Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

Got this game on release date. Judging from the trailers and such it seemed like it was a throwback to Resident Evil 2/3. Zombies everywhere and bad ass looking Umbrella soldiers? Sign me up. What we got was a Gears of war-esque third person shooter with a pretty smooth cover system.

Gameplay: 8

Although not the Resident Evil gameplay I know and love, it still is pretty fun. you have 3 AI team mates with you at all times so you can tell this game was made for coop. The game consists of hordes of zombies everywhere with some shoots out with government Spec-Ops groups and occasionally a boss battle involving the other two. It also features a great cover system. Just run against a wall or car and you jump into cover. RPG elements were thrown into this game and nicely I might add. For completing missions you gain XP. You can use this XP to purchase abilities for all the characters as well as weapons. You can choose any four out of six characters to be in your squad but you can only play as one in each mission. Each character has two passive abilities and three active abilities of which you can only have one equipped at a time.This game feels too much like a Call of Duty rip off and Gears of war which make it suffer as a Resident Evil title. If this was some generic zombie shooter it would be great.

Multiplayer: 8

This game features and eight player four vs. four multiplayer mode with a variety of game types. You've got score attack in which players gain points for their team by killing zombies, B.O.W.s as well as enemy players. The team to reach the point limit first or the team with the most points wins. In Heroes mode you play as heroes (or villains) from the R.E universe including Jill Valentine and Hunk.The objective is to eliminate all enemy heroes/villain. if your hero is killed than you can still play but as a regular U.S.S or Spec-Ops soldier. In survivors, players have to duke it out to get onto an escape helicopter. there's a catch. the chopper only has four seats and their are eight players. If there is one spot left and you and your team mate are alive, than it is literally every man for himself as you have to fight your once team mate for the spot on that chopper. It can make for a very intense match. Finally there is Biohazard mode where teams have to collect G-Virus samples and bring them back to their respective bases. The team with the most samples wins.

Sound: 7

This game's menu music is annoying. To me It sort of Sounds like a shitty attempt at dubstep and I hate dubstep. Other than that the sound effects included all sound nice. The footsteps change depending on the surface you're on, the guns all sound great and have variety. The voice acting is pretty good as well except for Leon's voice. I think they could have done a much better job with that. So for the most part the sound is pretty good.

Story: 8

I think this is where the game shines. The story takes place during Resident Evil 2 and 3. It involves Umbrella deploying the U.S.S. (Umbrella Security Service) to get rid of all the evidence that links Umbrella to the T-Virus outbreak. Along the way you will see many familiar faces and some nicely revamped areas from the older games. You even get an ending altering choice at the end of the game. As cool as this seems it is only a what if scenario. This game is not cannon to the series. I think that this is for the better as the original stories are perfect and should remain unchanged except maybe for Resident Evil 5. Hopefully 6 will do better

My overall score for This game would have to be a 7. As I've already mentioned. This game has completely separated from what made it great. The fear you felt when trudging through the mansion halls is no longer there. That cheap shock you got when the hands popped out of the walls in the Police department are gone. The R.E games have tried grabbing the massive COD audience and left its true fans in the dust. Many would say that the over the shoulder camera is the culprit but I say nay. Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space are proof that you can have a survival horror game with an over the shoulder view. But can we blame Capcom? Not really as they are a company and that's the harsh world of business as sad as it may be. Maybe there's still light at the end of the tunnel but for now, I can't see shit.