Only a few short days after we enjoyed a ten minute sneak peek of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Capcom is unveiling even more footage from their upcoming third-person action-shooter title - this time teasing an encounter with fan-favorite Resident Evil franchise villain, Nemesis.
It would be an understatement to say that reactions to the original Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City announcement were somewhat mixed - a split that has carried on throughout the game's development. With Slant Six Games (SOCOM: Confrontation) at the helm, plenty of series' fans are excited to jump into a SOCOM-like Resident Evil action experience - while others are wondering where the fast-paced title fits into the increasingly fast-paced Resident Evil series offerings.
Prior to the reveal of Resident Evil 6, many long-time series fans were hoping that Operation Raccoon City was being developed to appeal to newer franchise fans who prefer action-heavy zombie killing over the series' traditional survival-horror roots. However, now that we know that Resident Evil 6 is going to offer more large-scale action sequences than chilling scares, some gamers are becoming increasingly worried about where Operation Raccoon City fits into the overall series marketing strategy - meaning, now that Resident Evil 6 has stolen a lot of the game's thunder, will Capcom and Slant Six Games deliver a solid third-person shooter title or just push an undercooked game out the door?
While the ten minute Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City sneak peek footage was somewhat underwhelming - possibly because the person demoing the game was mostly running around frantically - the latest video for the title at least offers a worthy introduction to one of the series' most iconic bad guys - Nemesis.
Check out the Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Nemesis gameplay video below (courtesy of Game Trailers):
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuO4SFONllY
Even though Nemesis is an intriguing character, the actual fight (at least from the footage shown) looks pretty basic. In an open arena, the character is mostly reduced to acting as a stationary turret, spraying bullets at players, instead of relying on his formidable size (which was much more intimidating in tight Resident Evil hallways) to threaten the Umbrella squad. That said, even if some of the boss battles aren't the most inspired aspects of the game, there's no doubt that series fans will enjoy battling the increasingly robust set of familiar villains featured in the title.
Also revealed in the trailer is a "zombie" post-death mechanic - where players can be infected by enemies - and, presumably, threaten other co-op partners prior to a respawn. Looking at the footage, it's unclear how exactly the feature works - i.e. whether the player can attempt to fight the urge to attack their friends or possibly use their zombie as a last ditch effort to attack enemies.
Bottom line: While certain aspects of the title are underwhelming, there are some truly intriguing elements to Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City that could serve as a solid foundation for fast-paced, co-op action, zombie shooting. While the game may not ultimately offer a particularly deep experience, it could still be a lot of fun - assuming Capcom doesn't just shove the title out the door to clear the way for Resident Evil 6.
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City will be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on March 20th in North America.
-
Follow me on Twitter @benkendrick for further updates.
Source: Game Trailers [via VG247]