I really enjoyed RE5, but there are conditions attached. When played with a friend, it was a real hoot. If you compare single-player games, RE4 far outclasses RE5.

But then, I never really enjoyed the pre-RE4 games. I tried and tried, but there were too many problems standing in the way. So I can't properly compare RE5 to any of the older ones.

It was fun to play co-op, but the story was bad. The villains were not done well at all.

Nikolai and Nemesis from RE3 were better villains. Nikolai had buildup all throughout the game. It was made clear he was a f***ing scumbag and if you took him down, you knew you were doing the world a favor. Nemesis was very satisfying to put down for good because he gave you trouble throughout the game.

Same with RE4's villains. They all had a lot of buildup and characterization. All but Mendez had s*** talking back and forth. And lots of people hate quick time events but nearly all the villains were directly involved in at least one quick time event and/or cutscene in the game where something important happens or the villain tries to kill you.

Then look at RE5's Irving. There really wasn't much to him at all. No direct s*** talking, no buildup or characterization. He never takes pot shots at you or anything. You just track him down and then bam, he transforms. I'd compare killing Irving to killing a drug dealer who just overdosed on PCP. Not a real satsifying villain. Excella was alright but rather than wanting to take her out, you end up feeling kinda sorry for her. Wesker was clearly the main focus but he wasn't as effective a villain as in previous games. Maybe it was his voice acting or the script, but he was just really annoying rather than respectable or frightening or disgusting.

Still not worth it, I'm afraid.