BIOHAZARD 5 (Resident Evil 5) was the long-awaited game in the series, the one which would finish off the main Resident Evil story arc. Set in an isolated area in West Africa, the game follows the exploits of Chris Redfield and a new character, Sheva Alomar as agents of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance. The main focal point of the game was the inclusion of co-op, both online and offline.
Production Information
Developer: Capcom
Publishers: Capcom
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
Release Dates
Japan: March 5th, 2009
Australia: March 12th, 2009
America: March 13th, 2009
Europe: March 13th, 2009
Developer: Capcom
Publishers: Capcom
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
Release Dates
Japan: March 5th, 2009
Australia: March 12th, 2009
America: March 13th, 2009
Europe: March 13th, 2009
Plot Synopsis
Prelude
As documented in the blog of a foreign Kijuju worker, Adam, the once peaceful town began to have outbursts of strange occurrences similar to those documented in the Arklay Forest. Dead animals, bizarre behaviour from the town's citizens and an increasing sense of fear and dread began to loom over the once prosperous town. Slowly but surely, the town began to degenerate into complete chaos, and the local military was deployed to seal it off from the outside world. The Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance deployed an undercover agent named Reynard Fisher to gather intelligence behind the strange events filling the city. Reynard himself reported the presence of Ricardo Irving, a known black market dealer of bioweapons.
With this premise, the B.S.A.A. began to formulate a sting operation. The mission was planned out, with Alpha Team led by Captain Dan Dechant to infiltrate the storage facility next to the deal location to commence the sting. Bravo Team comprised of Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar were dispatched as backup, and Delta Team led by Captain Josh Stone was to remain on standby in case of emergency.
As documented in the blog of a foreign Kijuju worker, Adam, the once peaceful town began to have outbursts of strange occurrences similar to those documented in the Arklay Forest. Dead animals, bizarre behaviour from the town's citizens and an increasing sense of fear and dread began to loom over the once prosperous town. Slowly but surely, the town began to degenerate into complete chaos, and the local military was deployed to seal it off from the outside world. The Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance deployed an undercover agent named Reynard Fisher to gather intelligence behind the strange events filling the city. Reynard himself reported the presence of Ricardo Irving, a known black market dealer of bioweapons.
With this premise, the B.S.A.A. began to formulate a sting operation. The mission was planned out, with Alpha Team led by Captain Dan Dechant to infiltrate the storage facility next to the deal location to commence the sting. Bravo Team comprised of Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar were dispatched as backup, and Delta Team led by Captain Josh Stone was to remain on standby in case of emergency.
Dark Continent
Agent Redfield's Arrival
"I should've seen it coming... It didn't take long after the fall of the Umbrella Corporation for their bio-weapons to end up in the hands of terrorists. A new era of bio-terrorism descended upon vulnerable countries, shifting the balance of power throughout the region. People in the destabilized areas soon feared another incident like Raccoon City was inevitable. As panic spread, governments of the world turned to the Global Pharmaceutical Consortium, which formed the anti-terrorism unit B.S.A.A. Operatives of the B.S.A.A. were sent to infiltrate and neutralize bio-terrorist hotspots, restoring safety and stability to various regions around the globe. Casualties continue to mount over the long years I've struggled. More and more I find myself wondering if it's all worth fighting for. Maybe one day I'll find out. There is one thing I do know... I have a job to do, and I'm going to see it through. " - B.S.A.A. Agent Chris Redfield
On March 6, 2009, Chris Redfield found himself driving alone across the African savanna in a modified "Gambit" HMMWV, heading towards the Kijuju Autonomous Zone (KAZ). After passing through a bustling market area, he approached the fenced-in quarantine zone. As he secured the vehicle and gathered up his gear, he was approached from behind by the strikingly beautiful Sheva Alomar. She welcomed him to Africa, and they introduced themselves over a handshake. With tensions running high after the recent change in government, she was to be his partner, a pairing which would hopefully put the indigenous Kijuju population more at ease. Americans were not popular in this part of the world, B.S.A.A. or not. Sheva's use of the word "partner" triggered a memory in Chris, and he thought back to when he last visited Jill Valentine's gravesite. When Sheva asked him what was wrong, he shrugged it off, telling her that it was nothing. With Sheva in the lead, they approached the military checkpoint.
They were stopped by a lone gendarme wearing camouflage fatigues and a red beret, with a Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle slung across his back. The man frisked Sheva, attempting to grope her in the process. She pushed him off angrily, then slipped the soldier a small bundle of currency. With their passage now secured, the pair strode past the sentry and entered the KAZ, unaware that they were being watched from the shadows.
Agent Redfield's Arrival
"I should've seen it coming... It didn't take long after the fall of the Umbrella Corporation for their bio-weapons to end up in the hands of terrorists. A new era of bio-terrorism descended upon vulnerable countries, shifting the balance of power throughout the region. People in the destabilized areas soon feared another incident like Raccoon City was inevitable. As panic spread, governments of the world turned to the Global Pharmaceutical Consortium, which formed the anti-terrorism unit B.S.A.A. Operatives of the B.S.A.A. were sent to infiltrate and neutralize bio-terrorist hotspots, restoring safety and stability to various regions around the globe. Casualties continue to mount over the long years I've struggled. More and more I find myself wondering if it's all worth fighting for. Maybe one day I'll find out. There is one thing I do know... I have a job to do, and I'm going to see it through. " - B.S.A.A. Agent Chris Redfield
On March 6, 2009, Chris Redfield found himself driving alone across the African savanna in a modified "Gambit" HMMWV, heading towards the Kijuju Autonomous Zone (KAZ). After passing through a bustling market area, he approached the fenced-in quarantine zone. As he secured the vehicle and gathered up his gear, he was approached from behind by the strikingly beautiful Sheva Alomar. She welcomed him to Africa, and they introduced themselves over a handshake. With tensions running high after the recent change in government, she was to be his partner, a pairing which would hopefully put the indigenous Kijuju population more at ease. Americans were not popular in this part of the world, B.S.A.A. or not. Sheva's use of the word "partner" triggered a memory in Chris, and he thought back to when he last visited Jill Valentine's gravesite. When Sheva asked him what was wrong, he shrugged it off, telling her that it was nothing. With Sheva in the lead, they approached the military checkpoint.
They were stopped by a lone gendarme wearing camouflage fatigues and a red beret, with a Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle slung across his back. The man frisked Sheva, attempting to grope her in the process. She pushed him off angrily, then slipped the soldier a small bundle of currency. With their passage now secured, the pair strode past the sentry and entered the KAZ, unaware that they were being watched from the shadows.
Kijuju Autonomous Zone (KAZ)
Once they were beyond the gate, Kirk Matheson contacted them via radio. He informed them that the black market arms deal was about to go down, and that Captain Dan Dechant's Alpha Team had already moved into position. Chris and Sheva were to provide backup once they had linked up with their B.S.A.A. contact at the Corner Pyamy Butchery.
While walking along the dusty Kijuju streets, they immediately noticed a significant change in the behavior of the local populace. Many of them were wielding crude weapons such as spiked clubs, pipe wrenches, and curved Ghurka blades. A small group of men had gathered at the center of the road, and were viciously beating some unfortunate thing which had been tied up in a burlap sack. As Chris approached, the men stopped what they were doing and turned to glare at him with hate-filled eyes. Moving along as quickly and as quietly as they could, the pair soon reached the front entrance to the butcher's shop. Before they could enter, however, a loud siren began to wail far off in the distance. Chris and Sheva took a few more steps, then turned around. The streets were now devoid of life, save for the mad ravings of a man on a radio, and the buzzing of flies around rancid meat.
Someone inside the butcher shop instantly recognized Agent Redfield, and told him to go around back to the side door in the adjacent alley. Their contact was none other than Reynard Fisher, who quickly directed them towards a small weapons cache. Once Chris and Sheva had finished outfitting themselves for the mission, the African infiltration specialist provided them with the destination coordinates. He asked Chris if he had ever heard of something called "Uroboros." Agent Redfield responded that he had, but that it was likely just a rumor. Something about a "doomsday project." Reynard told him that it was apparently much more than just a rumor, and that they needed to find a man named Irving. After warning them to be careful, he quickly departed.
Passing through the butcher's shop and heading down a long flight of stone stairs, they discovered the mutilated remains of a West African Pygmy goat just outside of a wooden furniture store. The torn flesh was still warm to the touch. Inside of the store they found a candlelit shrine adorned with human skulls, and a second animal carcass lying atop a blood-smeared table. It appeared to have been used in some sort of ritual sacrifice. Exiting the foul-smelling shack, they heard an agonized scream coming from a nearby building, and rushed to investigate.
Pushing open a large metallic door, Chris and Sheva came across two Kijuju natives who were forcibly restraining a very frightened and struggling third. One of the men produced a hideous tentacled mass, and proceeded to force it down the other man's throat. Chris ordered the men to freeze, but the two aggressors quickly ran off. The victim rolled over onto his knees, choking and gagging. Agent Redfield approached him, and asked if he was okay. The man pushed him away, and he began to thrash around violently. He started to foam at the mouth, and streams of blood seeped from his eyes. Once the convulsions had ended, he rushed towards Chris and Sheva with murderous intent, leaving the two B.S.A.A. agents with no other choice than to put the man down.
Jumping out of a window and landing in the street below, the pair came face-to-face with a large horde of infected townsfolk, and were forced to retreat into a nearby house. After barricading the door, Chris made contact with Kirk, who ordered them to stay on mission. Passing through a corpse-strewn underground passageway, they eventually made their way to yet another ramshackle dwelling which overlooked the public assembly area.
Once they were beyond the gate, Kirk Matheson contacted them via radio. He informed them that the black market arms deal was about to go down, and that Captain Dan Dechant's Alpha Team had already moved into position. Chris and Sheva were to provide backup once they had linked up with their B.S.A.A. contact at the Corner Pyamy Butchery.
While walking along the dusty Kijuju streets, they immediately noticed a significant change in the behavior of the local populace. Many of them were wielding crude weapons such as spiked clubs, pipe wrenches, and curved Ghurka blades. A small group of men had gathered at the center of the road, and were viciously beating some unfortunate thing which had been tied up in a burlap sack. As Chris approached, the men stopped what they were doing and turned to glare at him with hate-filled eyes. Moving along as quickly and as quietly as they could, the pair soon reached the front entrance to the butcher's shop. Before they could enter, however, a loud siren began to wail far off in the distance. Chris and Sheva took a few more steps, then turned around. The streets were now devoid of life, save for the mad ravings of a man on a radio, and the buzzing of flies around rancid meat.
Someone inside the butcher shop instantly recognized Agent Redfield, and told him to go around back to the side door in the adjacent alley. Their contact was none other than Reynard Fisher, who quickly directed them towards a small weapons cache. Once Chris and Sheva had finished outfitting themselves for the mission, the African infiltration specialist provided them with the destination coordinates. He asked Chris if he had ever heard of something called "Uroboros." Agent Redfield responded that he had, but that it was likely just a rumor. Something about a "doomsday project." Reynard told him that it was apparently much more than just a rumor, and that they needed to find a man named Irving. After warning them to be careful, he quickly departed.
Passing through the butcher's shop and heading down a long flight of stone stairs, they discovered the mutilated remains of a West African Pygmy goat just outside of a wooden furniture store. The torn flesh was still warm to the touch. Inside of the store they found a candlelit shrine adorned with human skulls, and a second animal carcass lying atop a blood-smeared table. It appeared to have been used in some sort of ritual sacrifice. Exiting the foul-smelling shack, they heard an agonized scream coming from a nearby building, and rushed to investigate.
Pushing open a large metallic door, Chris and Sheva came across two Kijuju natives who were forcibly restraining a very frightened and struggling third. One of the men produced a hideous tentacled mass, and proceeded to force it down the other man's throat. Chris ordered the men to freeze, but the two aggressors quickly ran off. The victim rolled over onto his knees, choking and gagging. Agent Redfield approached him, and asked if he was okay. The man pushed him away, and he began to thrash around violently. He started to foam at the mouth, and streams of blood seeped from his eyes. Once the convulsions had ended, he rushed towards Chris and Sheva with murderous intent, leaving the two B.S.A.A. agents with no other choice than to put the man down.
Jumping out of a window and landing in the street below, the pair came face-to-face with a large horde of infected townsfolk, and were forced to retreat into a nearby house. After barricading the door, Chris made contact with Kirk, who ordered them to stay on mission. Passing through a corpse-strewn underground passageway, they eventually made their way to yet another ramshackle dwelling which overlooked the public assembly area.
Kijuju Public Assembly Area
As the two proceeded, they found themselves in a small house opposite the public assembly, where a red-eyed crowd surrounded a set of scaffolds. At the top of the scaffold stood a man shouting angrily through a megaphone and brandishing sunglasses. Upon closer inspection, they found Reynard Fisher being restrained by another two men, with a large hulking structure of a man wielding an extremely large axe. As Sheva panicked and intended to save him, Chris restrained her due to his better judgement, and they watched as Reynard's head was violently cut by the large axe, spraying blood in all directions. As the crowd cheered, the man in sunglasses spotted the two through the window, and ordered the crowd to eliminate them for what they had seen.
Chris and Sheva were flung into a battle with countless people, all of whom appeared to be crazed and resembled the Ganado detailed in the Kennedy Report. They were left defended themselves against an entire horde with scarce resources until eventually Kirk Mathison managed to arrive at the scene, having an RPG-7 rocket blow up the main gate and scaring most of the assailants away. Now alone, Chris and Sheva trekked through the streets of Kijuju, encountering a number of townspeople and witnessing crime at a large rate, with murder, battery and kidnapping being some of the primary acts seen by the two.
After catching a glimpse of a young blonde woman being dragged into the second story of a nearby house, Chris and Sheva ran to investigate. They found the room empty, with only the blonde woman, now dazed and disorientated. As Chris attempted to ask the woman if she was alright, she suddenly grabbed him and attempted to kill him with the use of a newly administered Las Plagas parasite. Without hesitation, they fired at the woman, resulting in her head bursting, revealing a Cephalo.
After fighting through another group of townspeople they arrived at the deal location where Alpha Team was to arrest Irving. Instead of finding a successful Alpha Team, their radio was left blaring with loud and largely incoherent messages from Captain Dechant, revealing the team's grisly fate. As they entered the building, they found the countless corpses of their comrades, all covered in a thick black ooze which seemed to cover most of the surrounding area as well. After kicking down a reinforced door, they were met with carnage. The members of Alpha Team littered the room, with only a barely audible Dechant surviving. As Chris rushed to his aid, Dechant handed him a hard drive containing data on the deal downloaded from Irving's computer. With his last words, he requested Chris to send the data contained within it to headquarters.
Walking through the underground tunnels beneath the building, Chris and Sheva retrieved a key leading to the storage facility. However, as they tried to enter the door, an unknown creature surfaced from behind them, resembling a mass of leeches. The creature absorbed the corpse of a nearby member of Alpha Team and pursued them. Now trapped within a room with a furnace, Chris and Sheva lured the creature into the furnace and locked it in, causing the creature to burn and dissolve from the high temperature.
With their safety guaranteed for now, they headed for the storage facility. After reaching it, Chris immediately searched for the B.S.A.A. computer and uploaded the contents of the hard drive to HQ while reporting on the situation via radio. Chris exclaimed that they had no means of transport or backup left, but were still ordered to apprehend Irving. Annoyed, Chris and Sheva accepted the orders that were thrust upon them and set out to search for Irving.
After fighting their way through the town and reaching a shanty section, the two witnessed the destruction of Kirk Mathison's helicopter by a swarm of Kipepeo. HQ then issued an order to find the crash site. With this order, the two trekked through the town and eventually reached the crash site where they were ambushed by Majini on motorcycles. Thanks to the intervention of Delta Team led by Josh Stone, both of them were saved.
Before leaving, Josh Stone left the two with the intelligence gathered from Ricardo Irving's hard drive, including a picture of Jill Valentine. Now with a sense of insecurity and intrigue in his mind, Chris set out with Sheva to the mines where they encountered Irving, only to be interrupted by a masked and hooded figure. While chasing down Irving, they were attacked by a new B.O.W. named Popokarimu which they eventually defeated before being picked up by Dave Johnson and being chased through a savanna by Majini on trucks and motorcycles.
After reaching Kijuju, they were suddenly attacked by an Ndesu B.O.W., and Dave was subsequently killed. Manning the humvee's turrets, they managed to take down the new B.O.W. With Delta Team wiped out, Chris resolved to go to the marshlands and defy the order to retreat, using Jill's possible presence as reasoning behind this.
As the two proceeded, they found themselves in a small house opposite the public assembly, where a red-eyed crowd surrounded a set of scaffolds. At the top of the scaffold stood a man shouting angrily through a megaphone and brandishing sunglasses. Upon closer inspection, they found Reynard Fisher being restrained by another two men, with a large hulking structure of a man wielding an extremely large axe. As Sheva panicked and intended to save him, Chris restrained her due to his better judgement, and they watched as Reynard's head was violently cut by the large axe, spraying blood in all directions. As the crowd cheered, the man in sunglasses spotted the two through the window, and ordered the crowd to eliminate them for what they had seen.
Chris and Sheva were flung into a battle with countless people, all of whom appeared to be crazed and resembled the Ganado detailed in the Kennedy Report. They were left defended themselves against an entire horde with scarce resources until eventually Kirk Mathison managed to arrive at the scene, having an RPG-7 rocket blow up the main gate and scaring most of the assailants away. Now alone, Chris and Sheva trekked through the streets of Kijuju, encountering a number of townspeople and witnessing crime at a large rate, with murder, battery and kidnapping being some of the primary acts seen by the two.
After catching a glimpse of a young blonde woman being dragged into the second story of a nearby house, Chris and Sheva ran to investigate. They found the room empty, with only the blonde woman, now dazed and disorientated. As Chris attempted to ask the woman if she was alright, she suddenly grabbed him and attempted to kill him with the use of a newly administered Las Plagas parasite. Without hesitation, they fired at the woman, resulting in her head bursting, revealing a Cephalo.
After fighting through another group of townspeople they arrived at the deal location where Alpha Team was to arrest Irving. Instead of finding a successful Alpha Team, their radio was left blaring with loud and largely incoherent messages from Captain Dechant, revealing the team's grisly fate. As they entered the building, they found the countless corpses of their comrades, all covered in a thick black ooze which seemed to cover most of the surrounding area as well. After kicking down a reinforced door, they were met with carnage. The members of Alpha Team littered the room, with only a barely audible Dechant surviving. As Chris rushed to his aid, Dechant handed him a hard drive containing data on the deal downloaded from Irving's computer. With his last words, he requested Chris to send the data contained within it to headquarters.
Walking through the underground tunnels beneath the building, Chris and Sheva retrieved a key leading to the storage facility. However, as they tried to enter the door, an unknown creature surfaced from behind them, resembling a mass of leeches. The creature absorbed the corpse of a nearby member of Alpha Team and pursued them. Now trapped within a room with a furnace, Chris and Sheva lured the creature into the furnace and locked it in, causing the creature to burn and dissolve from the high temperature.
With their safety guaranteed for now, they headed for the storage facility. After reaching it, Chris immediately searched for the B.S.A.A. computer and uploaded the contents of the hard drive to HQ while reporting on the situation via radio. Chris exclaimed that they had no means of transport or backup left, but were still ordered to apprehend Irving. Annoyed, Chris and Sheva accepted the orders that were thrust upon them and set out to search for Irving.
After fighting their way through the town and reaching a shanty section, the two witnessed the destruction of Kirk Mathison's helicopter by a swarm of Kipepeo. HQ then issued an order to find the crash site. With this order, the two trekked through the town and eventually reached the crash site where they were ambushed by Majini on motorcycles. Thanks to the intervention of Delta Team led by Josh Stone, both of them were saved.
Before leaving, Josh Stone left the two with the intelligence gathered from Ricardo Irving's hard drive, including a picture of Jill Valentine. Now with a sense of insecurity and intrigue in his mind, Chris set out with Sheva to the mines where they encountered Irving, only to be interrupted by a masked and hooded figure. While chasing down Irving, they were attacked by a new B.O.W. named Popokarimu which they eventually defeated before being picked up by Dave Johnson and being chased through a savanna by Majini on trucks and motorcycles.
After reaching Kijuju, they were suddenly attacked by an Ndesu B.O.W., and Dave was subsequently killed. Manning the humvee's turrets, they managed to take down the new B.O.W. With Delta Team wiped out, Chris resolved to go to the marshlands and defy the order to retreat, using Jill's possible presence as reasoning behind this.
Development History
Resident Evil 5 was first unveiled on July 20, 2005 as a short CGI trailer along with it's counterpart, Devil May Cry 4. Both games were to be developed using Capcom's custom MT Framework engine, with DMC4 scheduled to be released first. Shinji Mikami had by then left Capcom, leaving the Resident Evil series in the hands of a new team. This team was comprised of a mixture of old school developers from the series, such as Jun Takeuchi, as well as a number of the development staff from Resident Evil 4.
With the previous game, the team felt that the story was lacking and resolved to create a game which would please old school fans and tie up the series' main existing plot arc. Chris Redfield was chosen as the lead, and the staff soon focused on incorporating online co-op into the game, becoming a main feature. Sheva Alomar was conjured and added to the mix in order to reflect this.
With the previous game, the team felt that the story was lacking and resolved to create a game which would please old school fans and tie up the series' main existing plot arc. Chris Redfield was chosen as the lead, and the staff soon focused on incorporating online co-op into the game, becoming a main feature. Sheva Alomar was conjured and added to the mix in order to reflect this.