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What We Want In Resident Evil 6
This is an update to a story we originally posted on July 9, 2010. After checking out the recently revealed trailer for Resident Evil 6, we're revisiting our initial desires and predicting the probability that our wishes will come true.
Original Story: Over
the last fifteen years the Resident Evil series has changed from being
about barely scraping by with a few pistol rounds during a zombie
outbreak to taking out titanic leviathan monsters with satellite lasers.
While this evolution has been met with lucrative sales, diehard fans
like me are wondering how far this franchise can stray from the original
formula before it becomes ludicrous. For example: If Chris Redfield
starts arm-wrestling giant zombie Martians on an exploding space
station, it will have jumped the shark.
Jun Takeuchi, producer
of Resident Evil 5, previously stated that RE5 would likely be the last
of its kind. With that in mind, I’ve concocted a list of things we’d
like to see in Resident Evil 6. We want to see a game that incorporates
the best elements of the new and old school RE games, while delivering
something fresh. Come along as we muse about the future of a franchise
that began with a little incident in an old mansion.
Stupid-Ass
Zombies
Resident Evil 4 introduced the semi-intelligent,
speedy Ganados enemies to balance out players’ increased firepower and
control. Resident Evil 5 took it further with Majinis, but that’s where
we want it to stop. The undead are supposed to be slow, mindless,
flesh-devourers that exist only to instill a feeling of omnipresent
dread. Before you say that slow zombies aren’t fun in games any more,
think about Dead Rising, Call of Duty: World at War, and Resident Evil:
Darkside Chronicles. The walking dead should do just that – walk.
Resident Evil 6 has the ability to capitalize on next-gen tech to make
the undead even more horrifying. Imagine facing the hordes of Dead
Rising in a darker, more foreboding atmosphere.
Probability: 90% (It looks like the streets of Tall Oaks and China are stricken with a mixture of more primitive undead and bio-organic weapons)
New
Story
I defended Resident Evil’s ridiculous story for more
years than I care to admit. A series can only have so many virus
strains, exploding laboratories, and scythe-clawed super mutants before
things start to get stale however. It’s high time to ditch Raccoon City,
the T-virus, and every psychopath hell-bent on bio-weaponizing the
global population. Capcom needs to reduce the scope of the story to
something akin to the first games. What made the first few games so
terrifying and entertaining was that they were perilous struggles
through a small town dense with abominations. Resident Evil 6 could be
about a harrowing escape from a zombie-riddled urban area to the country
and I’d be satisfied. Think Left 4 Dead. Capcom needs to stop with the
contrived rocket launcher boss fights atop flaming rooftops.
Probability: 50% (It appears there will be echoes of past Resident Evils in RE 6. We predict the story will be composed equally of new and old story threads)
New
Characters
I’ve shared some wonderful memories with Jill
Valentine, Chris Redfield, Leon S. Kennedy, and Wesker, but their
characters have been warped so much over the years that they’re hardy
recognizable. At the rate things are going now, we’re only a couple
sequels away from Chris using his robot arms to fight Wesker’s ghost on
the bottom of the ocean. While these characters don’t need to be
eradicated from the fiction, reducing them to small cameos and focusing
on new protagonists would refresh the series. That, or make a game with
Barry Burton as the lead.
Probability: 100% (While both Chris Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy are the leads this time around, a new male and female join the cast)
New
Gameplay With Classic Mechanics
Resident Evil 4 delivered
some of the best gameplay in the series while maintaining a decent sense
of tension. Now is the time to push it to the limits – with a boatload
of slow zombies that test a gamer’s ability to squeeze off headshots
under pressure. Also, each bullet should be worth its weight in gold,
returning the series to its survival horror roots. Capcom could also
give players the choice between an over-the-shoulder third-person
perspective or the cinematic, fixed camera views from the early games.
Playing in the classic view would trade weapon accuracy for increased
awareness of the surroundings, while third-person would do the opposite.
Allowing this type of swap on the fly would appease staunch
traditionalists and shooter-minded gamers, while also allowing players
to change their view depending on the situation.
Probability: 75% (RE 6 appears to be a fast-paced action-game, and while the slow plodding of survival horror seems unlikely, new gameplay mechanics like sliding into cover, shooting from the ground, and moving while shooting look to be in the game.)
Puzzles!
Before
Resident Evil became about killing monsters in a linear game world,
progression was about solving puzzles and deciphering riddles. Though I
don’t long for the days when I scoured expansive mansions searching for a
dumb key for a dumb door, I do miss using my mind to solve creepy
puzzles. Reading files, picking up obscure items, and trying to do so
without getting murdered was a lot of fun and a great way to break up
the game’s pacing. Recent games have been mile-a-minute sprints without
time to stop and smell the roses. Would the Raccoon Police Department
have been as memorable if it was only briefly visited? It’s time to
bring back puzzles, but we can afford to skip anything involving chess
pieces, pianos, clocks, or alchemy.
Probability: 15% (The pace of this game looks to be on par with RE 4 and 5, making the odds of classic, cryptic head-scratchers slim)
Scariness
So
we’ve asserted that we’d like the survival part back in the Resident
Evil formula, but what about the horror? Remember dogs jumping through
windows and Nemesis stalking your every move? Resident Evil used to be
scary as hell! Playable only while the sun is shining and birds are
chirping kind of scary. Closet zombies, unnaturally fast enemies, and
surprise instant-kills should be pushed back to the forefront in order
to reignite the fizzled fear. If Dead Space can deliver a horrifying,
over-the-shoulder third-person game, why can’t the granddaddy of
survival horror do it? Make us pee our pants, Capcom. We dare you.
Probability: 40% (While it doesn't seem to have the same sense of dreadful isolation as the classic Resident Evils, what we've seen of RE 6 so far hints that it may share the same level of intense, overwhelming enemy encounters as Dead Space. The Raccoon City-esque Tall Oaks environment also looks like a promising locale for some surprises)