Resident Evil 6

[The Βoston Crab]

Demo's out, who's on it?

Looks like a vast improvement from 5.

[Operty1]

Resi 4 is one of my fav games ever. Number 5 seemed to transform that into some kind of mildly horrific benny hill, where you would get to an area, run around it in a circle, occasionally turning and shooting.

Am hoping this is a return to form.

[spock rogers]

Tried this demo the other day. I wasn't impressed. I'd also tried the RE5 demo when that was released. The last Resident game I played was RE2 on the Playstation, and it seems these games have progressed from atmospheric puzzlers to a 'look-what-we-can-do' visual demo that you occasionally take part in by shooting something.

I've heard RE4 is good though, I've just ordered that.

[Moribunderast]

Just played the Leon part of the demo. Frankly, found it incredibly dull. The new shooting mechanic (laser spotter in the middle of your sights) is naff and I hate, hate, hate playing with an AI partner. It just doesn't work. RE4 was the game that got me back into gaming which has made the sequels incredibly disappointing to me. I never got that far into RE5 as I don't play online and I got stuck in a boss battle because the AI just wouldn't do what was required to defeat the boss. Tha AI in the RE6 demo didn't seem markedly better and there's just nothing interesting enough in the gameplay to warrant playing this over, say, going back and replaying RE4. It's certainly not Survival Horror anymore (obviously) and the Dead Space games have it comfortably covered in terms of action-horror titles. If they're going for the shooter dollar they may get it but the mechanics don't hold up to the already-popular shooting/action games so it all just seems a mess. Caught between genres, stuck being not very good at any of them.

Maybe the other two playable character sections will be better but given that I'd heard the Leon section was the one for Survival Horror fans (and it seems to have failed spectacularly in that regard) I'm not holding out much hope.

[Jerzy Bondov]

I had a go on the Leon bit last night and it was alright. I was bored rigid until I got to the bit in the corridor with loads of zombies coming in through the windows, which approached the Resi4 scraping-through-by-skin-of-teeth feeling, but then it went back to being fairly boring. I agree completely about the AI partner, it's a load of old rubbish. I don't understand why the series has to go co-op and why, if you want to play it on your own, you have to be saddled with a big-titted computer idiot. I don't mind the increased emphasis on action over horror at all, but the fascination with co-op is totally counter to everything I liked about the old games. I think it's time to accept that Resi4 was something of a one-off, and all the more special for it.

[Thursday]

RE4 may be a bit of a one-off but it doesn't excuse some of their terrible decision making. I don't understand why they went co-op in RE5 and stripped out all the horror elements, and I don't understand why they're making 3 big co-op campaigns in 6 instead of one  or even 2 reasonably big, more tightly focus campaigns. They've made the game much bigger than it needs to be, spent more money on it, designed it with stupid co-op, made it not very much about horror. They've been making terrible decisions at a most basic design level. You're fucking weird Capcom.

I suppose maybe they deserve some credit for being a bit more ambitious and not just wanting to deliver a poor man's RE4, but the problem is, everyone would probably be happier if they were.

[DJ Solid Snail]

Much as I loved the gameplay overhaul introduced in RE4, I'm half-hoping this one's a critical failure and they end up turning out one more old-school survival horror Resi. They've never reached the heights of RE2 for me, but then I did grow up on that brand of slow-burn ammo-saving key-hunting puzzle-solving gameplay. Also: ZOMBIES DO NOT RUN! Save yer 'infected'/head-crab malarkey for sci-fi, yo.

Edit: So they're actually running with that giraffe blowjob logo, eh?

[eluc55]

You'll all bloody hate me, then.

I think Resi 5 was the best co-op shooter I've ever played, and I'd be delighted if this game recaptured that magic.

Obviously the single player was a poor man's Resi 4, but even that was still great fun. Not scary in the slightest, but packed with great action set-pieces.

If anything puts me off this game, it's the increasingly convoluted back story that the games have accumulated. I really hoped they would start from scratch again, now that Umbrella and Wesker were put to bed at the end of the last game. No one cares who fancies who or whose son they are!   

[Operty1]

Slightly off topic, i've always wondered how the bad guys that live in those Resident Evil areas negotiate them.

If one of them needed a piss, it would be such a ridiculous ordeal. Having to go to the drawing room to find a jewel, that fits into a slot on the stairs, revealing a lever which opens a door in the green house, where you turn a previously found crank (found in a crashed helicopter) opening a compartment revealing the first piece of plate that inserts into the toilet door...

It's a very meticulous set of actions that grants access to areas, it can't just be for the protagonist. No wonder everyone is angry.

Also, most of the doors are wooden, despite the fact you play spec ops guys that could just kick them in, why can't you just shoot the fucking doors in with your shotgun???

[VegaLA]

I just gave this a spin playing as Leon. BNetter then I expected aftert RE Op Racoon City which I grew tired of during the campaign and I think playing with a close Co-op partner this could be a fun romp.
I do miss the days of RE 1 and RE 2 but I think those days are done and you'd just be trying to recapture an era we have lived through already, but it would not hurt for a nice remake with a few added surprises.

I think if Sinbad goes for this then i'll bite.

[Mister Six]

If one of them needed a piss, it would be such a ridiculous ordeal. Having to go to the drawing room to find a jewel, that fits into a slot on the stairs, revealing a lever which opens a door in the green house, where you turn a previously found crank (found in a crashed helicopter) opening a compartment revealing the first piece of plate that inserts into the toilet door...

It's a very meticulous set of actions that grants access to areas, it can't just be for the protagonist. No wonder everyone is angry.

They'd be even angrier if they were in RE2's police station, since that didn't even have toilets. Anywhere.

[Hangthebuggers]

I got sick of the resident evils. 1 + 2 were brilliant. For me it was the gothic score, the static camera angles and the sense of impending doom (the zombie wails in the city in number 2 or the dogs howling outside the mansion in 1). Number 3 was ok, but seemed a bit of a mish-mash between 1 and 2.

I didn't mind the remake on the gamecube either, but got absolutely sick of the partner system in zero and 5.

4 was ok as an action game, but lost a lot of the horror and I hated 5.

Not tried the new ones, but I imagine all the horror has been drained and they're more of a shoot'em'up.

[lazarou]

If anything puts me off this game, it's the increasingly convoluted back story that the games have accumulated. I really hoped they would start from scratch again, now that Umbrella and Wesker were put to bed at the end of the last game. No one cares who fancies who or whose son they are!   

One of the (many) great things about Resi 4 was the way it ignored the ridiculous backstory almost entirely and was more or less its own little adventure. Of course they immediately folded the whole thing back into the 'proper' continuity for the sequel, leading to what we have now.

Played the demo of 6 and loved it. The controls take a little getting used to, but I really like what they've done with it. It fits with the more action-packed style they're going for, and I found myself enjoying it far more than I thought I would. The only real gripe I had was with the corpses who lunge at you in the Leon stage. You can fill them full of bullets all day long, but it won't affect them until they 'trigger' and grab at your leg or similar. That's a bit rubbish, these days.

Capcom must be really pushing the boat out on this one. With the significant graphical upgrade and the sheer scale of it, it must have cost them a fortune. If nothing else, good on 'em from giving us an actual proper demo for a change. I was expecting the first five minutes of one chapter playable as Leon, not a bit from each one playable as anyone. I wish they'd do that more often, getting a decent look at it really sealed the deal for me.

[Moribunderast]

Wow, the Destructoid review for this game is BRUTAL. http://www.destructoid.com/review-resident-evil-6-235326.phtml Can't wait to see what Zero Punctuation does with it, haha.

It's a real shame. I actually went back to RE5 and played through it pretty quickly on Easy, just to see it through to fruition. The set pieces and action were cool enough but as someone who has no real interest in co-op gameplay, the AI partner just felt like too much of a hindrance. I shouldn't feel justified in playing on Easy because it counter-balances the insipid partner AI, but that's how I felt. Even on the easiest setting I still had a chore of a boss battle because while I was trying to avoid an enemy, my partner just kept on racing out in front of him. That's a pathetic error in game design and adds artificial difficulty that does nothing to bolster the experience. I actually avoided most battles because they were too much of a chore, all the while thinking, gee it would be great if this was scaled for a one-player experience and I could roam and battle through each level rather than running around like a headless chicken, hoping for the next checkpoint.

Hopefully the critical response will mean Capcom come back with something better for RE7 but with all the money put into this game and it's marketing, it'll probably end up selling shitloads and just encouraging the dolts. Having now fully played it's predecessor and the demo, I'll certainly be avoiding it and I remain thankful that the Dead Space team saw the error of their co-op ways and have gone back to making a single player campaign for DS3. As far as horror-based action games go, that seems the last vestige of hope. That and whatever Shinji Mikami is working on next (Zwei?)

[Thursday]

Is it really that bad, or is it partly that people are using it as a punching bag, because they hate that Capcom are removing the horror and trying to appeal to COD/Gears of War fans.

I'm probably going to wait this out before I get it (if I do) anyway, because Capcom always do some special edition with bonus content a little after the game's release.

[Moribunderast]

The demo, to me, was that bad. That Destructoid review concludes "It's not enough to say that Resident Evil 6 is poor as a Resident Evil game. That alone implies there could be a quality experience if fans can get past their preconceptions and feelings of betrayal. No, Resident Evil 6 is poor by the standards of any game, not just the high ones set by its own legacy. This is unexceptional tripe that becomes insulting once the woeful missteps come into play. Resident Evil 6 is not just a step back for the series, it's a step back for commonplace, unassuming action-shooters."

Things they point out in the review are elements that annoyed me in the demo: terrible implementation of cover-based shooting; dodgy camera making it hard to aim; cheap and dull QTEs. It really sounds like they've lost any semblance of what made RE4 so revolutionary and great and are now stuck playing catch-up to games they'll never surpass or even match. I love the older RE games and the Survival Horror genre as a whole, but my favourite RE game is still RE4, an unabashed action game. I don't think it's the turn to Action that's the problem - it's how it's been done. All excess, no nuance. All show, no spirit. There were gameplay flaws in the original RE titles but the experience itself was unique enough to account for that. The flaws in these current games are harder to overlook, however, because you can just turn to Gears of War or numerous other games for the same basic experience done much, much better.

[Spiteface]

Is it really that bad, or is it partly that people are using it as a punching bag, because they hate that Capcom are removing the horror and trying to appeal to COD/Gears of War fans.

Bit of both, from what I've played thus far.

Frankly, I'd rather they rebuild from scratch for the next one.

I've played the first few chapters of Jake's story, and I HATE the new herb system. Rather than keeping them in your inventory, mixed or unmixed, you not have to put them into a weird tablet case thing.

By the way that collectors edition needlebomb box thing is totally not worth it, as I found to my cost.

[The Βoston Crab]

I'm sorry for starting this thread. After playing the demo, I couldn't even be bothered to post in here to say it was shit.

[Operty1]

The demo, to me, was that bad. That Destructoid review concludes "It's not enough to say that Resident Evil 6 is poor as a Resident Evil game. That alone implies there could be a quality experience if fans can get past their preconceptions and feelings of betrayal. No, Resident Evil 6 is poor by the standards of any game, not just the high ones set by its own legacy. This is unexceptional tripe that becomes insulting once the woeful missteps come into play. Resident Evil 6 is not just a step back for the series, it's a step back for commonplace, unassuming action-shooters."

Things they point out in the review are elements that annoyed me in the demo: terrible implementation of cover-based shooting; dodgy camera making it hard to aim; cheap and dull QTEs. It really sounds like they've lost any semblance of what made RE4 so revolutionary and great and are now stuck playing catch-up to games they'll never surpass or even match. I love the older RE games and the Survival Horror genre as a whole, but my favourite RE game is still RE4, an unabashed action game. I don't think it's the turn to Action that's the problem - it's how it's been done. All excess, no nuance. All show, no spirit. There were gameplay flaws in the original RE titles but the experience itself was unique enough to account for that. The flaws in these current games are harder to overlook, however, because you can just turn to Gears of War or numerous other games for the same basic experience done much, much better.

Yet conversely the Japanese magazine famitsu gave it a near perfect score of 39/40

[Moribunderast]

Oh, I've seen positive reviews (at least scorewise) too. Funny thing has been, many of those reviews list all the flaws and then somehow end up with "Anyway, 9/10". I only posted the link to the Destructoid review because A) I thought the brutality of it was funny and B) Many of their reviews gel with my feelings. Oftentimes when I've been unsure of a game due to poor reviews, Destructoid has come out positively and I've ended up buying and enjoying the game.

Reviews, obviously, aren't everything and everybody's mileage of the game may vary but based on the demo and the things I've read about the full game, and knowing the full experience of RE5 now, it's as close to a "broken game" (remember, I'm talking mainly about one-player experience) as I've seen from such a massive franchise. The disappointment that it's a Resident Evil game is personally unfortunate but the fact that any big-budget, mass-marketed modern game could so feebly implement the basics of the genre it's aming for is actively shameful, I think.

[VegaLA]

I've been reading articles on Pulse these past two nights and its gone beyond bashing the game itself to just plain ridicule. It's a shame because i'd thought they had gone back to their roots after the critism RE5 suffered. What Capcom REALLY need to do it remake RE 1 and 2 again.

Yes. Remake the original games.

Once Sinbad and I realised RE6 was a no go we both ordered Borderlands 2, which I don't see a thread for.

[lazarou]

Having just completed this solo, I'd still say it's a definite improvement from 5. It's got its irritating moments, but no more so than its predecessors, really. It's certainly a bit different, but once you click with the mechanics it opens up into an enjoyable game in its own right.  It does do an absolutely atrocious job of teaching you how to play though, a lot of critical stuff is only touched on with no mention of its importance (quick shots and dodging being two massive ones), and playing it like a straight-up shooter is a recipe for disappointment.

[Thursday]

I finished the Leon campaign. I don't think I've ever played a game that oscillated so wildly between ludicrous fun and infuritating, cack-handedly designed glitchy shit. The good does definitely outway the bad, but there's moments where you think "surely if they'd just thought about this for 5 seconds, they could have fixed it."

It does seem like there's a lot of resentment towards Capcom which isn't really fair It's still enjoyable. Maybe I won't feel so forgiving after the other campaigns though. I played the one that's supposed to be the best first, so we'll see.