Resident Evil 6 Preview - E3 2012
Take out the zombie invasion from three different perspectives
In Eastern Europe, Jake is busy dealing with the J’avo, zombies that are even more deadly than the upgraded regular undead. These have the ability to work together, understand speech, and are very aggressive. If fighting a more powerful and smarter enemy is not enough, the J’avo also possesses the ability to regenerate health. When it has received major damage, they have a new ability. This transforms them into a more challenging opponent and the player has to rethink their strategy to defeat them.
Other characters joining the roster are Presidential aide Derek Simmons, who vows to track down Leon for his involvement in the President’s death, and femme fatale Ada Wong.
The AI, which was patchy on Resident Evil 5, and rather annoying on 4, has appeared to improve in RE6. In my demo with Leon I had ran out of ammo and was in the process of getting ganged up on by several zombies when Helena came to my rescue and plugged an undead between the eyes. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to thank or berate with the games new conversation system for her quick trigger finger as I was too busy fighting off the hordes of zombies.
Button controls and mechanics haven’t deviated too much from what we’ve come to recognise in 3rd person, over the shoulder shooters. The new additions include the ability to shoot while they move, slide, roll, dodge, and take cover. And as previously mentioned there is the brutal melee attack you can use when you wish to get up close and personal with the enemy.
In all three of the modes, you also had a sidekick in tow that was there to help you open doors and act as another gun to ward off the undead. You have the ability to praise or scold your opponent for their actions. And after a female friend of Leon’s opened the door, I thanked her for her stellar work. There’s also interwoven sections of narrative which allows for up to 4 person co-op to join in all the zombie killing mayhem and the option for online and offline co-op. You can also upgrade your weapons as per previous games with options such as faster reload speed and higher ammo capacity. The action isn’t just contained to on foot, as vehicular sections make a return as does the game mode mercenaries.
Resident Evil 6 does look interesting, and the action set pieces, frenetic combat and unnerving environments make for distinctive types of gameplay. What does seem cause for some concern is whether these segregated styles of play will work as a strength or a weakness. A player may prefer one mode of play, but feel as if the other modes are a chore. It’s too early to tell how this might affect pacing and flow of the game, but one thing is for certain, this RE is certainly more action, than it is horror. Also, J’avo sounds like a brand of coffee I would purchase from an upmarket department store.
Share:
Comments
