Resident Evil has changed a lot over the years. Starting off as a survival horrors with its PlayStation One incarnations, it then added more action in it’s 4th installment, and practically went all action with the 5th installment. In an attempt to please both its long time and newer fans, Resident Evil 6 lets you play through 4 different campaigns. The result was one of the most polarizing games made in the past few years. Now, 4 years later, Resident Evil 6 has resurfaced on next gen hardware with some improved visuals, but has time changed this already divisive game?
Story
You play as returning fan-favorite characters Leon Kennedy, Chris Redfield, and Ada Wong, along with newcomer Jack Muller. It seems that a new Zombie Viral outbreak has occurred, and they all must get to the bottom of what’s going on going on and have to stop it. Each campaign does have its own individual objectives and personal drama, but they ultimately lead to the same end goal.
Resident Evil stories have been known for being an enjoyably ridiculous, B-movie schlock fest, however things are played a bit straighter than past games and it’s kind of enjoyable. Sure, it won’t be remembered as one of the better plots in the series history, but it’s more enjoyable as a big dumb action movie. But, that doesn’t mean everything Resident Evil was lost in the transfer, so be prepare for some cheesy dialog, some over-the-top voice acting, and plot points you can see coming.
Gameplay
If you’ve played any third person shooter, you’ll know what expect in RE 6. The new aiming system might take some time getting used to, but you can change it to the laser pointer from previous games in the option. But be careful, cause you can’t pause the game with this menu. The game also includes a cover system that takes time getting use to, but feels forgettable since you won’t need to using that much. No matter which campaign you play, you’ll always have a partner with you.
The AI is far more competent than in previous games, and you can still bring a friend along online or at home. Weapons run the typical pistols, shotguns, assault Riffles, and so on, but they’re all fun to use, thanks to some great feedback. The melee system has been upgraded from past games, and it’s more enjoyable, with characters even having a special takedown move that never gets old. The levels you go through are decently varied, and the pacing is solid throughout. Each story will take you around 5-6 hours to beat, and mercenaries return for some fun objective based score attacks.
Each of the 4 campaigns does its best to differentiate itself from the other. Leon’s and Ava’s campaign harken back more to classic Resident Evil games, with emphasis placed on close, claustrophobic environments. Leon’s is a bit more action heavy than Ada’s, but her campaign also features some decent puzzle solving and minor stealth sections. On the other hand, Chris’ and Jake’s campaign are more about action than anything else. Jake’s campaign does have a more vehicle sections, and Jake is able to use a rush attack that the other’s can’t use, while Chris’s plays like any third person shooter.
That being said, each campaign has some enjoyable moments. It’s just that a lot of what Resident Evil 6 does well feels like it was already done much better in a lot of action games released around its time. However, the sequences kind of hold up a bit more, seeing how much more emphasis has been made to making games now are more now continuing to emulate open world games popularized by GTA and Ubisoft’s repertoire of titles. It’s actually a bit refreshing to play a more linear focused game with a focus on tightly designed action set pieces.
Still, there are some sections of the game that a badly designed, like an aggressively boring/tedious snow section in Jake’s campaign. And some of the games bosses feel a bit more like bullet sponges, and the game could of done a better job of explaining how to beat them. But the good mostly outweighs the bad.
Presentation
Graphically, RE 6 was a good-looking game for its time. Some environments were dark, spooky, and creepy (fitting with the previous installments), and some were more out in the open (like cities, small villages and caverns). It also features some excellent zombie and creature designs.
This remastered version has all that and now runs at 1080p and at a solid 60FPS, leading to a smoother gameplay experience. That being said, the remaster could have fixed some of the textures in some scenes. They already looked blurry before, and they didn’t get much TLC here. The music is solid and the voice acting is mostly solid.
Resident Evil 6 isn’t a bad game; it’s just not that impressive. It’s easy to see why so many where disappointed when it first came out, but if you go in this expecting a fun action game, it’s defiantly worth checking out, especially at only $20. Long time fans, however, will be left wanting more.
