Resident Evil 6 - Review

A mere 3 years ago, Capcom presented fans with what was widely expected to be the final Resident Evil game, Resident Evil 5. In the finale, the last remnants of Umbrella are finally taken down, Wesker is killed by Chris Redfield, and Jill Valentine actually isn't dead, she's just more pale-skinned and blonde now. Many signs pointed to a future Resident Evil game being either a reboot of the series or an entirely new tale with new characters. What we ended up getting was neither of these, Resident Evil 6 is a new tale in the saga that is mostly concerned with Wesker's legacy, bringing back Ada Wong, and the first on-screen meeting of Chris Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy.

The tank controls are gone. Moving the control stick backwards makes you run towards the screen now.

In Leon's scenario, Leon finds himself in a situation very similar to the Raccoon City incident 15 years prior. Tall Oaks has become victim to a zombie outbreak, right in the middle of a visit from the president of the United States. To make matters worse, Leon is forced to kill the president when he too becomes a zombie. Leon is accompanied by secret service agent Helena Harper, who knows more than she is letting on about the outbreak and is searching for her little sister Deborah. Along the way, Leon also runs into his old flame, Ada Wong. Leon also discovers a government conspiracy at foot, related in many ways to Ozwell Spencer and Umbrella. Overall, Leon's story is rather standard fare, but the boss fights are incredibly memorable.

In Chris's scenario, Chris is found getting drunk in a bar in Eastern Europe, suffering from post-traumatic stress induced amnesia. Chris's new partner, Piers Nivans slaps him out of his stupor to have him lead an operation in China where a biohazard outbreak has occurred. During the scenario, a flashback happens that explains why Chris lost his memory and eventually Chris discovers that the apparent perpetrator of these viral outbreaks is none other than Ada Wong. The story in Chris's story is much stronger than Leon's, with legitimate pathos, but the game suffers from lackluster boss fights with the exception of the final boss which gives you the most awesome weapon in the history of Resident Evil.

In Jake's scenario, you are very quickly introduced to Jake Muller, a mercenary soldier of fortune who is being followed by Sherry Birkin, unseen since Resident Evil 2. This secret was revealed nearly a year ago, but Jake is in reality Albert Wesker's illegitimate son. Sherry is in pursuit of Jake because he holds the antibodies to the C-Virus within his immune system. If Sherry can get Jake in custody of the U.S., a vaccine to the C-Virus can be made, halting further outbreaks. The U.S. aren't the only ones pursuing Jake, as members of Neo-Umbrella, the group responsible for the C-Virus, are also wanting Jake in order to make sure a vaccine is not made. Jake's story is surprisingly strong as hints of a romantic connection bloom between the children of Albert Wesker and William Birkin coupled with excellent gameplay, fun boss fighhts, and the first time in Resident Evil you can play through the entire game without ever using a weapon.

After completing the previous 3 scenarios, you unlock Ada's scenario, unraveling the final mysteries behind the story of Resident Evil 6. The story is definitely more humorous and even throws in gameplay elements more reminiscent of older Resident Evil games coupled with sneaking, and the more action-heavy elements. Unfortunately, Ada's final boss is shared with the penultimate boss from Leon's scenario, and it's not even that hard since you get both Leon and Helena to help you out.

Leon's Scenario: 6/10
Chris's Scenario: 7/10
Jake's Scenario: 9/10
Ada's Scenario: 9/10

Overall Story: 7.75/10

Gameplay: 9/10

Presentation: 9/10

Replay Value: 8/10

Average Score: 8.44/10

Overall, the story is just slightly above average, hampered by Leon's and Chris's rather boring scenarios only saved by the 2 finally having an onscreen meeting, despite having met each other previously off-screen. Jake's and Ada's stories are far more interesting, despite Ada only having 1 unique boss fight, which in typical Resident Evil fashion involves a person turning into a blob monster. Gameplay-wise, inventory is handled much better than Resident Evil 5. Although RE5 handled inventory more realistically than RE4, RE6 throws realism out the window and returns to the classic Hammerspace pockets, although there is a cap on how much spare ammo one can carry before choosing to throw away grenades or even herbs. The way herbs are handled is great, although it feels as if it is too easy to stay alive now, allowing for more reckless gameplay. 

In order to access Ada's scenario, you must beat the first 3 scenarios... but that will actually change in a future version update for whatever reason, as well as adding a 2nd player character so that her scenario can be done with 2 people. Nevertheless, the game has good replay value, replaying the game to uncover more backstory by finding emblems, and playing as different characters to see parts of the game from different points of view.

Resident Evil 6 is actually a pretty good game mostly because of how much fun it is. The story is so-so, but it can be overlooked because killing zombies and B.O.W.s has never been more fun.