This game is THAT GOOD. I loved it, start to end. For all the hardcore fans of the series you will get a big kick out of it. For the idiots out there that complain due to the fact that you cannot move when you shoot or knife…what the hell? You never could in the other games either! To me it adds to the tension, and OMG do you feel tension. Stop bitching about the little things and comparing it to RE4. Its a solid game and a solid sequel.

For the Wesker fans......YOU WILL LOVE THIS GAME!

You'll love this game if you just want more of the same that RE4 provided. Aside from the addition of a partner (a really, really hot one) it's basically the same old thing. That said it's done really well. The graphics are stunning and the production values are excellent. One problem I had with the graphics though, is the really quite dreadful tearing and rippling that you get with a very low refresh rate. Most 360 games seem to refresh at only 60htz so there's always some tearing. But on this game it's much, much more noticeable and pronounced, with rippling appearing almost constantly right across the middle of the screen. I played on a CRT monitor though, so maybe it won't be so bad on a TV or LCD, I don't know.

Other than that the visuals are spectacular, from the detail on the characters to the environments and lighting. It's one of those games that makes you want to affectionately pat your 360.

It's definitely an action game. It's paced well but it seems to be all about gunning down wave after wave of enemies. I read in another review it's taken the series from survival horror to action horror, and that's certainly the case. The combat is done well though, with some genuinely tense moments. There are some awesomely cool monsters, and the levels are quite imaginative and varied which keeps them from becoming monotonous. But the game has done away with puzzles almost completely. There's one but it's so simple you wonder why they bothered (personally I hate puzzles so I didn't mind).

The addition of a partner is a welcome change. She's great to have along and is good in a fight. More banter between her and your character would have been nice though.

The game's biggest shortcoming is the story… or lack thereof; just the same old greedy corporations and their totally irrational obsession with the development of bio weapons. Throw in a hackneyed Matrix wannabe super villain with a stupid hair cut and bad English accent (but at least he's better than the ridiculously comical Spanish midget in the pantaloons from RE4), who's bent on destroying the world and making himself a god. You have to stop him. That's the story. What's more the story is set up rather poorly from the start of the game, which led to me asking myself "What's going on?” "What am I doing here?” Chris Redfield arrives in Africa but you don't know why. Obviously it's something to do with bio terrorism but there're no details. There's something about an illegal arms deal and a guy called Irving and that's it. That's the mission, just catch Irving. Why, what's he done? Who knows, no one bothers to tell you. Although the gameplay is pretty compelling on its own I think a strong story would have really helped make the game a lot more gripping. And some kind of mission briefing at the start of the game would give you a sense of what it is you're doing.

Another minor disappointment for me personally is there are no zombies again. The enemies are the La Plaga infected locals who made their debut in RE4 (with a dash of the 28 Days Later). You could commend the designers for doing something different in RE4, but personally I like my zombies. The infected locals are somewhat zombie-like, sure, but it's just not the same. I want zombies, damn it!

A couple more things I certainly did not like; they've done away with the typewriter in favour of a checkpoint save system. I personally despise the checkpoint system. Ok, the typewriter wasn't perfect but it allowed some degree of control over where you saved your game. In addition, the save system in RE5 doesn't seem to work properly. Sometimes when you quit the game after reaching a checkpoint, then continue the game later, it fails to load that checkpoint and instead loads a previous one, sometimes quite a ways back. Why it does this I don't know. If you die it always reloads the last checkpoint, it's only if you quit the game that this happens. It's like the game is punishing you for quitting. Also, if you want to go back and replay a part of the game (you can reload the last checkpoint but let's say you want to go back further) you can't because you don't know exactly where your save is. You're more likely to find yourself way back at the start of the chapter.

They've also done away with the merchant from RE4. You still buy and sell stuff but instead of a guy in the game there's now a buy/sell/inventory management screen that you access at the start of each game, or when you reload after dying. It also has a storage section where you can stash stuff you don't want to carry around but don't want to sell. I didn't like this because it seemed like cheating. If you die and decide a rocket launcher sure would have helped you out, no problem just buy one and reload. It also doesn't help realism. I mean, where is this stuff coming from? Where is this screen that I'm accessing? I really prefer the merchant from RE4. Ok he was a bit melodramatic, and you could argue that it was silly that there was this guy that kept popping up who for some reason was never attacked by any of the monsters or anything. But I would have preferred they find some sensible way to implement the merchant in the world, than the system they came up with. Plus I miss the safe area that the merchant was often found in. You'd go through a door and hear that music and know you were safe and could relax for a bit.

I had a couple of minor issues with the controls. You still can't move and shoot at the same time. Its 2009, right? It's not that big a deal except when trying to use your knife. If you could move you could step up to an enemy, swipe with the knife then step back to dodge his counter attack. But you can't do that, you just have to stand there, motionless while he wanders up to you and attacks, and if he's got a spear or something long like that then you're stuffed. I also had a problem with having to hold down the A button (with the left stick) to run. Most other 360 games I've played allow you to adjust the character's speed by how far your push the left stick forward. You push forward a little bit to walk, and push it forward all the way to run. If you have to hold down a button to run you have to take your thumb off the other direction stick, and this makes controlling your character unnecessarily awkward. I think it's time the controls took a leap into next gen along with the graphics.

i had high expectations of this game before i brought it an i was not dissapointed as always the story line in resident evil is great an realy draws you in. the only downfall i felt was the inability to move while shooting which make it quite difficult in a big shootout. that aside this is a great addition for the game collection an sure to keep you hooked from start to end