Despite its problems, I am thoroughly enjoying this game more than I thought I would after playing through that Public Demo. I'm currently playing on Veteran difficulty (in Co-Op) through just about 3 Chapters of Chris' campaign. I'm not sure if it is just me, but the graphics seem a bit more fleshed out as opposed to the demo.
In addition, the controls seem a bit tighter as well, though that could be the result of me fiddling around with the sensitivity settings. The Resident Evil gun play coupled with the ability to dodge/evade/slide/duck/roll does seem to actually work together once you get the hang of it. To be honest, I would have never thought I'd be using the diving backwards action while shooting on my back and rolling to the side; but it has come in handy more often than not. Shooting enemies in the head, arm, shoulder, and knee cap initiates a very short stun on the enemy allowing for a special melee attack whether it be from the front or the rear. Playing through the demo, I thought that this was no longer possible. However, with a closer inspection, the stun time is just very short and subtle; meaning that you have to be much closer than usual as opposed to Resident Evil 4 & 5. Using this strategy makes the already overpowered melee attacks that much more deadly; even on Veteran difficulty. It barely even takes a bar of your combat/stamina gauge since you only have to press RT once. The stamina bar recharges at a decent pace, so you can actually abuse it if you can time your shots and melees perfectly; even better if you have a Co-Op buddy. Just be careful whenever you melee though, since it is very easy to whiff an attack even though you're really close to enemy; which is very frustrating when you're surrounded by multiple enemies. Obviously, you cannot do this on every enemy type throughout the game since some end up having armor, while others you don't even want to get within melee range. It's just something to think about.
Also, don't forget about using the "Quick Shot" ability (RT + LT simultaneously) as it has saved me more often than I can remember. It basically compensates for some of the bad camera angles and auto-stuns most opponents allowing for a quick follow up melee. It does consume stamina, so I wouldn't rely on it too much, but it's useful for those "oh shit" moments when you're surrounded. As for the cover system, it's there. Not much I can say about it other than I always end up jumping over the cover I want to use, leaving myself exposed to incoming fire. It's pretty much broken, but I find myself rarely using it unless I'm pinned down by some turret or am forced to use it. You're probably better off just dodging and displacing yourself unless the situation requires you to use it.
The Co-Op is pretty fun so far, as it follows closely to the template of how Resident Evil 5 was. I like the ability to mark high priority targets (LT + B), though I don't understand why you cannot see your partner's laser sight. It was always useful to see where exactly your teammate was aiming and it was a quick indicator to see where exactly your partner was at all times. I find that I have trouble hearing or noticing if my partner needs help or is grasped by the enemy though. I may be wrong, but the game seems to only indicate if your partner needs assistance once he/she is on last stand. Aside from that, it seems you can do melee combos together. From what I've seen, the timing has to be like an actual combo you would see from Street Fighter or any other fighting game. It's pretty strict to the point where it has to be immediately after the end of the animation of your partner, but the damage is devastating. It does not apply to all enemy types so just be mindful of that. The game likes to split you and your partner up a lot, which is kind of fun and frustrating at the same time since you will be unable to resuscitate each other until you link up again. It can lead to multiple retries mainly due to some poor game design choices that work against you, which I'll explain later. If you played the Co-Op in Resident Evil 5, it's just like that with the exception of the item/inventory system.
Not sure if this would help, but this is what I tweaked the controls to and it seems to work for me:
- Camera Sensitivity: 7
- Aiming Sensitivity: 6
- Switched to the classic Laser Sighting
If you're still having troubles getting comfortable with the controls, resulting in countless deaths, I highly suggest playing through multiple sessions of Mercenaries Mode. It's a great mode to use for practice and adapt the controls to your muscle memory; plus it is actually pretty fun if you have a competent partner.
Initially, I thought Chris' campaign would be terrible. Probably the most annoying aspect of it is when you get shot, you will randomly fall/leap backwards onto the floor and be immobilized for a few seconds. I could understand if something like that happens from an explosion/blast (frags, barrels, RPGs, shotgun spread, sniper shot, etc.), but not shots from 5.56mm weapons. Chris does seem to take up half (if not more) of the screen as he did in Resident Evil 5, which isn't helpful because there are numerous enclosed areas/corridors throughout his campaign that seem to be a result of bad level design. It's within these areas where things can get frustrating because there is almost no room to evade/run where you can displace yourself for a better firing position. The only analogy I can think of is trying to play football in a hallway.
For some strange reason, the game likes to auto-focus your camera to a point of interest while you're in the middle of a firefight, which can make you lose your bearings for a split second resulting in your untimely death. I think Gears of War had the better idea where it was optional to press a certain button to focus on the scripted event, rather than obstructing your view forcibly. With this in mind, chase/run scenes immediately follow at points and you can die while your camera is still focused on the scripted event (happened at least twice so far).
However, my biggest gripe with them game so far has to be the item and inventory systems. This is just my opinion, but I do not like the idea of everyone having their own item drops with the inability to share them with your partner. Not being able to give my buddy some 5.56mm rounds when he's out, throw some first-aid sprays his way, or even split frags/flashes/incendiaries defeats the purpose of playing Co-Op. If I see something on the floor and my inventory is maxed out, I should at least be able to let my partner hold some of my equipment while I pick it up; instead of leaving it behind. I much prefer shared item drops over this new mechanic of everyone getting their own. The way they had it set up in Resident Evil 5 was fine, this just makes it too easy and streamlined.
I know this game is not considered "survival horror" anymore, but I always found resource management as a fun gameplay element especially with a partner. I always had fun being able to designate Pistol/Shotgun to one player and SMG/Sniper to another while we shared the items we found in Resident Evil 5. It makes the game more fun and challenging when you have to decide your weapon load out and who gets what. Instead, this game gives us character specific load outs with the exception of what you find throughout the campaign. Towards the end of campaigns, it seems like you'll be able to wield every single weapon type there is simultaneously (like Doom), not including those character specific weapons.
I was hoping the game would let you upgrade all the weapons found in the game, but it seems like that is going to be replaced with the skill system. It's a fun concept, but I would have liked if they kept weapon upgrades and character upgrades separate instead of integrating them together. Upgrading weapons in Resident Evil 4 & 5 was always fun and I liked comparing different pistols/shotguns/rifles with one another since certain weapons had abilities others did not. In Resident Evil 6, it seems all weapons are at their max once you pick them up or are given to you, with the exception of ammo capacity and zoom capabilities for certain types which can be upgraded through the skill system.
As for skills, I'd recommend the defense, breakout, and firearm/melee abilities. I believe you can only have 3 skills equipped at any given time so you can mix and match depending on the situation. I think defense only works against enemy firearms, but you'll need it during Chris' campaign for sure; can't comment on the other campaigns though. Breakout is a definite must for all those QTEs where you are stuck in the grasp of an enemy. Firearm and Melee are self-explanatory as all other abilities are currently too expensive for me. The skill system is a neat idea, I just think people had bad experiences with the demo since not having any skills equipped does make a difference in your gameplay in terms of survival.
The Mercenaries Mode is as much fun as it was in previous entries. What's lame is that you only get 1 map in the beginning and have to unlock the others by completing the different campaigns. You also get 3 other ones depending if and where you pre-ordered the game. The majority of people just have the one stock map unlocked as of now, so if you play Mercenaries you'll end up mostly playing the same map over and over. I don't think you can play a certain map unless both players have it unlocked though.
As a whole, Resident Evil 6 is a lot better than I expected despite its flaws. I am playing it cooperatively with another person so I'm not sure how different it is from playing solo. I just know that playing this game by yourself, as was the case in Resident Evil 5, is something you'd want to avoid at all costs if possible. I'm not saying it makes it a completely different game, but it's a lot more fun than having an AI partner.
I have only played through the first 3 Chapters of Chris' Campaign and a handful of Mercenaries matches so I guess my opinion may or may not change once I finish it; these were just my initial impressions so take it with a grain of salt. In the end, I'm having fun with it, and I guess that's all that really matters.
Summarizing Chris' first 3 Chapters in one word:
It's not a spoiler, just something you'll notice being said every 5 minutes or so.:lol: