Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City was released in 2012, and was immediately lambasted by critics and fans for a whole host of reasons. And while the game did manage to make a rather strong impression in the commercial department with over 3 million copies sold, the general consensus surrounding the game seems to be one of wasted potential. To that end, we ask the question, what the hell actually went wrong with Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City?

Rumblings of an experimental Resident Evil game being in development at Slant Six (developers of the SOCOM series) had fans excited to know what’s in store, and when Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City was shown off to the public – fan interest piqued at the prospect of being able to play through a class-based third-person shooter with iconic characters from the series. More so, Slant Six had proven itself more than capable of delivering excellent squad-based tactical shooters with its SOCOM series – so Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City seemed like a match made in heaven and one destined to succeed in its objective.

However, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City failed to really understand the essence of the series, and delivered an experience that felt lacking in every regard. Resident Evil has a penchant for twisted narratives and campy dialogues, there is still a sense of continuity and coherency that series fans have come to admire so much. Slant Six tried to craft a similarly complex narrative filled with twists and turns, but failed miserably in that pursuit. Most of these plot twists don’t carry the weight or purpose behind them and seem to be shoehorned in just for the sake of it.

The developer also tried to pepper in elements of fan service with cameos and whatnot, but none seemed to stick the landing. Some of these issues wouldn’t be as big of a problem if the protagonists were likable on some level, but Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City instead flips the formula on its head as it tasks players with hunting down iconic protagonists from prior RE games like Leon, Claire, and Sherry. Again, that’s a novel concept on its own – but ends up hitting the game back on its foot due to poor writing and insufficient characterization. Furthermore, even the ending – which should have been conclusive by all means – is poorly explained and remains unsatisfactory.

The same theme of interesting concepts but shoddy execution carries over to the gameplay side of things as well. Players can control a total of 12 characters, with 6 being from the USS and 6 from Echo Six. They are divided into six classes which are namely Assault, Recon, Surveillance, Field Scientist, Demolitions, and Medic. For the single-player campaign, however – players get to choose from only four agents from the USS. 

Each of these classes has its own sets of passive and special abilities, which does offer some decent variety amongst team roles and characters. But as previously said, the core gameplay is poorly designed with questionable design choices and unsatisfying gunplay with little to no feedback from spongy enemies. These are minor issues in the face of what’s perhaps the biggest issue plaguing the experience – the AI, or lack thereof.

The enemies seem to be devoid of any sense of self-preservation and will jump out of cover at random to become an easy target for the player. They will also randomly stop shooting at you, or exhibit similarly goofy behavior on a whim. In a similar vein, your computer-controller allies also add frustration to the whole affair – as they will randomly put themselves in dangerous situations head-on or run through trip mines, or even worse, fail to navigate through rooms and obstacles. To add further fuel to the fire, the game is devoid of any interesting set-pieces or memorable boss fights – which adds a sense of repetition when playing through the campaign.

Resident Evil games are known for their excellent atmosphere and visually evocative levels and settings, and it’s the one thing that’s constant throughout the series even at its lowest. That’s of course excluding Operation Raccoon City which is marred down even further by visually flat levels with no sense of atmosphere and distorted character models. The texture work and asset quality is also worse than Resident Evil 6, which came out during the same year.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City also offers a decent suite of multiplayer options which are a spin on the standard multiplayer shooter affair. You have Team Attack – which is a free-for-all having both enemy players and zombies. Then there’s Biohazard, which is essentially CTF. There’s also Heroes mode, which pits the members of Echo Six against the USS, allowing you to play as Leon Kennedy, Ada Wong, and others. Lastly, there’s Survivor – which forces both teams to cooperate with each other to survive the zombie outbreak until a rescue chopper arrives at the scene.

Again, they are interesting in concept, and to be honest – they fare better than the single-player campaign – but issues still rear their head during the experience nevertheless. Game modes with AI-controlled creatures are a slog to play through, and while PvP is fun – the game lacks the progression and depth to remain captivating for more than a couple of hours.

While some fans have surprisingly warmed towards the game following its release, it’s impossible to look past Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City’s bevy of game design problems and technical inefficiencies. Thankfully, it’s non-canon to the series. As for what went wrong with the game, it’s almost everything. Any interesting idea with the potential to be endearing was washed away by poorly implemented design and a basic understanding of what makes a Resident Evil game tick and what makes a cooperative shooter great. It seems rather obvious that the game went through a turbulent development cycle, but we can’t say for sure whether it was the incapability on the developer’s part or strict restrictions on budget and development timeline imposed by the publisher that led to this sub-par product.

Despite being a critical failure, the developer would continue to experiment with multiplayer outings in the Resident Evil franchise with the likes of Umbrella Corps and Resident Evil Resistance. As fans might already know, none of these games have stood on their promises. But even so, the developer is gearing up for the next entry in Resident Evil’s multiplayer-oriented spinoffs with Resident Evil Re: Verse, and we are hoping with crossed fingers that this game ends up changing the fates of multiplayer-oriented games of the franchise.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler’s Green

Released in 2005, George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead offered strong socio-political commentary in a post-apocalyptic world. It also provided the unique twist that the undead may not be as brain dead as many thought. By comparison, Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler’s Green by Brainbox Games is an uninspired FPS where players mow down hordes of zombies in a prequel-esque set-up (which ultimately means nothing in the grand scheme of things). Multiplayer is also a thing and while co-op survival makes sense, other modes like Team Deathmatch don’t. Both were horrible anyway so it didn’t matter.

The gameplay is painfully slow, whether you’re attempting to bash zombies to death or dealing with the clunky gun play. The visuals, from the environments to the zombies themselves, are awful but still somehow better than the audio with its horrendously repetitive music and mundane voice-acting. Sadly, in terms of movie tie-ins, it was par for the course for games released in 2005.

The first episode of the Spec Ops DLC releases on April 10 for free, with paid single player missions coming soon. Multioplayer maps are also on their way.

In our review of ORC, we gave it a 5.5/10, calling it a “mediocre” and a “flawed but fun” game. Read the review through the link at the top of the post.

***Please note this walkthrough was not uploaded by GamingBolt.com

Special thanks to Youtube user theRadBrad for uploading this walkthrough.

Check out more video game walkthroughs here.

Without further ado, let’s begin!

Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City is available to purchase across North America today and throughout Europe beginning March 23. The title will be available for Windows PC from May 18.

Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City features a compelling single player campaign mode where players take on the role of a member of the Umbrella Security Service, in an attempt to destroy all evidence of Umbrella’s involvement in the t-Virus outbreak. The title will also deliver a brutal online competitive multiplayer experience. Players can engage in an eight player team versus battle across four different online modes, choosing to take the side of Umbrella or the opposing government forces, the US Spec Ops. An additional versus mode exclusive to the Xbox 360 – Nemesis Mode, will be available to download at launch for 320 Microsoft Points.

Capcom will support the release of Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City with a DLC offering via the PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE. At launch gamers will be able to download brand new costumes for each member of the Umbrella squad for 240 Microsoft Points or $2.99/ £2.39 / €2.99 on PlayStation Network.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City releases later next month for the Xbox 360 and PS3. Stay tuned for more info.

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When Operation Racoon City was announced last year, I was filled with tremendous joy due to reasons which are obvious. I am a huge Resident Evil fan and have been following it ever since the original PlayStation days. But when I saw some gameplay footage, I was not very pleased with the new direction that Capcom are taking with the franchise. I thought they were milking the series by including elements from Epic Games’ Gears of War and Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six franchises.

The build I got to play lasted a solid hour and I must say that I was deeply impressed. It seems that Capcom is aiming to bring in new audiences to the Resident Evil franchise, get them familiar with Operation Racoon City and the franchise roots, and finally hype them up for the upcoming blockbuster that is Resident Evil 6. Operation Racoon City is a true multiplayer action game, with elements of survival horror and shooting mixed in.

The game takes place in the events set between Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3, after the well known T-Virus is leaked in to Racoon City, turning citizens in to zombies. The game takes an outside look at the USS, the Umbrella Security Service officers who have been assigned to kill survivors and find the T-Virus. The game lets you choose from various playable characters, six in total. Among those six playable characters, some are experts in medic, assault whereas some others specialize in explosives and sharpshooting.

The core combat of Resident Evil Racoon City is shooting. As I mentioned before, the shooting mechanics seems to have heavily inspired from Gears of War. You take cover, pop out and shoot. This is what you are going to do in the entire game. And did I mention zombies? There are literally tons of zombies in the levels you will play through. Although they are not as big in numbers as they are in Capcom’s other zombie franchise, Dead Rising, they’re still enough to keep you on your toes. During gameplay, players can die either by bleeding out or by turning in to zombies.

There are various types of zombies present in the game. Hunters, the large reptilian like creatures make a comeback as well as the lickers who can hunt you with their tongue. G-Birkin also makes several spine chilling appearances throughout the build I played, keeping me on the edge of my seat.

Overall, Racoon City is a game that is targeted for gamers who are not actually part of the core Resident Evil audience. Yes, some veteran players like me will enjoy the game, as it gives a different twist to the franchise, but other hardcore Resident Evil fans may not see the point of the game.

Resident Evil: Racoon City is due out this March for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.