Little over one week ago, Resident Evil 6 was unleashed to the public and since reviews for the game were released, the game has come under constant scrutiny from critics and fans of the series alike. With social media and the public’s opinion even more vital these days, do sources such as Metacritic deserve to determine the outcome of the game or should it be left to magazines and game reviewers alike to determine how good a game is?
Most gamers have great memories of Resident Evil through the years. The first zombie turning round to look at you in the mansion, the chaos in Raccoon City, Nemesis hunting you down, the epic story and gameplay of Resident Evil 4 and the action feel of Resident Evil 5. Of course there have been many other games in the series but these are the main games which gamers will remember most of all. Before the release of Resident Evil 6, many wondered if the game was going to be reminiscent of, which many believe to be one of the greatest games of all time, Resident Evil 4 and with trailers, gameplay samples at E3 and the demo being enjoyed by most, the final product let some people down and was enjoyed by others. Some critics enjoyed it, some thought it was okay and some thought it was horrible. This was truly a game which had to be decided by the public. For those who had parted with their hard earned cash to see if Resident Evil 6 could live up to the game which Resident Evil 4 could.
Within the first few days of the game’s release, the game was frowned upon by several game journalists from around the world. It seemed at the time that people were taken aback by this news that the promising Resident Evil 6 was a failure and soon people began cutting the game from their wish list. Metacritic was the biggest downfall for Resident Evil 6 however as gamers were submitting ridiculous scores to make up for their disappointment at the game being nothing like the classic games. Zombies were back but the game was too much action based or the story was poor.
Many gamers would have submitted scores to Metacritic just to prove a point that they were not happy with the final product. Scores of 0.5 out of 10 were beyond the mark though. I am a firm believer that everyone deserves to have their own opinion (I’m saying mine right now!) but destroying a games reputation, because it seems like the “cool” thing to do, is wrong. There were reports of game reviewers who were reviewing Resident Evil 6 that were downgrading their final review scores based on what reviews they had already seen from other reviewers.
In the latest game, Resident Evil seems to be more focused on action rather than survival, much like Resident Evil 5. Even before the game’s release, many people knew that the game had a change in direction, based more on shooting and action rather than merely surviving. Resident Evil 4 was a major change from the first few games which had difficult camera angles and controls. The fourth game was a revolution and while the fifth game had a very familiar layout, not enough was done to progress from four’s success. The latest game again takes the game into a whole different level. You can now move and aim at the same time, prompted into doing action moves and saving ammo and interactive cutscenes seem to be a common feature. Several reviewers believe that with the latest release, the legendary series has forgotten its roots and that the co-op features in the game are even worse than the fifth game’s co-op. These are all legit claims, no doubt about it. This isn’t what concerns me however, it is the public’s negative reaction that is cause for concern for Capcom.
The public experienced a sample of what we were in store for in Capcom’s previous Resident Evil related game release with Operation Raccoon City which was flawed with problems. Personally, I don’t think there is much wrong with the game but, again, everyone is entitled to their opinion. It is the opinion of those who have hardly played any of the game or choose to join in what some of the reviewers have said just to be controversial, that is not what gaming is about. Everyone wants to play the best games and while it is great to provide an opinion, a false opinion is as good as no opinion. Trolls, I’m looking at you! Hopefully some of the feedback will improve future Resident Evil games but Capcom have to be commended as they have tried something different and it hasn’t worked for some players. But as far as I’m concerned, Resident Evil’s reputation hasn’t been destroyed but has been severely damaged recently with thanks to work on their behalf with the quality of game they have released and due to the efforts of everyone’s attention seeking, internet bullying trolls. Hopefully this is one game that can overcome some of the hatred… The unnecessary hatred that is.
@SimonMarshall6
