15. Past Cure (2018)

There’s sordid plot, shoddy action and oddly ilfitting puzzles in a supernatural third person shooter…and then there’s Past Cure. The development team was small and fairly inexperienced, thus resulting in uneven AI and performance. However, that doesn’t excuse the story which was just a meandering mess when it wasn’t outright dull.

Compared to previous Resident Evil games, Umbrella Corps follows in Resident Evil 6’s over-the-top action footsteps for better or worse that so many fans despised. Even held to its own standards, it’s little more than a generic shooter, using the iconic franchise as a crutch more than anything.

Umbrella Corps’ focus is on multiplayer. It’s a team based, tactical shooter (as tactical as an online console game can be, anyway) which pits you and two teammates versus three others in arenas full of zombies. There are only seven maps and two modes: “one life” in which you get one life per round, and “multi-mission,” which sets different objectives per round.

One life mode is by far the better option. It’s a lot more tactical than the multi-mission mode, and you’ll have a better chance to play with some of game’s systems like cover shooting and, well, just cover shooting.

The multi-mission mode highlights Umbrella Corps’ many flaws. Every game typically plays the same. You and your team start slow, crouching around and checking every corner. After the two teams make first contact it turns into a free-for-all deathmatch where the objectives are ignored by all.

Aside from the objectives being dull as dishwater and all amounting to the same “kill this person, or this zombie, or this group of zombies,” there’s one over-powered weapon that brakes the balance. It’s a melee weapon called the “brainer.” Equip it, and you become king of Death Mountain. It’s an instant one hit kill weapon that gives you a lunge ability once you lock on to targets, and makes you briefly immortal once you strike an enemy. Needless to say, this attack is spammed ad nauseam.

"Visual design is sorely lacking. Each environment looks the same, and obstacles blend in to muddy backgrounds making them hard to see until you run face first into them."

What makes the brainer all the more deadly is the atrocious camera system. The camera isn’t placed over your shoulder so much as it is shoved into the back of your avatar’s neck, and the field of view is minimal. This results in the player character taking up close to a third of the screen, leaving you vulnerable to someone busting up beside you with a brainer.

The game has a hard time keeping games fair in other ways too. Lower level players are regularly matched together, against a team comprising of people ranked level 30 or above. Whenever you’re killed, the game will often spawn you in front of or behind the entire opposing team, who are still teabagging your corpse.

Visual design is sorely lacking. Each environment looks the same, and obstacles blend in to muddy backgrounds making them hard to see until you run face first into them. One map in particular, Raccoon City, is especially bad for this. Its night, and there’s a constant rain effect that looks more like hail. Visibility is so poor in this level, everyone generally runs to the center of the map to stab each other in the face, or camp in the starting areas.

There are zombies in every match, one more loose thread desperately tying Umbrella Corps to its big brothers. They’re inclusion is the one thing keeping this from being the most generic shooter in the world, though their implantation is questionable.

"Umbrella Corps is a very confused game. Its design is scattershot, with as many traces of Call of Duty’s frenetic action with Counter Strike’s slower pace."

Everyone has a little zombie pacifying shield that makes them harmless, but if this shield gets damaged (which happens by taking too much damage) the shield goes down. The zombies will be standing around looking bored one minute, and the next literally all of them swarm you from every corner of the map. It’s striking to watch in spectator mode, as your teammate mows down two enemy combatants only to be killed by a zombie dog they either couldn’t see, or didn’t realize was suddenly a threat.

Umbrella Corps is a very confused game. Its design is scattershot, with as many traces of Call of Duty’s frenetic action with Counter Strike’s slower pace. There’s the aforementioned cover system which should allow you to dodge out of the way of enemy shots, and the game is more than happy to highlight every single cover opportunity with a bright blue border as you walk by. However, you have so much health you can tank gunfire to a ludicrous degree, rendering cover, grenades, and sniper rifles pointless.

This would be fine if matches were designed to be fast-paced, but they’re not. The one life mode is a slow experience since everyone’s so afraid of death, and because its broken up into rounds. But the multi-mission mode is round-based too, meaning after each objective, control is wrestled away from everyone and you’re set back to the starting locations. This always happens as the match begins to heat up, and destroys any sense of flow and rhythm in the combat.

The biggest shame is that some of these mechanics work well on their own. Shooting is tight, and popping in and out of cover is fluid. You can slowly inch a door open, poking out your gun the whole way, or kick it down like a badass. Going into first person to aim feels natural, and almost makes up for the terrible third person camera. But the game on top of those mechanics is at odds with itself, unsure if it wants to be fast and twitchy, or methodical, team driven and objective based.

"There is a single player campaign, called “The Experiment,” but it’s not worth writing home about."

There are multiple customization options as you’d expect from this kind of game. You can change your armor color or unlock different skins. You can change your guns as well, decking them out in a bright pink paint job or putting scopes and suppressors on them. Interestingly, despite the armor changes being cosmetic, they’re far more important weapon customization. Guns are easy to aim as it is and you can’t change their damage output, and everyone uses the brainer anyway. All the character models in the game are identical, making it impossible to discern friend from foe at first glance.

There is a single player campaign, called “The Experiment,” but it’s not worth writing home about. Each level is the same: you have to kill zombies and collect 20 DNA samples. There is a story of sorts, but it’s short, communicated entirely through text, and is so poorly written you have to wonder if Capcom tacked it on at the last possible minute.

Umbrella Corps’ biggest problem is its lack of variety. It tries to ape every popular online shooter without contributing any new ideas of its own. It represents everything wrong with the video game industry from five years ago: a once beloved franchise turned it into an online shooter crammed with cover based shooting, pointless customization, a lazy single player mode, and overpriced cosmetic DLC.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

Capcom’s Umbrella Corps, a competitive shooter that mixes Resident Evil with Counter-Strike, is available now for PS4 and PC. Yes, we didn’t really realize it either until it actually came out.

Mixing cover-based shooting with zombies, melee combat and some really awkward-looking movement, Umbrella Corps features 3 vs. 3 matches between teams in familiar locations like Spencer Mansion, China from Resident Evil 6 and even the Antarctic Base from Resident Evil: Code Veronica.

There are some interesting modes like Single Life, Multi-Mission and 4 Survivors Mode, the last one focusing on a map with limited resources. The launch trailer indicates that free maps and modes are currently in development so expect even more content down the line.

Umbrella Corps is available for $30 but you can pick up more weapons and cosmetics for $15 (the $40 Deluxe Edition includes the game and these extras). What are your thoughts on the game? Let us know in the comments below.

Mirrors Edge Catalyst

Faith returns in Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, the much anticipated sequel to the original game. That being said, this is no ordinary sequel – Catalyst will be a reboot and origins story for Faith, presenting a whole new tale of oppression and intrigue in a futuristic authoritarian city. A lot has changed from the original Mirror’s Edge, including the addition of a skill tree and a huge open world to explore. Players will have the chance to create races that can stretch through the city or take part in the expansive story (which isn’t nearly as forgettable as the first game). Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is out on June 7th for North America and June 9th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Mighty No. 9

The long-in development, often-delayed spiritual successor to Mega Man will finally be upon us. Mighty No. 9 has seen its fair share of issues and controversies, ranging from failed additional Kickstarters to controversies with its community manager. That’s not even getting into the awful launch trailer that recently released and was apparently publisher Deep Silver’s fault. That being said, we’re still interested in what Mighty No. 9 has to offer with its combo-based gameplay, level design and call-backs to the Mega Man franchise. It’ll be available on just about every home platform on June 21st and June 24th

Umbrella Corps

What do you get when you cross a competitive multiplayer shooter with the zombies of Resident Evil? A horrifying monster, for one, but actually it’s Umbrella Corps. This shooter focuses on teaming up with friends as part of various mercenary groups sent in by bio-weapons corporations. Though primarily third person shooter-based, Umbrella Corps allows for aiming down sights in first person and melee combat. Numerous modes and levels, some which call back to previous games like Resident Evil: Code Veronica, also exist to be explored. Zombies are also a key factor, disrupting your operations when you’re not being gunned down by enemy groups. It’s out on June 21st in North America and Europe for PC and PS4.

Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens

You knew it was coming. The Lego Star Wars franchise has been a proverbial juggernaut in its own right and the saga continues with Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Interestingly, Traveler’s Tales is working on incorporating a number of new features into the series such as cover shooting; Multi-Build, which gives you more freedom for building and expanding on paths to explore; and much more. Classic characters like Rey, Poe Dameron, Finn, Kylo Ren and Han Solo are featured and the game will actually include content taking place between the period of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. Will we finally experience the battle of Jakku firsthand? One can only hope. Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens is out on June 28th in North America and Europe.

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness

The Star Ocean franchise returns with the game’s first PS4 outing (though it’s also out on PS3 in Japan) Integrity and Faithlessness, which comes to North America on June 28th. The RPG will be unlike any of its predecessors with a seven member party and seamless transitions from the cut scenes to gameplay. We’ll find out just how good it is when it actually releases next month.

The Technomancer

Spiders has been rather hit-or-miss with its action RPGs (mostly miss with efforts like Mars: War Logs and Bound by Flame). The Technomancer will nonetheless continue this string of efforts, taking place in the same setting as Mars War Logs. With three styles of combat, four skill trees, crafting, varying choices for completing quests and a choice of numerous companions, The Technomancer will also be the developer’s first current gen exclusive, releasing on PC, Xbox One and PS4. It’s out on June 28th worldwide.

We Happy Few

Imagine a dystopia Wellington Wells during an alternate World War 2 era. Something has happened to the city in order for it to win the war but it’s citizens resorted to the drug Joy in order to forget it all. What happens when you play as someone who hasn’t taken the drug and is subsequently hunted by those around them? We Happy Few balances survival horror with a sandbox element, challenging you to escape Wellington Wells without arousing the suspicion of those around you. It’s been in development since February 2015 and despite no solid release date, we know it will be coming in June to PC and Xbox One to inflict some Unreal Engine 4-powered trauma upon us all.

Sherlock Holmes: The Devil’s Daughter

Frogwares’ Sherlock Holmes: The Devil’s Daughter won’t be its last Sherlock Holmes title but it may be a while till we see the famous detective again. With five linked cases, a “deduction board” to piece together various clues and multiple conclusions, The Devil’s Daughter will continue the series’ penchant for compelling mysteries and consequences. It’s out on June 10th for PS4, Xbox One and PC.

Were you looking forward to hunting down zombies and rogue mercenaries in a competitive online shooter set in the Resident Evil universe? No? Well, for everyone else that cares, Capcom has announced that Umbrella Corps has been delayed to June 21st.

The extra time will allow for optimization and, according to the publisher, “the best experience possible” at launch.

Umbrella Corps isn’t your typical survival horror title – it’s a third person shooter which has you teaming with other mercenaries to extract vital information from global hot-spots. That means going up against other corporate espionage agents though. Umbrella Corps features numerous locations that will be familiar to fans along with customization options (check out the trailer below for more information) and a multi-mission mode.

The digital release will be available for PS4 and PC at $29.99/£25/€30. What are your thoughts on the delay? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more details.

Capcom’s Umbrella Corps, a team-based survival horror shooter set in the Resident Evil universe, will be upon us soon and the developer has released a new trailer highlighting the game’s Mission Mode.

The mode is interesting because it supports up to six players and functions on the basis of five rounds. Each round has a different scenario, with up to eight randomly rotating scenarios, that players can compete in.

These include Target Hunter (one marked target per team; opposing target must be killed while your own target has to be defended); Respawn Match (team deathmatch with respawns where you can locate spawns to give your team an advantage); Domination (capture and defend a point longer than the other team to win); and much more. Check out how they all work in the below trailer.

Umbrella Corps will be releasing on PS4 and PC in May for Europe and North America. What are your thoughts on the gameplay? Let us know in the comments.

Capcom’s Umbrella Corps, a shooter which combines competitive play with co-op mechanics and is based off of the Resident Evil franchise, will be releasing in May for the PS4 and PC. To showcase what players can expect, a new trailer has been released showing off The Experiment.

The Experiment is interesting since it allows for one player, features 20 million and doesn’t allow you to use the zombie jammer to protect yourself. We also get a look at the Village map, which is based off of the Resident Evil 4‘s village.

Umbrella Corps will retails for $30 and will be a digital only release for those platforms. It sees players competing as part of rival corporations to explore various bio-hazard sites to uncover various secrets relating to Umbrella. Will you be picking it up when it releases, especially considering Capcom’s previous action-heavy entries in the Resident Evil franchise? Let us know in the comments.