Game: Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition

Platform: Xbox 360, PS3

Game length: Both new chapters last about an hour. Mercenaries Reunion mode has online co-op which gives it a ton of replayability.

Completed? Both completed Lost in Nightmares on three different difficulties, completed Desperate Escape on normal.

Lead Reviewer: Shawn

*Note – This review will focus on the new content found in the Gold Edition.

Resident Evil 5 had its fair share of controversy pre and post-release. From being called racist to the controls being called “archaic”, Capcom hasn’t had the easiest time reading through consumer opinion. Many fans felt that the game was too action focused, leaving the survival horror elements out in favor of reaching a bigger audience. While this was somewhat true, the game still delivered a great experience, despite all of the issues it faced. With the release of the Lost in Nightmares and Desperate Escape chapters, Capcom looked to satisfy people on both sides of the fence, all while building upon the experience we had already played.

Lost in Nightmares

Shawn: The first of the two chapters brought us back to a very familiar mansion setting, which may make many of you recall memories from the original Resident Evil. It takes place before the story in Resident Evil 5, with Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine teaming up once again. Actually, a very large portion of this DLC will make you think of the older games. Instead of the heavy action focus featured in the main story of Resident Evil 5, it’s a slower-paced path where you need crests and cranks to progress. There are hardly any enemies to speak of, except for a new reoccurring mini-boss type enemy. While solving many of the chapter’s puzzles, you’ll constantly be chased by these guys. It makes for some great jump moments if you have a co-op friend to play with, and the latter portion of the chapter introduces one of the best puzzle-based fights the series has seen. You are without much firepower here, so you are forced to use traps to kill the enemies that are after you. While frustrating, it is executed very well at the same time. Lost in Nightmares is a great call-out to the older games, and interestingly enough, probably my favorite chapter of the entire game. It made me think about what Resident Evil 5 would have been like if it took the survival horror route instead.

Charis: As someone who has never played a Resident Evil game before RE5, Lost in Nightmares is easy to just jump into and play. While the shooting does take some time to get used to, it’s not as important in this chapter as in the entirety of RE5, because Lost in Nightmares is more focused on the puzzles than killing things. The puzzles are not mind-numbingly challenging, but the imagination behind them, added with the fact that you must run from enemies at the same time, made it exciting. I can’t tell you how many times I probably screamed out of the adrenaline rush this game sets on (more on that later). It’s easy to get through in one sitting, with the chapter being no longer than an hour, but the final boss may have you running in circles. It took us a few minutes before we figured out how to kill him. The difficulty settings do have an impact though, so if you are not comfortable on the easier settings, be warned. A playthough on the normal setting takes about an hour but will depend on difficulty/skill level/co-op/AI. Also, it has great replay value because trying to beat your time and score always keeps things interesting. .

Desperate Escape

Shawn: The Desperate Escape chapter takes place during the story of Resident Evil 5, where you play as Jill Valentine and Josh Stone trying to escape from the Tricell factory (not going further into this to avoid spoilers to those who haven’t played RE5). Let’s make this clear from the beginning: Desperate Escape is the polar opposite of Lost in Nightmares. The entire chapter is a non-stop attack session, so much so that it’s kind of annoying. Enemies seem to infinitely respawn, which is incredibly frustrating at some points. You can clear a spot and progress forward, just to get attacked from behind a moment later. This frustrated both of us more than I’d like to admit, actually. There aren’t really any puzzles to speak of, just finding keys and opening doors. This entire chapter focuses on getting from point A to point B as effectively as possible. And don’t worry about the usual lack of ammo in Resident Evil games – they are very generous with it here. My favorite part of the whole episode has to be that the wonderful chainsaw majini are back. Watching Charis scream in fear over them made this chapter worth it for me.

Charis: Yeah my throat hurt after playing this. The biggest success factor that should be kept in mind here is teamwork. You need to work together, or you will be killed by everything. Many times we stood back to back Army of Two style, and while one of us did one thing, the other kept the hoard at bay. And don’t even get me started on the chainsaw majini. Let’s just say, they never walk alone. This left me running for my life multiple times, screaming at Shawn (who was either calm or laughing at me) to run for his as well, and passing through parts without killing anything. The end of the chapter does not include a final boss. It is a scene in which you have to fight the masses while a clock ticks down to your freedom. While it was easier than the boss from the other DLC chapter, something, whether it is an enemy or another thing I won’t go into, might get on your nerves. Overall, it was fun (and quite frightening…), but my preference would go to Lost in Nightmares.

Mercenaries Reunion

Shawn: If you’ve played Mercenaries before, then you know what to expect here. First, you pick a level (you must unlock them as you go) and character. The draw to mercenaries reunion is that you get to use different characters than the regular version (like Rebecca Chambers, Josh Stone, new variations of other characters, etc.). Each character has a unique weapon set and is more beneficial depending on the level. However, it’s more fun using your favorite character of choice. Once the game starts, the mission is to rack up as many points as possible in the time limit. You earn points by killing enemies in combos. If you fail to kill an enemy before the combo timer expires, you lose the point bonuses and go right back down to one. There are also time bonuses hidden throughout the levels that extend how long you have to build up a big score.

Charis: Our first playthrough was a little shaky, but once you get into the swing of things, it’s really fun. As the levels progress, the enemies also get harder to kill and each level has its own theme and enemy types. You don’t start anywhere near your partner, which can be irritating because one wave of enemies will usually come after one player at a time. Once again, teamwork is crucial in this mode. You need to be there to help each other, keep a combo going, and pick up time bonuses, while being surrounded. The mode is very fast paced, and of course made me panic again. This time, it’s not just killing the hordes of zombies, but keeping that combo going that had me stressing out. Sometimes an enemy won’t be in sight, and you lose the combo, but other times it’s just a matter of turning around and having ten guys waiting to attack you. If you can get a friend to play it with you, this mode provides plenty of entertainment to keep you going.

Conclusion?
For those wondering, yes, Resident Evil 5 still holds up a year later. While the shooting may be annoying to some, it does give the game a more “Resident Evil” feel… we just wish it would incorporate more of that like the Lost in Nightmares chapter did. Both chapters are worth playing through, but old fans may prefer Lost in Nightmares, and newer fans (Resident Evil 4 and after) may prefer Desperate Escape. The Mercenaries Reunion mode brings some great new weapon combinations and characters, but the versus mode should be skipped altogether. We don’t normally promote getting things through downloaded content when there is a disc alternative, but it doesn’t make much sense otherwise here. Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition is only worthwhile for those who have never played or purchased the game before. If you already own the game, it makes absolutely no sense to upgrade, as all of this DLC will only run you roughly $15. You can even buy the original release and download the DLC for cheaper. Know that the extra content is definitely worth it, just make sure you’re getting it in a way that’s the best deal for you.

Score

8.5

(7’s and 8’s are good to great games that excel in certain areas, but fall short in others. It needs to have some great ideas and be consistently fun. It may have technical flaws that hold it back from being a better game, as well. It’s worth a purchase to fans of the specific series or genre, but comes with hesitations for anyone else)