Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

[Zombie Fred]

Resident Evil™: Operation Raccoon City (PC, XBOX 360, PS3) delivers a true third person team based shooter experience set within the dark and sinister Resident Evil universe and a reinterpretation of the events depicted in Resident Evil™ 2 and Resident Evil™ 3. The setting of the Resident Evil universe not only provides a rich backdrop to the action but delivers a unique and thrilling triple threat battle. Zombies and Bio-Organic Weapons (B.O.W’s) add to the mix as players not only compete against an opposing squad but also tackle this third unpredictable element, creating a brand new style of gameplay and breaking the conventions of traditional team based shooters.

It is September 1998 and the action centres once more on the ill-fated Raccoon City and the horrific consequences of the deadly T-virus outbreak from the Umbrella facility. With a cover up required, Umbrella orders an elite team into Raccoon City to destroy all evidence of the outbreak and eliminate any survivors. Hearing of this plan, the US Government dispatches its own special forces to uncover any evidence that exposes the cause of the viral infection and Umbrella’s actions. Players take on the role of an Umbrella Security Services soldier (U.S.S.), competing alone or in four player co-op in a battle against all the competing forces at play in Raccoon City.

Expect the return of original Resident Evil enemies, iconic landmarks such as the Raccoon City Police Department and fan favourite characters, including Leon S. Kennedy, who as a rookie police officer in Raccoon City is on your hit list to eliminate. Players will experience a retelling of classic moments from past titles Resident Evil™ 2 and Resident Evil™ 3 and watch the events unfolding from the menacing perspective of the Umbrella Security Service, giving fans the chance to rewrite the history of the Raccoon City outbreak.

In addition, Resident Evil™: Operation Raccoon City will deliver a number of competitive online multiplayer modes. Each one of these will provide a unique gaming experience thanks to the three way combat between the Umbrella Security Service, US Special Ops and threat of zombies and B.O.W’s that could only exist in the deadly and twisted Resident Evil Universe.

Updated information

- One of the main missions of the game is to “kill Leon” thus signifying the ability to change the history of Resident Evil.

- You’re able to use enemies (like zombies) as cover even while moving.

- Like other third-person shooters you’ll also be able to take cover behind objects like stationary vehicles.

- The game will pay respects to the classic titles (Resident Evil 2 and 3) by bringing back that sense of horror that’s been missing.

- The base inspiration for the foundation of the game is noted as being Resident Evil 2.

- We’ll get more insight towards Mr. X before he was sent to Raccoon City to pursue Leon/ Claire.

- Leon is your main prey throughout the game (in regards to the USS team)

- Previous controls have been abandoned in place for a more modern control set akin to today’s third-person shooters.

- Capcom is behind such a change in game-play and this is why they approached Slant Six over the development of such a project.

- As aforementioned you’ll be able to grab enemies and use them as cover which will add to the game’s team-based strategic style.

- We’re going to get a very dark look at the classic city in the game with new and iconic locales.

- The end of the demo showed off a battle with Mr. X.

- The USS team takes their inspiration largely from Mr. Death himself, the 4th survivor Hunk. The team is also situated on Rockfort Island which is another locale fans recognize.

- Hunters and Lickers are confirmed and they’ll be able to also mow down zombies if they’re in the way of their destruction.

- Operation Raccoon City will let players see the story of the Resident Evil universe (pre-RE4) from a whole new perspective.

- Shooting lights will be one of the mechanics in the game and doing so will help you stay clear of zombies due to them being attracted to said light.

- Environments will have destructible objects for you to use agains the hordes of zombies.

- Capcom remains silent over topics relating to the game’s multiplayer mode and what other surprises the game’s story may have for players. We’ll likely hear more about this game at E3 so stay tuned.

The producer of RE:ORC talks about the why of this title, and the future of the RE series

Question: Did you set the game in Raccoon City to strongly anchor it to the rest of the series?

Capcom Producer: For us, it's about a new direction for RE. It's kind of a spin-off. That's why it doesn't have a number. It's not necessarily entirely in the canon, but it's totally immersed in the mythology.

Question: Why did you choose this part of the timeline?

Capcom Producer: Raccoon City is emblematic of the series for players, and it's well adapted to this genre of gameplay--the design, the roads, the urban structure.

Question: Why a team-based third person shooter?

Capcom Producer: As you know it's our fifteenth anniversary, which is a long time for a video game series... bottom of this answer cut off by watermark. Some players came to the series when it made a turn towards action (still with horror elements, though). This design led the series towards TPS. How do you attract shooter fans? ...
... continued... Coop, Multiplayer... These are particularly important aspects. So it was important for us to do them. I want to clarify something, even though it's a shooter, there are still tons of horror elements.

Question: Why use an external developer? Why Slant Six?

Capcom Producer: The idea came up when we were working on Lost Planet 2. We didn't have any other teams internally to work on it. Western studios are known for their ease of development, and in terms of gameplay, this genre. Slant Six... we just bought a studio in Vancouver (Blue Castle) and when we were looking for external partners... Blue Castle talked with Slant Six, and they were well known for their online games and their coding skills. We met them and they were big RE fans. A good starting point!

Question: Will projects (the words here are "Will these components...") from now on be primarily Western developed?

Capcom Producer: Shooters are very popular in US/Europe. RE is still popular in Japan. Thus we've continued with this episode to try to interest Japanese players. Besides, this isn't just a TPS game... covered by watermark...

Question: Who worked on ("How did you work on...") the artistic design for the project? It seems darker than the last ones.

Capcom Producer: All the artistic designs came from my team and I. Here we wanted something dirtier. In previous games we spent a lot of time working on lighting and shadows (RE5 for example). Because it takes place at night, this game requires us to look at lighting. It's a natural evolution for our work. Because of the limited capabilities of the PS1, it was impossible to go very far with this concept. Besides that, there's also blood and gore! In RE we can't push it like in Dead Rising... which views itself as a comedy.

Question: Are zombies a part of Capcom's DNA?

Capcom Producer: Obviously! A huge number of the creators of the series are zombie fans, and they wanted to make them move realistically... more realistically than before. For example if you hurt a zombie but don't kill it, he will attract others who come to put it in pieces... We imagined some unique behaviours for this game.

Question: Survival horror doesn't sell very well, except for Dead Space 2. Is going towards a full shooter a natural evolution for the series?

Capcom Producer: In terms of sales, survival horror isn't as popular as it once was. Having said that, I love Dead Space. Besides this game, I am working on a survival horror game. We aren't making this game to run away from survival horror, but to bring new challenges to the world of Resident Evil. I wouldn't say it's a natural evolution as much as I always wanted to do something a little different.

Question: In the survival horror genre, Dead Space succeeds at doing better than most of the founders of the genre, including Resident Evil. So expectations have been raised...

Capcom Producer: We have to work harder because of titles like Dead Space, to be as interesting as possible. Plus, the franchise as a whole has its own unique problems that must be solved. Our fans are also our critics, for example with RE5. Also I wouldn't directly compare RE and DS. But it's always great to see the genre be popular, it's inspiring. Yeah, there's a future for the genre!

I thought it'd be nice to have a thread on this now, now it is comfirmed, and this can soon become a hub for discussion on this title. At least down the line this thread can be used for the game, in terms of who wants to play online (console, username, etc). Let the speculation and debates begin.

[Stu]

No barcodes? Hmmmmmmmm...

[Darkmoon]

I said it in the other thread, but I have two concerns - first of all, this read like taking as many elements from as many crticically acclaimed games as they can get. If they add sandbox they'll have got them all. I don't know if it will work very well. But here's to hoping Capcom manage to pull it off.

And secondly, I'm worried this means they have no idea where to take the series now. But we'll see eventually, I suppose.

[Stu]

And secondly, I'm worried this means they have no idea where to take the series now. But we'll see eventually, I suppose.

I wouldn't worry about that too much. I would take something like Revelations more seriously than something that is so obviously a spinoff title.

[Darkmoon]

So is Revelations. Five games comming out...three spinoffs, two of which are set before RE5 and one which is Mercs. And two ports. Mercs may have some story that's interesting, but I'm not holding my breath. Damnation may also be of interest, but I assume it'll be the same as Degeneration...a few cool points but no real hint as to where things are going.

[Stu]

A game starring Chris and Jill, taking place between 4 and 5 adding to the existing story? Hardly a spinoff surely?

[Darkmoon]

If it was set after RE5? Sure. But it's set before RE5, so what can they add? Umbrella are dicks? We know that. Tricell are dicks? Then why didn't Chris know that during RE5? That Alex Wesker will be dashing, brilliant, super powerful and way more evil than Albert, really, we're honest here, he eats kittens (unless you like kittens)? We know that because Capcom games are written by 11 year old fanboys.

I might be wrong, but as far as I can tell, it's simply gonna be a side story. It might be a good side story, like Survivor (say what you will about the rest of the game, the story was one of the better ones by Capcom...even with the amnesia bullshit) but most likely, in the course of things, it won't reveal anything new or exicting.

[News Bot]

If it was set after RE5? Sure. But it's set before RE5, so what can they add? Umbrella are dicks? We know that. Tricell are dicks? Then why didn't Chris know that during RE5? That Alex Wesker will be dashing, brilliant, super powerful and way more evil than Albert, really, we're honest here, he eats kittens (unless you like kittens)? We know that because Capcom games are written by 11 year old fanboys.

I might be wrong, but as far as I can tell, it's simply gonna be a side story. It might be a good side story, like Survivor (say what you will about the rest of the game, the story was one of the better ones by Capcom...even with the amnesia bullshit) but most likely, in the course of things, it won't reveal anything new or exicting.

Revelations takes place in 2005. Umbrella was gone completely in 2003 (with its last subsidiary company, Umbrella Japan, going bust in 2004). Tricell haven't come up yet.

It will most likely be a stand-alone terrorist thing, similar to Dead Aim, Operation Javier and Degeneration. A "spin-off" would be the likes of Gaiden, the drama albums or the cell phone games, material which doesn't fit in the series universe. Side-story is a better term. But even the side-stories add to the plot as a whole so they're not really negligible assuming you want the full picture. We still know next to nothing about the story of Revelations apart from Chris + Jill + HUNK + cruise ship. I would assume they do have something "new and exciting" to reveal given that the subtitle of the game happens to be "Revelations", though I wouldn't hold my breath.

[Darkmoon]

Yeah...the titles aren't really relevant. No one survives in Survivor anymore than any of the other games, Dead Aim doesn't really feature deadly aim unless you're a good shot, Degeneration doesn't really degenerate...etc. I suspect, if there is a revelation, it's to do with the whole Chris and Jill not shooting each story. Or Alex Wesker.

The side stories add details to the wider picture, and I have no doubt this will do the same. But that's not my concern here. My main concern is that it will be difficult to add anything that will move the overall story forwards. Each of the five games they're making feels like dog paddling, throwing stuff out and hoping no one notices that RE6 isn't being mentioned because they don't have any idea what they're doing, now that Wesker's gone.

I may be horribly wrong about that, and these games will all be intricate pieces in the cunningly woven thread of RE6's plot. But somehow? I doubt it. The best I'm hoping for is an introduction to Alex Wesker in an attempt to establish him as a legitimate bad guy for the series.

[News Bot]

Yeah...the titles aren't really relevant. No one survives in Survivor anymore than any of the other games, Dead Aim doesn't really feature deadly aim unless you're a good shot, Degeneration doesn't really degenerate...etc. I suspect, if there is a revelation, it's to do with the whole Chris and Jill not shooting each story. Or Alex Wesker.

The side stories add details to the wider picture, and I have no doubt this will do the same. But that's not my concern here. My main concern is that it will be difficult to add anything that will move the overall story forwards. Each of the five games they're making feels like dog paddling, throwing stuff out and hoping no one notices that RE6 isn't being mentioned because they don't have any idea what they're doing, now that Wesker's gone.

I may be horribly wrong about that, and these games will all be intricate pieces in the cunningly woven thread of RE6's plot. But somehow? I doubt it. The best I'm hoping for is an introduction to Alex Wesker in an attempt to establish him as a legitimate bad guy for the series.

"Revelations" is a little different from "Gun Survivor", "Gun Survivor 4 Heroes Never Die" (painfully true) and "Degeneration" though.

Also Alex Wesker didn't betray Spencer until 2006 so that rules him out completely. I imagine they're saving him for the actual Biohazard 6.

[Stu]

Also Alex Wesker didn't betray Spencer until 2006 so that rules him out completely. I imagine they're saving him for the actual Biohazard 6.

Unless whichever incoming producer comes in and thinks (like many of us) "What was Takeuchi thinking?!" and completely disregards that plot point.

[News Bot]

Unless whichever incoming producer comes in and thinks (like many of us) "What was Takeuchi thinking?!" and completely disregards that plot point.

I don't think Takeuchi had anything to do with it. The files and story background were written by Tsukasa Takenaka, who is returning for Revelations.

Unless he thinks "What was I thinking?!"

[Stu]

haha so there's no chance of that then!

[Darkmoon]

It would be nice to think someone at Capcom will wake up and go, "Are we really going to go down this stupid path? Really?" Video games are rarely masterpieces of writting, with a few glaring exceptions, but killing one Wesker to replace him with another, unconnected Wesker is an awful plot point.

Of course, if they don't answer what happened to Alex then they have a total of no plot points to really carry foward, except possibly Ada, and people will ask for years 'Whatever happened to Alex Wesker...?'

[Mr. Spencer]

I like Beltway.