Preview: Fun And Engaging Multiplayer In Resident Evil 6

There’s nothing like starting your day by putting a bullet in a zombie’s head. And that's exactly what I did as I had the chance to go hands on with some of Resident Evil 6’s new Multiplayer modes which looks to bring a little more excitement to the title’s online features.

So to begin with, Predator mode is an intriguing one and looks to be my most favourite due to the high stakes and its unpredictability. In this mode, one player takes control of the Ustanak and tries to eliminate the other human players. Sounds simple right? Sure it would be but did I forget to mention that the Ustanak is almost invincible and can hold you hostage for the entire game! On top of the fact that it can throw you at your team mates and has a run speed that strikes fear into your heart as you hear the heavy steps behind you and witness the screen shaking. It’s all about teamwork here and as long as you look out for those playing with you, you’ll come out victorious in the end. This mode can be played with up to 6 people with each person having the chance to control the Ustanak. You can gain points by landing hits on it via weapons or melee even though technically you’re not really hurting it and once the entire lobby has been given a go, the person with the most points win.

Survivors Mode takes the classic one vs one and team based mode but adds a pretty surprising twist. If you get killed, you’ll respawn as an enemy character with the added ability to attack the human ones. Let’s just say that trying to catch a human character with a zombie won’t be a walk in the park but when it happens, it makes for some pretty hilarious moments. If you can perform such a feat, you will regain your human form so essentially the last human or team standing wins. What’s funny here is that at the beginning, everyone starts out as the human character they chose, however the only way you can take someone down is by finishing them with a melee attack but the use of a weapon can go a long way in giving you the advantage by weakening opponents.

Onslaught has two players go head to head as they try to clear waves of enemies from the screen. The idea here is to get as many consecutive kills as possible in which you then send those enemies over to your opponent’s side. The more that are sent over, the quicker you’ll reach victory however being on the receiving end can prove difficult yet challenging at the same time. Saving up those kills and sending them over at a higher count will mean a headache for your opponent as he/she will have to deal with some of the more… let’s just say, tougher to kill enemies. You do have items in the environment around you that can be of use such as explosive barrels however what I believe is more important is to have a good plan or strategy and think one or two steps ahead.

Overall, I really enjoyed playing the new modes as each has its own uniqueness to it that makes it both fun and engaging. Make sure to download the add-on content for Resident Evil 6 when it’s released on December 18th exclusively first for Xbox 360 with each mode priced at 320 Microsoft Points. Or buy it together as a bundle for 720 Microsoft Points.