Between 2005 and 2010, Capcom created two entries to their second Resident Evil trilogy. Resident Evil 4 would be seen as the golden standard for action horror with its quick-time events, the horrors of an isolated village, humorous dialogue, and mob-shooting action. Following in its footsteps is Resident Evil 5 with an added two-player co-op campaign. Then in 2012, Resident Evil 6 would become the ending of Resident Evil’s 2nd Trilogy. In its prime, many of the Resident Evil Community disliked the game for steering away from its horror roots and highly focused on the action of the 4-story campaign. Yet 12 years later, RE6 Online Players have kept it alive.

The Hatred For Resident Evil 6

I recently revisited the game last year with a friend who is a Resident Evil fan. I was shocked once they told me they had never played this game because most of the RE Community hated it during its release. After playing through all the campaigns, including being the imaginary agent in Ada Wong’s campaign, I discovered why loyal fans hated this game.

Messy Gameplay Variety

In Resident Evil 6’s four-story campaign, each has a character duo with their unique playstyle. These campaigns are set in a linear level layout with a specific gameplay style in mind.

Leon: The first story follows Resident Evil 4’s Leon S. Kennedy, who works for the US Division of Security Operations (DSO) in 2013. He gets caught in an assassination plot against a long-time friend and US president in the Resident Evil universe, Adam Bradford. Leon arrives with his partner, US Secret Service agent Helena Harper, at Ivy University Administration’s Office in Tall Oaks.

Leon hesitated his aim at the now-infected President Bradford, reminded of the Raccoon City Incident he faced fifteen years ago. He shoots him in the head, then reports to his Field Operator, Hunnigan. Helena quickly explained in detail that Bradford was already infected with the C-Virus.

Helena then tells Leon they must head to the Cathedral if Leon wants to learn why Ivy University was targeted after his speech assembly to discuss terrorist defense policies against bioweapons (B.O.Ws). The campaign soon becomes classic Resident Evil mixed with RE4 as Helena and Leon escape Ivy University.

Chris: Our next story brings back Resident Evil’s BSAA soldier, Chris Redfield. Chris is severely dealing with the loss of the Alpha squad in the Endonian War in 2012. During the fight against the J’avo and the B.O.Ws, Ada Wong ambushed and mutated them with the Chrysalids bomb containing needles with the C-Virus inside.

Six months pass by when his partner, Private Piers NIvans, finds Chris partially drunk in an Edonian bar. He shows the photos of the Alpha squad to remind him of the day it happened. This campaign sends the player to play in Chris’ flashback where the gameplay becomes Call of Duty played in third-person.

Jake: The third campaign features the return of Resident Evil 2’s Sherry Birkin, the daughter of Umbrella’s scientist couple William and Annette Birkin. She’s now 26 years old and working as a DSO agent under Derek C. Simmons. In Edonia, she finds mercenary Jake Muller who took an injection of the C-Virus given by a strange dealer.

Seeing how he did not turn into a J’avo like the other mercenaries in the building, Sherry confirms and explains that he has the antibodies to fight the C-Virus. Jake asked her why and Sherry responded that the C-Virus had spread around Edonia at a rapid pace. With his antibodies, it can create a vaccine.

He will agree to the terms if the DSO can provide $50 million US dollars for his blood samples. The campaign mixes close-quarter combat with Jake and Sherry’s melee playstyle and stealth for sections in enemy surveillance areas.

Ada: Last but not least, we have Resident Evil’s favorite double agent, Ada Wong. Ada was sent out to infiltrate a submarine to search for classified information under Simmons’ orders. She uncovered the files containing a secret operation of Neo Umbrella and The Family making a clone of her in Edonia.

There were also files of The Family keeping surveillance on Jake Muller with the incentive to capture and use his antibodies for lab testing. The campaign combines RE4’s Separate Ways with spy espionage requiring stealth and puzzle-solving.

As the player progresses into each campaign, the gameplay becomes more action-orientated as the main cast enters Langshiang, China for their assigned missions. This is where many Resident Evil players began to pull away from RE6 because the game’s development felt fast-paced and stripped away the fright from the monsters considered a threat.

The Chris and Jake campaigns show how relevant the pacing is in the story that the players can barely keep track of what’s happening on their screen. Even my friend was turned off by certain moments like the Avalanche Getaway that happened out of nowhere because Capcom wanted to show off vehicle driving.

The C-Virus’ Lack Of Zombies

One of the complaints about Resident Evil 6 revolves around C-Virus creating a lack of zombies. Since RE4 and RE5, Capcom has introduced a new terrifying enemy type where the infected can use weapons to harm the player. In this game, plenty of enemies can use weapons because of the C-Virus’ capabilities.

According to Resident Evil lorekeepers, the C-Virus was produced by combining two previous viruses developed under Umbrella. The first is t-Veronica from Resident Evil 2’s survivor, Manuela Hidalgo as the virus was used to treat her degenerative disease. Simmons retrieves her blood sample since Hidalgo is under US government protection after the 2002 Amparo Raid.

The other is the G-virus, which infected Sherry and her father, William Birkin. Thanks to Claire following her mother Annette’s instructions, Claire managed to vaccinate the young girl before she became a B.O.W. After the Raccoon City Incident, Sherry was placed under the care of then-American civil servant Simmons and his lover, Carla Radames collected her samples during lab testing.

With their infection properties combined, C-Virus can mutate living beings in two ways. Mutation by injection will cause its host to become violent and control their bodily functions to wield weapons and communicate. Mutation by gas will infect the host into Zombies spreading the infection by their bite.

The virus later improved once combined with Jake’s antibodies creating Enhanced-C, reviving the infected into cocoons. In a minute, it soon recreates the B.O.W’s form of a giant creature. Sometimes, when the player drains the enemy’s health to low, they may mutate their arms extending their reach to the player from medium range, or can become a monstrous claw to take a third of the player’s health.

Almost all of RE6’s enemies are infected by the C-Virus injection until near the endgame unless you are playing Leon’s campaign. However, Capcom did this intentionally for their online multiplayer experience, specifically with Agent Hunt.

Agent Hunt

Resident Evil 6 introduced the concept of online play in open campaign lobbies, allowing Agent Hunt. While online co-op players are progressing the story, they may notice some enemies or a survivor will have a username above their head.

This allowed players, or Agents, to attack or assist campaign players. Because there were rarely sections with human survivors, Capcom updated this mechanic for Agents to play as enemies only. Soon, RE6 grew a cult following for online play including the multiplayer modes that will utilize Agent Hunt.

Capcom’s Online Multiplayer RE6 Experience

The RE community kept this game alive for 12 years for the multiplayer modes with ongoing events. You can find information about these events on the Resident Evil Portal. Here are the top 3 modes RE6 players play and compete online.

3. Mercenaries

Returning for multiplayer is Resident Evil’s Mercenaries. This mode has been a staple since Resident Evil 3: Nemesis as a minigame to test your survival skills. It later added co-op in Resident 5 with the No Mercy difficulty sending hordes with frightful B.O.Ws and Enhanced Uroboros residents. 

In RE6, two Agents must work together until the BSAA helicopter arrives for your rescue. Agents must strategize and fight through hordes of enemies in waves.

On the battlefield, Agents will find green and orange spinning bars to strike. Green will extend your time limit, giving you either 30 seconds or a minute. Orange will double your point gain from enemies you defeated. 

I love this mode when I need to practice my reaction time and a character’s weapon set. Playing in No Mercy gives me a lovely rush when I find a vantage to shoot zombies from afar with Chris’ sniper rifle. While I enjoy Jake’s hand-to-hand combat for small hordes, mastering Helena’s quick shots with her shotgun Hydra is very satisfying to eradicate surrounding enemies.

If you’re new to playing Mercenaries, start on normal difficulty first. It gradually builds up the difficulty to see a player’s progress in character mastery and adapt to their environment wisely.

2. Predator

Predator is RE6’s is a team mode where 1 Agent is the terrifying B.O.W, Ustanek. The B.O.W’s mission is to score the points while knocking down the other 5 Agents. There are 6 five-minute rounds. At the end of each round, the Ustanek role will cycle to another player. This is RE6’s version of Dead by Daylight if you had one main monster to face. The Ustanek has unique skills depending on the weapon arm attachment. You get a drill by default and can pick up a shotgun attachment while running around the stage. The Ustanek can also spawn Oko in areas to detect Agents they can’t see.

The Oko will fly back and forth with a detection light in front of them. This will force Agents to use stealth to prevent detection. They work best in enclosed spaces rather than open ones. Predator mode can be terrifying as the Agents against the Ustanek must keep each other alive to prevent it from gaining the top score. A few players will dislike this mode for the Ustanek’s damage ratio. It’s a muscular monster with a light arsenal and horrifying running speed. Others may not enjoy being the Ustanek because its massive body can take up the screen.

1. Survivor

Survivor is RE6’s battle royale mode. Play up to 6 Agents as you fight for the top score of the match. Kill J’avo, B.O.Ws, and zombies to survive and destroy your opponents. The match timer is set to 5 minutes. Survivor is the most competitive and challenging out of RE6’s multiplayer. You are going up against 5 other players while surviving against an enemy horde. You can set up a lobby with PvP, or Team Matches and Stage Select. When an Agent dies, they can respawn as an enemy with their skillset and attempt to kill the remaining Agents before the timer hits 0. Depending on the stage the hosting player picks, Agents must utilize and adapt every move against their opponent. They can even use the enemy as an advantage to ambush them.

Event And Normal Rewards

There are two types of rewards Resident Evil 6 offers. Normal rewards come in the form of skill points for players to buy skills for multiplayer. Unlike RE4 and RE5 where you can upgrade your weapon stats and equip armor for defense, you save and use points for certain skills that can be used for co-op or solo play. Choose wisely for different modes as you can and are limited to three.

Event rewards offer a better reward system if you are a member of the Resident Evil Portal. You can register for free here on Resident Evil.NET. After you make an account, link your account to your copy of RE6 on the system you play on (PS4, Xbox One, Steam, or Nintendo Switch).

Capcom will provide details about the events with a start and end date on the Portal. Each event has certain objectives for you to earn medals or points. These medals or points will be collected from all participating players to reach the event’s goal.

To give it a competitive atmosphere, Capcom put in a leaderboard to show which participants have the highest rank (S to F) for RE Points from 30,000 to 5,000. The prizes allow you to unlock exclusive in-game unlockables such as character costumes and RE.NET avatar collectibles.

The Definitive Way To Play RE6

While Resident Evil is not a perfect game, it provides one of the best Resident Evil online experiences. After my friend and I finished the game together, they still enjoy RE6 as it is. Despite the gameplay confusion and messy plotline, Capcom succeeded in making a long-lasting multiplayer game. I returned to RE6 because I watched a speedrun of the Steam version from Games Done Quick 2023 on Jake’s campaign during their fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders. I was overwhelmed with joy to see people love this game let alone trying to break a world record.

It taught me about the issues of owning the Steam version before playing it with a friend. The issues with RE6 Steam are online connection and the possibility of soft locking in Jake Chapter 4. While it’s the most accessible version of this game, you will occasionally disconnect. Connecting is also awkward as you must send an invite through Steam after the hosting player starts the campaign.

If you want to experience this game at its best, pick up Resident Evil 6 for PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. For the PS4 and Xbox One versions, you can transfer the data to a PS5 and Xbox Series S. If you purchase these versions, you can unlock two exclusive character costumes for each character and all of the DC in one package.

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