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.]
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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