Fans of the Resident Evil series have only a little over 3 months to wait for the release of Resident Evil 6. The footage shown during Microsoft’s big E3 press conference revealed that the game’s setting would be more urban, similar to Resident Evil 2 and 3. The control scheme, though, will take after the much-improved Resident Evil 4 and 5. Gamers everywhere are hoping the series can recover from the hiccup that was Resident Evil 5.
Today, Capcom has released nearly 20 minutes of gameplay from Resident Evil 6. The footage, broken up into two videos, is no doubt from near the beginning of the game, and it shows Leon rounding up survivors of a zombie attack in a government building. The clips show that quicktime events are still a large part of the Resident Evil action. In this game, however, it seems as if the developers are focusing a little more on atmosphere. Most of the footage shows Leon and his partner, Helena, walking around and talking about their situation. This is broken up by numerous long cut-scenes, with the action picking up late and lasting for less than three minutes. Depending on what you enjoy about the Resident Evil franchise, this could be good or bad.
Take a look at the footage below to judge Resident Evil 6 for yourself. If you want to see the action, skip to around the 6-minute mark in the second video:
As you can see, Leon has come a long way since his bumbling adventure through the Raccoon City Police Department in Resident Evil 2. He now wields dual pistols with John Woo-movie skill and has a roundhouse kick smoother than Chuck Norris.
If you are looking for something more similar to the old-school survival horror of the early Resident Evil games, you will have to go looking in the indie game market. Games such as Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs and Sacrilegium look to be bringing back that wonderful feeling of controlling a relatively helpless character surrounded by oppressive, menacing dread.