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.

Slant Six Games, the developer behind Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City, has temporarily laid off a bunch of staff and will rehire them later.

“This necessary measure has been taken to reduce the size of our team and to decrease interim operating costs while we continue to negotiate new business,”  their statement read.

Temporary lay-offs provide us with a time period to keep everyone’s employment position open with full benefits. The intention is to reinstate all of the people affected when new projects or funding has been secured.”

The game industry is going through a tough time and hopefully with the next-gen consoles, things could change. This isn’t the first time Slant Six has laid off their staff, but once they get funding or work on a new project, they intend to rehire the people they fired.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Via GI.biz.

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.

Step back in time to 1998…

The action unfolds in September 1998 with Umbrella’s dodgy scientist Dr William Birkin planning to sell the experimental G-Virus to the US Government. While trying to stop him and retrieve the last surviving sample of the virus, all hell breaks lose and Birkin decides to inject himself, transforming him into a giant beast with a bulging eye protruding from his bicep! And just when you think things couldn’t get any worse, during a skirmish with the good doctor the t-Virus leaks into the sewers, infecting the populace of Raccoon City.

As you’d expect, it’s your job to clear up the mess. You get to pick one of six Umbrella Security characters, each with special abilities in a three-way battle between the undead and the trigger-happy Special Ops teams. Their unique abilities vary in usefulness from invisibility to temporarily taking control of the infected. Along the way, you’ll come across a familiar cast from the Resident Evil series including Lickers, Tyrants, Hunters, Nemesis, zombie dogs and even Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield.

Flying in the face of some other reviews, I actually quite enjoyed Operation Raccoon City. But make no bones about it, play this solo and you’ll soon switch off, thanks to a multitude of problems.

You’re going head to head with zombies and Special Ops

The single player game is beset by ridiculously idiotic AI with your team mates proving more of a hindrance than help. By way of example, there are countless moments when you’re besieged by rotting corpses and desperately in need of some health… only for one of your squad to run in the opposite direction with that vital medication. Not only that, but they’ll often give you an energy boost when you’re at full health. Utterly pointless! Add that to their affinity for running into your line of fire, shooting you in the back or standing in front of an exit, making you a sitting duck for the incoming zombies, and it’s all very frustrating.

Loads of zombies about… shame your team mates are so useless

And what about when you do get infected? You stand there helpless as your health depletes before you turn into a zombie, knowing full well that your AI colleagues have the anti viral spray that could save you. But they just stand there, ignorant to your plight and instead opting to run headlong into a nearby wall repeatedly!

In fact, it’s almost a relief when you see the symbol onscreen indicating that they’re lying dead in the distance somewhere, waiting to be revived. Whether you bother bringing them back to life  is completely up to you but it’s often preferable not to bother and just to go it alone. If you’re taken down in the heat of battle and they don’t save you, why the hell should you help them???

It’s a bit of a missed opportunity when you become infected. Fail to find a serum and you turn. Funny thing is that when you do, you lose complete control of your character and are powerless to do anything until you’re killed – it could have been a bit of fun being a zombie, right? Anyways, when you do respawn you appear with your health, grenades and weapon replenished. The question is… what’s the incentive in healing yourself? As far as I can see, there isn’t one. If there are no ammo or health packs around just wait for a zombie to get you, die and respawn rejuvenated. It’s plain daft.

These guys laugh at your puny bullets

The over-used cover system that appears in pretty much every modern game makes another appearance here and isn’t particularly great. It’s like your character is wearing one of those Velcro suits and as soon as you stray too close to a wall, you stick fast to it. What’s more, it’s really annoying in the heat of battle to find yourself hugging a crate or wall with your butt or head sticking out, allowing the enemies to shoot/eat you.

Oh, and the zombies, bosses and soldiers are all bullet sponges! Even the lowly walker zombie takes most of an ammo clip to dispatch – and it’s even worse on the higher difficulty settings. It doesn’t matter which of the weapons you use, they’re all much the same. Slabs of meat haven’t taken such a beating since Stallone’s Rocky movies! Our advice, take your time, wait until you see the whites of their undead eyes and blow their head off or shoot them in the legs. Otherwise, their bullet-riddled bodies will keep on shuffling towards you.

The melee attack isn’t much better. The continued mashing of the melee button sees various knife-swiping animations but they seem to do little damage either.

The campaign mode is short but there are plenty of multiplayer options

All these gripes aside, if you take the problematic AI out of the equation and enlist a few friends to become your team mates, things are infinitely better. Sure Operation Raccoon City is never going to rival Gears or Halo, or come close to replicating the brilliant co-op experience that is Left 4 Dead 2, but it can be an enjoyable romp.

As you progress, XP is awarded allowing weapons to be unlocked and special abilities to be enhanced, although it’s perhaps not enough of an incentive to keep on playing once the brief campaign mode is completed.

Failing that, there’s always the online multiplayer option where you can partake in eight player team versus battles should you desire. There are four different online modes available, where you can reprise the role of Umbrella or the Special Ops to fight one another and the zombie horde.

Fans of Resident Evil will no doubt be up in arms about the new direction and gameplay, and many are scathing about the issues mentioned above. Personally, I quite enjoyed the experience as a standalone game – but only once I’d got a few friends involved. It’s a flawed but fun game (at least in co-op) – and probably one that’s most suited to rental or picking up when it comes down in price. Mediocre.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

Slant Six Games of SOCOM and Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City fame has announced a new IP called Strata Scavenger. We do not know much about this game, but one thing is for certain, you have to give them credit for trying something new.

The game will be released in 2013, and it is funded by the Canada Media Fund, who apparently paid them a million to develop this game.

Though we’re keeping this one close to our collective chests, we can tell you that Strata Scavenger is our first original IP, and we’re pretty stoked about it. The Canada Media Fund even granted us a cool million to develop the game, based on its creative and technical innovation.

The official site doesn’t say much about the game, but we do have a pic of the game, which shows some cool sci-fi hover plane or whatever that is.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

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

resident-evil-operation-raccoon-hd-wallpaper

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.

Have a look.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City releases on March 20 for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Here is some gameplay of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City from New York Comic-Con 2011.  The footage is off screen but still very impressive.  As you can see they are actually playing the game in a 4 player co-op mode which I cannot wait to get my hands of the full version of the game.  It will be out early 2012 for the Xbox 360, Playstation as well as PC and each player is actually playing as a separate character.  The story still has many characters that have not been announced yet but this was by far one of the most impressive shooters, if not games I was able to preview at Comic-Con.