Resident Evil 6 Review

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A new generation of evil.

It has been a long time coming, but Resident Evil 6 is finally here. Being one of the most recognizable series in gaming puts immense pressure on each new release. It is no secret that fans have been mixed about the switch from more traditional survival-horror to more of an action game, but honestly it seems like a natural progression. RE6 takes this even further by adding traditional controls and, of course, the ability to shoot, dodge and move all at the same time. This is an action game with horror elements, and one that is executed very well. The real question is whether the game holds up to the series’ lofty standards.

The story is broken down into three main campaigns and one extra one you unlock after finishing those three. They can be played in any order, but they all take place simultaneously. In fact you will often run into the other two characters throughout your adventure. This is a cool feature that can even be implemented online. In addition to playing either split-screen or online co-op, you can turn on a feature that has other random players taking on the roles of the other characters when you run into them online. Sure it is completely random, but still a cool feature.

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Each campaign has its own unique feel. I started off with Leon’s story. He partners up with new character Helena as they attempt to uncover the secrets behind the C-virus. This campaign feels the closest to classic Resident Evil out of them all. There are lots of tense moments and some good story development. Chris partners up with newcomer Piers Nivans, and their campaign focuses more on action. It really feels like a modern action shooter most of the time. Finally, we have Sherry Birkin, who most will remember from RE2 and Jake, Wesker’s son. This campaign feels like a mix of the other two with a lot of focus on melee and the secrets behind Jake.

What separates RE6 from other titles is the deep, interwoven narrative. They are telling three stories simultaneously, and each one intersects with the others. The voice acting is actually really well done, and the twists and turns make much more sense this time around. Seeing old favorites such as Sherry and Ada Wong really drives home the fan service and everything wraps up nicely. Once you complete the three main campaigns, you unlock one final campaign featuring Ada Wong. There is seriously a breadth of content here with each campaign spanning five chapters, and lasting anywhere from 6-8 hours each depending on exploration and difficulty.

In addition to these lengthy campaigns, you also have Agent Hunt mode. This is a unique mode where players can invade other players’ games as the infected J’avo and hunt down the player characters. More than one person can invade at a time and even voice chat to coordinate their attacks. This can be turned off from the main menu, of course, and is only available after completing at least one of the main campaigns.

Need a breath mint?


Mercenaries also returns to the fray with plenty of new levels and weapons at your disposal. This mode is either a love or hate affair, and with that said hasn’t changed much from previous iterations. The appeal of this mode is definitely the slew of characters to play as. Players are also much more mobile thanks to the newly-designed control system. The inclusion of traps in levels also really fleshes out the carnage. Capcom will likely offer up more maps for Mercenaries as time goes on. I had fun playing this mode in RE5, and that continued with RE6. It is not the focus, but a nice distraction from the core campaigns.

Like I mentioned before, the controls have been acclimated to new design. You can now move and shoot. There is also a dodge button that doubles as the dash if you hold it down. You can leap over objects and even take cover in certain instances. There is also an upgrade system for characters now that allows you to earn skill points for certain types of kills, and spend them to upgrade things such as damage intake and aim steadying. The weapons are pretty much found throughout the campaign, and by the end, your arsenal is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Quick-time events also play a large role in a lot of sequences. When an enemy grabs you sometimes, you have to wave the analog stick back and forth or time a button press. These are only annoying when they end in instant-kills upon failure, especially when followed by a lengthy cut scene. For the most part they feel overused, but never end up ruining a boss fight which is always a bonus.

Sure leave me to handle this guy!


The item system has also been revamped. Herbs are still present, and you can mix them tpgether, but they all end up being tablets you can take to refill your health meter. These are stored in your hud along with ammo and the new stamina meter. This meter drains as you perform melee attacks. When depleted, you will stagger around and be more vulnerable to attacks from slow-plodding zombies. It is worth noting that when playing online, there is no pause button and even when you open the item menu in single player, the game doesn’t stop. Everything is overlaid onto the game and looks rather slick. The quick select on the d-pad also returns with left and right cycling guns, while up and down handles grenades and first-aid sprays.

The game looks fantastic. The levels are well-designed, and the effects are top-notch. Watching characters climb out of water and or items ablaze looks really good. The screen tearing has also been cleaned up substantially from the earlier demo of the game. I really enjoyed the locales. The boss fights are also as epic as you might expect, even if some of them go on entirely too long. The one nagging issue that carried over from the demo is the camera. It is entirely too close to the character, and turning quickly almost made me nauseous at times. They really need to pull it back a little to give a better view of the action. The voice work is surprisingly well done. The only gripe is that the main male characters have little distinction between them. The music is classic RE, and it all sounds great pumping through a good headset or surround system.

Resident Evil 6 is truly one of the best experiences I have had with a game this year. It is just loaded with content, and playing co-op with a friend is definitely a blast. The story is well-told, and the characters are interesting. I personally like the new mechanics; it was time for RE to evolve, and Capcom has pulled it off extremely well. Each campaign feels like a game within itself, and the bonus campaign and online content will keep you occupied for some time. Resident Evil fans should be thrilled with the latest chapter and it only excites me to see where they take it next. RE6 is easily in my top games of the year, and I cannot wait to go through it again on a higher difficulty. That always speaks volumes about a game to me.

Review copy of game provided by publisher. Primary play on Xbox 360.
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Written by
Ken is the Editor-in-Chief of this hole in the wall and he loves to troll for the fun of it. He also enjoys long walks through Arkham Asylum and the cool air of Shadow Moses Island. His turn-ons include Mortal Kombat, Metal Gear Solid and StarCraft.

40 Comments

  1. Really? One of the best gaming experiences you had? You didnt play
    resident evil revelations? you didnt play sleeping dogs? heck I
    could name at least 20 solid titles from 2012. Do you even play
    videogames? How much pays capcom for blatanly misleading reviews as
    this?

  2. “..and he loves to troll for the fun of it.” Good to see that
    trolling involves getting people to buy bad games.

  3. It’s an opinion…you jack asses realize that, right!? He might
    think its the best game ever or the worse one. He is not right or
    wrong it’s his OPINION. Geez.

    • Rage more re 5 and 6 sucked

  4. Wow.. so much “fan” backlash with this game that people can’t
    accept that others might enjoy it. Personally looking forward to
    playing this later today, glad to see a good score. Polarizing
    entry to the series indeed…

    • It will likely remain that way with fans as much as critics.
      Personally I loved it, but I know plenty who don’t. That is why
      having so many opinions is nice, you get all perspectives.

  5. I find it amazing how so many people bash RE5 and 6 for being so
    action-oriented yet praise 4 for being one of the best games of all
    time. RE4 was what began the transition to the action-oriented
    gameplay.

    • Exactly!! thats what i’ve been trying to tell to people, finally a
      guy with a brain!

      • Ok first off your a dumb ass who cant read a review. Secondly re4 was amazing because of its atmosphere and story. Thirdly can’t se capcom just wants your cash. They are milking you dry you moron.

        • So just cause my opinion is not the same as yours that makes me a dumbass? LOL RE4 was a great game, i’ve been playing RE since the PS1. And believe it or not i actually like RE6.

    • RE4 maintained the survival horror element. 5 & 6 did not

      • BoooM hs!

    • Resident Evil 4 is a Action game?
      How old are you kid?
      Do you even finished Resident Evil 4?
      Maybe RE4 and RE5 are have the same gameplay bute RE4 is a more scary!
      (Note scary as RE0-3 bute its realy a game that peoples can call a Survival Horror!)

      • There is no Horror in games, because they are just games, and not real stuff. How can you experience “horror” from something you know is not real?

        RE6 has the survival theme, because the game is hard and you will be out of bullets and herbs if you don’t choose your fights (Leon Campaign). Play the game as if Leon´s campaign is the MAIN STORY, and the other 2 like they are bonus….lengthy bonus. Leon story lasts 7-8 hrs, and offers lots of replayability due to co-op which is blast.

        And yeah RE4 is an slow paced action game, not a third person shooter per-se, but still an action game.

        • there is no horror in games…what about books…is there horror in books…wait…what about films?? so the only horror is the horror in life, not as seen on tv but in real life….so horror is something you can only experience in real life eh?? which means that only those who have experienced it could tell you what its like??? its called emmersion , and lately the resident evil games dont have it.

        • The same way one would experience “horror” from a movie. You know it isn’t real, yet you’re horrified by the events.

          Wow. The logic is weak with you, my friend.

      • Re4 was definitely scary but dude re5 was a good game nonetheless. It may have abandoned the formula to an extent but it had some breathtaking scenery/locations and the sense of fighting an unknown, enigmatic force was replaced by stronger enemies that made life uncertain. As a person who has beaten both games multiple times on all difficulties and has been a fan of resident evil since the age of 8 I’m telling ya I enjoyed it

  6. Resident Evil is a great game, and a natural progress from the last one. Many people around the net has reviewed the game and given the game a lousy score. It will always be that way, because some are expecting more than it can deliver in the first place. It was the same with the first and the second and so forth….. Capcom listened to the public and made this one much larger,added new gameplay features that lacked in the previous one, so what the hell is people complaining about? I thought it was so cool that they have added 3 different episodes with different experiences to the game, and the co-op feature is great. Who makes an action game that has a campaign mode that lasts around 25 hours, nobody other than Capcom! Resident Evil has always been about that little B-movie feel, and they have captured this in every game of the series just right. When it comes to horror in games it`s hard to do them these days, because every game company out there are using zombies, and it`s not 1996 anymore. If you want horror you should try Amnesia that game is creepy, but it`s creepy because you can`t use weapons you have to survive by sneaking you around, if you had given the caracter a weapon the tension would have been lost there too. I played trough first and second part of Resident Evil a few weeks ago, and to tell the truth the game is not as creepy as it was sixteen and fourteen years ago, but we remember them to be scary! So the producers of Resident Evil 6 made it just fine, so you tossers can stop complaining there are other concerns on this planet than a fucking game!

  7. 9.2/10 -_-!
    Seriously is this is a joke?
    Because this piece of shit is nhote deserve to 9!
    I’m giving to this piece of shit a 2/10

  8. I cant even belive that how stubid are the fanboys of the series are!
    You idiots are buying Resident Evil 6 because of the RE title on the box!
    There is a big difference between the Fans and the Fanboys.
    Fans – Thay are a seriouse guys and thay are dont gonna buy Resident Dogshit 6 (:
    Fanboys – Idiots that buying game for the title on the box!

    • You have that a bit backwards, friend . Allow me.
      Fans – serious and dedicated gamers who enjoy RE and its mythos, however it’s done, action horror, survival horror, rail shooter, CGI movie, live action movie.
      Fanboys – idiots (many of them are just bandwagon haters who weren’t even there day one for the first Resident Evil like I was.) who come on the internet to cry incessantly because in their tiny brains, a game from 16 years ago should not have changed and evolved at all, despite the fact that the mechanics they hold so dear, were merely limits in the technology at the time.

      I mean, nothing says zombie outbreak in an entire city like Raccoon City than seeing only 4-5 extremely slow zombies at a time. I’ll stick with the absolute chaos depicted in Resident Evil 6. Kudos, Capcom.

      • I concur.

      • Regardless, the execution of that idea was horribly done, mr. evo-garbage lover.

  9. Whant a Survival Horror?
    Play Metro2033 (its 100 times better than RE6)

  10. Yeah, it’s a good game. Yes it has changes. Yes the beginning cutscene and the start of Leon’s campaign is incredibly slow and filled with QTEs/cutscenes. But after 15 min with Leon’s campaign things really pick up. After you get used to the control scheme, it’s pretty badass, sprinting toward zombies, then sliding and knifing their legs if you’re out of ammo? It’s awesome. Some people just don’t want any change, some people realize that things have to change.

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