0
Gameplay
Resident Evil 6 shares a lot in common with its most recent predecessors when it comes to its gameplay, namely its penchant for valuing gun-play over exploration or puzzling. Like RE5 and RE4 before it you’ll be running though a linear path blasting zombies in the face region. While there are nooks and crannies in each area to ‘explore’ it’s fairly limited, mostly rewarding you with useful items or herbs. The game is broken into four campaigns, each consisting of five chapters. While it’s not necessary to play them in any particular order, the suggested order is Leon, Chris, Jake then Ada.
One of the most noticeable gameplay changes is the ability to move while aiming, which is something people have been wanting for a long time. (Purists, not so much). While you would think this would make a huge difference in gameplay, its addition isn’t that impactful. While it is nice to be able to backup while firing down a tight corridor, for most part I didn't really feel its impact on the gameplay. Probably even more important that shoot-and-move is the addition of more acrobatic maneuvers. Characters cannot just duck incoming attacks but are also able to roll and dive out of the way, allowing you to shoot while lying on your back. This becomes invaluable when finding yourself in a tight spot.
When it comes to melee, Resident Evil games have usually limited themselves to awkward knife waving. With the latest installment comes a more fleshed out melee system. Characters are now able to perform a series of hand-to-hand combat moves on demand, not just as a response to QTE prompts. These moves come at a cost however, in the form of a ‘stamina bar’. Using melee strikes and finishers costs stamina and once it’s gone you have to wait for it to replenish before you can start swinging like a madman again. Personally I’m not a fan of the stamina system in general, but here it kind of makes sense. Melee is an obvious form of defence against a zombie, particularly in a world of scarce resources. The stamina bar however stops it from becoming an easy ‘spam to win’ mechanic. There is also now a ‘quick shot’ ability which enables you to let off a fast reactive round to stagger an enemy that might have snuck up on you. Again this takes stamina so there is a limit to its use. As a whole it plays very much like past titles if not better for now your character’s far more nimble and effective in multi-threat combat and less like a tank on legs.
One of the more welcome additions is the AI. Your AI partner is now far more autonomous and no longer relies on you for weapons, ammo or heath. In my experience they can’t even be downed or killed. While I still question the addition if co-op into a Resident Evil game, its implementation this time is much improved. Not only is there a lot less hand holding of the AI but the addition of a drop-in-drop-out system makes it a lot easier to team up with friends at any time.
The games biggest let down in the gameplay department is the addition of on-rail shooting/driving section. These feel out of place and ill-conceived to say the least and offer the most unsatisfying experience of the game.
Graphics
In a complete (and welcome) turnaround from RE5, the designers have returned to a more dark and atmospheric approach to its environments in RE6. An emphasis on contrast and strong lighting gives the game a more genre appropriate feel and adds to a more menacing and darker mood. It does however suffer from some low-res textures and model quality. The game also suffers from a really noticeable low-res blur effect in the distance when the camera changes focus during combat. This can have the effect sometimes of undermining the atmosphere and reality of the world they are trying to immerse you in.
One of the best additions is fully destructible zombies. In the past an exploding head was the most you could hope for, now zombies won’t only lose their heads but arms and legs can also be removed and shots to the torso will result in large holes appearing that you can see right through. You can even cut zombies in half with enough bullets to the gut. This extra attention to detail adds another level to the atmosphere and immersion of the game.
Sound
Audio presentation in Resident Evil 6 on a whole is very good. The music is well scored and fits perfectly into the mood and atmosphere of the game. Voice acting is also something to be noted. Quality of the cast is high with many well-known and seasoned voice actors lending their talents including; Mathew Mercer, Troy Baker, Laura Bailey, Roger Craig Smith and David Lodge.
Controls/Interface
The control scheme for Resident Evil 6 is very similar to the last two entries. The biggest difference now is that with the addition of new melee and dodge abilities the characters handle a lot more naturally. Characters default movement speed has been moved up from a walk to more of a jog. There is a sprint button, but now this makes you 'actually' sprint. Escaping and maneuvering during enemy encounters is now a lot easier. You feels less restricted and it removes the feeling of constantly fighting against the controls present in earlier titles. It feels a lot more like a 'modern' game.
The live inventory system has once again been streamlined to the point where you don’t even have to use it if you don’t want to. Weapons are accessed through the D-pad, as are items and sprays. Herbs are converted to pills for quick consumption by taping R2. Hitting Square + R2 instantly converts any herbs you have to pills. So there is no real need to ever visit the inventory screen, unless you need to make room by dropping items of course.
True to a lot of Japanese design, the menu systems are fairly complicated with some options being hidden deep within sub-menus, in categories that don't really make sense. While this is no big detractor, one that is is the fact that the options menu is 'live', meaning you can't pause and go look through the options. The game is still running in the background. I can kind of understand this in say, an online co-op situation needing to be the case, but if I'm playing offline I want to be able to pause and go through my options, for that matter I want to be able to pause while using the inventory while offline.
Story/Presentation
Like many of the Resident Evil games 6’s story is fairly complicated with character motivations being kept secret while others having multiple agendas. The story does however inject some interesting elements and revelations into the canon. One of the strongest aspects of the story is its structure. Each campaign while having its own path and ending, periodically links back in to the overarching plot. When this happens we are usually treated to a new perspective on events recently only seen from someone else’s perspective. As the story progresses this gradually results with previous questions being answered and the entire picture being pieced together.
Multiplayer
‘Mercenaries’ returns, with the addition of all new melee and dodge abilities as in single player, making for a far more satisfying experience. The main goal is to kill as many enemies within a time limit as well as link these kills for major points. Time can be extended by breaking hour glasses scattered in the level or preforming melee kills for smaller time additions. The main thing that lets down Mercenaries is the limited range of stages available.
I’m assuming more will be added with future DLC. There is a matchmaking feature for finding a buddy but more often than not you are put with someone who’s completely useless. I can’t count the amount of times I've failed a stage because the other guys decides to run off and get themselves killed. If you’re going to do it as a duo I’d recommend finding a real-life friend to play with.
Overall
There are many things in Resident Evil 6 that works, unfortunately for every one there is another that doesn't. Its overall design philosophy feels muddled as if they weren't sure what they wanted to achieve. I feel they spread themselves too thin. It has a somewhat design by committee feel. They tried to cram too many ideas into one package. If you’re able to accept it for what it is as appose to what it isn’t, it is a decent game. I believe its marked improvement on the last installment. While all this detracts from the overall package I still found myself enjoying it more than not. However there is plenty of room for improvement and I can only hope that Capcom take the experience of this game on-board when it comes to Resident Evil 7.
Author: Aromaci
Click here to view the article
" );
_last = ipsLightbox.lightboxImage.src;
}
}
/* Check for init and then keep checking for new image */
_to = setTimeout( "gbl_addDownloadButton()", 1000 );
}
//]]>