Resident Evil 6 [XBox 360, PS3] - review

[nakamura]

After a strong opening section, it goes into one train wreck after another. No focus, poor structure, too much Hollywood, bad camera, bad cover system and much more.

You even had to watch the huge closing credits 3 times. I would score it a five. There are enough good moments to drag it up and some good scene in there too. About half the game is good and half is ****e.

[saturn-gamer]

You can skip the closing credits. At least for subsequent playthroughs.

Its a rough game, really polarizing. But I like it, I played a lot of Mercs. Sank about 50 hours into RE6 I think.

[nakamura]

I couldn't skip the credits on any playthrough, it just wouldn't work even when the button came up.

I put RE 4 on last night, absolute Masterpiece.

[Yakumo]

I can skip the credits. Just press the "Back" button. I use the Asia version of the game which is in English but uses the Japanese Bio Hazard name. Also, nobody has mentioned Aida Wongs missions yet. Are they not on the PAL release?

[saturn-gamer]

Perhaps because her campaign is a tad on the ****ty side. Forced stealth here, forced puzzle there... And her attitude is way too annoying.

Campaign started out well, but I didn't enjoy it all that much in the end.

[nakamura]

Because 23 hours of the other campaigns killed me and I couldn't bear to do the Ada stuff. Instead I started the Ada missions on Resident Evil 4.

[Paddy]

Because 23 hours of the other campaigns killed me and I couldn't bear to do the Ada stuff. Instead I started the Ada missions on Resident Evil 4.

Do play her segment though Nakamura. It rounds the story off and makes things feel complete for RE6 (albeit open to go on as a franchise forever!)

[Phantasmical]

Because 23 hours of the other campaigns killed me and I couldn't bear to do the Ada stuff. Instead I started the Ada missions on Resident Evil 4.

If it was that bad why waste 23 hours playing it?

[nakamura]

Paddy, I had already worked out what was going on with Ada halfway into the game or before so I have little need to play it. I will picked it up again when it is cheap to play Mercs online with a mate and may go through her stuff then. Until then, I wanted to get as much cash back so I sold it!

Phantasmical, a valid point for sure but I do love the franchise and there were some great moments. I loved the first 6 chapters overall and there was fun to be had. There were just more and more bad decisions and examples of poor execution later on it really began to grate.

[Paddy]

Phantasmical, a valid point for sure but I do love the franchise and there were some great moments. I loved the first 6 chapters overall and there was fun to be had. There were just more and more bad decisions and examples of poor execution later on it really began to grate.

Is this the first two chapters of each character's campaign? You know, I think the demo did a very poor job of representing the game in its best light.

I agree with you that there are some great moments peppered through the game. Shame it couldn't match Resi 4 with continually good momentum all the way through. At least you played each campaign through to completion which puts you in a better position to criticise.

Let's hope the next main Resi game raises the bar all over again.

[nakamura]

Yeah the first two chapters of each campaign, I really enjoyed them overall.

[sj33]

A little bit late to the party, but I've intentionally avoided all reviews and internet feedback so I can make my own mind up about this game. I've finally completed Jake's scenario - still have Ada's scenario to go, but I feel I've played enough to finally decide what I think about this game. Just to note, not only am I a massive fan of 'old' Resident Evil games, but I'm a bit of a survival horror buff. So to say I went into this game feeling sceptical would be an understatement.

This game does so much to deserve praise and credit, and so many genuine attempts to move the series forward (albeit, in a direction that many of us may not approve of). These attempts are tarnished by the directionless, disjointed nature of a game with a severe identity crisis.

Capcom have gone out of their way to try to please everybody by providing four different scenarios with four different gameplay styles. As well-meaning as this may have been, this approach is inherently flawed because it automatically results in at least one segment of the audience having issues with 3/4 of the game. Leon's scenario tries to appeal to the action-adventure crowd who might enjoy the likes of Uncharted etc., Chris' scenario might appeal more to people who enjoy dreary military shooters. Ultimately, everyone is going to have to endure at least one scenario they aren't keen on in order to experience the entire story.

In terms of the plot and scenario, I think Capcom deserve credit, and they've thrown in a fair few bombshells for people who have been following the story since 1996. The new guy, Jake, turned out to be a more interesting character than he initially appears, and throwing in an older Sherry Birkin was a masterstroke to get people like me playing until the end. She provided a decent complement to Jake as another 'victim' of experimentation, as well as a problematic family life. The paring is probably the most interesting, with the 'partners' for the other scenarios being somewhat forgettable.

Ultimately, I'm not really sure who this game is supposed to appeal to. Survival horror fans are going to be alienated from the outset despite the overall darker tone. Capcom have tried to appeal to a broader audience by throwing in different styles of gameplay, but that has resulted in a game that feels very middle-of-the-road, not really excelling in any area and feeling rather disjointed and unsure of itself. Besides, given the character line-up in this game is like one big Resident Evil 2 reunion (Claire aside), much of the plot and cast will be lost on this new audience - what if they don't know who Ada Wong is? What if they don't know why the return of Sherry Birkin is such a big deal? What if they don't know what Wesker did in the past? This game will just be yet another average action game for people unfamiliar with the Resident Evil lore. Ironically, long-time Resident Evil fans will get the most from this game because of the progress made in the plot and the characters, but this audience will still have severe issues with the overall direction of the game.

The game is not merit-less - indeed, it does a lot of things well. From a neutral standpoint, I enjoyed playing through a lot of the game. But if the game didn't have 'Resident Evil' stamped on the cover, I'm not sure I would have persisted with it. How well does the game stand on it's own merits? Not very well. Could I recommend this game to somebody who has never played the series? No, I really couldn't.

Resident Evil 4 answered many of the questions that people were asking regarding the stagnating survival horror genre. They might not have been the answers that many people wanted (myself included), but it moved the series forward in many ways. Resident Evil 5 was a side-step and resulted in questions once again being raised. Far from answering questions, this game just raises even more questions regarding the future, and relevance, of the series.

[Kieran76]

That is a decent write up Shakey and I am glad I read it as I am currently plodding through the Leon game and am far from impressed. If the game offers something different I will persevere more.

[nakamura]

I'm not quite sure how this tries to move the series forward in any way at all though. It is simply move of the same with slightly expanded melee and moving and shooting.

If anything the series is moving backwards.

[sj33]

Just finished the Ada scenario. It's definitely the best portion of the game in my eyes. Decreased emphasis on shooting (indeed, the lack of ammo means you can't just mow everything down like with the other characters), more puzzle elements (albeit not enough) and generally more interesting plot and narrative (though Ada seems to talk to herself a lot). I genuinely enjoyed her scenario.

This is supposed to be unlocked from the start with the forthcoming patch, though I'm not sure that is such a good idea - you still need to have played the other scenarios given the 'fill in the gaps' nature of the plot.