Resident Evil 6 (campaign mode) Review

If ever a video game was undone by it's own ambition it would be Resident Evil 6, an entrance into a series whose quality is really beginning to feel questionable

As an avid fan of all things Resident Evil I was really looking forward to Resident Evil 6, long before it was even confirmed in January 2012. When It was revealed it was done so in a full length video trailer and followed on with the 'No Hope left' viral campaign. My first impressions of that trailer were not overwhelming, and much of the problems I predicted then would eventually come true in the final version. With those doubts in mind I was still looking forward to the game, despite some critics reservations I actually really enjoyed Resident Evil 5, it had its flaws but I thought it was a worthy successor to Resident Evil 4.

Resident Evil 6 was released in October so I have come to the game a bit later than I usually do with most other Resident Evil games, but I managed to play through and complete all of the campaign modes over the Christmas holidays. 

The main story is rather formulaic and based around the outbreak of a C-virus, which has been caused by bio terrorist group Neo Umbrella, which spreads across a number of places across the globe. There is an option of three campaigns in the game, these involve the return of BSAA member Chris Redfield and Piers, Raccoon City survivor Leon Kennedy and Helena, the older version of Sherry Birkin (from Resident Evil 2), now a US government agent, who is partnered with mercenary Jake Muller.

All of the campaigns link up to one another in the last third of each one, and they all have their slight differences with one another in terms of game play. But this is where the problem lies, all of the campaigns are action orientated from the first minute to the last, filtered with endless quick time events. One of the biggest complaints that was made about number 5 was the fact that it had been made into too much of an action game with very little thought for exploration. Well Capcom have gone one step further with 6, environments act as nothing more than a setting, constraining the gameplay to a corridor to corridor shooting fest. One aspect that Resident Evil 4 managed to get right was the balance between exploration and action, even number 5 managed to do this to a much lesser extent. Although fun at first, the gameplay in Resident Evil 6 gets to the point where it just becomes tedious, no matter what campaign you're playing.

The same can be said for the relentless quick time events, certain cinematic set pieces in the game brilliantly add to the gaming experience, one particularly memorable moment includes an underwater sea monster, but on the whole they appear far too often for the most simplest of tasks, and break up the flow of the game.

Two of the campaigns are set in two main locations, Chris and Sherry's campaigns are set in the fictional European country of Edonia and the fictional Chinese city of Lanshiang, Leon's campaign begins in the American town of Tall Oaks before he too heads to China. My personal favourite was Sherry and Jake's, not only do they have the best interaction with one another they also have the most interesting story, I also enjoyed the antagonist 'Ustanak', who chases you through the game, it brings back memories of Nemesis in Resident Evil 3. 

Chris Redfield's campaign is the most boring and uninteresting, as it doesn't deviate much from a run and shoot em up. Leon's campaign is sublime in the first half, with the return of slow zombies and moments of suspense in dark rooms and corridors, for a while it brings back nostalgic memories of what Resident Evil once was. But by the time you arrive in China, the campaign turns into a live action movie, as one QTE leads onto another, this happens without any end in sight, you eventually get to the point that you actually want the game to end, which is never good.

Each campaign is about 5-6 hours long, so there is plenty on offer, in many ways the game is just too big, although all three cross into one another I think the game would have been best served with just one long campaign instead of three. Bringing Leon and Chris into the same game seems to have been done to just bring them together, perhaps if they were both in the same campaign together, that might have been intriguing.  

Improvements include the fact you can now move and shoot at the same time, with so many enemies on screen at once, at times it is very helpful. The item system is also an improvement on the previous two games in the series, I liked the fact that your health meter appears as blocks and you can stock up on your inventory.

The graphics are decent enough but hardly push the 360 to its limit, comparing it to Max Payne 3 (which I was playing at the time, and did not complete) it does look very basic in the environmental detail. Enemy design is again good enough but hardly imaginative, aside from the mini bosses and main bosses the game lacks any real tension or sense of fear, the zombies and j'avo just seem like cannon fodder. Classic BOW's in the vein of the lickers and Hunters are missing and it is very evident. Files and documents are no longer in the main part of the game but as extras, which was a big mistake because they add depth to the story of the game, which this game lacks in abundance.

Despite it's flaws Resident Evil 6 is still a good game, one that fans and non-fans will appreciate, but it's still without doubt one of the weakest. It was with Resident Evil 3 that the old style fixed camera angles that the series began to feel dated and needed to freshen up. The same is for number 6, if there is another entry it will need to move the series in a different direction but still attain the essence of what a Resident Evil game is, a suspenseful survival horror that hooks you in from the first minute to the last, preferably with the light off. None of this can be said for Resident Evil 6  

Verdict-6/10