I've never been a die hard fan of the Resident Evil series. After the first or second game on PlayStation I hadn't touched a Resident Evil game until Resident Evil 5 came out on Xbox 360. I was shunned and told I had to play Resident Evil 4, but trying to play it on the PC I just became frustrated by antiquated controls. So while the series on the whole might not hold the meaning it has for some people, I can appreciate what is there. Resident Evil 6 is the latest game in the series and it expands on a feature introduced by Resident Evil 5 - cooperative play. This time around we have three pairs of co-op partners and four separate campaigns to play. This is a meaty game folks, lets dive in.
Resident Evil 6 tells the story of a new deadly virus called the C Virus which was created by a new splinter group called Neo Umbrella. Like any terrorist organization, the virus is being released in the form of biological strikes around the world and its up to our good friends in the BSAA to stop them. Things start out when the President of the United States gets turned into a zombie forcing Leon Kennedy putting him down and a good ol conspiracy theory as to who done it follows.
The campaigns offer slightly different views of the events and stop and start at different times during the timeline of the game. The campaigns themselves will find each other intersecting, where our heroes end up meeting each other and at times, teaming up. These sections expand on the two player co-op found through most of the game, this time allowing four players from two different games to team up. Typically these section feature some sort of boss battle, but there are times you simply see and possibly cover the other group of players from a distance. In one section, both teams of players are solving puzzles simultaneously racing to get out of a death trapped room. While the integration of the intersection moments during the campaign isn't seamless, it works well enough - with a 60 second loading screen that lets you know its actively matchmaking to find other partners that are at the same part in the story. Once the section is over, players part ways and continue on their own campaigns.
The campaigns themselves vary slightly in style. Leon's feels a bit slower and more overwhelming. The zombies are more of the traditional variety, ammo is scarce, and the environments are usually dark and cramped. Chris's campaign is more reminiscent of Resident Evil 5; larger bright outdoor environments, mutated human like enemies, and plenty of big guns and ammo to play with. Jake's campaign is something of a hybrid of the two, though his speciality is hand to hand combat, so the fighting can be more melee focused. All three campaigns have their own unique HUD and interface, which creates the feeling that you are playing a separate Resident Evil game with each successive campaign. Finally there's a fourth campaign which runs through Ada Wong's story, it is a single player only affair (though upcoming DLC will change that) and focused on more stealth style gameplay while arming you with a crossbow.