January 20, 2012 by Paul Curtin
With two new games and a feature film already set for release later this year, it’s a bit strange that Capcom is planning yet another Resident Evil game to be released before the end of 2012. After news and pictures began to leak yesterday, Capcom pulled the trigger and decided to go ahead and just announce Resident Evil 6 with a surprisingly long debut trailer and a good bit of information to go along with it. Check out a quote from Capcom’s official press release below that gives a good synopsis of what you’ll see RE6:
It has been ten years since the Raccoon City incident and the President of the United States has decided to reveal the truth behind what took place in the belief that it will curb the current resurgence in bioterrorist activity. Due to be by the President’s side is his personal friend and Raccoon City survivor, Leon S. Kennedy, but when the venue suffers a bioterrorist attack, Leon is forced to face a President transformed beyond recognition and make his hardest ever decision. At the same time, Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance member Chris Redfield arrives in China, itself under threat of a bioterrorist attack. With no country safe from these attacks and the ensuing outbreaks, the entire world’s population is united by a common fear that there is no hope left.
In a first for the franchise, Resident Evil 6 sees series favorites Leon and Chris come together to face this unprecedented threat. They will be joined by new characters, each with their own unique perspective and involvement, in this relentless dramatic horror experience enacted on a global scale.
From the description and trailer it looks like Resident Evil 6 will be a unique take on the series. While not as unique as the upcoming Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City by Slant Six set for release in March, Capcom’s RE6 looks to be a mix of two genres: Survival Horror and Action Shooter — a move that’s sure to please some and upset many who don’t want to see Call of Duty elements introduced into their favorite horror series.
One of the big complaints about Resident Evil 5 was that it didn’t feel like the original Resident Evil games, so it looks like half of RE6 will allow players to play Leon from Resident Evil 4 in a city that has the same feel as Raccoon City from the originals. While Leon’s half looks good, Chris’ story that takes place in China seems a lot more action-based than Resident Evil 5 and risks being a little too flashy for a Resident Evil game.
Although the trailer shows a lot and even teases a lot of new combat maneuvers that could make gameplay a lot more fast-paced and exciting to stay up to the date with today’s gaming standards, it’s still not clear from the trailer exactly how the new controls will work and whether Capcom is completely abandoning Resident Evil‘s signature, yet dated, stop-and-shoot gameplay mechanics. Hopefully it will be somewhere in between and play out like the Dead Space series.
