Hot off the heels of a Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil: Code Veronica X HD announcement, the latest issue of the Official Xbox Magazine has revealed Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City, a new squad-based shooter in development at SOCOM: Confrontation studio, Slant Six Games. We have first details.
Set in 1998, players are taken back to the original outbreak “that underscored both Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.” It opens up the series to a “quartet of new faces,” as you won’t need to know much about the franchise to understand the story. Essentially, as members of the Umbrella Security Services (USS) squad, you’re technically responsible for what started it all.
A team-based shooter featuring “dirty” and dark gameplay, you’ll play as four members of the USS squad, whose goal is to destroy all evidence of the outbreak, including “kill[ing] pretty much every survivor possible.” There are two other factions, other than the USS squad. They are the US Spec Ops, the USS squad’s enemies, and the “bio-organic weapon monsters (BOWs) created by Umbrella.” On the USS squad, characters Vector, Betlway, Bertha, and Spectre take lead. Each character has different responsibilities. Hunk, from Resident Evil 2, is apparently the inspiration behind the team.
According to the magazine, “whichever team you play on, you’ll be facing Umbrella-created horrors in between skirmishes with each other.”
Zombies have three different ways of detecting you: through either sight, sound, or smell. You may use them as a “meatshield,” if you need so desperately need one.
The game promises to take players through a number of familiar areas, for those who remember their first venture to Raccoon City. Depending on how you play the game, you’ll have the option to “change the history of Resident Evil.” As you’ll meet with key characters from the series, you’ll also have the opportunity to kill them. An example from the magazine was the goal, “Kill Leon”. Playing as the USS squad, you can kill him. Playing as the US Spec Ops, however, your goal would most likely be to save him. As for whether or not any key characters from the series would be playable, Capcom and Slant Six wouldn’t comment.
In combat, players will collect herbs to heal from their injuries. They’ll also have plenty of ammo in their guns.
“This is not a one-versus-one game where you’ve got one clip full of ammo and zombies on you,” reads a quote from the magazine. “If you’ve ever thought of those times in an Resident Evil game when you thought, ‘I’d wish I had a big gun’, that’s what this game is. It’s not fair to give people big guns, then take all the ammo away.”
As players take out enemies, they’ll earn experience points (or XP). You can use this XP to unlock new abilities and weapons. An example ability is Vector’s cloaking skill.
A final tidbit: tyrants are definitely include in Operation Racoons City.
More information on the game can be found in the May 2011 issue of Official Xbox Magazine. The game’s out for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this fall.
Thanks, StickSkills.