Resident Evil 6 review (PS3)

Resident Evil 6 has already had a bumpy road. The excitement that came with the initial trailers was met with concern from some veteran fans that the franchise had abandoned its horror roots for over-to-top action. Well, the verdict is in, and although Resident Evil 6 regards itself as one of the biggest games of the year, does it leave you with heart pounding, or brainlessly drooling?

First things first – Resident Evil 6 feels like two different games in one. On the one hand, it maintains the franchise’s heritage of fear, as well as adding an even bigger fear-factor thanks to the graphical quality of the game-engine tech. Then on the other hand, the game embraces that over-the-top fast-paced action feel from RE5 that some gamers have come to love. It’s as if Capcom wants to please new and old-school fans of the series, and they have done so in grand fashion.

The three campaigns into which the game is split highlight these different gameplay styles of the franchise. Leon’s campaign follows the traditional RE style; Chris takes an action-oriented and squad-based approach; while new character Jake’s campaign is tailored towards a mixture of fast-paced melee and weapon combat, with a heavy emphasis on set-pieces.

This is one of the best and worst features of Resident Evil 6. Set-pieces normally mean quick-time events, and they are rife throughout the game. While they allow for certain moments of the game to be unbelievably cinematic thanks to some changing camera angles, the on-going button prompts really do dissect the action. You’ll go from a free-flowing boss fight, into a button-mashing sequence, and back and forth numerous times in some instances.

As for the gameplay specifics, the biggest addition to the series has to be the modification of the control scheme to include dual-stick functionality for moving and shooting simultaneously. Instead of the stop-shoot-run gameplay of the series, the game now plays more like a modern third-person shooter. Some may think that this will make the game too easy, but Capcom have boosted the AI and threat posed by enemies.

Skeptics have also felt that the inclusion of moving while shooting has taken the element of horror away. While it does give the chance to play more “carelessly”, Capcom have catered for the additional manoeuvrability. Enemies can now arm themselves, pop out of vents and will basically surprise you from beginning to end, allowing the fear to still exist with the help of the smarter AI and more vulnerable situations that you’re thrown into.

A cover system and multiple shooting positions (while downed on the floor) are also thrown into the arsenal to handle the waves of enemies coming your way, although this is used more predominantly in Chris and Jake’s campaign.

All characters can now vault over most waist-high objects, and even slide across tables. This comes in handy when being cornered by a group of the undead, or something worse. These additions add dynamics to the movements of the RE characters, which have always felt pretty rigid throughout the series.

Another first for the franchise is a skill system. Players can equip three different perks to their characters, which can alter anything from melee damage, to strength against a particular enemy.

Visually, Resident Evil 6 is jaw-dropping. Well-created character models and detailed environments, along with some great atmospheric lighting and particle effects add to the overall eye-candy. There are the odd awkward animations, although it doesn’t detract from the visual splendour that’s on offer. A lot of games throw the word “epic” around, but Resident Evil 6 is one of the only games that lives up to that term.

I haven’t mentioned the story particulars, but its difficult without giving away too much. The game takes place in 2012-2013, with time periods jumping a bit from campaign to campaign. The story continues to follow the global spread of the T-Virus, as well as new mysterious strains. Each chatacter (and partner) has his/her own agenda, and all three campaign stories overlap one another well, creating one overarching storyline that is as ridiculous and awesome as you’d expect from a Resident Evil game.

Resident Evil 6 delivers on everything it promises. While it does get caught up in a few quick-time events and self-admiration of cinematics, it’s one of the biggest, most beautiful and fun games to play (particularly co-op), and will scratch the itch of horror and action game fans. The expectations of Resident Evil seem to be holding onto the past, and while the original games are phenomenal, the series is growing and evolving significantly with every iteration, and that’s a promising and admirable thing. Gamers seem to be buying the same military shooter year after year, so why not try something more ambitious?