 It's always nice to have a friend at your side. After bioweapons are released in Africa, Chris and Sheva have to try and stay alive long enough to stop the spread of the infection...
1. Gameplay
 Aww, so romantic. There were a few key elements that made this game worth playing. First, the cooperative gameplay definitely kept this game from getting boring on the first playthrough. Being able to play next to a friend (or fiancee in my case) made the boss battles easier to beat, the long, boring sections more interesting, and the sometimes completely illogical dialog hilarious. It's awkward to hear Wesker (the main antagonist) call out to Chris (the male protagonist) angrily while Wesker's consumed by lava in a volcano, but it's much more fun when you can make fun of the almost homo-erotic nature of their relationship. You can't do that without playing with someone else. The unlimited-ammunition weapons also added longevity to the game. It's entirely possible to beat the game on the lower difficulty settings without fully-upgraded, unlimited-ammunition weapons, but the higher difficulty levels are designed to almost require them. But even fully upgraded, the best weapons aren't overpowered. The super-magnum is great for taking out difficult single enemies but is not as good at long-range as the snipers. Either way, getting all of the weapons upgraded and giving them unlimited ammunition was definitely worth the extra work I had to put into the game.  Well now... I wonder what they caught her doing... There's only a couple of minor issues that detracted from the experience. Some of these I mention in the "frustration" section, so if you want to read about those go to that section. However, the one glaringly obvious problem that wasn't as much frustrating as it was awkward was the dialog. Some of the things the characters said during the cutscenes were completely inappropriate for the situations. They weren't adult, they were just awkward. Like at the end after Chris and Sheva kill Wesker, Sheva leans out of a helicopter and yells at a volcano "That was for our fallen bretheren!" My fiancee and I laughed for a while after hearing that. I mean, really, who says that? Who writes that?
There are also two DLC chapters available (these chapters come free with the “Gold Edition”) which also extend the length of the game. Cooperative gameplay will definitely make this game more enjoyable as well.
However, once the player gets up to higher levels in the game, better weapons are unlocked and the weapons can be upgraded. Once fully upgraded, the shotguns are particularly adept at stopping fast enemies in their tracks while dealing huge amounts of damage. As a result, the frustration from the controls is almost completely negated. 2. Parental Notices
 Shotguns can leave a big impact on enemies. There were a few points that got more violent than that, mostly having to do with some special zombies. Some zombies will turn into weird sort of walking crab/oyster hybrids. It seems oddly amusing, but these things will crush the player if they get too close for an instant kill. It can get pretty graphic.  I always wondered how he sees who to grab... The other notably graphic part has to do with “chainsaw majini”. These chainsaw-wielding foes will chase after the player and attempt to saw the player in half. They’re not too difficult to stop, since they stumble if they’re hit by a powerful enough blast, but the death animation if they catch up to the player gets pretty bloody.  I think I saw something advising against this on the chainsaw's warning label.
One of the game’s main antagonists is “Excella”, an Italian businesswoman who is CEO of a pharmaceutical / bioweapons corporation. For some reason, her only article of clothing seems to be a rather loose-fitting dress. It leads to a lot of side-boob shots.  Distracting, no? This by itself would merit at least a point in the sexuality rating, but it goes on from there. Her skin always seems to be glistening and if she so much as blinks her breasts jiggle. This isn’t surprising, given the fact that she refuses to wear anything even remotely resembling a bra (or a shirt for that matter). Her breasts moved so much that, had this been a real person, I would have been seriously concerned that her breasts would pop out of her dress entirely. Sheva While not as blatantly sexual as Excella, Sheva is one of the game’s main protagonists she’s constantly in the picture. Sheva’s main costume is appropriate for the setting, but some of her alternative costumes are another matter.  Sheva's "Clubbin" outfit. It provides extra protection against zombies.  No wonder the Big Bad Wolf wanted a piece of Red. As you can see, Sheva’s alternate costumes seem to imply that going into battle with a bathing suit is a good idea. (It's not. Kids, trust me on this one.)
 It's green, leafy, and when "used" has some surprising effects. These plants can be found in random pots throughout the game and have been present in every Resident Evil since the very first one. The basic idea is that the plants are mashed up into a powder / liquid form and then sprays it on the wounds to heal himself. It’s not heavy drug use, but the idea that a person’s wounds can be instantly healed by unnamed colorful plants is a bit odd. The game also includes a sort of injection drug that turns a person into a sort of liquid zombie. There are multiple occasions when someone is injected with the substance on screen. It’s not really a “substance” as much as it is some sort of virus or parasite, but it best fit this category because of its method of “consumption”.  These types of injections occur a number of times in the game.
3. Other Factors
After a while I managed to find a nudity mod for this game. Sheva, the female lead, can put on a "costume" of nothing except some tribal jewelry. Other than that, I haven't found any real mature mods.
One thing that players may want to try is the cooperative online modes. The game is meant to be played with a partner, so players who don’t have someone to split-screen with may want to find someone to play with online. However, I can’t comment on the quality of the versus online community.
It’s almost inevitable that any game that takes place in Africa is going to be accused of racism. Yes, the game takes place in Africa. Yes, you will have to shoot black people. Yes, they are all zombies. No, not all of the zombies are black people. That’s not racism, that’s a necessary part of the “realism” of the game. I can even excuse the fact that the “natives” in the game are rather stereotypically tribal. As the player progresses deeper into the heart of Africa, the player will encounter more and more tribal people. These people wear masks, loin cloths, and make comments in languages that I couldn’t begin to name. It’s stereotypical, but not necessarily overtly racist. What I can’t get around is the fact that one of Sheva’s alternate costumes is named “Tribal” and shows her wearing a leopard-print bikini, covered in body paint, and bejeweled with stereotypically tribal jewelry. And to top this all off, her “special weapon” is a bow and arrow with unlimited ammo.  Sheva's "Tribal" outfit. I wonder what it's trying to communicate... Sheva isn’t tribal. She’s barely even African. Her accent is more Australian than South African and even I was a bit surprised at the fact that Chris wielded a huge chaingun for his special weapon while Sheva got a terrible bow and arrow. So yes, Resident Evil 5 does include racism. Human Disfigurement The human disfigurement in this game is usually pretty subtle. The zombies appear to look just like humans until you shoot their heads off. Then one of two things happen. Either the zombie is left with a Venus Fly-trap for a neck (as I mentioned earlier) or a huge writhing snake-like appendage flows from the neck to try and pummel you into the ground. The other, more disturbing element of human disfigurement has to do with one of the characters the player chases in the game. He injects himself with the virus / parasite only to turn into a huge whale-like monster. The character is turned into a sort of cocoon-like tongue for the creature, and when the creature opens its mouth the character proceeds to taunt the player. It’s not as gross as it is weird.  Weird. Not much else to it. Execution There is one scene where someone who helped Chris and Sheva (an informant of sorts) is executed in front of them using a makeshift axe. While you don't see axe connect to neck, you do see the axe swing down and blood go flying.  The axe swings down... Force Feeding Even though "force feeding" isn't really the right term, I can't think of another way to describe this. In one scene a man is held down and forced to eat a weird sort of sponge/virus thing. It's short but pretty gross.  I wouldn't eat that...
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