Do you have the guts to admit that you liked the original Power Rangers? C'mon, admit it! They were freaking cool! That's kind of the theme of this month's column. Everybody's got that one game they love but are too embarrassed to admit they like it because it's kind of corny. Mine is Lost Planet; I reviewed Lost Planet a while back and, although that was a good game, even I couldn't handle the over-the-top cheesy dialogue. None of these games are that bad, but all of them can all be categorized as a guilty pleasure. Well, all except Resident Evil 5, which had dialogue valiantly improved by Capcom. It's still a little cheesy, though.

For the most part, all of the titles we're featuring this month are actually very well put together. It's great to see such good work coming out of the game industry even after the holiday season. It's also great to hear that guys are actually working out there, what with all the layoffs and closures going on. Apparently, the devs who put together these titles are like me and love a game that makes you cringe just a little bit. Hit the jump to check out what we got in this month's "Press Start."

Resident Evil 5 takes the best survival horror franchise and makes it better with improved voice work. © Capcom.

Resident Evil 5 for the Sony PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360; Publisher: Capcom; Developer: Capcom; Release Date: March 13; ESRB Rating: M for mature; Genre: survival / horror; Players: 1-2; Support: N/A; Online: co-op and versus modes

The Resident Evil series has become one of the most popular game franchises in history since its initial release on the PS1. It is definitely the most popular survival horror franchise in game history, with the Silent Hill series coming in second. I've said it before and I'll say it again: blowing up zombies is one of the most fun things to do in any videogame. Resident Evil 5 takes what Capcom started in RE4 and expands upon it in many ways.

First, the story; RE5 lets players take control of returning character Chris Redfield, who made his first appearance in the original Resident Evil. Pharmaceutical company Umbrella is causing more biological problems, this time in Africa, and Chris is sent there to investigate. As Chris arrives, he teams up with Sheva Alomar who accompanies him throughout the game. Technically, the enemies in RE5 -- known as the "Majini" -- are not actually zombies but rather living humans who have been infected with a virus that physically mutates them, makes them feral and gives them enhanced abilities.

Now everyone's favorite subject... the visuals. RE5's modeling is done very well; facial animations are very expressive without being over the top or stylized. In fact, the character and facial models are actually very realistic even though ol' Chris has gained some serious muscle mass since the first RE. Typical RE titles were saturated in darkness; in RE5 about half of the time you will be in dark areas and the rest of the time you can expect some very well-lit environments like foggy swamps and villages which look scorching hot. Throughout the RE5 adventure, players are treated to cut scenes which are very well done and here's why: great camera placement and well-timed events move the story along smoothly and never feel forced or tacked on. Toward the beginning of the game, Chris and Sheva walk by a group of men beating a large sack with sticks. As you get closer to the group they stop, turn and stare at you with very unfriendly demeanors. It is circumstances like that, which make you think, "What or who was in that bag?" Fighting enemies shows off some gorgeous design and animation concepts, like when an enemy's head explodes after being shot or when an enemy tries to grab you and mutant tentacles protrude from their mouth. Infected dogs' entire bodies split in half when they attack you.

Speaking of the production, a common problem among previous RE titles was always the atrocious voice acting. RE5 takes a dynamic step in the right direction and introduces some very well placed voice work. Nothing comes out over-exaggerated and all the voice acting fits perfectly into each circumstance, with a lot of attention going into making the voice acting feel right for North American audiences. The only voice work that seems a little wonky is the overly-intensified Long Island accent of Ricardo Irving.

Cut scenes, facial animation and well-lit creepy environments make this latest RE title an instant classic.

Now on to my favorite subject... the gameplay. At first, everyone is going to piss and moan about the controls. "Oh, it's too hard" or "Oh, it feels like I'm driving a tank." After we all finish crying, the fact is this: a few minutes into the game and we're maneuvering Chris and Sheva with the greatest of ease. It's about a 15-minute learning curve. RE5 does, in fact, take the same road as RE4 and does not allow the player to move when aiming and when swiping the knife -- get over it, it makes the game scarier. The Majini are much more intelligent than the Ganados from RE4; they will jump at you from great distances, they will continually dodge your fire and they will duck and cover as they fire at you. Yes that's right: enemies use guns against you in RE5! For this, Capcom has included a duck-and-cover system that can actually have a mind of its own sometimes; a few times you'll find that it will force you to aim straight up or down and won't let you aim where you want. It's a bug that I'm sure can be fixed with a patch or two.

Collecting gold and treasures is a huge part of RE5 because now there are more guns to buy than ever before in a Resident Evil game. Not to mention that almost all of the guns can be upgraded to obscene levels of power and efficiency. The game will expect you to power up your weapons as you progress. For example, one of the first bosses is a chainsaw-wielding Majini who takes a truckload of time to take down. Later on you run into three or four of that same chainsaw Majini at the same time and if you haven't upgraded any of your weapons, then you are S.O.L.

For the first time ever, Resident Evil introduces cooperative play in the main adventure mode, with one player using Chris and the other using Sheva. Playing with a friend -- even over the internet -- makes things really interesting, but also can get a little old real quick. It can also be a pain in the butt to get an online co-op match going. Because of this, Capcom has introduced a versus mode in RE5 that adds even more replay value to the title. Resident Evil 5 is an instant classic and offers a great gaming experience. The game feels, looks and plays great; and thank God that when Sheva is controlled by the AI that she is not an absolute idiot. I personally don't know why Capcom has been showing so much love recently, I'm just glad that they are.