Resident Evil Has Always Been Lackluster, It Just Took You 16 Years To Realize It

Paul LaCen explores the Resident Evil franchise, and the "turn" it has taken with RE6. Was the quality that the fanbase looking for ever really there? If so, at what point did Resident Evil betray itself?

[Bumpmapping]

I even bought a copy of Operation Raccoon City of my own volition and defend the purchase to this very day. (I enjoyed it, sue me.

I stopped reading there.Fail article next.

@Rykoshet-You say the series has always been "Lackluster" yet you enjoyed one of the most mediocre titles in series.Doesn't seem like you put much thought into your article.

[Rykoshet]

What's funny is the next sentence actually addresses the quality of the game. Just because I enjoyed it does not mean that I think it would be a worthwhile buy for others.

Edit - @Bumpmapping: I also liked Thundercats growing up, and can look back on it knowing that it wasn't that great. There are plenty of things that I can say I enjoyed that I wouldn't tout as the pinnacle of quality. The problem here is that you're equating personal enjoyment with a judgment of overall quality.

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

I think you're being a little harsh here.
Resident Evil was the best in its genre back in the PSone era despite bad voice acting.
It was the game that created plenty of clones and developers followed in Capcom's footsteps.

Now Resident Evil/Capcom is doing the following and falling all over the place like the undead trying to catch up.

[CalvinKlein]

well re 1- CV were awesome games for their time and were of very high quality. People complain about pre-rendered backgrounds and controls but Iv always understood that they were necessary to make those games on PS1 due to its limitations. The controls are not even bad for what it is as its not full of action and people shooting at you. The controls for those pre-rendered RE games could NOT WORK any other way or else your character would change direction with every camera angle change.

If you think they were bad thats your opinion, but its clearly not what most people who played them think of them.

The problem with RE now isnt that its an action game, but that it is not really a good one compared to other good 3rd person shooters. If you are going to go all action you need better controls and camera, better animations and better gunplay.

In their genre the old RE games are some of the best of the best. In its current genre of 3rd person shooter the new RE games are not anywhere near the top.

Seems like people are trying to make it seem like RE hasnt gone down the shitter but it has. Clearly people used to enjoy the series and the games more then they do now.

[GammaSix]

NOPE

[thePatriot]

4 was good. first was unique and new. Its a big name brand and sometimes it feels like they don't know what to do with it. Doesn't feel as AAA as it should be. RE4 felt like a AAA game through and through.

[taquito]

4 and 5 were great

and, on pc at least, they both run far better, and have FAR better story and much better graphics than resident evil 6, i rented it for the ps3 and was very disappointed with controls, bad framerate and TERRIBLE visuals,

hopefully it will be a much better game on pc, i imagine it will.

[SAE]

i agree with you :)

But it's funny how you act ...

All games in console have and will have framerate / bugs / not full hd problems , i always see you complain about these things , just play the pc versions of everything or wait for the next generation consoles to get such experience...

sometimes even the pc versions doesn't have big difference then the console versions because the developers are making them for all platforms instead of using the full advantage of the pc , pc power is useless to me if developers like PD / naughty dog and others didn't use it on their games ..

that's why i never cared about these things in console and i never notice them , i'm just having fun for what i get and that's why i want the ps4 right now in this minute , so im hoping you do the same because the wow factor is gone in this generation games and thinking of these things will take away the fun more ..

[SAE]

look at this , this is what i mean of wow factor
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

from ps2 to looking at this makes me happy like a kid even though this is not what i played , i still get excited when i see this because i remember how i was excited when i saw it , but in 2010 the hype started to go , not because there wasn't great games , the console just feels too old , that's why i hear you ..

But looking at people who says this game have 30fps and have many bugs or have normal graphics that's why he won't play it , it just makes me sad , for example : you mis a game like GT5 because it have bad smoke or the engines sound isn't excited or it have standard cars more than premium , yes , it could be better in pc and we all wish it was a pc exclusive but that doesn't mean it doesn't have it's own good sides , such as a long game , or a real sim that have it's own gameplay , a lots of tracks , real tune that effect the car ..

[ChunkyLover53]

The earlier Resident Evil games were pretty bad, but we didn't really know that FMV was a bad thing, we also didn't know what good voice acting was.

I love 4, 5 and 6. I thought Code Veronica was pretty good on the Dreamcast. These games aren't really games that will win awards or anything, they are just fun.

[Rykoshet]

All solid points, my man. There were very good reasons for the weak points in the earlier resident evil games, and those are understandable when one says they enjoyed the games. I'm not one to bash people for what they enjoy, it's just calling a spade a spade.

[ChunkyLover53]

Exactly, but at the time we didn't know about survival horror or anything like that.

A good comparison is when I was younger and I tried to tell my parents about the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie was good, they went on to tell me "Nothing beats the original". So I rented the original and watched it with them and we were all laughing at how bad the movie was, it was so fake and really, really bad.

When it comes to early survival horror, some cheese is okay, but when you look at where we are at now, were so much better off. How many games could Capcom have kept the characters in a mansion kicking over statues for keys?

[dark-hollow]

I still find the "jill sandwich" less cheesy than the tank chase in RE6

[aquamala]

RE has always been a mediocre series, if you have a chance to play RE1-3 be ready to laugh your ass off at the crappy controls and dialog.

[Gr81]

Me I like the Gamecube REmake of 1, RE 2 was great and so was 4..The others? wasn't feeling too much.

[moegooner88]

Does any seriously think Capcom gives a crap about what people say or think as long as they hit their sales target, think again, otherwise they wouldn't have abandoned their old fan base that easily, and as long as you enjoy what you play, does it really matter what others label "it".

[ballzdeep]

Couldnt disagree with you more.

With RE6 Capcom gave fans EVERYTHING theyve been crying for.

People wanted zombies...zombies are back.
People wanted survival horror...its back.
People talk about how great Nemesis was...hes back (well the equivalent anyway)
People complained about controls...theyre the most refined controls of any RE to date.
People complained about partner AI...its been fixed and works perfectly (i dont even feel like shooting them in the face anymore)

The problem is NOT that Capcom doesnt listen to its fans, the real problem is that people are never happy, and/or will judge a game without ever having played it.

Well whatever, the real fans are doing themselves an injustice by missing out on the greatest RE yet.

Btw...I AM part of the original fanbase that you mention, and im loving every minute of it!

[TransientDreamer]

I always have found it funny that the same people who pan Call of Duty for being exactly the same as its previous installments have panned Resident Evil for not being exactly the same as its previous installments.

[amaguli]

Since when has it been cool to hate on popular and influential video game franchises? So many articles hating on Mario, Zelda, and now Resident Evil.

Any ways, Resident Evil is a perfect example of how you can instill fear and dread through the use of setting.

You never knew what was around the corner of the Spencer Mansion and you had limited saves. You had to decide if you wanted to keep pushing forward, risking all your play time, or to use one of the precious ink ribbons.

Also, when fans say the want Resident Evil to go back to it's roots, they don't mean control wise. Fans want the horror back, the tense setting, not an overblown action game. You can have modern controls and be successful with scares (see Dead Space 1-2)

[Sevir]

It was a great change for a tired pace in the way the franchise was heading... Somewhere along the line I think shinji messed up with 5, as it was more the same with with just prettier visuals. And not a progression...

I feel RE6 is A step forward on many regards but also a huge step back on some important things. For one the controls allow more freedom. Something previous re games never allowed for. It wasn't refined but, finally being able to shoot while moving is something that should have been present in 5. 6 got that right.

being able to dodge and perform melee on the fly was pretty good but, the charge time for that led to an over reliance on the melee button. More so than necessary. That implimentation of melee was a huge step back.

The camera is bad! And that's largely because the stages aren't very open like Resident Evil 4.. close and crampted and not enterly fixed... And the decision to add the HUD dynamically shift to left or right side of the screen totally throws you off.
When the camera stays fixed on over the should view like RE4/5, the controls work well. But the issue is it doesn't stay that way all the time.

The other issue is the QTEs are much too plentiful. RE4 had expertly placed them as a needed and necessary ingredient a key points. To progress the story. They made sense. Like running from the boulder, jumping through the blazer field in the corridor, or the Knife fight.
In 6, jumping down a ladder is a QTE, opening doors is a QTE, its annoying.

Over all I liked 6. It is A good game with some seriously good things that bring the series forward but some questionable designs limit it from being great. I don't mind the voice acting. I think for the most part the actors did a good job. It isn't uncharted good but it certainly is a lot better in narrative than gears of war 2.

[DigitalAnalog]

"Somewhere along the line I think shinji messed up with 5"

No. Shinji had NOTHING to do with RE after 4. PERIOD.

[Sevir]

He left Capcom right after it was shipped!

[DigitalAnalog]

Where is he in the credits other than being the creator? Which position did he take? Is he an executive producer? Director? Writer? Lead designer?

[Cam977]

Stupid article...

[JAM_brz]

This is the kind of article that you can stop reading just for the title.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

I'd play RE1-Code Veronica over anything else in the series any day of the week, and this hipster hindsight crap ain't gonna away a fan. If I loved something at the time I played it, I'm gonna love it today. I'm not even gonna get into why the franchise is bullshit now, but Capcom evolved it in all the wrong ways, and hardware has nothing to do with any of it.

[Summons75]

I kinda have to agree and disagree.

Resident Evil 1, 2 and 3 are the equivalent of a B-horror movie. Absolutely terrible but yet enjoyable and fun and not scary. 4, 5, and 6 try to recapture that magic but miss it. Still a fun series though.

[TheDivine]

Loved 4, one of the best games ever made imo. Great exploration, good enemies and shooting limbs, innovative stuff like barring windows, doors and knocking down ladders added depth and strategy. The bosses were AMAZING. It introduced the cinematic gameplay and button prompts in cutscenes and at certain points during fights. The MGS3 of the RE series lol, perfect!

5 was great also but i didnt like so many enemies with guns and the forced co-p. It had good bosses and i liked the enemies and shooting limbs again. It wasnt as scary as 4 or REmake but it had a genuine tension and creepyness from even the beginning finding the meat hanging and stuff rotting. Underrated at the time.

Revelations. This game is a gem. About up there with 4 as my fav. Has the one big creepy environment to explore and find secrets/weapons. Has scary enemies (mayday, it took me 5 minutes to finally grow balls and open the door lol). It has a good story with Jill whom i love. I also loved the chapter style as it told a great story and always left you on the edge of your seat without sacrificing the exploration. It had amazing bosses, good graphics, and one of the coolest end bosses/stages ever. Loved looking for handprints ith the scanner. Everything was a perfect blend or RE1 and RE4. Raid mode is the best thing to happen to RE since 4 imo. Super addictive and fun.

6 is great also but i miss the exploration and it has too many enemies with guns. Its still an amazing game though. I like how big it is. Ive been playing a chapter a day after work (6 days a week for me) and it ill last 3-4 weeks. I love all the characters. On one hand the new melee system/shooting system rocks and its much more fluid but it feelsa bit too fast. Id prefer slower movement, slower enemies, less guns (for enemies), and more strategy like where to fight and climbing/running like RE4. It has good bosses and fun levels. Some wacky stuff gets aggravating like cheap deaths and constant knock downs from enemies. The atmosphere is amazing but imo the 4 campaigns hurts it in a way. Theyre all too short to build up so only one or two chapters are slow and tense but there are some suprises i LOVED! Leons is classic RE/RE2 for sure. Even Chris' chapter 3(i think) was perfect, creepy and tense. Its a great game that has the RE dna but lacks something. Maybe just a few more locked doors, the classic inventory, and one more slow paced chapter per character. Still i love the game and i think when im done it will be ranked higher for me personally.

I played some older ones but honestly i didnt like them too much. The atmosphere was great. Bosses were cool. I like the exploration and camera angles. I couldnt get passes the slow as mollassiss gamelay with classic (aka shitty) controls. I much prefer 4 and onward. 4 and Revelations proved you can keep the RE soul and still have fun modern gameplay.