resident evil 6

RELEASE: 10/2012 | DEVELOPER: Capcom | ESRB: M for Mature

Capcom brings together survival horror, intrigue and all-out-zombie-action in the sixth release of their popular franchise Resident Evil (RE). This is the biggest, best looking RE title to date. Hours of running, gunning and running and gunning at the same time; which is just one of the new additions making this game even better than the last. Though Resident Evil 6 has a bit of a scarred reputation on the internet, which I choose to ignore and see these zombie-infested streets for myself.

A new evil pathogen has been released by Neo-Umbrella, the once dismantled corporate monsters responsible for the original outbreak in Raccoon City in RE2. The opening scene shows the current (and fictitious) U.S. President becoming one of the newly infected. This new C Virus has been released in areas across the globe, from the US to Lanshiang, China. Fan favorite character Leon Kennedy (RE0) and Secret Service agent Helena Harper (new character) are the first on the scene investigating the initial terror attack.

With four separate but intertwining campaigns to play through, Leon and Helena are just the first RE characters you get to play. Each campaign has their own cast and distinct focus of gameplay. You could easily say there is something here for every type of RE fan. The game spins into an epic adventure with all of your favorite RE characters, into one (semi) cohesive story.

Add in some online co-op, multiplayer and the support from sites like ResidentEvil.net and you’ll have AAA game content that you’ll want play and replay. Each campaign involves a pair of protagonists perfectly suited for online co-op with a buddy. If you're more the run-n-gun type who keeps a steady trigger finger on their kill/death ratio there is a whole multiplayer angle here too; pitting you against a whole world of BSAA agents and zombie recruits. ResidentEvil.net is your community hub where your scores can be tracked. The site hosts monthly online competitions based on multiplayer scores and main campaign stats, for example: “lets kill 10,000 Shriekers this month.” 

Sadly, the game is not without glitches, mostly server side rather than graphical or AI gone awry. Staying connected online with a co-op partner is a nightmare. You’ll hold your breath at every cut scene hoping your online buddy is still connected when it’s over. In fact, staying connected was my only real issue with RE6. I definitely do not side with the thousands of negative reviews the game has gotten. Quite the opposite actually, I was thinking more along the lines of “Game of the Year”. I’m not sure what this says about me as a reviewer, but I do know that I’m in favor of a very good game.

While games are often critically panned, ignoring reviews can often lead you to find some overlooked gems. I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Resident Evil 6. It's just as intriguing and complicated as any past RE story. I’m happy with the gameplay and rather enjoy being able to choose between survival style, ammo storing campaigns vs all out shooting in big action campaigns all on one disk.

A-
Don’t knock it till you try it.