Title: Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
Format: Xbox360, PS3
Release Date: March 20, 2012
Publisher: Capcom, Slant Six Games
Developer: Capcom
Price: $59.99
ESRB Rating: M
In theory, this game should have been good. In practice, it wasn't
Presentation/Story
I have always liked the resident evil games; so when I heard about ORC and it's story, I was intrigued. The game takes place between Resident Evil 2 and 3, with your character leading a team of Umbrella operatives ordered to destroy all evidence of Umbrella's involvement in the zombie outbreak. This concept should have been great, but sadly, it failed to interest me in any way. The characters are stereotypical, bland, and poorly executed. I felt zero connection with them, and all of them are forgettable and just plain boring. Developers should still remember that we have to have some semblance of a connection with characters in order to enjoy playing them. Even Manhunt managed to connect me with the main character, and I was a ruthless, psychopathic killer who killed people for absolutely no reason. The graphics were actually crisp and clean, but the overall very dark tones made navigation and item collection difficult. Since there is nothing appealing to the eyes anyway, the graphics can't make up for a whole lot.
Core Gameplay
The game is a third-person, team-based shooter. You can play the main campaign by yourself with three AI teammates, or play co-op with others. Regardless of who you are playing with, the shooting mechanics are awful. The damage dealt to enemies is inconsistent, with some enemies needing 2 shots to die, and others needing 20 before they go down. Core shooting is too loose and spotty, very inaccurate, and too sensitive. The AI enemies and teammates are poorly designed, and are quite frankly laughably stupid. Between running directly in front of my shots, sacrificing themselves to enemies or traps, or stupidly ignoring where I am (since you can only proceed through levels when EVERYONE is present at the same spot, and you cannot call or communicate with them), I got frustrated very quickly. To top it all off, you and your partners can become infected, which ultimately turns you or them into zombies. Since the AI are pointless to begin with, turning them into even more of a burden makes me feel like I was playing a round of Babysitting Mama.
Final Thoughts
I was so disappointed at the overall execution of Resident Evil: ORC. I was hoping for a great team-based shooter that I could play with friends. Carrying the Resident Evil name is a shame, because this could have been the game to bring people back from the hatred that was Resident Evil 5. But the poorly designed core mechanics, AI, and level design make this a game I'm glad I didn't buy.
Final Score: 4.5/10 E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @WhitneyBulna
