GAMING Now that Resident Evil 6 has just come out, it's time to take a look in the rear view mirror, and the previous games of the series. Here I'm giving my honest opinion of the series up to this point.

Resident Evil has always been a franchise that I've enjoyed as a concept. And I've always wanted to like the many games of the series, but have always been put off by its clunky controls and steep difficulty, that comes from just that. Not that a bit of challenge in a video game is a bad thing, but when it's primarily due to the fact that you're being crippled by a sluggish, slow and unintuitive control scheme, it's like the game ties you to a chair and farts you in the FACE. It's just no fun.

Crystal Dynamics made Lara Croft quick and nimble in Tomb Raider Legend and onward. Too bad Capcom couldn't do the same with their ensemble of Resident Evil characters...

The early Tomb Raider games had the same heavy-handed controls, that gave the impression you were handling a 50 ton steamroller, rather than a slender young woman. But unlike the Tomb Raider games, Resident Evil hasn't made too much of an improvement in the how the games handle. Even the previous main game of the series; Resident Evil 5, still had quite a bulky and slow control scheme. Not to mention the 3DS instalment which was even slower to control, with just one analogue stick (no I don't believe in STICKS as justifiable gaming accessories).

I'm tellin'ya - it ain't fair!

On top of that, the Resident Evil games usually gives you very scarce resources to defend yourself with. And I know the idea is to create a somewhat realistic feel to it. After all, nobody can carry around 10 different shotguns and 50000 clips of ammo in their PANTS. But considering how your character has the reaction speed of a demented 90 year-old, and how much effort it takes to carefully aim and shoot the brains out of these lifeless bastards, you could definitely use it. Instead, when your ammo's out (typically after taking out your first foe), all you're left with is usually some teeny-tiny excuse of a melee weapon. Good luck stabbing a flood of hungry zombies with wimpy pocket knife, without getting your arm chewed off in the process! The other option is of course to try and outrun your foes (with strong emphasis on the word "try") - like a wuss! It's not that easy, however, when the guy you're trying to control is about as quick as Ozzy Osbourne on a Sunday morning.

The great turning point finally came, and then left...

Hot diggity, that's quite a crowd. What is this - Black Friday? (no pun intended)

Then came Resident Evil 4, which did a vast improvement in terms of playability. Still very challenging, but more fair, as the controls no longer were complete rubbish. The sluggish controls once again became ever so evident in the successor, however. Unlike its predecessors, Resident Evil 5 was more of an action-oriented affair, that mainly also took place in broad day light, which made the hard core fans of the survival horror genre lose all their hope for the series. I had no problems with that sort of direction myself. However, action games require fast, fluid handling to keep up to the pace. Much more so than it does in survival horrors, which rely more on suspense and minimal button mashing in the first place. Unfortunately, Resident Evil 5 mixed the genres in the worst possible way. with hoards of enemies that needed to be dealt with quickly, which the sluggish gameplay couldn't match.

Resident Evil 6 and onward

Now that Resident Evil 6 just came out, will it yet prove itself as the king of survival horror, or will it continue its plowed path towards the modern 3rd person shooters?
Pop over to my next entry, right here on this site to find out!