OMG we are reviewing a Capcom game, one of the first ever and the game is Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City. This time the development of this game lands in the hands of Slant Six Games, the developers of the game SOCOM Confrontation. Do not expect the same gameplay style as the other games in the franchise, as this time we get a treat, full on action team tactical shooter with a few jumps along the way. Now before I go any further, the developers have said that this game was to be a change from what is normally expected from the Resident Evil Series; kind of like a side game. So, all you Resident Evil fans out there don’t go throwing your game pad out the window you have been warned.
Resident Evil brings us back to the setting of Raccoon City from the original games. You will meet some familiar faces including Leon S. Kennedy and some very recognisable landmarks. And before I forget, the awesome original enemies that first made you shit your pants… yep they are all back along with a few tweaks.
Operation Raccoon City has you playing as one of four members in a black ops Umbrella Tactical Strike force that is tasked with wiping all evidence of Umbrella’s massive screw up within Raccoon City. You will get to go into the heart of the city to destroy or kill anything that gets in your way and you will also notice some events going on through the game that remind you of the original games. This is because the game is well intertwined with the already established events from some of the early Resident Evil games.
This game is a pure action third person kick arse shooter and it is unbelievably fun to play. If I was to say what this game is close to, think Binary Domain with undead, that’s possibly the closest, as this game prefers kicking arse, rather than stealth and tactics. Choose to play one of four classes each with their own set of skills, each comes with one main hand weapon and a shitty pistol with laser scope as backup. However don’t get upset because the game does chucks loads and loads of weapons on the ground when you take down enemies. The game will have a plethora of weapons and ammo to get your hands on including the wicked melee ability to split open your enemies. Or do you prefer smoke and the big bang effect; pick up the useful grenade and take care of your enemies, watch them fly across the room in a spectacular symphony of blood splatters and body parts.
This game is awesome, you can even become the undead… ok not the greatest but its still fun and is has not been done before from our recollection. Don’t expect the green herbs and first aid spray to cure “nope”, this time you should always keep with you’ blue antidote spray cans’. If you or any of your team mates become infected, an icon will appear above the player’s head which shows the level of health left, this depletes very slowly, when at zero, its fresh meat time. Once you are dead, of course you become undead “let the fun begin” DIE, yes you will try and kill your fellow team mates, “this is fun if your team mates are just plain ignorant or just plain dumb”. If they manage to take you down though, which they most likely will, they can resurrect you with no penalty and guess what, you are no longer undead, now that is just strange, but this is a game of course. So let me get this straight, I get infected, I lose health, I die and become undead, when my teammates kill me they can revive me and nothing wrong, why not do that before I rise as an undead you dumb team mates.
Another nice addition is the capability to level up your character or should I say your team mates and gain new abilities and weapons. You gain levels with experience from finding data within the zones from computers to things just being left around the place, also you gain experience from killing the enemy. You will find out that if you do not upgrade your team mates the later levels will kick you all over the place.
The bosses are awesome and can pose some difficulty in getting down, you may find yourself out matched or more likely you will find yourself out matched more like it. These bosses are faster, harder and sometimes can pin you to a corner, slam you down and then the only thing left for you to do, is put your head between your legs and kiss your arse goodbye if he doesn’t kill you fast enough.
I have played this game solo and enjoyed it, but the fun factor has to be with friends as your team mates, unfortunately the AI teams are in not the greatest fighters and will sometimes run throw flames and run straight into a fire fight with no thought for their own lives, so we recommend bring in friends rather than using AI.
Bring on Multi-players, this is normally where a game would add replay value and Operation Raccoon City comes with a host of awesomeness. You get the likes of Team Deathmatch, aka ‘Team Attack’ mode, maybe capture the flag is more your things? Then go play ‘Biohazard’ mode, how about defending someone? Try out ‘Heroes’ mode or finally ‘Survivor’ mode which sees you running and killing everything in your way, to get the last few spots on the evacuation helicopter. Wow now that offers up some great multiplayer fun to be had and really helps this game stand out in replay value. One question needs to be asked here, when it comes to co-op and multiplayer, are there any players? Well yes there are plenty.
The multiplayer modes really can test your skills because not only does it pit you against Humans, it also pits you against Zombies and a number of other enemies so do not just stand their shooting at the other player watch your arse for the other enemies as well. This change makes Resident Evil Raccoon City’s multiplayer stand out from the rest and be a lot more fun to play.
The overall game I found to be very fun, if you are playing the standalone campaign don’t expect the AI to have the brains to do everything right however they are very suicidal so can benefit in some cases. The multiplayer games are extremely fun and frantic and really add the extra challenge, by adding zombies and other enemies to the matches. The graphics in the game are perfect and art in game is well designed. Sounds are perfect from the zombies to the weapons you get to use, and the music really add to the feel for the overall type of game style the game developers have gone for.
Ignore all the other reviews that have slandered this game, they talking out of their arses. To be honest the game is great fun, easy to pick up, takes the Resident Evil universe and turns it into a full on action shooter, which for us, we love. It’s nice to see a change from the standard Resident Evil franchise and Slant Six Games have done a great job creating this game.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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