Resident evil 6 is a game that is full of ambition and action that has its issues but is fun nonetheless. First the single player campaign and story, they are lack for a better word very well done. The story is massive and has many different view points you can piece together as you pick which characters you wish to play as which is exciting but has its issues. Each characters story arch also carries with it a different game style with Leon being the old school Resident Evil, with Chris Redfield a military style shooter trying to make up for the past mistakes he made, Jake Muller’s plays out as an action film with a mercenary that grows a heart, and last is Ada Wong a spy who is framed for bio terrorism and wants revenge against those who would sully her name.
By playing all these character stories you see a well-put together collaborative plot that is seen through multiple character perspectives giving you a complete understanding of what is going on. Each of these different story perspectives comes with distinct play styles and a secondary character that allows for co-op that can be a hit or miss. But thankfully it is more hit than miss a great story with a predictable plot, but still fun to witness as you play through.
The game play’s similar to Resident Evil 5 with an over the shoulder angle which can be switched from left to right and it is enhanced since you can now move around as you shoot, no more standing still as vicious creatures come lunging at you. This adds an extra element to combat that enhances the shooter aspect of the game making it more intense and fun.
But there is a down side to that enhancement and that is the camera. As a result of moving around, every time you do move the camera reorients itself and you lose sight of what you are fighting, making it more difficult to battle those overly maneuverable enemies. After playing for a while you get used to it and adjusting the camera eventually becomes second nature.
The games combat system can be frustrating, but if you can get use to the camera then you will find yourself having fun.
In addition to the new combat elements Capcom decided to add more random quick time events that force you to pay attention as you play. This is fun at first but gets tiresome after a while. But if you put it on the easy difficulty it does most of it automatically for you allowing a more passive experience that gives you the impression you playing an interactive movie rather than a game. But overall game play is fun if you can past those shortcomings.
The games inventory system also changed no more sharing items with your partner to hold or empty boxes to store extra weapons and ammo in, everything you collect you keep adding to the games more action oriented focus than the slow-paced style of the past.
You can now carry every weapon you have and decide which weapon is best to use in which situation you’re in. This adds strategy that you mostly see in shooters rather than a survival horror game. All in all the changes are nice but it’s a Resident Evil game not a shooter. Capcom is experimenting and it doesn’t change the fact the game play is still fun.
Capcom added a skill building system where you can purchase skills that you can use in online and offline game play. With Resident Evil 6 you now have a skill system that allows you to customize you character’s abilities, obtain weapons, and special options such as infinite ammo for a certain guns, better aim, and higher defense.
Here is where the game becomes frustrating since you start out with a character at zero. The aiming is off, your character takes too much damage, and your weapon feels the same as shooting a bb gun. This changes with the new skill system as you purchase and add skills. During the single player campaign you find objects worth money that allow you to buy skills. However, doing it only through single player takes too much time, especially since there are barely any treasures to be found. There is good news when you play multiplayer or mercenaries mode you make money faster allowing you to buy skill much more quickly then you would in single player which is a relief for those gamers out there who like to play together.
The skill system is a nice addition but its Resident Evil not an RPG shooter like MASS EFFECT. But again this doesn’t hinder the experience it makes it more challenging and give players an incentive to go back and play again.
After playing through the game six times, with each of the two characters, each story offered showing the fun to be had with it. Don’t buy it if it’s just for the single player, but yes if it’s for both the co-op and single player.
As a Resident Evil fan since 1996, it has a lot of nice cameos, explains a lot of unanswered questions, and worth a purchase, if you can spare the cash.