Resident Evil 6: Game Review

Resident Evil 6: Game Review

Released by CAPCOM
Platform: PS3

I have to confess to never having fully been a paid up fan of the Resident Evil franchise.

There was just something about the third person shooter which really didn't sit well with me - and having now played Resident Evil 6, I know what exactly that was.

Fear.

A prolonged stench of it extends from the TV screen when playing this latest franchisee; from tension to suspense to outright blood and bone curding crunching, there's plenty to scare the beejesus out of you. But let's not get ahead of myself just yet.

With three different storylines playing side by side, there's certainly a whole wealth of content available for you to get engrossed in. With these threads playing out in a disparate way and seven lead characters taking part in the story, and all of them following on from the events in Raccoon City, it's certainly an ambitious game to say the least from CAPCOM.

Following Chris Redfield, Leon S Kennedy and newcomer Jake Muller, the stories are presented theatrically and with an eye to the story telling rather than simply moving the action on from one moment to the next. Be it the action film opening to the creeping around a campus trying to locate people and avoid the scares, there's certainly an overarching feeling that CAPCOM's really thrown everything into this release.

My last exposure was Raccoon City which wasn't an overly bad experience but one which didn't leave me chomping at the bit to play another Res Evil title. But what with Milla Jovovich reprising her role in Resident Evil Retribution it was inevitable another one would surface.

However, what the game makers have got right is the cinematic, almost horror movie feel to the game. Creatures lurk in and out of the frames with barely any warning and give you scares when least expected. And while they may take a while to knock down and explode in a splatter of gore, the AI which sees your partner team up with you is a welcome relief; this time, your other half actually takes out the creatures, rather than just standing back or half heartedly firing and not hitting anything. It sounds stupid, but it's a little touch like this which adds rather than detracts from the gameplay. Sadly though, moments like being unable to clear chairs from your path in corridors when you could moments ago, don't exactly scream consistently - no matter how minor the niggles are, they are still niggles. Also irritating is the way cut scenes simply lurch into the game, without any warning and stop you from carrying on when you're already immersed in what's happening.

Overall though, Resident Evil 6 offers up plenty of entertainment, shooting, scores and nods back to the previous games. I'm only starting to get into this - but thanks to atmospheric chills, good story and a truckload of zombies, this is still going to be one I'll be playing for a while to come. With all the frights though, I'm just grateful the nights are a bit lighter....

Rating: