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Resident Evil 6
Much like the virus that started
it all, the Resident Evil games have changed with each new game. Capcom
offers up a roller coaster ride of good, bad, and indifferent
experiences with the latest Resident Evil 6. The game firmly borrows
several of the good things that came with several of the other titles in
the franchise. Moving and shooting being one of them.
The so beloved Resident Evil
series over the years has placed itself firmly in the pop culture of the
world in regards to film, comics and gaming. So when Capcom takes some
new directions with the gaming world we all love, sometimes fans can be
rather unforgiving. Even with the last game Resident Evil Operation
Raccoon City feeling like a bio experiment of its own, that more than
many people declared a fail. It had its moments and forged along some of
those ideas and gaming into the latest Resident Evil 6.
In the middle of writing this review we got a press release from Capcom
letting us know of some nice improvements coming to the title. Capcom it seems has been
listening to its players. There will be a free title update coming
everyone’s way for Resident Evil 6. Coming to platforms Xbox 360 and PS3
versions will have an update in mid-December of this year (2012) making
a few enhancements to the game. The problematic camera is going to get
some tweaks. Players will be able to adjust it to give a larger field of
view. Subtitles will also be improved, so we will be able to combine
English audio with subtitles in the different languages. The difficulty
level called “No Hope” will be added which will give gamers an extreme
challenge above and beyond the difficulty levels offered now. The Ada
Wong campaign will also be unlocked from the start and also have an
optional player controlled co-op added. So with this update coming in
December you won’t have to finish the other three campaigns to unlock
Ada’s adventure.
How does this Survival Horror game stack up? It ups the ante in
bio-terror fueled dangers including zombies, and new incarnations of
creatures created by the evolving virus. The evolving virus includes new
horrors to deal with, some of which has been met with disapproval by
fans. The menagerie of new enemies includes mercenaries that have been
mutated by the virus. So there are creatures that also use guns, that
can be dangerous to the players character big time. Don’t worry too
much, for all their advanced abilities they can’t shoot very well. While
the Resident Evil franchise is not all about Zombies, it is the one
iconic monster that comes to mind when talking about resident Evil. So
it was nice to see some Zombie moments in the game once again. Zombies
have taken to using weapons as well in some cases. A bottle or other
tool like a knife, they are not very precise in their attacks but it
does enough damage for you to take notice. Other odd morphing enemies
make your adventure difficult and exciting at times. Then of course
there are the Zombies.
The game spins the story between
three different though tied together and interacting story arcs from
three different campaigns, four if you count Ada Wong. The different
perspectives are refreshing and bring a different flavor to each of the
campaigns, highlighting each of the characters and playing styles. With
Leon S. Kennedy’s adventure being the closest to the flavor of the
original Resident Evil. Though the action does ramp up considerably even
in his adventure.
While other campaign stories are more bang-bang shoot-up since the
character is more on a military theme. It all works giving players a
different feel to an intertwining story.
Resident Evil 6 highlights some of the most well-known characters from
the franchise and introduces new ones. Those main characters are Chris
Redfield, Leon S. Kennedy, and the new character Jake Muller. We also
have the lovely yet deadly Ada Wong. The game globe trots a bit bringing
some interesting locations rife with adventure as the battle against the
horrifically virulent C- virus takes the story from North America to
Eastern Europe and Edonia, and to the Chinese city of Lanshiang.
Each of the characters has a partner to back them up on the adventure
and they are controlled by the games AI or in multiplayer by a fellow
gamer. The AI does a competent job of assisting the player when they
need it. Though you can get hit by friendly fire, and I have accidently
shot my companion. They have on occasion returned the favor and shot at
a zombie through me much to my annoyance. The campaign with Ada Wong is
single player with no assistance, so no worries there.
Controls seem smoother to me, and changing weapons on the fly is fast.
That’s a very good thing in the heat of battle. Picking up items seems
faster as well. Better yet, access to inventory is simple and healing
damage is done with a fast push of a bumper button.
Healing yourself does involve
Herbs again to an extent. This time grabbing up the herbs and making
mixes results in tablets. Access to the inventory is so much smoother in
my opinion, though for some reason as we wrote this, co-writer/ reviewer
Noemi Portillo lamented that she missed the old inventory system.
I have to say that the direction that the Resident Evil franchise has
taken does not please everyone. But as noted much like the Virus that is
part of the Resident Evil universe, the game franchise has to grow, and
evolve if it is really going to matter in the future.
With huge action set pieces and quick time events that pop up during the
course of missions giving you little time to make a snap choice and or
madly hit or wiggle the right controls to survive. The action adventure
horror is firmly in place, heavier in places with action and not so much
on the Horror as much as it used to be. Or is it just we as consumers
have been desensitized so much and are used to horror stories, it takes
much more to shock us?
Resident Evil 6 does have its horror moments, though some seem a bit old
hat, but sometimes good old scares are the best. A sudden sound that
turns out to be nothing, Zombies or Bodies lying around and not always
animating to come after you…then when you least expect it, a body
attacks…don’t even get me going on the creepy zombie that had its legs
damaged somehow so it crawls around after you…just horrific! The game
keeps the player dreading what is around the next corner.
Going full circle about the
story again and how it intertwines all the campaigns into one story is a
good idea. The story is somewhat addictive and you want to find out what
happens next, you want to know how everyone came to that certain point.
Now on the flip side, even though someone from Capcom has been noted as
saying that they do listen to the consumer, thankfully and rightly so,
they are not hand tied in their creativity on where the franchise is
going. Though it does seem like in the latest the designers tried to
please a lot of different games…did that leave the game lacking? In some
opinions yes, though not in mine. The game has some stumbling moments,
but it is worth sticking it out. With the franchise changing over time
it has lost a lot of what originally defined Resident Evil to us all.
The game has plenty of OH CRAP moments that made me jump out of my skin…
and you know what? Those are some of the adventures I am looking for. I
am just hoping for a bit more next outing.
Edwin Millheim and Noemi Portillo |
