HomeMain MenuPreviewsResident Evil: Operation Racoon City Hands On Preview

Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City Hands On Preview

We were lucky enough to be invited to Capcom’s Ultimate Capcom Showcase earlier this month and alongside a bunch of other amazing titles, the one that was the most surprising for me was Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City. In all honesty, I’ve had some doubts for this game, but upon trying out the ‘verses’ multiplayer, I can confidently put all these worries to rest. Guys, this game has one hell of a multiplayer and is definitely something to be excited about! Filled with frantic and fun action, this is one hell of an epic third person shooter that’s certainly going to get a lot of love on the PlayStation Network/Xbox Live.

Before I do speak a word on this game however, I need you to do me a favour: take everything you know about Resident Evil and chuck it out the window. Laters! This is not your slow-paced typical horror RE title. This spin-off is letting you do what you’ve always wanted to do: cause a ruckus and blow some zombie brains out! While the controls aren’t too different from say RE 4 or 5, there are some obvious changes that make combat much more deeper, resulting in a more a faster-paced, action packed third-person shooter. So take out all that suspenseful, boring stuff…the multiplayer here is about killing dudes-and that’s exactly what you want to do when your online, right?!

Visually speaking, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City has everything you want in a Zombie game, and while it does take place during some of the more classic titles, playing as the ‘evil’ Umbrella Corporation this time completely changes the atmosphere. The motto here should be “don’t be a wuss” because your never screaming at one zombie…your yelling in triumph as you unleash hell on hordes of zombies, AND other dudes shooting at you. Multiplayer accomplishes what no previous Resident Evil title has done before (although RE6 may do so later this year) and that’s make it actually feel like your smack dead in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. You’ve got innocent bystanders running around for safety and getting in the way while hordes of zombies chase them. You’ve got cities on fire, chaos surrounding you and high-def blood & gore everywhere you turn. It’s just like a typical zombie movie, and not like those sucky RE ones either where people do silly martial arts to fight zombies, I’m talking about the good stuff like Dawn of the Dead where your town has gone to hell and if you stop shooting your probably going to die! In one particular mode you even have to race towards an escape helicopter to evacuate the city, which not only makes for fun competitive play but also is a nice throwback to many plot points in various zombie films & games.

That all being said however, amazingly this title still stays true to it’s roots effectively. You still run out of ammo and need lots of green herbs, so that survival horror element still remains throughout. However amongst fighting for your life against zombies, you’ve got other humans shooting at you as well (because your the bad guy, remember?) so this competitive element of gameplay only enhances the survival element of RE, making it even more intense. My biggest concern for Operation Racoon City judging by trailers was mostly “what if it becomes TOO chaotic?”, but once I got my hands on the controller I felt totally in control. Yes a lot was going on, but if that wasn’t happening it’d probably piss me off. I mean come on, if I’m playing a game where the setting is a zombie outbreak, I want it to look and feel like hell on earth, and oh boy….this game delivers!

But don’t take my word for it, find our yourself and get in on the awesome multiplayer action yourself when the game comes out March 22nd!

Matthew Vella
Matthew Vellahttp://www.facebook.com/mattvellaftw
Matt Vella. Capsule Computers' Community Manager. I say 'Laters' a lot.