Resident Evil 5 hits the gaming industry in full force

By BRITTANY WALDER

Staff Writer

 

Resident Evil 5 has a lot to live up to. When its predecessor came shooting its way onto the forefront of the industry in 2005, it was evident that series’ standards had been raised remarkably high. Resident Evil 4 revolutionized the Resident Evil franchise, incorporating improved controls, a revamped menu system that could increasingly be upgraded in order to hold more equipment, a new and collaborative breed of enemy, and an overall sleek and interactive environment. Its dynamic cut scenes also added a sense of thrill to the game by giving it more of an “action” feel. Protecting the president’s daughter, while at times agonizing, was enough to provoke drawing up a battle plan before charging into the core of the action.

Resident Evil 5 is a spin on these improvements. It capitalizes on the “action” aspect, requiring awareness at all times because it is impossible to tell whether or not you could be required to act on the spot. The survival-horror experience is significantly overhauled by giving series’ golden boy Chris Redfield a partner in the form of Sheva Alomar. Sheva is equipped with all of her own weapons, ammunition, and items, and is more than capable of holding her own in the heat of battle. She also proves to be more of an asset than a hindrance, unlike Resident Evil 4’s Ashley Graham.

The overall presentation is gorgeous. The environments are stunning, and the characters are positively real, right down to the detail in the material of their clothing. The lighting effects are absolutely striking, and for the first time in the series, utilizing light and darkness becomes a crucial aspect of surviving a vicious onslaught of literally dozens of enemies. Nearly everything around you can be interacted with, and the game makes a monumental advance by placing much of the action under the glistening heat of broad daylight instead of simply having the player wander around alone in the dark. The co-op element is perhaps the most superbly executed addition to the franchise. The ability to collaborate with another player by setting up traps, solving puzzles, distributing weapons and ammo, and resuscitating your partner (or your partner resuscitating you) when your health is critical breathes new life into a series of games that have stagnated over the years due to repetitive solo game play. While having a colleague in action to help you blow enemies away may take away some of the stress involved in navigating the African terrain amid a viral outbreak, it also ups the amount of critical thinking and camaraderie needed to actually survive. If one player is impaled by a vicious Axe-man, it’s game over for everybody. The strategic use of your limited inventory space to become absolutely necessary. Watching your back will be hard enough. Watching Sheva’s becomes another matter. The A.I. of the enemies themselves is particularly impressive. The majini come at all speeds, strength levels, sizes, ethnicities, and occupations, and are packed with enough hardware to easily make your chances of survival slim to none. Hordes upon hordes will often come barreling at you at once, and each one will work with everyone else to maximize their ability to take you out. Unfortunately, while the enemies have gotten stronger and faster, Chris and Sheva have not. 

While Resident Evil 5 is a tight, fast-paced, and often eerie experience, it takes a few steps back in innovation. While the game improves upon many of its predecessor’s advancements, it lags in that it refuses to add unique attributes of its own. The boss battles are engaging, but the bosses themselves are not particularly new. Once again, many of Resident Evil 5’s innovations are recycled, brutally at times.

Resident Evil 5 is an intense and blazing marathon of nonstop action, collaborative game play and transcendent, breathtaking environments. It is fluid, swift, and finely engineered, taking the best aspects of the greatest games and allowing them to perform with all of the potential that the Xbox 360 has to offer. Resident Evil 5 is a pivotal chapter in the Resident Evil story arc, and should definitely not be missed. 

 

                                 Score: A-

 

Is Chinese Democracy worth the hype?

 

Axl Rose lead singer of Guns N' Roses

 

 

By BRITTANY WALDER

Staff Writer

 

After 14 years, numerous lineup changes, does Guns N’ Roses’ sixth studio album Chinese Democracy live up to nearly two decades of anticipation?

When Guns N’ Roses came roaring onto the scene in the late 1980s, they were a raw, militant force in the industry, representing rock in its crudest form. 

Between 1987 and 2008, Guns N’ Roses saw a complete overhaul.  One of the last remaining members from the group’s golden age, Slash, was fired in 1996.

The album finally hit stores on November 23, 2008 after a purported $13 million in the making. Sales have been remarkably low, but critics have been generally positive.

“A few songs” do hold a genuine appeal, but when it comes down to it, Chinese Democracy sounds so eerily familiar and remarkably bland.  The album is a montage of whiny industrial rock, the sole force on the album resting in the irony of the title track.  The lyrics ring with the reverberations of a melodrama that has become a staple in modern music, and which, not surprisingly has long since lost its appeal.  Rose attempts to perform with the same rowdy angst that  is evident he no longer feels.

The effects are dismal, and when compared with the band’s heyday and the ridiculously long wait for the album’s release, is also really sad.

These faults might have been forgivable if Democracy was released even 10 years ago, thrown together amidst the destruction of the original band, when Rose opted to swap every iconic member for some less celebrated musician who would succeed only in stripping Guns N’ Roses’ style down to the bare essentials—music, riffs, discontent, and generic rock.

Nearly two decades of work should have theoretically produced something beyond mediocre.  Axl Rose’s vocals are mellow when compared to his performance  on earlier compositions.  He sounds like someone who is desperately trying to have fun doing something that no longer gives him a sense of satisfaction.

Overall, Guns N’ Roses doesn’t have the magnetism to pull in new listeners with Democracy.  If anything, it will, however, strike a nostalgic chord with longtime fans.  It is unlikely that like its predecessor, Chinese Democracy will be hailed for years to come.

The Bottom Line: 2 out of 5

Dark Knight re-imagines an icon

 

By JEFF RAUCH

Staff Writer

With the release of The Dark Knight into theaters this past summer, a milestone in the history of modern cinema has been set.

Every summer movie season, Hollywood rolls out its big guns.  The American public is bombarded with massive and overwhelming marketing campaigns designed to promote the latest big budget, action packed extravaganza.

The Dark Knight (TDK) was no exception to this and as soon as casting and shooting commenced last summer, the online fan boy forums were alive with glee.

This year’s release of The Dark Knight has been a rare event.  Rarely is a film released that is well received by both critics and the American public.  TDK, however, managed to accomplish this feat and has the box office totals to prove it.  With a current domestic intake of over $500 million and counting, TDK is now the number two highest grossing film of all time, right behind James Cameron’s epic Titanic which sailed out of theaters in 1998 with more than one billion dollars in its mast.

Watching TDK, it’s easy to see why it has been such a mega hit.  This is a film which manages to completely transcend its genre, becoming much more than a simple comic book film about super heroes vs. super villains.

No, this movie is more along the lines of The Godfather or Heat than Superman or the Fantasic Four.  Picking up where its predecessor left off, TDK is a story of great characters caught up in a great conflict.

As the film opens, Batman (Christian Bale) has just about rid Gotham City of all major crimes. With the help of Lt. Gordon (Gary Oldman), he begins to target the mob.  Things are looking up for the caped crusader until a new villain, the Joker (performed by the late Heath Ledger), enters the scene.  The Joker is the kind of villain that Batman isn’t really prepared to deal with.  Unlike most criminals who are motivated by money or power, the Joker simply enjoys creating chaotic causes and then watching the effects.  He is an incarnation of pure evil.

By the end of the film, Batman discovers how far he’s willing to go to be the savior that Gotham really needs.  This is where the movie gets its core conflict.  The viewer is presented with the familiar and well liked hero, who then faces greater challenges than ever before.

The Dark Knght hits dvd and blu-ray disc on December 9th.