Best PS3 Themes

Gears of War
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter
Developer(s)	Epic Games The Coalition People Can Fly Splash Damage Mediatonic
Publisher(s)	Xbox Game Studios
Creator(s)	Cliff Bleszinski
Platform(s)	Xbox 360 Microsoft Windows Xbox One iOS Xbox Series X/S
First release	Gears of War November 7, 2006
Latest release	Gears 5 September 10, 2019
Spin-offs	Gears of War: Judgment Gears Pop! Gears Tactics

Gears of War is a media franchise centered on a series of video games created by Epic Games, developed and managed by The Coalition, and owned and published by Xbox Game Studios. The franchise is best known for its third-person shooter video games, which has been supplemented by spin-off video game titles, a DC comic book series, seven novels, a board game adaptation and various merchandise.

The original trilogy focuses on the conflict between humanity and the subterranean reptilian humanoid known as the Locust Horde on the world of Sera. The first installment, Gears of War, was released on November 7, 2006 for the Xbox 360. The game follows protagonist Marcus Fenix, a soldier in the Coalition of Ordered Governments tasked to lead a last-ditch effort to destroy the Locust Horde and save humanity. Two subsequent titles, Gears of War 2 (2008) and Gears of War 3 (2011), featured a three-way conflict between humanity, the Locust Horde and their mutated counterparts, the Lambent. Gears of War: Judgment, a spin-off prequel to the series' first title, was released in 2013; it focuses on Damon Baird, one of Fenix's squad-mates.^[1] Gears of War: Ultimate Edition was released for the Xbox One and Microsoft Windows between August 2015 to March 2016.^[2] The fourth installment in the main series, Gears of War 4, is set 25 years after Gears of War 3 and follows Marcus Fenix's son, JD and his friends as they battle security forces deployed by a totalitarian COG government as well as the Swarm, a reconstituted version of the Locust Horde that once again threatens humanity.^[3] Gears 5 (2019) is the direct sequel to Gears of War 4 and revolves around Kait Diaz, a friend of JD, who embarks on an adventure to learn the truth about her past and the connections between her history and the Locust Horde.

Gears of War was developed by Epic Games. Cliff Bleszinski, who has previously worked on Epic's Unreal Tournament games, served as the series' lead game designer for the first three installments. He was inspired by gameplay elements from Resident Evil 4. Kill Switch, and Bionic Commando.^[4] The series was guided by Rod Fergusson, the executive producer and director of development of Epic Games until 2012.^[5][6] The first four installments of the Gears of War series used a modified version of the Unreal Engine 3 engine.^[7][8] In January 2014, Microsoft acquired rights to the franchise from Epic Games. Canadian studio The Coalition developed Gears of War 4, which was released on October 11, 2016 for the Xbox One and Windows 10.^[9] A sequel, Gears 5, was released in September 2019. All six installments in Gears of War featured several multiplayer modes that allowed players to compete against each other or team-up to battle AI opponents on Xbox Live.

Gears of War became one of the best-selling franchises for the Xbox 360.^[10] The series puts emphasis on cover-based combat, in which players can use objects to avoid gunfire or safely engage enemies.^[11] The Gears of War games have been amongst the most popular and most played titles on Xbox Live.^[10][12]

Plot[edit]

The Gears of War series takes place in an alternate universe on Sera, a fictional Earth-like planet. Human civilization develops and endures a millennia-long conflict that leaves humanity on the brink of extinction. Sera's leaders broker an era of peace that ushers scientific advancements and a cultural renaissance. Humanity's population sporadically grows and demands more energy provided by fossil fuel and nuclear power. Sera's scientists discover Imulsion, a naturally occurring substance that can be refined into a potent energy source. Imulsion solves Sera's energy crisis but ultimately creates great economic disparity as nations with direct access to Imulsion prosper, while other nations fall into financial turmoil.

Sera's citizens balkanize into two warring factions: the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) and Union of Independent Republics (UIR). The ensuing 79-year strife, known as the Pendulum Wars, consumes millions of lives with both sides locked in a virtual stalemate. The UIR develops the 'Hammer of Dawn', a system of satellites capable of delivering precise and destructive orbital-to-surface laser strikes. A contingent of COG commandos, led by Marcus Fenix, Dominic Santiago, and Victor Hoffman launch a daring raid on a UIR stronghold to steal the schematics for the Hammer of Dawn. The UIR surrenders after witnessing the Hammer of Dawn (completed by Marcus Fenix's father, Professor Adam Fenix) devastate one of their naval vessels.

Six weeks after the COG and UIR agreed to an armistice, a race of subterranean creatures known as the Locust Horde emerge from Sera's depths and begin assaulting human cities, wiping out 25% of the world population in the first 26 hours, referred to as 'Emergence Day'. The Locust overwhelm the already battle-worn COG forces during this surprise attack, causing them to retreat to the Jacinto Plateau, where the Locust cannot dig through its granite bedrock, and reluctantly bombard their own cities with the Hammer of Dawn to halt the Locust's advance. The ensuing scorched earth tactic destroys much of Sera's cities and human population. The COG continues to operate out of their capital city of Ephyra and other cities on the plateau such as Jacinto City, while the surviving humans, known as Stranded, are left to wander through Sera's charred ruins.

The Locust reemerge and begin a campaign of occupying human cities on the Jacinto Plateau to act as stepping stones. The Locust are eventually able to emerge and overrun Ephyra 10 years after Emergence Day. During the chaos, Marcus Fenix leads an unauthorized rescue mission to save his father from the Locust assault. During the evacuation, a helicopter is shot down by the Locust and crashes into the Fenix Estate, presumably killing Adam. The COG's leadership court martials Marcus and sentences him to 40 years in prison. After losing Ephyra, the remainder of the COG retreats to Jacinto City.

Gears of War is set 14 years after the Locust emerged, and four years into Marcus Fenix's imprisonment. The COG forces devise a last-ditch offensive to destroy the Locust by detonating the Lightmass Bomb in their tunnels. Marcus is reinstated into the COG army to supplement their depleted ranks and joins Dominic Santiago in Delta Squad on a mission to map the Locust tunnel network in preparation for the bombing. Their unit is ambushed by Locust forces and sustain heavy casualties. Fenix is repromoted to Sergeant and leads Delta with two other soldiers, Augustus Cole and Damon Baird. While the Sonic Resonator fails to map the tunnels, Delta uncovers mapping data already created by Adam Fenix. Marcus retrieves the tunnel data from his father's lab, who had been studying the Locust, and successfully deploys the Lightmass Bomb. Many of the Locust are killed. The Locust Queen, Myrrah, pledges to continue the war effort.

In the months following the Lightmass Offensive, the human population begins to suffer from a respiratory condition known as Rustlung, caused by the inhalation of Imulsion evaporated by the bombings. The Locust reemerge and bring with them a force that can sink entire cities on the Jacinto Plateau. After the destruction of Tollen and Montevado, the COG fears the Locust are trying to destroy Jacinto. Threatened with extinction, COG leader Chairman Richard Prescott devises Operation: Hollow Storm, in which thousands of soldiers will be deployed into the Hollow, locate the Locust stronghold, and eliminate them once and for all.

Gears of War 2 is set six months after the Lightmass Offensive. COG soldiers, including Delta, are deployed into the Hollow and battle the Locust to stop their plans of sinking Jacinto. The COG discovers the Locust have been using a gargantuan worm to sink the cities. After killing the Riftworm, Delta is ordered to locate the Locust stronghold by accessing intel from New Hope, a decommissioned COG research facility. The lab contains genetically altered humans called Sires, experiments on children ill with Rustlung that led to the creation of the Locust. Files there reveal the New Hope scientists fled to Mount Kadar to continue their work in solitude after the COG shut them down. The COG attacks Mount Kadar, where the Locust established their capital of Nexus. As the COG invades Nexus, they learn the Locust are mutating into the "Lambent", organisms infected with Imulsion. They have been forcing the Locust out of the Hollow for the surface world. Acting on advice from Adam Fenix, Queen Myrrah intends to sink Jacinto and use the surrounding seawater to flood the Hollow, drowning the Lambent and denying the humans their last safe city. The COG intentionally sinks Jacinto before the Locust can evacuate, drowning them in their tunnels and destroying their civilization. Adam Fenix is revealed to be alive through a radio transmission.

The remaining human population rediscover an island unscathed by the Locust War called Vectes. The Stranded gangs on the island threaten the safety of the COG, but the two groups ceasefire when the Lambent begin to emerge and overrun the island. Due to the Hollow being flooded, the Imulsion has begun to pollute the surface - causing a pandemic that aims to turn all life into Lambent organisms. Chairman Prescott is believed to be hiding secrets from the population about the origins of the Locust and Lambent, and loses their trust. Prescott abandons the COG, forcing them to disband and live as nomads, surviving against the Lambent and Locust stragglers on their own.

Gears of War 3 is set three years after Jacinto's sinking. Prescott returns to the COG and reveals to Marcus that Adam Fenix is alive. After the helicopter crash, Adam was rescued and brought to a secret island facility called Azura where he has been working the past seven years on the Imulsion countermeasure, a targeted radiation weapon which will neutralize both the Lambent and Locust. The island was sieged by Queen Myrrah's remaining forces. It is revealed that Adam knew of the Locust before E-Day and worked with Myrrah to solve the Lambent problem so the Locust wouldn't invade the surface, but was unable to provide a solution for them in time. Delta manages to locate Azura, liberate Adam, and release his countermeasure. Adam is killed by the radiation wave as he was exposed to Imulsion while developing the weapon. The countermeasure vaporizes all Lambent organisms, including Adam. The Locust are instead crystallized in an impenetrable shell. Marcus kills Queen Myrrah and humanity is able to start rebuilding.

Gears of War: RAAM's Shadow is set nine years after E-Day, shortly before the Locust invade Ephyra. High General RAAM leads a siege against Ilima City to use as a stepping stone in reaching Ephyra. Zeta Squad is ordered to locate and rescue civilians for evacuation before RAAM's forces occupy the city. The occupation of Ilima is successful and leads to the Locust taking Ephyra.

Gears of War: Judgment focuses on Baird and Cole during the early months of the Locust War. With military cadet Sofia Hendrick and former UIR soldier Garron Paduk in Kilo Squad, they disobey orders and deploy the Lightmass Missile to the destroy Locust forces occupying Halvo Bay. The squad is court-martialed, but Kilo is acquitted due to their actions resulting in victory. A separate campaign, Aftermath, features Baird, Cole, and Paduk in the hours before the activation of the Imulsion countermeasure in Gears of War 3 as they prepare for reinforcements in the upcoming battle of Azura.

Following the end of the Locust War, the humans of Sera reform the COG, led by First Minister Anya Stroud, wife of Marcus Fenix. With the assistance of robotic DeeBees created by Baird, the COG builds New Ephyra and other walled cities known as Settlements. Anya gives birth to Marcus' son, James Dominic "JD" Fenix. Anya dies from complications during pregnancy, and the COG becomes more authoritarian under First Minister Mina Jinn - prompting many civilians to abandon the COG and live off the land, known as Outsiders. After joining the military, both JD and Delmont "Del" Walker are forced to execute civilians during a protest in Settlement 2, prompting them to leave the COG and becoming Outsiders. They join the village of Fort Umson, led by Reyna Diaz and her brother-in-law, Oscar. Reyna's daughter, Kait, becomes close with JD and Del.

Gears of War 4 takes place 25 years after human victory. Fort Umson is ambushed by creatures called the Swarm. Reyna and the other villagers are captured. With JD, Kait, and Del left - they recruit Marcus to save their people. The COG pursues the group after erroneously believing they are behind a string of kidnappings. The four reach a Locust burial site where they learn the Imulsion countermeasure caused the Locust to evolve into the Swarm and have been capturing humans to transform them into soldiers for their new army. The group receives assistance from Baird and Cole as they battle their way to the Swarm's hive, but discover Reyna has been forcefully integrated in their network. Kait separates and euthanizes her mother upon her request. Kait is given the necklace that belonged to Reyna's mother, which bears the symbol of the Locust Horde.

Kait, JD, Del, and Marcus rejoin the COG and offer their intelligence to Jinn in order to help fight the Swarm. After Reyna's death, Kait begins to have nightmares and visions related to the Swarm, caused by Queen Myrrah, whose consciousness is still alive and connected to Kait's mind. Kait refuses to tell the others about her connection to the Locust out of fear. Marcus and Baird believe the Hammer of Dawn will be needed back online to defend against the upcoming war with the Swarm. Baird uncovers intel on additional Hammer of Dawn satellites at Azura.

Gears 5 begins with Delta returning to Azura to launch the Hammer satellites as the Swarm starts to attack COG Settlements. Kait is captured by the Swarm and is connected to the hivemind, in which she controls the Swarm army, resulting in her Uncle Oscar's death. After being rescued, Kait reveals her visions and believes them to be messages from the Locust, as evidenced by her grandmother's necklace. Marcus has Kait find answers at the New Hope facility and a secret lab in Mount Kadar where the scientists fled. Kait learns the Locust were the result of genetic experiments on human children sick with Rustlung and mutated with the DNA of creatures from the Hollow. The Sires were used to fertilize the stem cells of Myrrah, who was genetically immune to Imulsion. Myrrah was Reyna's mother, making Kait the next in line for queen. Kait disconnects herself from the hivemind, forcing Myrrah to possess Reyna's reanimated body. The Swarm, becoming stronger with their queen, launches an attack against New Ephyra. Using the Hammer of Dawn, the COG repels the Swarm attack. Kait vows to kill Queen Reyna before she can attack again.

Gears 5: Hivebusters follows Jeremiah Keegan, Lahni Kaliso, and Leslie Macallister shortly after the Battle of New Ephyra. Victor Hoffman, and Cole's daughter, Hana, have devised a potential solution for ending the Swarm by having soldiers infiltrate their hives and planting venom bombs to take down all the Swarm connected. They are successful in infiltrating and destroying the Swarm hive. Although it fails to kill all the Swarm, it's an advantage the COG has in the war against them.

Gears Tactics takes place a year after E-Day. Sgt. Gabriel Diaz, Kait's father and Oscar's brother, and Major Sid Redburn are tasked with assassinating Locust scientist, Ukkon, who is physically immortal by regenerating any damage done to him. Redburn reveals he was a guard at New Hope and was responsible for creating the Locust and Ukkon. Redburn is able to replicate the chemical New Hope used to counteract Ukkon's healing as a fail-safe. Diaz liberates a Locust prison camp and rescues Reyna, Kait's mother, from Ukkon's capture. Using the chemical, Reyna kills Ukkon. Diaz and Redburn abandon the COG after Prescott tries to kill them for learning about New Hope. Reyna joins them in their hunt of Ukkon's creations.

Gears of War: E-Day takes place fourteen years before the first game on Emergence Day, the day on which the Locust Horde emerged on the surface of Sera to war against humanity, and follows Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago.

Gameplay[edit]

Gears of War is a third-person shooter game, with its core concepts being derived from Resident Evil 4's "over the shoulder" perspective, Kill Switch's cover system, and Bionic Commando's swinging action akin to moving between points of cover.^[13] The series focuses on using cover to tactically engage the enemy in battle to avoid taking damage. While behind cover, the player can fire blindly and inaccurately at their opponent, or can look around the cover and aim carefully, though exposing to enemy fire; the player can slide along cover, move between nearby cover, or vault over cover to race to a new point of cover. As the player takes damage, the "Crimson Omen" appears on the HUD, becoming more defined as the player nears low health levels. The player can regenerate their health by staying out of harm's way for a short while. Should the player take too much damage, they will become incapacitated unless revived by a teammate; depending on game mode, the player may be able to recover from this state on their own, or may die after a short amount of time if not revived. When a combatant is down, a member of the other side may attempt to execute the downed player via a "curb stomp" or other brutal methods. Some types of damage will immediately kill the player with no chance of revival, such as explosive damage. There are five levels on the first two games; they are referred to as "acts" and each act is formed into a certain number of chapters.

Players in Gears of War can carry four different weapons, with the exception of the fourth game, allowing two primary weapon slots that can carry weapons which include, but are not limited to: assault rifles, shotguns, a sniper rifle, grenade launchers and an explosive bow; one grenade slot, which may be filled with up to four grenades of a specific type (Fragmentation, Smoke, Ink and Incendiary), and one pistol-type weapon. Players can either obtain ammo or swap out their current weapons with any weapon dropped by a downed foe or from those scattered around the various maps. Most weapons feature the "Active Reload" ability: either after a weapon has depleted an ammo magazine or when the player starts a manual reload, a meter is shown on screen, and the player can attempt to stop the meter in a certain marked area. If the player stops the meter in the marked area, their reload will be completed faster than if they did not attempt an Active Reload, and if the player can stop the meter at a specific section of the marked area, they will gain a temporary slight damage boost with each reloaded shot and a faster reload. If the player stops the meter outside this area, their gun will become temporarily jammed and slow down the reload time. While most of the weapons are based on standard shooter archetypes, Gears of War's signature weapon is the Lancer Assault Rifle, which has a mounted chainsaw bayonet that can be used in close quarter combat to instantly kill a standard foe. Another notable weapon is the Gnasher Shotgun, which is one of the most-used weapons in multiplayer modes for the series, as well as its most divisive.^[14] The Gnasher Shotgun, like many other weapons, can be used to bash opponents in melee, or in the case of grenades, can be stuck to a foe, exploding a few seconds later. In Gears of War 2 and Gears of War 3, all four types of grenades can be planted on any reachable surface, detonating when an opponent comes close to it. If the opponent spots the grenade, they can detonate it from a safe distance by shooting it.

All Gears of War games feature a campaign mode that can be played cooperatively with one other player. The two players take the roles of two COG soldiers, Marcus Fenix and Dominic "Dom" Santiago, as they fight the Locust. In the third game the campaign allows for up to four players to play together at the same time. The campaign mode features several levels of difficulty. At various times, the campaign will offer a choice of paths the first player can select; if the second player is present, they will be forced to take the other path. The third and fourth players in Gears of War 3 will be separated between the paths of the first and second players. In these areas, all players generally have to work together to get them through the section, such as by one player providing covering fire while the second player opens a switch that allows the first player to proceed.

The competitive multiplayer mode in Gears of War features 8 players while in Gears of War 2 features up to ten players split between COG and Locust forces in a number of gameplay types. Modes include "Warzone" and "Execution", both similar to a typical deathmatch, and "Annex" and "King of the Hill" where teams have to control a marked zone on the map. In the mode "Guardian" (only in Gears of War 2) one member of each team is designated as the leader. As long as the leader is still alive, their teammates can respawn indefinitely. As soon as the leader is executed, their teammates can no longer respawn.

Games[edit]

Main series[edit]

Gears of War[edit]

Gears of War is a third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Studios. It was initially released for the Xbox 360 on November 7, 2006 in North America, and on November 17 in Europe.^[15] It was released for Microsoft Windows on June 11, 2007. Gears of War follows Delta Squad's efforts to help deploy a Lightmass bomb deep in the Locust tunnels to wipe out the Locust threat.

A remastered edition of the game titled Gears of War: Ultimate Edition was developed and released for the Xbox One and Microsoft Windows by The Coalition, after Microsoft acquired the rights to the Gears of War franchise from Epic Games in 2014.^[16]

Gears of War 2[edit]

Gears of War 2 is a third-person shooter video game published by Microsoft Studios.^[17] It is the sequel to Gears of War and was released worldwide on November 7, 2008. The game uses a heavily upgraded version of the Unreal Engine 3.^[18] Gears of War 2 takes place 6 months after the first game, where the Locust are attempting to sink Jacinto Plateau, and the COG forces have decided to launch a counter-offensive to stop them before they can complete their attempt. Ultimately the COG sinks Jacinto themselves to flood the home of the Locust (the Hollow) and drown them.

A PC version of the game was originally planned before being cancelled by the developers, citing poor sales of the original PC version of Gears of War as well as concerns over piracy.

Gears of War 3[edit]

Gears of War 3 is the concluding part to the trilogy. Originally with an April 6, 2011 release date, it was moved to September 20 to anchor Microsoft Studios' holiday portfolio for the Xbox 360.^[19]

Gears of War 3 takes place 18 months after the end of Gears of War 2. Marcus, Dom, and the last remnants of humanity must band together to survive against the Locust and Lambent, while trying to find Marcus's father and end the war.^[20] In the end, a weapon developed by Marcus' father Adam Fenix is detonated, wiping out the Locust and the Lambent, as well as ending the war.

RAAM's Shadow[edit]

RAAM's Shadow is a secondary campaign for Gears of War 3 introduced as a DLC. Taking place several years before the original Gears of War game, RAAM's Shadow follows Zeta-Six during the Evacuation of Ilima, a city that appeared in ruins in Gears of War 2 as well as taking place from the perspective of Locust General RAAM. Zeta-Six is made up of Lieutenant Minh Young Kim from Gears of War, Tai Kaliso from Gears of War 2, Michael Barrick from the comic book series and Alicia Valera. Supporting character Jace Stratton previously appeared as a member of Delta Squad in Gears of War 3.

Gears of War 4[edit]

Gears of War 4 is an Xbox One and Windows 10 game developed by The Coalition and released on October 11, 2016.^[21]

The game's plot is set 25 years after Gears of War 3 and focuses on JD Fenix, the son of Marcus Fenix, who joins his father and two new characters: Delmont "Del" Walker and Kait Diaz against the "Swarm", a new threat risen from the remnants of the Locust.^[22]

Gears 5[edit]

Gears 5 is a sequel to Gears of War 4. It was released for Windows and Xbox One on September 10, 2019.^[23] The game focusing on Kait Diaz, as she looks for the means to counter the Swarm, learning about the true origin of the Locust and their connection with her family.

Hivebusters[edit]

Hivebusters is a single-player downloadable content expansion pack for Gears 5. Taking place before the events of the Gears of War: Hivebusters comic book series, Hivebusters follows Team Scorpio — Corporal Jeremiah Keegan, Lieutenant Lahni Kaliso and Outsider Leslie "Mac" Macallister — as they investigate a method to infiltrate and destroy the Swarm's hives from within as seen in the "Escape" multiplayer mode of Gears 5.

Gears of War: E-Day[edit]

Gears of War: E-Day is an upcoming prequel set 14 years before the events of Gears of War. The game was officially announced on June 9, 2024 during the Xbox Games Showcase by Microsoft Gaming at the Summer Game Fest.^[24][25]

Spin-offs[edit]

Gears of War: Judgment[edit]

Gears of War: Judgment is a spin-off/prequel, released on March 19, 2013.^[26] The characters include Baird, accompanied by Augustus "Cole Train" Cole and two new characters, Garron Paduk and Sofia Hendrik,^[27] who make up Kilo Squad. Kilo Squad is put on trial by another new character, Ezra Loomis.^[27]

Gears Pop![edit]

Gears Pop! was a spin-off for mobile devices based on Funko's POP! toyline and released on August 22, 2019. However, the game was eventually discontinued on April 26, 2021.

Gears Tactics[edit]

Gears Tactics is a turn-based strategy spin-off for Xbox One and Windows, developed by Splash Damage^[28] and released on April 28, 2020.^[29] Set before the events of the first game, it follows a military unit led by Sgt. Gabriel Diaz, who would later become Kait's father.

Other games[edit]

Characters from the Gears of War series have made guest appearances in games outside of the Gears of War franchise. Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago are playable in the Xbox 360 version of Lost Planet 2.^[30] General RAAM was announced as a playable character in Killer Instinct: Season Three during Microsoft's E3 2016 press conference on June 13, 2016, and was released following the presentation's conclusion.^[31]

Backwards compatibility[edit]

Microsoft revealed on August 3, 2015 that the four Gears of War titles that launched on Xbox 360 — Gears of War, Gears of War 2, Gears of War 3, and Gears of War: Judgment — are compatible on Xbox One through the backwards compatibility program.^[32] In 2021, all aforementioned games got 60 FPS support on Xbox Series X and Series S as part of the Xbox FPS Boost program.^[33]

Music[edit]

The video game music for Gears of War was composed by Kevin Riepl, who had previously worked with Epic Games on soundtracks for Unreal Tournament 2003, Unreal Tournament 2004 and Unreal Championship 2.^[34] The music for Gears of War 2 and Gears of War 3 was composed by Steve Jablonsky.^[35] The music for Gears of War 4 is composed by Ramin Djawadi.^[36] Ramin Djawadi continued to compose the music for the ne

Resident Evil 5
Cover art of the game, featuring Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar
Developer(s)	Capcom[a]
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Director(s)	Yasuhiro Anpo Kenichi Ueda
Producer(s)	Jun Takeuchi Masachika Kawata
Designer(s)	Jiro Taoka
Programmer(s)	Soji Seta
Writer(s)	Haruo Murata Yoshiaki Hirabayashi Kenichi Ueda
Composer(s)	Kota Suzuki
Series	Resident Evil
Engine	MT Framework
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 Windows Shield Android TV PlayStation 4 Xbox One Nintendo Switch
Release	March 5, 2009 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 JP: March 5, 2009 AU: March 12, 2009 NA: March 13, 2009 EU: March 13, 2009[1][2] Gold Edition JP: February 18, 2010 (PS3) NA: March 9, 2010 AU: March 11, 2010 EU: March 12, 2010 Windows JP: September 17, 2009 AU: September 17, 2009 NA: September 18, 2009 EU: September 18, 2009 Gold Edition WW: March 26, 2015[3] Shield Android TV WW: May 19, 2016 PlayStation 4, Xbox One WW: June 28, 2016 Nintendo Switch WW: October 29, 2019
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Resident Evil 5^[b] is a 2009 third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. It is a major installment in the Resident Evil series, and was announced in 2005—the same year its predecessor Resident Evil 4 was released. Resident Evil 5 was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in March 2009 and for Windows in September 2009. It was re-released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in June 2016. The plot involves an investigation of a terrorist threat by Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance agents Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar in Kijuju, a fictional region of West Africa. Chris learns that he must confront his past in the form of an old enemy, Albert Wesker, and his former partner, Jill Valentine.

The gameplay of Resident Evil 5 is similar to that of the previous installment, though it is the first in the series designed for two-player cooperative gameplay. It has also been considered the first game in the main series to depart from the survival horror genre, with critics saying it bore more resemblance to an action game. Motion capture was used for the cutscenes, and it was the first video game to use a virtual camera system. Several staff members from the original Resident Evil worked on Resident Evil 5. The Windows version was developed by Mercenary Technology.

Resident Evil 5 received a positive reception, despite some criticism for its control scheme. The game received some complaints of racism, though an investigation by the British Board of Film Classification found the complaints were unsubstantiated.^[4] As of December 2023, when including the original, special and remastered versions, the game had sold 13.4 million units.^[5] It is the best-selling game of the Resident Evil franchise when not including remakes,^[c] and the original version remained the best-selling individual Capcom release until March 2018, when it was outsold by Monster Hunter: World. A sequel, Resident Evil 6, was released in 2012.

Plot[edit]

In 2009,^[6] five years after the events of Resident Evil 4, Chris Redfield, now an agent of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), is dispatched to Kijuju in West Africa. He and his new partner Sheva Alomar are tasked with apprehending Ricardo Irving before he can sell a bio-organic weapon (BOW) on the black market. When they arrive, they discover that the locals have been infected by the parasites Las Plagas (those infected are called "Majini") and the BSAA Alpha Team have been killed. Chris and Sheva are rescued by BSAA's Delta Team, which includes Sheva's mentor Captain Josh Stone. In Stone's data Chris sees a photograph of Jill Valentine, his old partner, who has been presumed dead after a confrontation with Albert Wesker. Chris, Sheva and Delta Team close in on Irving, but he escapes with the aid of a hooded figure. Irving leaves behind documents that lead Chris and Sheva to marshy oilfields, where Irving's deal is to occur, but they discover that the documents are a diversion. When Chris and Sheva try to regroup with Delta Team, they find the team slaughtered by a BOW; Sheva cannot find Stone among the dead. Determined to learn if Jill is still alive, Chris does not report to headquarters.^[7]

Continuing through the marsh, they find Stone and track down Irving's boat with his help. Irving injects himself with a variant of the Las Plagas parasite and mutates into a huge octopus-like beast. Chris and Sheva defeat him, and his dying words lead them to a nearby cave. The cave is the source of a flower used to create viruses previously used by the Umbrella Corporation, as well as a new strain named Uroboros. Chris and Sheva find evidence that Tricell, the company funding the BSAA, took over a former Umbrella underground laboratory and continued Umbrella's research. In the facility, they discover thousands of capsules holding human test subjects. Chris finds Jill's capsule, but it is empty. When they leave, they discover that Tricell CEO Excella Gionne has been plotting with Wesker to launch missiles with the Uroboros virus across the globe; it is eventually revealed that Wesker hopes to take a chosen few from the chaos of infection and rule them, creating a new breed of humanity. Chris and Sheva pursue Gionne but are stopped by Wesker and the hooded figure, who is revealed to be a brainwashed Jill. Gionne and Wesker escape to a Tricell oil tanker; Chris and Sheva fight Jill, subduing her and removing the mind-control device before she urges Chris to follow Wesker.^[7]

Chris and Sheva board the tanker and encounter Gionne, who escapes after dropping a case of syringes; Sheva keeps several. When Chris and Sheva reach the main deck, Wesker announces over the ship's intercom that he has betrayed Gionne and infected her with Uroboros. She mutates into a giant monster, which Chris and Sheva defeat. Jill radios in, telling Chris and Sheva that Wesker must take precise, regular doses of a serum to maintain his strength and speed; a larger or smaller dose would poison him. Sheva realizes that Gionne's syringes are doses of the drug. Chris and Sheva follow Wesker to a bomber loaded with missiles containing the Uroboros virus, injecting him with the syringes Gionne dropped. Wesker tries to escape on the bomber; Chris and Sheva disable it, making him crash-land in a volcano. Furious‚ Wesker exposes himself to Uroboros and chases Chris and Sheva through the volcano. They fight him, and the weakened Wesker falls into the lava before Chris and Sheva are rescued by a helicopter, which is piloted by Jill and Stone. As a dying Wesker attempts to drag the helicopter into the volcano, Chris and Sheva fire rocket-propelled grenades at Wesker, killing him.^[8] In the game's final cutscene, Chris wonders if the world is worth fighting for. Looking at Sheva and Jill, he decides to live in a world without fear.^[7]

Gameplay[edit]

Resident Evil 5 is a third-person shooter with an over-the-shoulder perspective.^[9] Players can use several weapons including handguns, shotguns, automatic rifles, sniper rifles, and grenade launchers, as well as melee attacks. Players can make quick 180-degree turns to evade enemies.^[10] The game involves boss battles, many of which contain quick time events.^[11]

As in its predecessor Resident Evil 4, players can upgrade weapons with money and treasure collected in-game and heal themselves with herbs, but cannot run and shoot at the same time.^[11] New features include infected enemies with guns and grenades,^[10] the ability to upgrade weapons at any time from the inventory screen without having to find a merchant, and the equipping of weapons and items in real-time during gameplay.^[11] Each player can store nine items. Unlike the previous games, the item size is irrelevant; a herb or a grenade launcher each occupy one space, and four items may be assigned to the D-pad.^[9] The game features puzzles, though fewer than previous titles.^[12][13]

Resident Evil 5 is the first game in the Resident Evil series designed for two-player cooperative gameplay.^[14] The player controls Chris, a former member of the fictional Special Tactics and Rescue Service (STARS) and member of the BSAA, and a second player can control Sheva, who is introduced in this game. If a person plays alone, Sheva is controlled by the game's artificial intelligence (AI). When the game has been completed once, there is an option to make Sheva the primary character.^[11] Two-player mode is available online or split screen with a second player using the same console. A second player joining a split screen game in progress will make the game reload the last checkpoint (the point at which the game was last saved); the second player joining an online game will have to wait until the first player reaches the next checkpoint, or restarts the previous one, to play.^[9] In split-screen mode, one player's viewpoint is presented in the top half of the screen, and the other in the bottom half, but each viewpoint is presented in widescreen format, rather than using the full width of the screen, resulting in unused space to the left and right of the two windows.^[10] If one player has critical health, only their partner can resuscitate them, and they will die if their partner cannot reach them. At certain points, players are deliberately separated. Players can trade items during gameplay, although weapons cannot be traded with online players.^[9] The game's storyline is linear, and interaction with other characters is mostly limited to cutscenes.^[12][13]

A version of the Mercenaries minigame, which debuted in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, is included in Resident Evil 5.^[15] This minigame places the player in an enclosed environment with a time limit. Customized weapons cannot be used and players must search for weapons, ammunition, and time bonuses while fighting a barrage of enemies,^[11] to score as many points as possible within the time limit.^[16] The minigame multiplayer mode was initially offline only; a release-day patch needed to be downloaded to access the online multiplayer modes.^[17] Mercenaries is unlocked when the game's story mode has been completed.^[16]

Development[edit]

Resident Evil 5 was developed by Capcom and produced by Jun Takeuchi, who directed Onimusha: Warlords and produced Lost Planet: Extreme Condition. Keiji Inafune, promotional producer for Resident Evil 2 and executive producer of the PlayStation 2 version of Resident Evil 4, supervised the project. Production began in 2005 and at its peak, over 100 people were working on the project.^[18] In February 2007, some members of Capcom's Clover Studio began working on Resident Evil 5 while others were working on Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, which debuted for the Wii.^[19][20] Yasuhiro Anpo, who worked as a programmer on the original Resident Evil, directed Resident Evil 5.^[21] He was one of several staff members who worked on the original game to be involved in Resident Evil 5's development.^[22] The game's scenario was written by Haruo Murata and Yoshiaki Hirabayashi, based on a story idea by concept director Kenichi Ueda.^[23] Takeuchi announced that the game would retain the gameplay model introduced in Resident Evil 4, with "thematic tastes" from both Resident Evil 4 and the original Resident Evil.^[24]

While previous Resident Evil games are mainly set at night, the events of Resident Evil 5 occur almost entirely during the day. The decision for this was a combination of the game being set in Africa and advances in hardware improvements which allowed increasingly detailed graphics.^[25] On the subject of changes to Jill and Chris's appearance, production director Yasuhiro Anpo explained that designers tried "to preserve their image and imagined how they would have changed over the passage of time". Their new designs retained the character's signature colors; green for Chris and blue for Jill. Sheva was redesigned several times during production, though all versions tried to emphasize a combination of "feminine attraction and the strength of a fighting woman".^[26] The Majini were designed to be more violent than the "Ganado" enemies in Resident Evil 4.^[27]

The decision for cooperative gameplay was made part-way through development, for a new experience in a Resident Evil game.^[14] Despite initial concern that a second player would dampen the game's tension and horror, it was later realized that this could actually increase such factors where one player had to be rescued.^[28] The decision to retain wide-screen proportions in two-player mode was made to avoid having the first player's screen directly on top of the second, which might be distracting, and the restriction on simultaneously moving and shooting was retained to increase player tension by not allowing them to maneuver freely. Takeuchi cited the film Black Hawk Down as an influence on the setting of Resident Evil 5 and his experience working on Lost Planet: Extreme Condition as an influence on its development.^[14] When questioned as to why the game was not being released on the Wii, which was the most popular gaming console at that time, Takeuchi responded that although that may have been a good decision "from a business perspective", the Wii was not the best choice in terms of power and visual quality, concluding that he was happy with the console choices they had made.^[29]

Resident Evil 5 runs on version 1.4 of Capcom's MT Framework engine^[30] and scenes were recorded by motion capture. It was the first video game to use a virtual camera system,^[31] which allowed the developers to see character movements in real time as the motion-capture actors recorded.^[32] Actors Reuben Langdon, Karen Dyer and Ken Lally portrayed Chris Redfield, Sheva Alomar and Albert Wesker respectively.^[33][34][35] Dyer also voiced Sheva,^[36] while Chris's voice was performed by Roger Craig Smith.^[37] Dyer's background training in circus skills helped her win the role of Sheva, as Capcom were searching for someone who could handle the physical skills her motion capture required. She performed her own stunts, and worked in production on the game for over a year, sometimes working 14 hours a day.^[36] All of the human character motions were based on motion capture, while the non-human characters in the game were animated by hand.^[38]

Kota Suzuki was the game's principal composer and additional music was contributed by Hideki Okugawa, Akihiko Narita and Seiko Kobuchi.^[23] The electronic score includes 15 minutes of orchestral music, recorded at the Newman Scoring Stage of 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles with the 103-piece Hollywood Studio Symphony. Other orchestral music and arrangements were by Wataru Hokoyama, who conducted the orchestra.^[39] Capcom recorded in Los Angeles because they wanted a Hollywood-style soundtrack to increase the game's cinematic value and global interest. Resident Evil 5's soundtrack features an original theme song, titled "Pray",^[40] which was composed by Suzuki and sung by Oulimata Niang.^[41]

Marketing and release[edit]

Capcom announced Resident Evil 5 on July 20, 2005,^[42] and the company showed a brief trailer for the game at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in July 2007.^[43] The full E3 trailer became available on the Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store that same month.^[44][45] A new trailer debuted on Spike TV's GameTrailers TV in May 2008, and on the GameTrailers website.^[46] A playable game demo was released in Japan on December 5, 2008, for the Xbox 360,^[2] in North America and Europe for the Xbox 360 on January 26, 2009, and on February 2 for the PlayStation 3.^[47] Worldwide downloads of the demo exceeded four million for the two consoles; over 1.8 million were downloaded between January 26 and January 29.^[48]

In January 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 claimed that it would allow two to sixteen players to play offline via System Link.^[49] Although Capcom said that their "box art isn't lying", the company did not provide details.^[50] Capcom soon issued another statement that the box-art information was incorrect, and System Link could support only two players.^[49] Microsoft released a limited-edition, red Xbox 360 Elite console which was sold with the game. The package included an exclusive Resident Evil theme for the Xbox 360 Dashboard^[51] and a download voucher for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix from Xbox Live.^[52]

Resident Evil 5 was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in March 2009, alongside a dedicated Game Space on PlayStation Home. The space, Resident Evil 5 "Studio Lot" (Biohazard 5 "Film Studio" in Japan), had as its theme the in-game location of Kijuju. Its lounge offered Resident Evil 5-related items for sale, events and full game-launching support. Some areas of the space were available only to owners of Resident Evil 5.^[53] A Windows version was released in September 2009. This version, using Nvidia's 3D Vision technology through DirectX 10, includes more costumes and a new mode in the Mercenaries minigame.^[54][55] Resident Evil 5 was re-released on Shield Android TV in May 2016,^[56] and was re-released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One the following month, with a physical disc copy following in America that July.^[57] It was also released for Nintendo Switch on October 29, 2019.^[58]

Additional content[edit]

Shortly before the release of Resident Evil 5, Capcom announced that a competitive multiplayer mode called Versus would be available for download in several weeks.^[59] Versus became available for download in Europe and North America on April 7, 2009, through the Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store.^[60] Versus has two online game types: "Slayers", a point-based game challenging players to kill Majini, and "Survivors", where players hunt each other while dodging and attacking Majini. Both modes can be played by two-player teams.^[60] The Windows version of Resident Evil 5 originally did not support downloadable content (DLC).^[61]

During Sony's press conference at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show Capcom announced that a special edition of the game, Biohazard 5: Alternative Edition, would be released in Japan for the PlayStation 3 in the spring of 2010.^[62] This edition supports the PlayStation Move accessory and includes a new scenario, "Lost in Nightmares", where Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine infiltrate one of Umbrella Corporation co-founder Oswell E. Spencer's estates in 2006.^[63] Another special edition of the game, Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition, was released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in North America and Europe. Gold Edition includes "Lost in Nightmares" and another campaign-expansion episode, "Desperate Escape", where players control Josh Stone and Jill Valentine as they assist Chris and Sheva.^[64] The edition also includes the previously released Versus mode, four new costumes and an alternate Mercenaries mode with eight new playable characters, new items and maps. Like Alternative Edition, Gold Edition supports the PlayStation Move accessory with a patch released on September 14, 2010.^[65] The Xbox 360 version of Gold Edition came in a DVD with a token allowing free download of all DLC, while the PlayStation 3 version had all of the new content on a single Blu-ray disc.^[65] On November 5, 2012, Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition was placed on the PlayStation Network as a free download for PlayStation Plus users during that month.^[66]

As part of the game's conversion to Steamworks, Gold Edition was released for Microsoft Windows on March 26, 2015. Owners of the game from Steam or as a boxed retail Games for Windows – Live can acquire a free Steamworks copy of the base game and purchase the new Gold Edition content.^[67] The Steamworks version did not allow the use of Nvidia's 3D Vision technology or fan modifications, though Capcom later confirmed a way to work around these issues.^[68] In 2023, an update was released for the Windows version that removed Games for Windows – Live, thus restoring the split screen co-op feature to the game.^[69]

Reception[edit]

Resident Evil 5 received generally favourable reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.^[72][70][71] Reviewers praised the game's visuals and content. Corey Cohen of Official Xbox Magazine complimented the game's fast pace, and called the graphics gorgeous.^[81] It was praised by Joe Juba and Matt Miller of Game Informer, who said that it had the best graphics of any game to date and that the music and voice acting helped bring the characters to life,^[79] and Brian Crecente of Kotaku said it was one of the most visually stunning games he had ever played.^[82] Adam Sessler of X-Play said the game's graphics were exceptional,^[10] and Edge praised the gameplay as exhilarating and frantic.^[77] For IGN, Ryan Geddes wrote that the game had a surprisingly high replay value,^[11] and GameZone's Louis Bedigian said the game was "worth playing through twice in one weekend".^[83]

While still giving favorable reviews of the game, several reviewers considered it t