GAMING Resident Evil came out today and it wasn't long until the gaming press started pumping out their reviews. The big four; Gamespot, IGN, Machinima and Revision3 all posted their thoughts of the game - just a few minutes apart. I'll give you a brief summary of what came out of these reviews, along with my thoughts about it in this entry! - So keep reading, kids!

3+ Different campaigns - 7 playable characters

The consensus seems to be that the new Resident Evil is a pretty fun game that will keep you busy for quite a while. It doesn't just have one campaign, but three - and then some! Let me clarify that. The main storyline is separated into three separate campaigns, each with different playable characters and their unique type of gameplay. These range from classic survival horror (Leon's campaign) as we know it from the earlier games, to a more action oriented, cover-based shooter in Chris Redfield's campaign. The third campaign relies more on running, and has a lot of quick-time events with buttons that need to be pressed at a given time. The fact that you can also switch freely between the three campaigns, should cater for a truly pleasant variety of gameplay. When the three main campaigns are done, a fourth and final stage with Ada Wong be unlocked.

Co-op mode with improved AI

The whole game is ideal for 2 player co-op, as there will be two people working together all along, much like in Resident Evil 5. However, even in single player mode, you can now choose to play as the secondary character. Unlike the predecessor, where you were stuck with Chris Redfield as the only playable character. The friend-less players can also look forward to a better AI as a substitute for a human co-player. It's apparently significantly better than in RE5 anyway, for whatever that's worth.

Resident Evil 6 review verdicts

Resident Evil 6 - Japan release date poster

Japan gets the game a tad later than Europe and America. Usually it's the other way around...

I personally find the structure of three intervening storylines with different characters to play with quite appealing. Kind of like three games in one package. The option to play as the secondary character should also add to the replay value, as the two characters occasionally part ways, and do slightly different tasks in the game. I think this is also what Capcom had in mind; creating 3 slightly different experiences, so that everyone hopefully gets pleased.

But even though we're treated with a big game with loads of content, it's not without its flaws, apparently. All four aforementioned reviewers complained about the poor camera, and the cover system used in the shoot-outs was cumbersome and apparently didn't work that well either.

While IGN and Machinima were generally positive about the game, giving it a 7.9, and 7.5 out of 10 respectively, Gamespot and Rev3Games were not as impressed. Gamespot called it a disappointing, sloppy mess and gave it a 4.5 out of 10, while Anthony Carboni of Revision3 suggested that everyone except the hardcore fans ought to "skip it".

Conan O'Brien reviews Resident Evil 6

But as usual, funnyman Conan O'Brien made the most interesting review to watch:

Don't know what you think, but I find the game worth a test run at least.
Have you played it already? - Let me know what you thought of it in the comments below!

Game on!
/theJo