As a Resident Evil fan, it has to be said that I’m very excited about the upcoming title of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, scheduled for release on March 23. It is part of the Resident Evil series, being set around the same time as Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, as well as crossing into the timelines of the Outbreak and Gun Survivor games. 

It’s set in Raccoon City, right after the outbreak of the T-Virus and all the citizens have become infected and are now hordes of zombies roaming the streets. The zombies are more like the ambient hazard of the game, as you the player will take the role of either an officer for Umbrella Security Service (USS) or the US Special Operations Force. USS are tasked with hiding the evidence of Umbrella’s negligence in release the biological outbreak, killing survivors along the way, whereas the US task force are trying to expose Umbrella for their actions.

There are twelve playable characters (6 per team) and all have different roles such as cloaking, medics, explosives, scientists and snipers. Each team will fight against each other to fulfill their own objectives as well as encountering characters from Resident Evil 2 like HUNK and Leon S. Kennedy. The gameplay third person “over-the-shoulder” style, similar to Gears of War, along with the sticky cover system, although watching the gameplay trailer it’s more similar to Transformers: War For Cybertron.

Most importantly in tandem with the single player campaign, is the four player co=operative mode, which for me is the attraction to this title although I’ve seen no other details on this.

Along with the zombies which attack en mass if you get too close, thus requiring a stealthy element to avoid wasting ammo, are other monsters from the Resident Evil bestiary such as Tyrants, Lickers and Hunters. Unlike the sort of survival horror premise of the canonical games, this is more fully automatic than pot shotting with pistols (like in Resident Evil 5 when you get the unlimited ammo perks). Also like Res5 is the bleeding out mechanic, also seen in Gears of War and Call of Duty games, requiring you to revive downed comrades in battle with a time limit.

I haven’t read any further details than that but I sincerely hope they’ve done away with those stupid QTE sections and the inability to move whilst aiming. This is seems more fluid a run and gun style than Res4 and Res5’s static aiming mechanic.

Have a look at the gameplay trailer I found online and make your own conclusions. Personally I’m excited!