The argument between the gameplay of classic RE and modern RE that began upon RE4?s release in 2005 is almost as tiresome as the casual/hardcore gamer debate since the Wii released in 2006. However, now that the franchise has changed so drastically, its difficult not to at least acknowledge and mention the split between both gameplay styles.
This week, GamerSyndrome?s Greg Butcher reviewed the newest Resident Evil 6 demo, praising the game?s visuals, gore and gameplay. While I?ll agree that the presentation is great and highly detailed, Greg saw the demo in a much more positive light than I, as I?m far less enthused with the demo overall.
In recent years, Capcom has decided to demote the series from the king (and arguably, the birth of) of the horror genre to just another average third-person shooter.?Ironically, what scares me about Resident Evil 6 is that it won?t scare me at all.
Let?s rewind a little bit. As a lover or the original PlayStation trilogy, I will openly admit that playing RE4 was one of the best gaming experiences of my life. This was the game that brought in the big changes, but it still served its purpose in scaring the player. Traditional jump-scares were replaced?more tense and panic-inducing gameplay, and it certainly worked. My heart would pound as Leon reloaded his shotgun, as the relentless chainsaw maniac came running towards him to score an instant kill. As reluctant as I was initially to embrace such change, RE4 stands as one of my favourite in the series.
So while RE4 marked the beginning of the new era, its actually RE5 that disappointed me as a fan.?By no means a terrible game, but it seems the most far-removed entry in the franchise so far to me. RE4 brought the big changes in, sure, but it was still a survival-horror game. It still maintained that sense of loneliness, and really delivered on bringing death around every corner. In RE5, this had all disappeared in favour of the addition of co-op. There?s nothing to be afraid of when Sheva is constantly beside you to heal you, revive you or kill enemies for you. You don?t even get a chance to feel threatened. If you compare this game to the original, aside from the characters the only similarity is the use of healing herbs.
And now Resident Evil 6 is a mere two weeks away from release. There?s no way to know for certain how the game will be yet (unless you?re a lucky customer in Poland), but since we?ve been given two demos, five or more trailers and a hell of a load of screenshots, I think its fair to give some initial impressions.
In theory, the game is everything every type of fan could want: for the the traditional fans there?s zombies, Sherry Birkin, and a seemingly invincible stalking Nemesis-type boss; for newer fans, there?s Plagas-type enemies, Leon AND Chris, rolling around, taking cover and always-available melee attacks. But all of these ideas collide into something that doesn?t really know its own identity anymore.
My first issue is the plotline structure, which is split into three stories so that you alternate between three character pairs. What captivated me in the older games was the sense of claustrophobia, being secluded and surrounded, which doesn?t translate quite as well when you?re constantly moving across the globe. Still, Revelations followed this gameplay structure and that did manage to scare more than any other RE game in the last seven years.
Jumping into this new demo, instantly I was faced with the same problem in the previous demo. As I was lining up a headshot in my first zombie encounter, Helena was already blasting away the enemy herself. Not only is the game not scary, its seems so damn?easy. Leon may only be armed with a pistol, but its accompanied by bucketloads of ammo. Where in the first four games I?d have to strategically fire each round sparingly, hoping I?ll have enough to survive, here I can just spam the fire button and still never run out. And if I don?t fire away, my partner will just do it for me. Leon is supposed to represent the horror side of the campaign, but as he?s still free to run, jump and roll around, its the enemies that should be scared of him.
What really removes any sense of difficulty more than anything though is having a button for melee attacks on command. It removes the clever strategy that RE4 presented, because you had to carefully shoot a specific limb or body part in order to stun an enemy before punching or kicking. Not only did this require accurate shooting under tense circumstances but it also required good timing, as you had to run towards the enemy to attack. And if you didn?t get there quick enough, you?ve just put yourself right in the enemy?s clutches. Now that kind of tense and strategic element is gone as Chris swings his tree trunk arms around as he pleases.
Speaking of Chris, the sense of empowerment is even worse than Leon?s. The second demo opens with Chris literally inside a tank. He has three or more of his fellow soldiers to watch his back, and is armed ridiculously with all manner of machine guns and explosives. The enemies all have guns too and the cover system is vital, making it feel sadly like a Gears of War clone. The reward for killing an enemy used to be that you get to survive, but now it feels like killing is just a competition between you and your co-op partner to gain the most skill points.
I was disappointed that Jake?s gameplay was just more of the same from Chris? in the second demo, with the huge stalking boss?Ustanak ?nowhere to be seen this time around. I was excited when I found out we?d get another relentless Nemesis-like boss for this game. Then again, when the hulking mass was ran towards me in the first demo, I just felt safe in the knowledge that I could dive out the way. You can now sprint in this game too, so it rarely feels like the monster will catch up to you.
There?s no complaints in the visual and controls department. Both demos consistently felt solid and, dare I say, fun. It just doesn?t quite seem to be even close to the same game I fell in love with back in 2005. Should I expect another RE4? Perhaps not, as I?ve come to terms with the fact that there?ll almost never be a game to match such a masterpiece. Still, I wish Capcom would realise what it was that made that game so great ? the unique atmosphere and sense of loneliness.
They still have the ability to create that feel again too with hints of greatness showing in the demos, but they let their marketing strategies get in the way of that. They have said outright that there is simply no market for horror games anymore, but how can that be true? Amnesia and Penumbra are incredibly popular horror games and PC, and with Silent Hill games arguably on the decline in terms of quality, Capcom are given a huge space to fill in the console market.
Maybe Capcom really believe they?re creating a superior game with the addition of co-op, online play and ?improved? third-person shooter and cover mechanics. On paper, that is a superior game: build on the formula of a successful game and include new features. But these added features obstruct the game?s potential, rather than improve it. The old games had fixed camera angles, limited inventory, limited ammunition and revisits of previous areas, which have all been phased out in favour of modern conveniences in the current generation. But it?s these very things, these restrictions on the player, that make Resident Evil so fantastic and engrossing. The ability to sprint, roll, take cover with bucketloads of guns and ammo means that there?s nothing dangerous to fear in RE6. As Walter White once said, ?I am the danger?.
I hate being ?that guy? who?s negative and judging a game on simple demos, but I already know in my heart that including co-operative gameplay and single-player AI partner again will repeat RE5?s mistakes. I wouldn?t be so harsh on the series if I didn?t love this franchise, and if I didn?t know it was capable of being something so much better. I hope I?m wrong. I hope Capcom can pull it off and make me scared again, but I?d be very surprised.
Right now, the only thing I fear is being disappointed again. That said, I will eagerly?await my copy of Resident Evil 6 and see how it turns out, and I will control my expectations and be as optimistic as I can. If it has to be an over-the-top action game, then it can at least be a fun over-the-top action game. Hopefully the ammunition availability and partner dependence will be toned right down, while the difficulty and ferocity of enemies are boosted way up. If this really doesn?t turn out to be the game that I loved to be scared of when I was young, then I hope one day Capcom can recreate my childhood and realise that they had a great thing going.
Article from Gamersyndrome.com
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