Can Cliffy B. fix Resident Evil?

Resident Evil 6 is completely terrible. Between this and Operation Raccoon City, there's a lot of discussion that the series is in need of something drastic to fix it. It's certainly a valid argument that the franchise could use a fresh set of eyes on it, but is Cliffy B., The man behind Unreal & Gears of War the guy to do it? He certainly thinks so. I certainly think Cliffy could put his own spin on the Resident Evil formula and it could be interesting and successful. But what he could not do is basically make Gears of War with zombies. Cliffy certainly knows how to do grim shooters really well and maybe RE could use some of that, but at it's heart it's never been about putting lots and lots of bullets in undead things. The best examples of the series (namely Resident Evil 4 & also Code Veronica in my opinion). It's a game about survival with at least somewhat limited resources. You've never really felt like a badass in a good Resident Evil game, you feel like you barely get through most encounters. That's pretty much the opposite of Unreal & Gears of War. Sure in Gears you fight against an oppressively invading alien horde, but you still feel like a badass while doing so. If Cliffy B. can bring something new to the table while maintaining that essential RE feeling, I hope Capcom takes him up on it.

Today may be the biggest single release day of the year gamewise, as the sheer number of titles are mind-boggling. But easily the most noteworthy is the latest entry in the Assassin's Creed franchise. It may say III, but hell this is the 5th main game and actually the 8th if you count the portable entries. People at first bemoaned the drastic change in setting to Colonial America (no gigantic buildings to dive off of!) but after all the previous games looking extremely similar, maybe a drastic change was needed to keep it fresh. We even have a new protoganist in Connor, who is half Native American. It also features naval battles, which seems like an odd turn just because you think one assassin wouldn't be much use when boats are firing cannonballs at each other. I've honestly never been able to get into this series, but I certainly at least intend on giving the Wii U version a shot so I'll see if this is new direction is what finally has me invested in it.

A couple years ago, I said a LOTR lego game would be at the top of my list for the next Lego title. Maybe if little to nothing of Lego games had come out in the interim, today's release would be a welcome occasion. But we've had several in that time and now frankly I feel bored with them. I now Lego games aren't necessarily aimed at guys my age. They are dependable family entertainment. I'm sure kids will love it. But this series could've been a lot more and it's a shame that Traveler's Tales has settled for the lazy cash in route when it could've been something special.

Ok that's it for today, until next time, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Evil Dead