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Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Review

Graphics:
4.6
Gameplay:
4.7
Sound:
4.4
Control:
5.2
Replay Value:
5.0
Online Gameplay:
5.5
Overall Rating:
4.9
Publisher:
Capcom
Developer:
Slant Six
Number Of Players:
1-4
Genre:
Action


Resident Evil has a special place in my heart. I think it does for everyone who vividly recalls the impact the original title had on the gaming world. But when a game comes along that barely reminds us of the iconic franchise, and remains little more than a flawed, generic squad shooter with a few minor thrills and chills…well, we get disappointed fast. The bottom line is that unless you play Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City with friends, you’re not going to be happy.

And even then, I can’t guarantee you’ll enjoy the multiplayer experience. But let’s start at the beginning, with the visual presentation that exemplifies the term “mediocre.” There’s nothing egregiously bad (besides some obvious anti-aliasing and other technical issues that we should’ve left in the past), but there’s nothing especially impressive, either. The maps all sort of blend together and despite some decent enemy design, animations are lacking and special effects are barely average. All in all, not exactly an eye-opening adventure.

The sound isn’t any better, as the voices range between poor and merely okay and the soundtrack is repetitive and uninteresting. The effects also occupy that same “boring tier” by being only mildly effective. The weapon fire is especially disappointing, as most all firearms lack that satisfying crispness; these guns just sound dull…a fitting adjective for the entire game, really. The technical presentation leaves a lot to be desired although I suppose there’s nothing critically wrong with either the graphics or audio. It’s just really bland.

One of the reasons I was interested in Operation Raccoon City is the intriguing story concept. In the past, players have always battled against the evil Umbrella Corporation but in this game, you play as an Umbrella operative. That alone has plenty of potential and would allow fans to see the flip side of multiple familiar situations. But instead of taking advantage of the opportunity, we just get a bunch of faceless characters and a predictable plot that involves a leaked virus and Umbrella setting out to silence any survivors and anyone else who gets in their way.

Franchise buffs should know the story takes place between Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis , so you might see a plot line you recognize. Leon Kennedy even makes an appearance, and you actually have a little control over Leon’s fate, too. But beyond that…I mean, who cares? There are six distinct character classes, each with their own unique abilities. As you play, you’ll earn experience that can be used to purchase new weapons and of course, it’s best to spend wisely.

The other potentially cool part about this whole situation is that Umbrella is basically independent; it’s a company that does things for its own reasons. Therefore, your enemies aren’t only the mutated freaks (and survivors that will turn into mutated freaks), but also the US Army. However, I’m still not entirely clear why . I think I get it but even if you were trying to cover your own ass, why make an enemy of the army? Don’t you have essentially the same basic goal? Kill anything that might kill others? I was always hazy on this story aspect.

But let’s leave the story and lame-o presentation behind. The gameplay itself isn’t terrible but it just reeks of – I’ll say it again – mediocrity. There aren’t enough animations so the movements of both your allies and foes appear plastic and robotic, and the repetitive, uninspired map design takes you right out of the experience. The AI is erratic, as your allies aren’t too bad (they’re quick with the First Aid Spray, usually), but your enemies are just plain stupid. Even when they’re in cover, you can still hit them, and most times, they’ll just stand around waiting to die.

The more aggressive, non-human opponents are more of a challenge, but that’s when the clunky controls get in the way. Although there are no tank controls with which to contend ( that would’ve been disastrous in a fast-paced squad-based shooter), you still aren’t agile enough. It takes too long to get up and run if something is chasing you, and although the camera typically keeps up, I really don’t like the little momentum tweak. It’s when you go to move the camera and it starts a little slow but the longer you hold it down, the faster it goes.

Plus, the cover mechanic, obviously designed to be more streamlined than other shooters, just doesn’t work right. There is no cover button; you just run up to an obstacle or barrier and the character is supposed to automatically duck behind it. Well, this doesn’t always work, as there were multiple times when I had to press against the obstacle more than once. Furthermore, the CQC (Close Quarters Combat…did they steal that from MGS?) is slow and quite unsatisfying.

Obviously, this game was created almost for the express purpose of multiplayer. That annoys me, even if the multiplayer is great. But the multiplayer is not great; it’s merely okay. It’s certainly better than the boring, frustrating 6-hour campaign, though, so as I suggested in the intro, make sure you’ve got some willing friends. There’s Heroes Mode, where the designated Hero must survive against a swarm of zombies and human enemies. Once he’s down, he becomes one of the attackers and goes after the next “Hero.”

Team battle features two four-player teams fighting each other and monsters; the first team to reach a certain kill total wins. Lastly, there’s Survivor, which also boasts two four-player teams, but this time, your goal is to get the hell out of Dodge: A helicopter is waiting and the first team to make it wins. Now, these all sound significantly different from each other, but they’re really not. They can be very entertaining – I don’t want to imply that no fun can be had – but it all just boils down to generic third-person shooting, which wears thin fast.

There’s some strategy involved but not enough to really make you think, and there’s no denying the other problems, which of course don’t disappear in multiplayer. But at least you can play with humans, which are way better than the AI the game provides, and in each mode, there’s always something happening. There’s never a shortage of action and that might be good enough for some multiplayer aficionados. The controls are functional, and you don’t have to worry about characters you really don’t care about and a few irritating monster encounters.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is just blain boring to me. There’s nothing here I want to return to. The game can be fun with other people, there are a few patented Resident Evil scares, and the controls work fine (provided you’re willing to put up with some clunkiness). But everything else about it is really…I dunno, “meh.” I don’t know about you, but I like to be enthusiastic, even excited about my games and unfortunately, this one didn’t invoke any such feelings.

The Good: Interesting take on the classic RE story. Control is decent. Ally AI isn’t too bad. Multiplayer can be fun.

The Bad: Boring, uninspired presentation. Lackluster technical elements. Devs don’t take advantage of the story twist. Can feel clunky and slow. Online modes seem too similar. Campaign is just a waste of time.

The Ugly: “…why does everything I do, offline or online, fall under the category, ‘walk around and shoot stuff?’”

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frostface
frostface
12 years ago

Slant Six imo are a terrible dev team and I'm not surprised by this lack lustre game.

Oyashiro
Oyashiro
12 years ago

Wow! You know its bad when the good things about the game doesn't even sound that positive.

Why do Japanese companies keep doing this? Giving franchise name to western developers? When has it ever payed off?

BigBoss4ever
BigBoss4ever
12 years ago

because they are idiotically stupid and blinded entirely by the greed of money, dreaming to suck the bucks out of the west by simply mutate their genes without thinking the consequences….

BikerSaint
BikerSaint
12 years ago

HMMMM, not good…..
…the lava guy coming out of the fiery pit in the video, looks like he was stolen from Sucker Punch & inFamous 2.


Last edited by BikerSaint on 3/24/2012 9:59:57 PM

Lord carlos
Lord carlos
12 years ago

or resident evil 2

Jawknee
Jawknee
12 years ago

LOL! Slant 6 sucks hardcore. Crapcom was out of their minds asking these guys to make this game. They should have made it in house. It probably would have been much better.

Sigh….another Crapcom fail.

kokoro
kokoro
12 years ago

Sigh….


Last edited by kokoro on 3/25/2012 7:38:31 AM

bigrailer19
bigrailer19
12 years ago

I couldn't believe they got Slant Six to do this either. They'll learn one day.

TheCanadianGuy
TheCanadianGuy
12 years ago

this game sucks and i'm happy.

oONewcloudOo
oONewcloudOo
12 years ago

Ive been playing it and its fun, far from a terrible game maybe with all the bad reviews made me expect something awful and I was pleasantly surprised.

Lord carlos
Lord carlos
12 years ago

Your speak the truth my friend

The Doom
The Doom
12 years ago

I doubt thats because the game is any good. It's more like you were their Target audience than anything else. That's exactly the type of people who'd defend this garbage. This is not an RE game, nor a good game. I'm more curious to see how Dmc will turn out now more than ever


Last edited by The Doom on 3/25/2012 5:19:20 PM

Lord carlos
Lord carlos
12 years ago

Fighting hunters,tyrants & good ole zombies with 3 of your mates online is crazy fun.
inducing infections in enemy soldier's & watching them tear apart their squad mates is awesome.
I give it a 7.5
its better than i thought is was going to be given all the bad reviews
campaign is a bit short but theres a new one out in 2 weeks as free dlc so thats cool,
controls are a bit wonky in that you cant snap in to cover if your running but only if your walking ect.
if ya love co op & non stop zombie killing then then i recommend

Beamboom
Beamboom
12 years ago

"if ya love co op & non stop zombie killing" then you got a LOT of alternatives to choose from, boy. Even RDR offer a zombie slayer dlc. There's simply no need to dive down into mediocrity to get that fix, not with the releases we've seen the last couple of years.


Last edited by Beamboom on 3/25/2012 4:45:50 AM

Lord carlos
Lord carlos
12 years ago

Most other alternatives do let you shoot ada wong in the face with a sniper rifle.
mediocre…nah
a good game…yep
My opinion only!!having played the game.

berserk
berserk
12 years ago

The real question is , is it 60 buck good ???

I m sure i could have fun with it but full prize seem way too much for a rushed game ( look like one at least ) . .

Lord carlos
Lord carlos
12 years ago

A matter of perspective really,for me being able to team up with 3 friends(who all love RE as much as me)and slaughter zombies is definitely worth 50 euro or whatever.
The game has its moments when i scream at the tv because of some design flaw or another but i forget all about it after the next zombie kill.

Ben Dutka PSXE
Ben Dutka PSXE
12 years ago

Let you shoot Ada Wong in the face so it's not mediocre?

…yes, you're definitely the target audience.

H0TSHELLZ
H0TSHELLZ
12 years ago

Me too this was WAY BETTER THAN I THOUGHT.

****REMEMBER PEOPLE THIS IS A SPIN OFF****

Its NOT suppose to be the same as other resident evils.

Im lovign single player right now but MP is glitchy when ADS and moving….

DIsmael85
DIsmael85
12 years ago

Round 1 of an established franchise handed over to a western Developer. Though Slant 6 wasn't the best choice for this.

___________
___________
12 years ago

friendly AI is not too bad?
so standing still while enemies shoot you is not bad?
constantly moving in front of me when im shooting my enemies is not bad?
standing on top of a grenade and staring at it like a stunned mullet is not bad?
my god if thats considered not bad i dont want to see what is considered bad!
the AI in this game be it friendly or not is the WORST weve seen in decades!
this has got to be the biggest pile of tripe ive played in a long, long time!
in fact i enjoyed rouge warrior and naughty bear more then this!
to even think such a pile of sh*t could have the RE name tattooed on it.
sigh.
thats it im not buying RE6 or any of crapcoms games be it sequels or new IPs ever again!
so unfair, slant six put out crap after diarrhoea crap and get to sh*t again.
studios who put out awesome games get shut down faster then you can say sh*t hits the fan!
sigh, ill say it once more.
no justice in this industry, none what so ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Russell Burrows
Russell Burrows
12 years ago

S6?

S6 is on my list of total suck as far as developers go.
Such a pity they were given an RE game to pillage.

JackC8
JackC8
12 years ago

Seems like games are being made for the sole purpose of everybody earning a paycheck these days. Six hour campaign and then there's the multiplayer – wonder where they got that idea from?

Sad. I remember when this genre contained games like Dead Space. Now we get junk like this and that awful Amy thing. Guess I'll just wait for The Last Of Us.

Russell Burrows
Russell Burrows
12 years ago

@Beserk wondering if its 60 buck good??

Its three bucks bargain bin bottom of the trash heap "good"……maybe and thats being really nice to the S6 "developers"……bah!!!

Geobaldi
Geobaldi
12 years ago

Should've just done another game in the Outbreak series. At least those were enjoyable.

slugga_status
slugga_status
12 years ago

Played it at a family members house this weekend..Wasn't great but wasn't horrible..It's just not worth $60

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