If you've seen my kind of first reaction video to RE6 You'd know I rather enjoy the latest entry in the series.But Was I exaggerating just making it so soon after beating it? Well a little.I admit that after a while of thinking on it I've lessened my opinion but not by much.I'll go into detail in a bit but there is one thing I want to get out of the way.This is not a review in terms of something people should read to determine whether they want the game or not.Since completing the game I've read a number of reviews and message boards and people should not take reviews into consideration.This game is very unique in that alot of people hate this game to points of calling betrayal and some people have said it's the best game in the franchise.This is a game where you can only trust your own opinion and looking one way or another for what other people think can just influence your opinion in a good or bad way.I reccomend if you're not certain waiting until a price drop and just trying it.That is the last I'll mention of the controversy here.Rant Over
Now this game is very interesting in that it's the first time since 2 that there has been multiple stories.
the first being a very loose happening at the same time style stories for claire redfield and leon kennedy.This time It's a bit more complicated.There are four stories this time with different themes to each one of them....sort of.
Leon and Helena
Ah leon.Star of both RE 2 and 4 and the movie degeneration and I'll be damned if he acts anywhere near close to similar in any of them.This was a pretty decent storyline all in all and without spoiling it had the best final boss of any of the stories sans kind of one but I'll get to that later.The story itself is good but has a habit of perhaps being a bit too seriously.I love Resident evil games for the cheesy lines and over the top action.And Believe me it has the latter as for the former.....well not really sans maybe a few minor parts.This applies to the entire game not just this story.The cheese is a bit down sans jake's story and again I'll get to that later but it's an issue I have.It's not the horror loss that bugs me.In fact I've never found any of the games scary at all so to me that never really changed for me.it's the lack of cheese in this game that kinda bugs me and looses some of the charm and this is the best way to see it.I love the bosses and enemies in this story but the characters seem too serious and it just takes me out a bit.
Leon does crack a joke or two but not much and helena's story tries to be sad but it doesn't work all that well.Not to mention I really think both helena and piers in chris' story should have been older characters.The character pool in the RE games is a bit too big for my liking as of now.It easily could have been claire for leon and sheva for chris or jill for either really.I think it could have easily made the stories a bit more interesting.Especially when chris and leon meet up.Having claire against her brother would have worked for what they were doing I think.But maybe that's just me.
The story of this scenario also has a massive flaw;The main villain.In 4 Saddler was awesome,Wesker was a must in 5 and birkin was a force to be reckoned with and 2.I can't even remember what simmons looks like off the top of my head.I know that's kind of a spoiler but It's really not a very good twist either.Simmons is so tacked on it takes alot of threat and greatness off of him.That being said the final boss form of him is amazing and it kind of saves the villain role but just a bit.Also I think he currently holds the record for "Resident evil boss with the most forms" with I think a whopping six! technically seven but one of them isn't really a form.
But that aside how are the zombies? This being the first game in three games to actually use zombies after 4 and 5 used ganados and majini(parasite infected people to basically act as smart zombie) and they do return as J'avo but I'll get that to later.But the zombies are quite good in that they behave like zombies and even if some of them have axes in hand or even a gun that just randomly goes off they still behave like zombies....sans one facepalm inducing moment.During the third chapter of leon's campaign You clearly see one turning a crank.I can understand a zombie holding an axe or even having a gun stuck in it's hand that goes off but I facepalmed HARD when I saw that.ZOMBIES DON'T TURN CRANKS!.....but aside from that facepalm they are good.The varied forms are well done too without seeming to rip off things like left 4 dead.The shrieker was clever,the skinless zombies are I think the C-virus version of lickers sans the tounge,and the whoppers and pretty good as well.Also the first real boss you fight,A B.O.W. that shoots C-virus gas that turns people into zombies is damn creepy.
When all Is said and done leon's campaign is one of the better ones.Good atomosphere and enemies but has a real issue with the main enemy and some of the story is a bit off when you think about it.It's enjoyable nonetheless
Chris and piers
One thing I want to mention is one of the bigger problems that people mention with chris' scenario but applies to the series from 4 more or less.J'avo,majini and ganado's are NOT zombies.They are more or less infected innocents or enhanced or mutated soldiers.NOT ZOMBIES.Anyone who says that 4 ruined the series because of the enemy JJ that has a chaingun and because zombies using guns is herecy.They are not zombies and it never effected my opinion of the series because I knew they weren't zombies.Alright second rant over.
Piers is by a long shot the most pointless characters in the game.Seriously say what you want about helena but one new characters I can dig even if it should have been an older character but piers is just pointless.If it was sheva alot of things would work better like chris' depression and having an old comrade come back from a previous game like sheva or jill would have been alot better then a character who has a very little uniqueness appearance or attitude wise.
You know I do like this game but I am doing alot of bitching here.This is what I get for playing sonic adventure 2 and having to go through the emerald hunt missions.
Seriously these stages can burn in hell.It's one of the reasons I absolutly HATE the dreamcast era of sonic games including Sonic adventure 1 and 2.Rant over for the thrid time.....I think I need a drink.....Wait I don't drink......FUCK!
The whole story is mostly just chris going after Ada after she killed his unit of soldiers and it does build up the plot for ada but you figure out what's going on pretty quickly no matter what story you're playing.but I'll get to that with ada's campaign.It's decent enough and I will say that chris wanting his revenge and getting so angry is surprisingly good but there is one thing that bugs me.Chris gets amnesia which is ironic cause I forgot he had it.Seriously there is no reason for him to have it and it adds nothing.In fact it's just kind of silly since as I said it serves no purpose.
I do like the scenario if it is a little dull.not much going on sans a snake boss that greatly resembles the snake from the first game and the final boss who comes out of nowhere and has no real meaning to the plot if it does make sense in that it's a massive BOW and I get that they'd make one but it has no real bearing and it kind of looks like zombie squidward from spongebob.All in all the worst campaign but enjoyable nonetheless.
Jake and sherry
And considering this has the most varied gameplay it's about time I finally brought it up.The gameplay is a more varied and expanded version of the combat.It's the same but you can manuver alot better.It's a little odd at first but both that and a slight speed boost do help out the gameplay all in all.Now one thing I hear alot is the inventory sucks.Now while I will admit 4 and 5 had better inventories I don't think it's bad.I do think 5 had a better system then 6 but again it's okay.People have said that it's so hard and what have you to add herbs as pills from the menu cause it's in real time.Despite the fact that It takes maybe a second to mix herbs.and you can press R2 and square(PS3) to add any herbs to it without using a menu which you can also just add in a menu because you can move while you have the menu up.Maybe it's just me and if that is the case then the menu's can be a problem but I never had an issue.
There are a few other things I wanna bring up with gameplay including Melee.Melee is amped up in this game and jake in particular is quite good at it.It's actually a nice add on and I do enjoy it compared to the knife swipe from 4 or 5.But Jake of course being wesker's son is a monster with melee.Most characters have a knife,he punches and is incredible.In fact the final boss of his campaign who spoilers is ustanik you fight unarmed and it's awesome.Seriously It's a really cool fight.And then you get to something odd since after that is the final form of his boss is a QTE fest and while I don't hate QTE's it is a bit much in the game as a whole.Not terrible but a bit much nonetheless
But back to the actual story.Jake mueller is the son of wesker......sit back down it's better then it sounds.He's a merc who has blood that has an antibody for the c-virus.His partner is the little girl from RE2 Sherry birkin and I do have to admit It's good to see her again.Though It's odd since she seems older then I'd expect.If you do the math it is right but still it feels odd.Maybe that's just me but anyway.She wants to get his blood to make a cure and on the way they encounter what I can only describe as the bastard son of nemesis and robocop named ustanik.He's basically nemesis all over again but it does work quite well and is done well.
All in all I do love this campaign and it's toe to toe with leon's for me sans a few odd parts.But it's quite good nonetheless.
And then there is ada.After you beat the three campaigns you unlock ada's campaign to learn all of the behind the scene's moments and the obvious truth behind the fake ada and this is where three other aspects come in.The vehicle sections,the puzzles,and horror.The vehicle sections that are in I believe all of the campaigns sans leon's and they are semi-pointless but all fun really.I do like all of the sans maybe ada's helicopter section in a boss fight.They're a little out of place but fun nonetheless.As for the puzzles.....well they are okay and better then the...one they had in 5 but they are painfully simple for the most part.Ada's are kind of similar except they have some issues namely they don't explain fully.One puzzle is making a dead body fall on a switch and the answer is having to move the switch and you really don't know that you can.Things like that and some annoying aspects are why this is bearly the second worst campaign.Only really kept ahead because of some unique sections,some decent puzzles and what I can only describe as the scariest thing in resident evil history.No really.
I do want to point something out.I have never seen the RE series as pure horror.It's always been action with horror as flavouring and nothing more.Even the classics seemed more like an action movie that had horror enemies you shot at.I've never found it scary in any game sans maybe a few bits here and there and even then only a little.I say this so you can understand where I'm coming from when I say the more action orientation doesn't affect me since I never saw it as horror.But I will say that while this game is kinda scary at times as I mentioned earlier It has the most freaky thing I've ever seen in an RE.At one point you face off against a BOW in ada's campaign that turns into a mass of grey sludge forces you into an oil tanker style ship.She starts leaking out of the walls and making hands and faces in the walls and it's messed up.It's really creepy.
All in all ada's campaign is okay better then chris' but only by a leaky wall face.
So let's recap for a second.Decent horror,good controls and gameplay,very good graphics,story is decent enough and hell the characters are all likable and unlikable where they should be.The villain is kind of a let down but has a pretty decent pay off in the final boss fight.But there is a touch more to it.namely the other modes Mercenaries and agent hunt.Mercs is the same as in 5 but a bit smaller unfortunatly with only three stages.For those who don't know it's a time and score attack mode to kill the most enemies in combo and is generally fun.Agent hunt on the other hand is interesting.In agent hunt you take the role of a zombie or j'avo and try to take out a human player in the middle of a campaign.If you've played Demon or dark souls you get the idea.However it has one thing over it namely the fact that you can turn it off in the menus and still have the rest of the online features going.It's a generally enjoyable mode but kind of dull after a bit.Good for a laugh though.
So all in all how is the game? Good.I enjoy it at least.Maybe not as much as 4 or code veronica but it's good.All in all I still say worth full price but as I said this is just my opinion.Do NOT judge this by reviews and pay whatever you'd be willng to pay for it out of interest alone.If you want to pay full do so or wait until it goes down.The game is so opinion based it's not even funny so I suggest if you're interested to take your own opinion and no one else's due to how split the opinions are and you're just as likely to agree or disagree with any given opinion.
Jeez that was complicated.I'm going back to doing games that are either loved or hated and not both at once.It's too hard to explain.
