Little over a week ago, a site was created and began filling the entertainment world with speculation over what the videos could be for. “No Hope Left” was the name of the website and also the slogan for the videos, which quickly became viral. As many rumours began to grow larger by the minute on the internet, an announcement was made that would reveal the intention behind the website and videos on the 19th of January 2012, at 10pm (UK time). With the Biohazard logos also being used in the videos along with “No Hope Left”, many figured that the next instalment of the original Zombie survival game, Resident Evil, was back and ready for action…
…They were right.
As promised, the trailer hit the Internet like a punch from Nemesis and was spread around the web quicker than Wesker can move. The trailer revealed important parts of the games story, main characters, storyline and locations were all revealed to some extent from the trailer and the aftermath also. With the rumour mill now turning furiously, what will the next game bring? How will some of the rumoured gameplay mechanics blossom? The time has come for me to keep on turning the rumour mill with speculation which has already been started on the internet.
In the mid 90’s, Resident Evil became a cult classic by combining refreshing gameplay mechanics and almost unplayable camera angles which made the game scary and also a landmark for the growing Video Game society to follow. From the first we soon had a sequel, which added more dangers than just zombies in Raccoon City. The third title saw Jill Valentine constantly battling a fierce monster in Nemesis. Code Veronica was the last of the ‘classic’ zombie in which the camera angle would have you running around in circles trying to pull off a better shot. The re-launch of the game in Resident Evil 4 saw a change of gameplay, location and, more importantly, zombies. This was still an amazing game which will no doubt be remembered as one of the defining games of the 2000’s but the formula which made RE such a hit, had been altered slightly and although it was still very good, the zombies were no longer ‘zombies’. They were village people gone mad. It was the same for game number 5 also. The main characters were still present in 4 & 5, with Leon and Chris respectively, but the zombie magic was nowhere to be seen.
Now with the imminent release of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and, more importantly, Resident Evil 6 in November, is it possible that original is best and Capcom are hitting home to the zombie lovers amongst gamers? It has seemed to be such a long time since Capcom released Code Veronica and with all the different zombie themed titles these days, are they merely entering an overcrowded market?
The Trailer for those who have yet to see it for RE: 6:
The beginning of the trailer shows Leon Kennedy being faced a problem in that his close friend, the President of the United States, has become infected after a Bioterrorism attack. This seems certain to involve Leon killing the President but I believe this would just be the start of something bigger. Meanwhile, Chris Redfield has been deployed in China which has also been hit by a Bioterrorism attack. With the world on its knees thanks to the infection, it seems as though the experienced Leon and Chris will have a tough task against this global threat. The setting which the trailer has set and the circumstances seem reminiscent of previous Resident Evils, older titles as well as the more recent 4 & 5 as they were in Europe and Africa. The gameplay itself though, I believe, will return to the modern view from 4 & 5 but the enemies will be that of the older generations. The game seems to be a great mixture of good solid gameplay with enemies which are scary but also more intimidating that the ‘crazy village people’.
With so much hype around zombies these days, I felt it was time for the original and best creators of the zombie to revert back to what make the game series what it is today. So many games these days have embraced the zombie or scary culture:
· Left 4 Dead 1 & 2
· Dead Space 1 & 2
· Rise of Nightmares
· Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
· Dead Rising 1 & 2, OTR, C0 & CW
These games, to some degree, have all taken inspiration from Resident Evil, one thing which Resident Evil done better than anyone else was the fact that the game always kept you on your toes. Those savage dogs would jump through windows to foil your calm walk through a quiet corridor. This is one thing which has continued through every Resident Evil, the sense that nothing is as it should be. The Dogs in one, Lickers in two, Nemesis in three, the Regenerators in four and the Lickers again in five. I’m sure six will see a return of the frightening and atmospheric gameplay.
As I have mentioned before, many fans of the series craved for a return to the classic zombie. With this return however, I am certain there will be newer enemies to face as well. This is set 10 years after the original outbreak and within the story, as well as location, the variety of enemies will be improved. Of course in rival zombie titles, Left 4 Dead for example has a Boomer, Spitter, Smoker, Hunter, Witch, Charger, Jockey and the Tank, as well as common infected. Obviously, Left 4 Dead is more of a fun zombie game rather than horrifying but for other games, the variety of enemies is brilliant as you never know what to expect.
With so many zombie themed games being released ever since the last Resident Evil, I believe the time is right to revert back to the old style of zombies as well as a new setting and the highly acclaimed third person view in RE 4 and 5. With the game only being announced last week there will be a lot more to come from Capcom as to details of Resident Evil 6. Lets hope that the ultimate Zombie franchise will continue successful build up after the viral videos... Hopefully we will see it if the zombie apocalypse doesn't come before then.
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