While it's certainly not Resident Evil 6 or stylized at all like RE 4 & 5, we can't but help finding ourselves very excited for Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City - it's one of our most anticipated games of 2012. Capcom has taken what sells best for the franchise - the action - and made a series spin-off of sorts to cater Resident Evil to that audience.

Operation Raccoon City focuses on third-person multiplayer gameplay, with a campaign that offers four-player co-op throughout, and what we now can confirm is multiple team-based competitive multiplayer modes... with a twist.

Resident Evil is Capcom's top-selling franchise and of its long list of games, Resident Evil 5 is its top selling. It is no surprise then that they've taken the third-person action elements and co-op features of that game and expanded upon it to offer a new product, while still servicing fans of the core series through recent handheld releases and what we expect will be a Resident Evil 6 more in line with the series' survival horror roots.

Like campaign co-op, the versus multiplayer modes will be based on squads of 4 players who can take on the characters of either the Umbrella Security Service (USS) (Vector, Beltway, Lupo, Four-Eyes, Spectre or Bertha) or US Spec Ops (Tweed, Dee-ay, Harley, Willow, Shona or Party Girl) - the latter of which were showcased in the Operation Raccoon City Triple Impact Trailer.

Below is the new versus mode trailer and artwork of the US Spec Ops members:

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[Update: The official design for Willow was released later by Capcom - note the changes to the face.]

Operation Raccoon City Willow Official

In proper Resident Evil style, the versus multiplayer of Operation Raccoon City isn't simply team vs. team. There are zombies and B.O.W.s and thrown into the mix as a third, shared opposing faction.

  • Team Deathmatch: battle for the most kills in brutal triple threat chaos that leaves players never knowing what’s behind them, an element that could only exist in the twisted Resident Evil universe.
  • Biohazard Mode: Ensure that samples of the G-virus are returned safely to their base in Biohazard mode while fighting off all the competing forces at play in Raccoon City.
  • Survivors Mode: Try to survive the horror just a little bit longer while waiting for rescue in Survivors mode. There’s limited space on board a helicopter so fight off the opposition and survive the hordes of hungry zombies, risking infection if they get too close. Try to make it out of Raccoon City alive!
  • Heroes Mode: Fans play as one of their favorite Resident Evil characters, including Leon S. Kennedy, Hunk or Jill Valentine, as previously showcased in the Heroes mode trailer.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City will be available for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on March 20 in North America

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