Come on…don’t act so surprised…like a new Call of Duty, the sun rising in the morning and thick as fuck idiots on the latest Big Brother, a new game in the Resident Evil series has been announced and shouldn’t really catch anyone off guard.
Since the first game back in the mists of time, Resident Evil has changed a great deal. The original, the game that coined the term “survival horror” was an all time classic, loved in it’s pure form or, and this is up for debate, the superlative Gamecube remake. Two sequels later saw the game move to the Dreamcast with the fantastic installment “Code Veronica”, which still played in an isometric setting but with 3D modelled environments. It wasn’t until Resident evil 4 that things changed, with the move to a behind the camera viewpoint and full three-dimensional levels. And the game was brilliant. Resi 4 was followed in 2009 by Resident Evil 5, which for all it’s good looks and great set pieces split the fan base. Gone was the survival horror aspect for a more action orientated setting, along with a thick as fuck A.I partner and outrage from certain journalists and stupid people about the game being horrifically racist.
And now it’s time for Resident Evil 6 to try to claw back the fans that were disappointed with the last installment of the game. If you’ve just woken from a coma and you missed it, here you go.
Looks pretty cool eh? Yep, for a balls out action game it looks brilliant. Especially now you can MOVE AND SHOOT CAPCOM! You have finally been listening. The bit with Leon switching position while he’s shooting shit up on the floor also looks brilliant. But come on…apart from characters and Umbrella, is it really Resident Evil anymore?
Look, i’m actually glad Capcom are, from the look of it, going balls out action. Why not? If it looks as good as it does and plays better than Resi 5 i’m game. Embrace the action genre, run with it. It’s just not survival horror any more. As much as I loved Resident Evil 4, I wanted THIS version of the game even more.
How brilliant does that look? However, the Resi series as we once knew it has now died, as dead as Barry Burton’s beard. So we should stop bitching about it and think about Resi 6.
Now…the trailer looks stunning, make no bones about it. As you can read from this interview with Dave Turner from Capcom, the series is going all out action. “We’ve seen the popularity of Resident Evil increase massively as the series became more action oriented – Resident Evil 5 is the biggest seller in the series,so, it makes sense for us to follow this action area more fully.” From the horses mouth. But, it doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. Just that Resi has evolved.
There is still hope. The trailer looks like the game will be split into two distinct sections, one featuring Leon and the other with Chris Redfield. So, i’m going out on a limb, I think that Leon’s sections will be more Resi 4 and Chris’s will be the more “blow the shit out of anything that moves”. Could be. Come E3 this year i’m sure all will be revealed. There is another couple of characters in the game, one of which could be a grown up Ashley, and it’s also been rumoured that Ada Wong will be featured in the game, but not until you finish both Leon and Chris’s missions.
So. That’s all I have to say on the matter. The trailer looks brilliant, but I know i’m not the only one that wishes for a return to some true survial horror. Maybe we will see a return to that with games released on the 3DS and PS Vita….but with the new demo available for Resident Evil Revelations on the 3DS, which i’ll post my thoughts about tomorrow, it looks like Resident Evil, for the near future at least, has found it’s new path in full 3D, and it ain’t going to shift any time soon.
Are you looking forward to Resi 6? Or do you wish, like me, that we can see a return to the original style of the game that brought REAL fear to your underwear?
Your thoughts, as always, are appreciated.
Resident Evil 6 is scheduled for release on November 20th, 2012. On Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
