Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City Release Date Confirmed

Your chance to re-write Resident Evil history will be coming in the first quarter of 2012. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City will be releasing March 20, 2012 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, giving players the opportunity to hunt Resident Evil 2 and 4 star Leon S. Kennedy, as one of four Umbrella Corporation operatives sent in to sanitize the city of any evidence implicating the company. Basically, anybody who is still breathing. The PC version release date has not been announced yet.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, aside from being a poorly named paramilitary operation, is Capcom's new foray into multiplayer for their survival horror series. Fans may remember Resident Evil: Outbreak, which was not very well received for a number of reasons.

However, Slant Six Games has taken over development to create a much more action-oriented game focused on a 4-player cooperative shooting experience. Six minutes of gameplay is available for ocular input and to give you some insight on what to expect from the title. For the more cinematic approach, the trailer is also something to be considered.

The release date is pushed a little farther than the timeline previously given by Capcom, who had decided to release the game during winter. The game will certainly have a fight on its hands, with the newly-multiplayer-ized Mass Effect 3, also releasing in March.

The Resident Evil series has gone through a few changes since the fourth game's release, eschewing the almost defunct fixed-camera angles and tank controls for a more contemporary third person shooter mechanic. However, after Resident Evil 5's release, the series has replaced the more traditional survival horror vibe with more of an emphasis on the action factor. As a result, Capcom will be going back to the drawing board with RE 6.

What will this mean for the series? Perhaps another great re-invention along the lines of Resident Evil 4? We can only hope.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City releases on March 20, 2012 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The PC version release has not been announced yet.

-

Follow me on Twitter @TrungleFever

Source: Siliconera