I don't know why, but I expect this to be deleted. I was having a pretty good talk with VicViper_Leo about Resident Evil games, and the thought occurred to me that maybe there should be a thread for Resident Evil games. If it gets deleted, I don't really mind, this was a whim. If it doesn't get deleted, let's all have some good discussion about Resident Evil that does not include the movies written by Paul WS Anderson.

I got into the Resident Evil franchise by playing Resident Evil 4, the first RE game I played... and I fell in love with it.

I thought it was genius, and thoroughly enjoyed playing through the campaign.

As such, I also thoroughly enjoyed RE5... I never really understood the hate it got though. I found it to be extremely fun especially with a friend.

RE6 on the other hand... was a disappointment to me, I played through Chris' campaign expecting an improved RE5 but all I got was Gears of war: No ammo warfare. I just played the first two chapters of Leon's campaign then dropped the game :\

I don't know about a lot of people, but to me, the problem with RE5 was the unnecessary amount of action. When I got into Resident Evil (the Director's Cut of RE1 back in 1997), the focus of the series was horror and atmosphere, and RE5 lacks both of them (replacing horror with action and atmosphere with bland backgrounds).

RE6 was a worthwhile sequel. Leon's campaign was horror and atmosphere, Chris's was balls-to-the-wall action (and, oddly enough, really big monsters), Jake's was more atmosphere and some action, Ada's was horror, atmosphere, and the series good old-fashioned puzzle solving.

I didn't mind it in RE4 when the horror was lessened and action started moving closer to the forefront, but when RE5 just dropped all horror and basically gave us a Paul WS Anderson Resident Evil game... needless to say, I was pissed.

Yeah I would understand the hate RE5 gets when it comes to that aspect... but the game as it is, is actually really solid. The gameplay is actually really fun and the elements are well-executed in my opinion.

Of course, that's coming from a guy who didn't play the first 3 games or anything else other than 4, 5 and 6 so my opinion is irrelevant

No one's opinion is irrelevant. This thread is for everybody who's a fan of Resident Evil, whether they started with 1, 4, 5, Umbrella Chronicles or even that blasphemous Gaiden (my pity goes to those people). What are you playing the series on?

If you mean what I think you mean... The first time I played RE4 was on the PS2, had a blast.

I played RE5 on the Xbox and PC, PC being the superior experience obviously.

and RE6 on the Xbox.

Well, if you had a PS3, you could have picked up the first three games on the PSN. If you've still got a PS2, you could try Amazon, though I don't know how much they'll be. If you've got a Gamecube or a Wii, the GC has Zero and a remake of RE1 which are decently priced, but RE2 and RE3 are extremely expensive.

Otherwise, your other option is the PC. You should at least check the first three out (Code: Veronica is optional; good, but optional, and one hell of a challenge).

This basically sums it up. I got into Resident Evil after watching my best friend play it. Eventually, I was able to get Resident Evil 3, which is my personal favorite, and start my own collection.

Your analysis of Resi 5 is spot on - I felt like it abandoned the elements that I found so intriguing as a kid getting into survival horror. That said, I had a blast playing through the game with my friend, certainly a fun game.

When I saw Resi 6 seemed to be going more in the action direction, I was really put off by it - I wanted my old style Resident Evil back. But, I've heard from you, and other people, that Leon's campaign in particular is supposed to be pretty good. When the game gets cheaper, I may pick it up.

Yeah I'll give it a try when I have the time, I suppose. with the PC I can basically play Gamecube, PS2 and PS1 games (and I have done that already, mind you) with an emulator.

Alright, with emulators this is how you get them:

REZero (GC)
RE1 (GC)
RE2 (N64)
RE3 (PS1)
RECV (PS2)

Zero is the prequel to RE1, so the two games are a little similar (both involve giant mansions and secret labs beneath), it stars Rebecca Chambers and Billy Coen (get to like him quick, you're never gonna see him again).

The Gamecube RE1 is a remake, and the current canonical version of RE1. It also, as far as I'm concerned, has the best graphics in the series (surpassing 5 and 6, even). This stars Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine in their first anti-BOW adventure.

RE2 on the N64 has worse CG cutscenes and sound than the PS1/GC versions, but it has extra files to fill out the story. Stars Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield. Play as Claire first.

RE3 starts off before RE2 and ends after, but playing it this way doesn't really do anything. Play RE2 first, that way when the city is nuked at the end, it doesn't feel weird to go back. Stars Jill Valentine and (briefly) Carlos Olivieria.

RECV is called Code Veronica X on the PS2 and the Gamecube. I've heard that the GC version has better graphics, but considering the PS3/360 upscaling doesn't look much better than the PS2, I'm not certain I believe that. Stars Claire Redfield, (briefly) Steve Burnside, then finally Chris Redfield, and it introduces Super Wesker.

There's a 3DS game called Revelations, which stars Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine between RE4 and RE5. That you can probably get away with watching on YouTube.

A DVD movie called Degeneration stars Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield in a small US town being attacked by terrorists with the T-virus.

A second DVD movie called Damnation stars Leon S. Kennedy in an Eastern European country (not Edonia) which is being attacked by bioterrorists. It's currently the only part of the canon Resident Evil franchise I haven't seen yet.