GM Contributor - Josh Gilbank takes a look at Resident Evil 6

I have been a Resident Evil fan even before the game first came out, reading Gamepro’s previews and waiting very impatiently for the first game on the PSX. Finally it came out and it was worth the wait it was scary not being able to see every angle all the time but being able to hear the moan of a zombie somewhere nearby especially when you had little ammo and were one embrace away from death. Resident Evil 2 and 3 only polished this formula further. Then RE4 release and the series was forever changed focusing more on action then survival or horror the zombies replaced with more human type enemies that would use weapons and focusing less on puzzle solving and exploration and more on a point A to B design. We then saw these same elements focused more on in RE5 and more of the puzzles removed almost entirely to focus more on an action movie style pace.

Leon and Chris’s highly advertised stand off.

Now 2012 we come to RE6 and what began with RE4 has now taken complete control of the series which I would now just call an action game as all of the horror and atmosphere is gone in exchange for over the top chases, crashing cars, tons of gunplay and as many “Wow moments” as they could fit in one game. As a long-time fan of the series I had to struggle with how I felt about this transition but in the end I have found the game enjoyable.

One of the biggest changes to the gameplay and one that everyone has been asking for the longest time is the ability to move and shoot, not just move and shoot but slide, dive and roll while shooting. With the addition of moving with the gun drawn they have also added some dodge maneuvers which let you dive in any direction and then fire from prone or roll left or right which I have found to be very useful on several occasions. They have also added a quick shot maneuver in which you would tap the aim and fire button at the same time which will then target and shoot the closes enemy and put them in a stun state making them vulnerable to a follow up attacks this however will decrease your combat gauge by 1 bar. The Combat Gauge has been added to limit the number of melee and quick shot attacks that can be performed as the melee attack can kill a basic enemy in 1-3 attacks and can be used at any time and a fairly effective vs. the weaker zombies, if you use up all of the gauge you will not be able to make a effective melee attack until at least one bar has been brought back you will also not be able to dash during that time nor will you move at full speed.

Leon Moving while aiming at a crawling zombie.

Another big change that you will notice right away is that they have done away with the old inventory system of trying to fit all your items in the inventory in a Tetris style puzzle to maximize your space, instead now you are able to access the inventory in real time (the game does not pause while you manage your items) using the menu button which has 2 sides a weapon side and an item side. You also have a quick switched for weapons using left and right on the D-pad or up down for items.

Health and healing have also been changed, now your healing has been broken up into a set of squares that will decrease as individual bars until the square is removed and then the next one will do the same if you stop taking damage and a square is only half drained it will recover to a full square however any squares that have been fully empty need to be restored with healing items. Herbs and first aid spray are your healing items as with most RE titles only now when you want to use herbs you must first turn them in to capsules you can do this in the menu system by selecting the add capsule option or via the quick command which is the heal+ action buttons together.

Leon’s HUD

The money system from RE4 and RE5 has been removed and replaced for a skill system. Over the course of the game you will find chess pieces each piece ranges in value from the pawn at 50 skill points (SP) to the King at 2000 SP. You can buy skills at the end of each chapter or before you load your save, the skills you can buy range from damage upgrades and defense to improved aim and the ability to carry more ammo for the different types of guns. Initially you are only able to Equip 3 skills but after finishing 1 story line you are allowed up to 8, you will also need to unlock the better skills by completing different objectives listed in the skills menu, mostly kill a certain number of enemy’s or completing a certain part of the story.

Mercenary mode is back and is better than ever it’s far more fun and polished then RE5 and has the inclusion of the skill system as well as some special Merc. mode only skills. We also now get the agent hunt mode which allows you to join another player’s game and take control of a random monster. Your only goal: Kill the agents. You will get to take control of zombies, dogs, and a variety of the other monsters in the game, the game also keeps track of how many times you have killed agents or have been killed for online leader boards and rankings. Before you are able to play agent hunt mode you must first finish 1 campaign in the story.

RE6 gives you the choice to start the game in 1 of 3 campaigns being with either Leon and Helena, Chris and Piers or Jake and Sherry, you also have the option with in each campaign to play as either character all the characters have a bit of a different play styles and abilities which makes them all feel unique as well as a different style of HUD which seems to be dependent on the Cell phone they have. Over the course of the game the stories of all campaigns start to overlap and a certain points you will automatically be paired with other players for up to 4 player co-op, This only happens on occasion for the most part it will just be 2 player.

Each pair’s story is differently paced, in Leon’s you will fight more of the classic style zombies with a few new twists. With Chris you fight zombies similar to that of RE5 that regenerate and change depending on how you attack them. Jake’s campaign is similar to Chris’s but with a number of chase scenes and a Nemisis-esk monster. The story in each campaign flows fairly well but it can be chaotic at times and you will probably say “Really!?” more than a few times.

Sherry and Jake in one of many chase sequences.

Overall I have really enjoyed the game, it’s fun to play and I have never found myself really all that turned off by the choices they made. Granted it’s not the Horror Style Resident Evil from my childhood but it’s still a damn good game. If you enjoyed 4 and 5 or just like action style games you will probably enjoy this game. If you are a purest, I fear that you will have to keep playing Revelations and hope Capcom will listen for 7.

Score – 78%

CONTRIBUTED AND WRITTEN BY: Josh Gilbank