GameHoof.com

Developer Slant Six Games
Capcom
Publisher Capcom
Director Adam Bullied
Producer Masachika Kawata
Series Resident Evil
Platform PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows
Release date Q4 2011
Genre Third-person shooter
Mode Single-player, multiplayer

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is an upcoming 2012 third-person shooter video game for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows, co-developed by Slant Six Games and Capcom, and currently scheduled for a release in late 2011. It is part of the Resident Evil series.

Plot

The events of Operation Raccoon City take place between that of Resident Evil 1 and Resident Evil 2, and is set in Raccoon City, whose residents have been turned into zombies after an outbreak of the T-virus, a biological weapon illegally developed by the pharmaceutical company Umbrella. The story is a reinterpretation of the events occured in the original games, changing certain facts in the series. Players will take the role of either an officer of the Umbrella Security Service (USS), or a member of a United States Special Operations task-force. Both have vastly different objectives: Members of the USS are tasked with destroying evidence of Umbrella’s illegal activities, including killing survivors of the outbreak, while the Special Operations team has to expose the actions of the company. Operation Raccoon City will allow the player to make decisions that could have major repercussions on the series’ storyline, such as causing the death of Resident Evil 2 protagonist Leon S. Kennedy

Gameplay

Capcom first shows us the game’s story campaign, which can be played with up to four players or “alone” with AI in tow. It’s a campaign based on cooperation and if you’re thinking, “Oh, it’s Capcom’s Left 4 Dead in third person” then you’re not that far off. That parallel is easy to draw, and while it’s certainly a reasonably conclusion to come to, it’s not entirely fair.

Operation Raccoon City introduces us to four mysterious Umbrella operatives, each with his or her own abilities. Vector is the game’s stealth-based character; he’s the recon class of the team, and can use a “mimicry” ability to assume other human shapes. Bertha is the game’s female character, the medic class of the team; like the rest of team, little is known about her, but she carries some pretty sharp tools (is that a bone saw?), if that tells you anything. Beltway appears to be the tank of the group; he enjoys blowing stuff up, so he’ll bring frag mines alone for the ride. Finally, Spectre is the team’s Sam Fisher, with Splinter Cell-like goggles with different vision modes and access to more detailed map information.

While Capcom didn’t have an actual chunk of story to show us, the small demo area gave us a good idea of what to expect. The city streets are littered with zombies, and the game’s fast, third-person action encourages aggressively taking them out. Head shots will see undead skulls exploding like melons; there’s even a limb-specific damage mode that had arms flopping to the ground.

Melee attacks are also encouraged, and as I found later in the game’s multiplayer mode (which I’ll get to in a bit), are surprisingly useful. The melee action is all mapped to a single button, but tapping it rhythmically will unleash a string of combos. At certain points, you’ll have the opportunity to launch into a finisher maneuver, and will be prompted on screen for a quick button press. If you want to stab a zombie in the neck and then kick them down to the ground with a big boot, or to stomp on a zombies skull, this is the way you’ll do it.

The streets of Raccoon City aren’t just flooded with zombies, either. At one point, opposing military enter the fray, and the poor zombies are caught in the cross fire. What this means is that you’re not only facing undead creatures, but heavily-armed opposition as well. Oh, and don’t forget the typical Resident Evil Bio-Organic Weapon creatures that intend to make your life miserable, as well.

While there’s a clear emphasis on third-person action, the game’s producers claim the scares are still there. It’s not full throttle action all of the time; if you pass any windows, brace yourself for dogs to jump through them, I guess.

Players won’t only get points for killing opposing team members in typical deathmatch style, though. Points will also be rewarded for killing zombies, with more points being awarded for headshots, and larger creatures are worth even more. Another twist: when you’re “bleeding out” and near death, undead creatures will “smell” it and swarm you because you’re an easy target. Shooting opposing team members to the point of bleeding out and then allowing them to get ravaged can also earn you big points, as well.

Out this year, the core of Operation Raccoon City is there, and there’s potential for a fun third-person action title based in the Resident Evil universe. It looks great, probably the grittiest game in the series to date. But it also doesn’t feel anything like a Resident Evil game you’ve played before, and while that may upset long-time fans who abhor change, it’s not the worst thing in the context of what Capcom’s trying to do with Operation Raccoon City.

Control- and feel-wise, it’s closer to a third-person shooter like, oh I don’t know, let’s say Sony’s SOCOM series. Not too shocking: Capcom is working hand-in-hand with Slant Six Games, whose previous experience includes working on Sony’s popular third-person military shooter.

Oddly, not a single member of Slant Six was on-hand to talk about the game. Instead, the game’s Japanese developers presented the title and answered all questions. When asked about Slant Six’s input, it was made to sound like Capcom Japan is responsible for the bulk of the creative decisions on the game, making sure it remains true to the Resident Evil vibe. But the fact that the game feels like a Western-shooter seems to indicate Slant Six’s involvement is more on the game mechanics side of things.

Official Gameplay Trailler

Bonus: Operation Raccoon City is in the running for “Best Loading Screen in a Game” for 2011. The screen in question featured a close up on a severed zombie arm, lying in a pool of shiny, fresh blood. The fingers on the arm’s hand twitched intermittently, and flies could be seen buzzing around a wound on the forearm. Yummy.