Game Review : Resident Evil 6 HD (PS4)

Release Date: March 29, 2016

ESRB Rating: M (Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes)

Resident Evil 6 for the PS4 is another attempt by Capcom to convince fans that this was a fun title but it ends up becoming a sorry way to promote a failure with shinier graphics.

As someone from the Silicon Valley, failure is not scolded as it promotes a plethora of fresh ideas while the results serve as a learning experience. Sadly, Capcom is trying too hard to pretend that Resident Evil 6 was a good title while missing the point of learning from ones mistakes.

Horror fans are welcomed to a world where terrorists using the Bio Organic Weapons has become common (that was not a joke, that’s the actual background story). Gamers take on the role of either Chris Redfield, Leon Kennedy, or Jake Muller (illegitimate son of Albert Wesker) as they each try to contain a viral outbreak and stop Neo-Umbrella.

Compared to the classic stories that have defined the series, the plot of Resident Evil 6 not only lacks substance but it lacks substance while being so entangled that it becomes an unwanted chore trying to figure out what’s happening. It’s obvious at this point that Capcom is out of ideas and instead of starting a new Resident Evil story-line that breaks free from the current arch, they have opted to just keep adding on unnecessary continuations.

Perhaps Capcom should start working on creating a new Resident Evil story-line, in order to not repeat the mistake of Dino Crisis 3 with “zombies in space.”

Story is just half the problem, the second half is the gameplay which has abandoned almost all elements that define a horror game. This no longer feels like a survival game but a fast-paced third person shooter with “zombies” and it’s a shame that such an iconic series has fallen into the trap of trying to imitate Call of Duty.

Gaming has changed a lot since 1996 but rather than taking advantage of the available resources, Capcom has followed in the footsteps of so many publishers by pandering to the Call of Duty demographic. The result is what feels like a horror game directed by Michael Bay with a fear factor equivalent to a Twilight-film.

Worst of all, once again they have shoehorned a multiplayer / Co-Op gameplay that fails to add anything to the overall experience. While multiplayer adds longevity to a gaming experience, not every game needs it (Resident Evil being an obvious example). Seriously Capcom; stop trying to make multiplayer / Co-Op Resident Evil happen, it’s never going to happen.

The only thing that has been accomplished by Resident Evil 6 for the PS4 is reminding fans (who are hooked to Resident Evil HD and Zero HD) that this game unfortunately exists. Like The Godfather Pt. III,  this installment is such an embarrassment to the series that most fans would prefer to not recognize it as canon.

Final Score: 4/10

Words by Stan Rezaee