I've seen a couple of threads on this subject but I don't see those threads right now and this time, I'm on my PC so I can finally comment.
Dino Crisis. Dead Rising. Devil May Cry. These three series are what happened when Capcom tried to make a more action oriented Resident Evil and, for the most part, they were successful. You got your Resident Evil action game and your Resident Evil sandbox gamer right there. Two popular genres covered and three new franchises created. Operation Raccoon City was another attempt at making Resident Evil something it wasn't. Now, we have our squad based shooter Resident Evil. If I'm not mistaken, it was embraced with open arms and is a game of the year candidate.
I can't hate Capcom for trying to gain more success but I just can't figure out why they feel the need to slowly evolve Resident Evil from what it once was into something it never should be. Just make a new franchise. It's not like they haven't done it before. Let RE rest for a while! Since '96, we have Resident Evil as:
-survival horror (RE0-RE3/ Code Veronica)
- fighting game characters (MvC2-UMvC3)
-Online Co-Op (RE: Outbreak)
-Action Adventure (RE4-RE5)
-Squad based shooter (RE ORC)
-FPS/Rail Shooter (RE Gun Survivor, Dead Aim, Chronicles)
-Shit Simulator (Resident Evil movies)
-Cooking games (Cooking Mama and Eating Her)
Why is there no Resident Evil Kart Racer? That genre sells very well, right? Why not slap the RE name on that and roll with it? I just don't get why Capcom feels that THIS series has to be everything to everybody. Is it the incredible storyline? Is it the amazing characters? No. The RE universe is a convoluted mess and all of the characters are the same character with different hair. Billy Coen is Leon Kennedy is Chris Redfield. Claire is Jill is Rebecca. It isn't the characters or the story that we loved. It was the fear.
Now don't get me wrong. I really liked RE4 and RE5. The series stopped being Resident Evil a long time ago. If I fell into a coma in 1998 and woke up in 2012 and played RE6, I wouldn't even recognize the series. It's like that quote from the Simpsons when an old Homer and Marge were in bed watching TV. Marge says "Fox turned into a hardcore sex channel so gradually, nobody even noticed." What is RE turning into?
