Resident Evil 5, known in Japan as Biohazard 5, is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom.
Resident Evil 5 is a third-person shooter with an over-the-shoulder perspective. 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. The game involves boss battles, many of which contain quick time events.
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. New features include infected enemies with guns and grenades, 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. 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.
Resident Evil 5 is the first game in the Resident Evil series designed for two-player cooperative gameplay. The first player controls Redfield, a former member of the fictional Special Tactics and Rescue Service (STARS) and current member of the BSAA, and a second player can control Alomar, who is introduced in this game. If a person plays alone, Alomar is controlled by the game's artificial intelligence (AI). When the game has been completed once, there is an option to make Alomar the primary character. Two-player mode is available online or split-screen with a second player using the same console.