Reviews// Resident Evil 6

So, Capcom is back with another instalment of the venerable Resident Evil franchise, Resident Evil 6 (RE6 from now on). This time though, they have provided three different campaigns to choose from!

For the first part of the game, you’ll play through a tutorial level, which will teach you the basic controls and allow you to get a feel for the game. After completing the tutorial, you get to pick which campaign to start with: Leon S. Kennedy, Chris Redfield or Jake Muller.

Now, as with RE5, each playable character has a partner which can be controlled by the AI, or taken over by a friend locally or online. Leon will be paired up with Helena Harper, Chris with Piers Nivans and Jake with Sherry Birkin. If you’re new to the Resident Evil franchise, these are nothing but names to you. So, let me give you a little insight.

Some Background
Chris Redfield is one of the founders of the BSAA (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance). He’s suffered memory loss from a traumatic failed operation. His partner, Piers Nivans serves under Chris as part of the BSAA. Jake Muller works as a Mercenary in Eastern Europe, the government needs his blood, as it appears that he’s immune to the C-Virus (I’ll come to this a little later on).

Sherry Birkin is an agent for the Division of Security Operations. It’s her job to acquire Jake’s blood. Leon S. Kennedy is a survivor of Raccoon City who works for the government.

Helena Harper is part of the USSS (United States Secret Service) – She’s assigned as a personal bodyguard for the President of the U.S and finds herself involved in a bioterrorist attack which leads to her co-operation with Leon and the death of the President.

This isn’t like any other game though, and yeah, you might say, “No other game has three campaigns”, but that’s not what I’m getting at. Each campaign has a completely different feel to it. If you're reading this, there's a fair chance that you've played at least one Resident Evil game in the past.

Over the years, although the style has changed but the basic premise has remained similar. Maybe, like me, you used to play in a darkened room, clenching your joypad for dear life. The more recent games have been a bit less about scaring ourselves senseless and a bit more about, “Oh shit, a hoard of zombies!”

Although different styles have been used to convey it, horror has been a consistent element of the series. RE6 however, mixes the two atmospheres perfectly. For example, while playing as Leon I found myself in what appeared to be an abandoned hotel walking through dark hallways with no reliable form of light.

I turn into a nearby room to check for any ammo (I’ll return to ammo later). The next thing I know, I hear a piercing screech and find myself being mauled by a zombie! On the flipside, playing as Chris proves to be more fast paced; more shooting, less tiptoeing around hoping there’s no meat-craving undead around the next corner.

Shooting! That leads me to my next point. I really enjoyed playing Resident Evil 5 although I had one major issue… why did aiming your weapon cause you to lose the ability to walk? That’s bonkers!

Capcom obviously agrees, because we now have the ability to aim and move at the same time. As you progress through the game, you’ll find a variety of different weapons from shotguns to machine guns, from basic 9mm pistols to the “Elephant Killer”.

As I mentioned earlier: Ammo! If you’re a trigger-happy gamer (quite like I am), you’re going to have a bit of a problem with RE6. Ammo isn’t as easy to come by as you’d hope. Don’t worry though, not all hope is lost.

Your character (whichever of the six you choose) has hand-to-hand combat skills. There’s a variety of different combos for you to use, depending on what situation you’re in. If you manage to sneak up on an unsuspecting enemy, you can generally execute a quick one-hit kill that usually involves smashing his skull to the ground.

If you turn around to find an enemy directly behind you, your character will probably kick them in the face a few times, and then finish them off by slicing their throat with your combat knife. It’s not quite as free-flowing as I’d hope though.

There have been a few occasions when I’ve found a zombie tucking into his dinner in the form of a survivor, I’ve run up behind him with all intention of putting my boot in the back of his head, and to my surprise I’ve found myself kicked thin air. You have either to shoot these zombies, or wait for them to get up before you can engage them in combat.

Camera Obscura
In terms of camera angle, RE6 is a third-person game, just like RE4 and 5. The camera hovers over your character's shoulder, and you're able to move it using the right analog stick.

The interesting thing about the camera here though, is sprinting. When you start sprinting, it zooms out and moves down in order to give you a view of what's happening above you - whether it be crumbling buildings, or the dripping walls of a sewer tunnel.
This adds a really nice feel to the game.

It does have its downside though. If you find yourself in a confined space such as a hotel room, and try to sprint away from the undead guy dragging himself along the floor in your direction, the camera can sometimes be a pain in the arse; just who is interested in looking at the ceiling of a hotel room in this situation, really?

The Co-Op
Now, earlier on I said that your partner will be controlled by the AI (providing you aren’t playing co-operatively with a friend). Whenever AI is involved as a core part of the gameplay, I’m always a little bit sceptical because, well, let’s be fair, they’re rarely of any use to you.

In a lot of games, I’ve found myself on the floor bleeding out with enemies marching in to finish me off, while my partner seems to be running around in circles for the hell of it. RE6 however proves me wrong; the AI is very quick and responsive.