Given the shift of several major franchises to a larger emphasis on action over slow pacing, it seems the pressure is on for Resident Evil 6 to either show the world how it's done, or show that the times, indeed, are changing.
Instead of letting speculation run wild, Capcom has released just under twenty minutes of the game's campaign showing an experience strongly reminiscent of the series' earlier titles.
It would be a bit unfair to say that the developers of Resident Evil 6 has some convincing to do, but the portion of the game shown at E3 was less than spectacular. There was certainly plenty of spectacle, but a lack of the tense drama and suspense that made the series the favorite it is today.
The recent dose of gameplay footage released contains noticeably fewer exploding cars and buses, and gives an idea of what type of story will be told through Leon's portion of the game's campaign. The videos do contain minor plot spoilers, so those who wish to be surprised may not want to risk it.
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We could raise some issues with the merits of holding one's fire to give a zombie an opportunity to...not try to eat people, but we'll pick our battles. From that early gripe on, the gameplay seems to heavily favor tension over streams of bullet sponges or over-the-top action.
The developers have previously explained that each of the main characters' campaigns allow for their own type of horror, and the use of jump scares, disturbing sights and sounds shown in Leon's portion definitely feels like a throwback.
There are surely some who will feel that the firestorm and helicopter carnage of the E3 demo have no place in a Resident Evil game, but this gameplay footage might make a different argument. If the rest of the campaigns follow this structure of extended periods of tension and drama, capped off with some explosions and sprinting, fans of both action and horror might be happy.
Resident Evil 6 returning to their roots this far along is terrific news for hardcore fans, but seeing how strongly Capcom believes the game will be received is an even better sign for the future of the series.
First things first, of course, since the entire game needs to be seen before it is weighed against the best RE campaigns. Above all else, the unique means of weaving co-op campaigns together online is worth some attention from what we saw at E3.
How does this gameplay footage sit with you RE fans? Does the fidelity of the game's environments have you willing to mix tension with pyrotechnics, or does Capcom still have some convincing to do? Leave us your thoughts in the comments.
Resident Evil 6 releases October 2, 2012 for the PS3 and Xbox 360.
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Source: CVG