A Date with the Rasklapanje

                On October 2^nd “Resident Evil 6” was released as part of the long-running survival-horror franchise of the same name.  Ever since the game’s release I have been playing it constantly.  When looking back on the franchise’s roots, the game has changed so much from the tank controls and confined nature of the first.  I love the new action oriented direction of the franchise but there is a schism amongst fans that features a very adamant group who abhor it.  This group does not seem to understand that franchises have to adapt to stay fresh, so with a franchise that has been around as long as “Resident Evil” there is going to be a lot of changes.  Even with the abandonment of a straight survival-horror experience, “Resident Evil 6” had at least one sequence that had me at the edge of my seat.

Resident Evil 6 title screen.

                In Chapter 4 of Chris Redfield’s campaign I found myself searching the confines of an abandoned aircraft carrier off the coast of China with my partner Piers Nivans (or in the case of my human co-op partner, Will Browne).  Eventually we came upon a locked door requiring three keycards in order to grant us access.  Walking further down the hallway, we found the first key card next to a man lying in a pool of his own blood.  After picking up the card and turning to walk down the steps, we were greeted with a gruesome sight.

Let the Rasklapanje make out session begin!

                At the bottom of the steps was a Bio Organic Weapon called a Rasklapanje.  This BOW is a tall skinny looking creature with grey, glossy skin.  This creature was participating in what I have kindly denoted as a Rasklapanje make out session with a navy officer.  The navy officer was being straddled by the Rasklapanje as it proceeded to make out with his forehead not his face.  Blood sprayed everywhere while the creature’s huge tenacle tongue thing with razor sharp teeth burrowed through his forehead and ate his brain (further solidifying the brain eating stereotype of zombie-like monsters).  As the Rasklapanje finally finished and leaned up from his now ex-lover, it let out a high pitched screech that I could only take as a sigh of the utmost satisfaction and set its eyes on me and my partner.  To make matters even worse, apparently make out sessions with a Rasklapanje cause pregnancy even in males because the ex-lover began to convulse and a Rasklapanje burst forth from his abdomen.

"I just want to be loved!"

                Now after some investigating I found out that Rasklapanje is actually the Serbo-Croation word for “dismantling” or “to break apart.”  This became drastically clear when the two BOW’s attacked us.  One quick shotgun blast to the stomach and the first attacker was split at the midsection with his upper torso flopping onto the floor.  Any moment of success that we felt in this moment was immediately crushed as the torso and legs continued to approach us.  Repeated shotgun blasts later to both halves of the creatures caused them to turn an off white color and cease their attack, but they were far from dead.  They continued to let out grunting sounds and shake, almost as if they were just recharging.

The upper body of a Rasklapanje after it splits into two halves.

                The investigation for the keycards takes place in a mess hall area of the ship that forced us through confined blood spattered corridors with four of these creatures incessantly following us the whole time.  Like a real navy carrier ship there are a lot of rooms and hallways all in a confusing labyrinth style layout, so getting lost is a high possibility.  This happened to us or, more specifically, Will.  While I sprinted off in search of the keycard, he demanded the checking of every room available.  This forced us to be separated from each other in flashlight lit hallways while four unstoppable killing machines were stalking us.  To make matters even worse we were dangerously low on ammo.  The events that ensued were basically a lot of screaming and swearing as we ran around trying to find each other to no avail.  Finally I decided to wait in a room for Will to run past, but I was greeted instead by a Rasklapanje.

"My, what a big mouth you have, Rasklapanje."
"All the better to eat you with, my dear."

                The creature walked menacingly towards me in the glow of my flashlight and I could tell that he wanted to make me the father of another one of his twisted offspring.  I screamed and gripped the controller tighter in my hand as my palms began to sweat.  I had to run past him.  All I had was pistol ammo and it would take a ridiculous amount of that to stun him.  I prepped myself to sprint past, and as I took my first step the boat shifted so I was momentarily stunned as the creature lunged forward.  I let out a terrified prepubescent screech as the monster barely missed allowing me to run past.  Entering the hallway greeted me with the sight of another Rasklapanje stalking towards me, but I turned tail and ran the other way thankfully meeting up with Will in the process.  “Not your baby daddy today,” I yelled at the screen as we ran for the exit.  Unfortunately there was at least another ten minutes of us trying to find the exit as we ran from these monsters in the labyrinth of the mess hall.  When we eventually made it back to the keycard door we were completely exhausted and frantic to escape and end the chapter. 

Anyone who has not played “Resident Evil 6” is not allowed to say the game has no scary moments.  This tiny 20 minute stretch is one full of tension completely reminiscent of the old games.  The focus may be more on run and gun gameplay now but moments like this still pop-up in the game from time to time and I feel like the rarity makes them even more rewarding now.  “Resident Evil 6” is a great game and I look forward to playing it more and more in the days to come.

Have you played “Resident Evil 6” yet?  Did you find yourself wetting your pants at any moment in the game?  Let me know in the comments and give me a shout on Twitter if you enjoy what you’re reading so far.  I am @nevstorm5 and I constantly tweet about nerdy things for my own entertainment.  Until next time, folks!