuchi commented that the game's producers were surprised by the controversy. In an interview with MTV, he explained that Capcom's staff is racially diverse, and acknowledged that various cultures may have had different opinions on the trailer. In an interview with Computer and Video Games
, producer Masachika Kawata also commented on the issue, stating, "We can't please everyone. We're in the entertainment business - we're not here to state our political opinion or anything like that. It's unfortunate that some people felt that way."
In Eurogamer
's February 2009 preview of Resident Evil 5, Dan Whitehead expressed concerns about the controversy the game may generate, stating that "it plays so blatantly into the old clichés of the dangerous 'dark continent
' and the primitive lust of its inhabitants that you'd swear the game was written in the 1920s" and "there are even more outrageous and outdated images to be found later in the game, stuff that I was honestly surprised to see in 2009." The article also states that the addition of the light-skinned Sheva "compounds the problem rather than easing it."
Glenn Bowman, Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of Kent
, Canterbury, has stated that he does not believe Resident Evil 5 is racist. Bowman added that the game presents an anti-colonial
theme. One particular scene in the game, said to show black men dragging off a screaming white woman, was submitted for evaluation to the British Board of Film Classification
(BBFC), which deemed it not to be racist. Sue Clark, Head of Communications at the BBFC, stated, "We do take racism very seriously, but in this case there is no issue around racism."
Third-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
video game developed and published by Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
. The game is the seventh installment in the Resident Evil survival horror series, and was released on March 5, 2009 in Japan and on March 13, 2009 in North America and Europe for the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and September 2009 for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. The story of Resident Evil 5 revolves around Chris Redfield
Chris Redfield
is a fictional character from Capcom's Resident Evil series.Chris is one of the two main protagonists in the first Resident Evil game, the other being Jill Valentine. Redfield returned as a playable character in Resident Evil Code: Veronica, where he must search for, and ultimately rescue, his...
's and Sheva Alomar's investigation of a terrorist threat in Kijuju, a fictional town in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
Gameplay
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4, known in Japan as , is a survival horror third-person shooter video game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by multiple publishers, including Capcom, Ubisoft, Nintendo Australia, Red Ant Enterprises and THQ Asia Pacific...
, with context-sensitive controls and dynamic cutscenes also making a return.
The player can control either Chris Redfield
Chris Redfield
is a fictional character from Capcom's Resident Evil series.Chris is one of the two main protagonists in the first Resident Evil game, the other being Jill Valentine. Redfield returned as a playable character in Resident Evil Code: Veronica, where he must search for, and ultimately rescue, his...
or Sheva Alomar in a similar fashion to Leon S. Kennedy
Leon S. Kennedy
is a player character appearing in the Resident Evil series of survival horror video games. Leon is a protagonist in Resident Evil 2 and the main protagonist of Resident Evil 4. During the events of RE2, Leon is a new police officer who arrives in Raccoon City late for his first day on the job,...
in Resident Evil 4, with the same over-the-shoulder perspective. The game's environment plays a significant role. The Mercenaries minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
, featured in previous Resident Evil games, is present in Resident Evil 5. At launch, the multiplayer mode in the minigame was offline only, but a launch day patch
Patch (computing)
A patch is a piece of software designed to fix problems with, or update a computer program or its supporting data. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs, and improving the usability or performance...
gave the game online multiplayer modes as well.
Instead of zombies, the game's humanoid enemies are called "Majini", meaning evil spirit in Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
. They bear many resemblances to the Ganados of Resident Evil 4, because they speak, run, dodge and wield weapons. Like in Resident Evil 4, the number of weapon variations is increased compared to the previous games in the series; there are now several varieties of the handgun, shotgun, submachine gun, assault rifle and rifle to choose from. Like inventory systems in two previous Resident Evil titles Resident Evil Outbreak
Resident Evil Outbreak
Resident Evil Outbreak, known as in Japan, is a single player game with online playability for the PlayStation 2 initially released in 2003. It was developed by Capcom Production Studio 1. This game was the first in the Resident Evil series to feature cooperative gameplay and online multiplayer...
and Resident Evil Outbreak File #2, the player can only equip weapons and items in the midst of gameplay (the game still runs real-time as you manipulate the inventory), as opposed to the game pausing.
The game features some online elements. Resident Evil 5's main story mode can be played with two players, in a co-operative online mode. The feature will allow players to enter or leave anytime during the game. Players will not always stick together, and can be separated at points during the gameplay. However, if one player were to have critical health, only their partner can resuscitate them. An offline co-op mode is also in the game with the same co-op experience offered by the online co-op mode, only with two local players controlling the action in split screen or by a system link.
Setting
The setting of Resident Evil 5 has a similar feel to the film Black Hawk Down. Takeuchi added that the development team is composed of staff members who worked on the original Resident Evil. The game is a direct sequelSequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to the Resident Evil series, and continues chronologically after Resident Evil 4. The player characters and protagonists are Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar, and the game takes place in 2009, eleven years after the events of the original Resident Evil. The story explores Chris' life during the decade between the two games.
During the game's events, he is a member of a group known as Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), and sent to investigate a terrorist bio-organic weapon (BOW) threat in an African desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
area in Kijuju, that serves as the game's setting. The antagonists of the game include Albert Wesker
Albert Wesker
is a character in the Resident Evil franchise. Although portrayed as a supporting character in the first game, he was later established as the primary antagonist of the series; he usually manipulated story events behind-the-scenes and had a role in more games than the other main characters...
, a returning antagonist to the series, and Excella Gionne, a relative of the founder of the Tricell Pharmaceutical Company who operates the company's African branch. Ozwell E. Spencer, the founder of Umbrella Corp. and a key figure in the background story of the series since the original Resident Evil, is also included in a flashback.
Plot
Chris Redfield, a former STARS member and now part of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), is dispatched to Kijuju, Africa to work with Sheva AlomarSheva Alomar
is a fictional character in the Resident Evil survival horror series by Capcom. She was introduced in 2008 as an operative of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance and the new partner of Chris Redfield.-Character design:...
to apprehend Ricardo Irving before he can sell a bio-organic weapon (BOW) on the black market. Upon arriving, they discover the locals have been converted by parasites into Majini, and that the members of the BSAA's Alpha team have been killed. Chris and Sheva are rescued by BSAA's Delta team, whose membership includes Sheva's mentor Josh Stone. In the data provided by Josh, Chris sees a photograph of Jill Valentine
Jill Valentine
is a fictional character in the Resident Evil survival horror series by Capcom.Jill is one of the two protagonists of the original Resident Evil game, where she was introduced as a member of the Raccoon Police Department's Special Tactics And Rescue Service , trapped in a secret research complex of...
, his old partner, presumed dead after a confrontation with Albert Wesker
Albert Wesker
is a character in the Resident Evil franchise. Although portrayed as a supporting character in the first game, he was later established as the primary antagonist of the series; he usually manipulated story events behind-the-scenes and had a role in more games than the other main characters...
. Chris, Sheva, and Delta team close in on Irving, but he manages to escape with the help of a hooded figure, leaving behind documents that lead Chris and Sheva to oil fields in the marshlands where Irving's deal is to occur. They soon discover this was a diversion created by Irving to allow the deal to take place. Chris and Sheva attempt to regroup with Delta team, but at the rendezvous, find the team slaughtered by a BOW; Sheva cannot find Josh among the bodies. Chris refuses to report to headquarters, revealing his determination to learn if Jill is still alive.
Continuing through the marshlands, they find Josh injured but safe, and with his help track down Irving's boat. Irving injects himself with a variant of the parasite, Las Plagas, and mutates into a colossal octopus-like beast. Chris and Sheva defeat him, and with his dying words, directs the pair to a nearby cave to learn more. The cave, home of the Ndipaya tribe, is the source of the flower used to create the Progenitor virus, which led to the creation of the T- and G-viruses. Chris and Sheva find evidence that Tricell, the company funding the BSAA, had taken over a former Umbrella underground laboratory and continued Umbrella's research. In the facility are thousands of capsules holding human test subjects. Chris discovers one of the capsules belongs to Jill, but when they search it, they find the capsule empty. As they leave, they discover Tricell agent Excella Gionne has been plotting with Wesker to unleash a number of missiles with the Uroboros virus across the globe. Chris and Sheva pursue Excella, but are stopped by Wesker and the hooded figure, later revealed to be Jill, enslaved by a mind-control device on her chest. Excella and Wesker escape to a Tricell oil tanker while Chris and Sheva fight Jill, eventually subduing her and removing the device from her chest. After a brief reunion, Jill orders Chris to follow Wesker.
As Chris and Sheva make their way aboard the tanker, they come across Excella, who escapes, but drops a case of syringes. Sheva holds on to a number of them. When Chris and Sheva arrive on the main deck of the tanker, Wesker, through the tanker's intercom, reveals he has betrayed and infected Excella with Uroboros. She mutates into a giant monster which Chris and Sheva eventually defeat. Jill radios in and informs Chris and Sheva that Wesker must regularly take precisely measured doses of a drug to maintain his superhuman strength and speed; a larger or smaller dose would act as poison for Wesker. Sheva then realizes the syringes she recovered from Excella are doses of that drug. Chris and Sheva follow Wesker to a bomber aboard the tanker loaded with missiles containing the Uroboros virus. Eventually, the two are able to subdue Wesker long enough to inject him with additional doses. Wesker attempts to escape on the bomber, but is followed by Chris and Sheva who disable the bomber, causing it to crash land in a volcano. An enraged Wesker exposes himself to Uroboros, and pursues Chris and Sheva through the volcano. Chris and Sheva fight and weaken Wesker to the point where he falls into the lava. They are then rescued by a helicopter piloted by Jill and Josh. In his dying breaths, Wesker attempts to drag the helicopter into the volcano, but Chris and Sheva kill him with Rocket-propelled grenades, before he is able to do so. In the final cutscene of the game, Chris ponders whether it is truly worth fighting to preserve what is left of humanity. He looks at Sheva and Jill and decides that it is worth it in order to live in a world without fear.
Development
Capcom officially announced Resident Evil 5 on July 20, 2005. Jun Takeuchi, the director of Onimusha and producer of Lost Planet: Extreme ConditionLost Planet: Extreme Condition
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom for Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 3...
, took over producer duties from Hiroyuki Kobayashi. Keiji Inafune
Keiji Inafune
is a video game producer and illustrator. He was the former head of Research & Development and Online Business and Global Head of Production at Capcom, best known as the illustrator and co-designer of the character Mega Man, as well as the producer of the Onimusha and Dead Rising video game series...
, who served as promotional producer for Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 2, known as in Japan, is a survival horror video game originally released for the PlayStation in 1998. Developed by Capcom as the second installment in the Resident Evil series, its story takes place two months after the events of the first game, Resident Evil...
and executive producer for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
version of Resident Evil 4, oversaw the project. In February 2007, members of Capcom’s Clover Studio
Clover Studio
Clover Studio was an independent Japanese development studio, funded by Capcom Japan. Clover Studio developed the PlayStation 2 port of Viewtiful Joe, both versions of Viewtiful Joe 2 for the Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2, and the PlayStation 2 titles Ōkami and God Hand...
were also called upon to help develop the game. However, many developers from the studio moved on to work on the Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, which debuted for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
. Several staff members who also worked on the original Resident Evil
Resident Evil (video game)
Resident Evil, known as in Japan, is a survival horror video game by Capcom. The first installment in the Resident Evil series, it was originally released in 1996 for the PlayStation and was subsequently ported to the Sega Saturn and PC. In 2002, a remake of the game was released for the Nintendo...
were involved in development. Takeuchi announced the game would utilize the same gameplay model introduced in Resident Evil 4, while implementing thematics from the original Resident Evil. Resident Evil 5 runs on version 1.4 of Capcom's internally developed MT Framework
MT Framework
MT Framework is an exclusive seventh generation game engine built to be used with "all of the Capcom next-generation games" on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 , as commented by Dead Rising, Lost Planet, Devil May Cry 4, and Resident Evil 5. MT stands for "Multi-Thread", "Meta Tools" and "Multi-Target"...
engine. The game's scenario was written by Haruo Murata and Yoshiaki Hirabayashi, based on a story idea by concept director Kenichi Ueda. Tsukasa Takenaka provided additional story background and created the in-game files. In a May 2008 interview, Capcom chairman and CEO Kenzo Tsujimoto estimated the game's development costs up to that point at more than 2 billion yen (approx. US$19.3M).
On January 21, 2009 D+PAD Magazine reported that Resident Evil 5 would be released with Limited Edition Xbox 360 box art, pictures of the Limited Edition box claiming to allow 2–16 players to play offline via system link. Capcom initially responded stating that their "box art isn't lying", but refused to give any more details. However, soon after, Capcom issued another statement that contradicted their original response stating that the information on the box art was an error and that the correct number of players supported by system link is only two.
Music
Kota Suzuki served as the game's lead composer, with additional compositions provided by Hideki Okugawa, Akihiko Narita, and Seiko Kobuchi. His score was electronic, but includes 15 minutes of orchestral music that was recorded in Los AngelesLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
at the Newman Scoring Stage at 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
Studios, with a 103-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony
Hollywood Studio Symphony
The Hollywood Studio Symphony is the credited name of the symphony orchestra behind many major soundtracks, including The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Sucker Punch, Jurassic Park 3, Last Samurai, Pirates of the Caribbean, We Are Marshall, Spider-Man 2, Lost and The...
. Additional orchestral music and the orchestral arrangements were created by Wataru Hokoyama, who conducted the orchestra himself.
Capcom recorded in Los Angeles because they wanted a Hollywood-style soundtrack that would increase the game's cinematic value and global interest. The game’s soundtrack features an original theme song as well as live orchestral music compositions, a first for the game series. The theme song is composed by Kota Suzuki and sung by Oulimata Niang.
Windows version additions
The Windows version of Resident Evil 5 features online play for co-operative play like the console versions and also takes advantage of NVIDIA’s new GeForce 3D Vision technology. The PC version comes with exclusive content, such as additional costumes (which have since been made available on consoles as DLC) and a new mode in the Mercenaries minigame, No Mercy. Resident Evil 5 was released on the 15 and 18 September 2009 in North America and Europe respectively, to moderate critical praise. This has been preceded by a benchmark tool release for both system performance evaluation as well as to test the new 3D technology which is implemented in all the cutscenes within the game.Gold Edition and downloadable content
Shortly before the release of Resident Evil 5, it was announced that a competitive multiplayer mode, titled Versus, would be available for download in the coming weeks. It was later announced that the content would cost less in Japan than in the rest of the world, but that the release date for Japan had been pushed back to April 9, 2009. On April 6, 2009 Capcom announced that Versus would be available to download in Europe and North America on April 7, 2009 on both the Xbox Live MarketplaceXbox Live Marketplace
The Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console that allows Xbox Live members to download purchased or promotional content...
and the PlayStation Network. The Versus content contains two different online game types. Slayers is a point-based game that challenges players to kill Majini, while in Survivors players must hunt each other while dodging attacking Majini. Players may also play Team Survivors or Team Slayers in which there are four players, two on each side. Versus is a four player, online only, mode.
During Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
's press conference at the Tokyo Game Show
Tokyo Game Show
The , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association and the Nikkei Business Publications, Inc...
2009, Capcom announced that Biohazard 5: Alternative Edition would be released in Japan in Spring 2010 for PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. This PS3 exclusive version includes a new scenario titled "Lost in Nightmares", where protagonists Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine infiltrate one of Spencer's estates in 2006. Capcom has announced that the new content will be released in DLC format for Australia, Europe and America.
A western version of Biohazard 5: Alternative Edition was announced for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the form of Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition. Gold Edition will include the "Lost In Nightmares" episode. It was announced that the Gold Edition would include another campaign expansion called "Desperate Escape." In this episode players control Josh Stone and Jill Valentine as they journey to assist Chris and Sheva. Gold Edition will also include the previously released Versus mode DLC, four new costumes, and an alternate Mercenaries mode, "The Mercenaries Reunion." Mercenaries Reunion features eight new playable characters as well as new item and time placement for the Mercenaries levels.
On December 10, a video was released revealing the first two Mercenaries Reunion characters: Warrior Chris and Fairytale Sheva. On December 16, 2009, Famitsu magazine revealed the first screenshots of the "Desperate Escape" episode, as well as three more characters for Mercenaries Reunion: Heavy Metal Chris, Business Suit Sheva and Josh Stone. Excella Gionne was announced as another playable character in Famitsu. According to Famitsu, Rebecca Chambers and Barry Burton are confirmed to be the final playable characters.
Alternatively, for those who do not purchase the Gold Edition, both episodes as well as both costume packs will be available as downloadable content (DLC), with two of the eight new Mercenaries Reunion characters bundled with each downloadable item. This means that by buying all five of sets DLC, players will then own all of the content on the disc. However, this only applies to the PlayStation 3 version, due to the fact that the Xbox 360 version will not contain DLC on the disc. The Xbox 360 Gold comes with a download token, allowing for a free download of all of the DLC while the PlayStation 3 Gold Edition has all of the new content on disc.
The disc was released in the US on March 9, 2010, while the European release was March 12, 2010. The DLC release dates were as follows: "Lost in Nightmares" and the first costume pack were available for download on February 17 for Xbox 360 and February 18 for PS3, while "Desperate Escape", the second episode, and costume pack were released on March 3 for Xbox 360 and 4 for PlayStation 3.
PlayStation Move support
During Sony'sSony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
Press Conference at Tokyo Game Show
Tokyo Game Show
The , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association and the Nikkei Business Publications, Inc...
2009, Capcom announced that Biohazard 5: Alternative Edition would be released in Japan in Spring 2010 for the PlayStation 3. During that same press conference it was also announced that this new version would feature support for Sony's motion controller (now officially named "Move") and the game was demoed using the controller. It was confirmed in a GameSpot article that the original versions of both Biohazard 5 and the western Resident Evil 5 would not feature motion controller support. Only the Gold Edition is Move-compatible, with a patch released September 14, 2010.
Marketing
Capcom revealed a brief trailer for Resident Evil 5 at E3 2007. The full E3 trailer for the game became available on the Xbox Live MarketplaceXbox Live Marketplace
The Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console that allows Xbox Live members to download purchased or promotional content...
and the PlayStation Network Store on July 26, 2007. In late March 2008, the April issue of Famitsu Wave
Famitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
was bundled with a DVD containing a preview of the game. Takeuchi gave new information on the game and showed new gameplay footage. A new trailer shown at Captivate '08 debuted on Spike TV
Spike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
's show Gametrailers TV, on May 31, 2008, as well as the GameTrailers
GameTrailers
GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create...
.com website. A playable demo of the game was released in Japan on December 5, 2008 for the Xbox 360. The demo was later released in North America and Europe for the Xbox 360 on January 26, 2009, and on February 2, 2009 for the PlayStation 3. Microsoft released a limited edition red Xbox 360 Elite console that was sold along with the game. This bundle included a Resident Evil Premium Theme for the Xbox 360 Dashboard and a voucher for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix over Xbox Live. In the Netherlands the limited edition of the Xbox 360 Elite that was packaged with Resident Evil 5 was black instead of red.
PlayStation Home
Capcom has released a dedicated Game Space for the PlayStation 3's online community-based service, PlayStation HomePlayStation Home
PlayStation Home is a virtual 3D social gaming network developed by Sony Computer Entertainment's London Studio for the PlayStation 3 on the PlayStation Network . It is available directly from the PlayStation 3 XrossMediaBar under PlayStation Network. Membership is free, and only requires a PSN...
. This space is called the Resident Evil 5 "Studio Lot" (or Biohazard 5 "Film Studio" for Japan). This space is themed around the in-game opening location of Kijuju. The lounge offers Resident Evil 5-related items, a variety of events, a full game launching support feature, and is the first Home space to offer an in-lounge shop. Some areas in the space are only available to users who own Resident Evil 5. This space is available to all regions of PlayStation Home and was released on March 5, 2009. The game of Resident Evil 5 also supports Home rewards, such as Chris Redfield, Sheva Alomar, Jill Valentine and Albert Wesker ornaments for achieving certain trophies in Resident Evil 5.
Reception
Downloads and sales
The downloadable demo of Resident Evil 5 exceeded 4 million downloads worldwide during its release on the PlayStation StorePlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games,...
and Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
services, with over 1.8 million of these downloads taking place in the first three days.
The PlayStation 3 version of Resident Evil 5 was the top-selling game in Japan in the two weeks following its release, with 319,590 units sold. Resident Evil 5 became the fastest-selling game in the franchise in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, additionally becoming the biggest Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game launch to date in the region. In France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the game sold 110,555 units during its first week, approximately half of the available stock in the country at the time. As of June 30, 2011, Resident Evil 5 has sold 5.6 million copies worldwide since launch, becoming the best selling Resident Evil game ever made.
Reviews
Reviews for Resident Evil 5 have been generally positive. The Official Xbox MagazineOfficial Xbox Magazine
Official Xbox Magazine is a monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released for E3 2001, with another preview issue for November 2001. The magazine is bundled with a disc that includes game demos, preview videos and...
complimented the game's fast pace of action and called the graphics gorgeous. X-Play
X-Play
X-Play is a TV program about video games, known for its reviews and comedy skits...
noted that while the game's graphics were exceptional, the single player AI was hard to play through. In addition, they expressed disappointment, as they felt the controls were taken from Resident Evil 4. Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
complimented Resident Evil 5 saying it had the best graphics of any game to date and that the music helped make enemies come alive. Edge
Edge (magazine)
Edge is a multi-format computer and video game magazine published by Future Publishing in the United Kingdom. It is known for its industry contacts, editorial stance, distinctive anonymous third-person writing style, yearly awards and longevity....
complimented Resident Evil 5's gameplay calling it exhilarating and frantic, but criticised the control system. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
stated in their review that split screen co-op was very confusing and that the game had a surprisingly high replay value. 1UP! repeatedly compared Resident Evil 5 to Gears of War 2
Gears of War 2
Gears of War 2 is a third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games with lead design by Cliff Bleszinski, and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. It is the second installment of the Gears of War series. The game was officially released in North America, Europe and...
. But while they compared the games multiple times in their review, they complained about Resident Evil 5's new controls. Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
noted that Resident Evil 5 felt a lot like past games in the franchise and that it is just like any other third person action shooter.
GameZone's Louis Bedigian gave the game an 8.5/10, saying "The fact that Resident Evil 5 was worth playing through twice in one weekend shows how compelling the gameplay is, and how it's able to rise above a number of disappointing flaws."
Steven Hopper gave the Lost in Nightmares DLC an 8/10, saying "Even though the episode is pretty short, there is some good replay value here and the added multiplayer elements are a nice touch. All in all, this is a worthy investment for fans of the original game."
Allegations of racism
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
protagonist killing black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
enemies in a small African village. Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
editor N'Gai Croal began the criticism, stating, "There was a lot of imagery in that trailer that dovetailed with classic racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
imagery." He acknowledged that only the preview had been released.
The second trailer for the game, released on May 31, 2008, revealed a more racially diverse group of enemies, as well as Sheva, a BSAA agent who assists the protagonist. However, designer Jun Takeuchi
Jun Takeuchi
is a Japanese video game director and producer. He graduated from the Division of Graphics at the Sozosha College of Design and joined the game development company Capcom in 1991. He served as the producer for Onimusha 3 and Lost Planet and chief producer for Resident Evil 5...
denied that complaints about racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
had any effect in altering the design of Resident Evil 5. Takeuchi commented that the game's producers were surprised by the controversy. In an interview with MTV, he explained that Capcom's staff is racially diverse, and acknowledged that various cultures may have had different opinions on the trailer. In an interview with Computer and Video Games
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
, producer Masachika Kawata also commented on the issue, stating, "We can't please everyone. We're in the entertainment business - we're not here to state our political opinion or anything like that. It's unfortunate that some people felt that way."
In Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
's February 2009 preview of Resident Evil 5, Dan Whitehead expressed concerns about the controversy the game may generate, stating that "it plays so blatantly into the old clichés of the dangerous 'dark continent
Dark Continent
Dark Continent may refer to:*A 19th century expression previously used to describe Africa, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa.*Dark Continent , an album by Wall of Voodoo...
' and the primitive lust of its inhabitants that you'd swear the game was written in the 1920s" and "there are even more outrageous and outdated images to be found later in the game, stuff that I was honestly surprised to see in 2009." The article also states that the addition of the light-skinned Sheva "compounds the problem rather than easing it."
Glenn Bowman, Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
, Canterbury, has stated that he does not believe Resident Evil 5 is racist. Bowman added that the game presents an anti-colonial
Anti-imperialism
Anti-imperialism, strictly speaking, is a term that may be applied to a movement opposed to any form of colonialism or imperialism. Anti-imperialism includes opposition to wars of conquest, particularly of non-contiguous territory or people with a different language or culture; it also includes...
theme. One particular scene in the game, said to show black men dragging off a screaming white woman, was submitted for evaluation to the British Board of Film Classification
British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification , originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom...
(BBFC), which deemed it not to be racist. Sue Clark, Head of Communications at the BBFC, stated, "We do take racism very seriously, but in this case there is no issue around racism."