Operation Raccoon City Review

Game: Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
System: X360 (also PS3, PC)
Genre: Shooter
Developer: Slant Six Games, Capcom
Release date: March 20, 2012


Pros: Online co-op works well, interesting multiplayer modes
Cons: Inferior cover system, uninspired level design, bad story


The team that brought you the Left 4 Dead 2 review is back with its review of Operation Raccoon City, a non-canon installment of the survival-horror series. Unlike the other Resident Evil games, Operation Raccoon City is a tactical squad-based third person shooter. It takes place during the events of Resident Evil 2 and 3, and focuses on an elite squad of Umbrella security forces.

The ORC team in all its glory.

What were your first impressions of ORC?

Evan (Four Eyes): My first impression was one of darkness. Not figurative darkness, physical darkness. Operation Raccoon City is dark. Early in the game, the four of us stumbled around in almost pitch blackness as we tried to navigate a records room. A few tweaks in the option menu fixed the problem, thankfully. Other than that, I noticed that the cover system in the game caused several problems for me and my teammates.

Bertha

Kevin (Bertha): As soon as the game loaded, I felt a disconnect with it's content. There wasn't much for detailing the back story connection to the previous Resident Evil games it was spinning off of, nor did it detail the history of the characters you were playing. Some may say that isn't too necessary for a 4 player survival co-op; the Left 4 Dead franchise is an example of this. Maybe this was why the game isn't really considered canon to the franchise. The characters traits and their "uniforms" were so over the top, that I craved to know where they came from and how they got their skill, or how they came to look and act the way they did. Some of them were laughable to be fighting beside, like Bertha the medic who dresses in an all black short skirt like a nurses uniform, or Spectre the marksman who had the most ridiculous long oculars for his night vision goggles. The ultimate of the first impressions was the campy dialogue which was colorful, but an obvious example of translation failure, as it didn't serve well to develop the story and was littered with obscenities. I looked forward to the cut scenes dialogue in other Resident Evil games. In this one, I would have rather hit the mute button.

Nick (Lupo): It was fun to get back into a multiplayer game after over a year long break from four player gaming but first impressions were of disappointing. Immediately the game did not live up to its lofty potential.

Rob (Spectre): Like the others, the first thing you notice is a lack of visibility. Some parts of that first level are in total darkness. Maybe the game is designed that way to create a more frightening atmosphere, but I was mostly frustrated. The records room was practically impossible to navigate and the only available light source was to fire off your gun repeatedly to see a few feet in front of you. I also was not pleased with the cover system. Instead of being able to crouch, you would automatically seek cover when near an appropriate object. Sounds simple enough right? Well the problem is that even if two people could conceivably take cover behind the same object, you would not if someone was right next to you. Due to the darkness it was almost impossible to tell that was the reason you were standing up nice and tall in the middle of a firefight. Luckily the visibility issue could be fixed in system settings. The cover system you were unfortunately stuck with the entire game.

How well was co-op integrated into the game?

Evan: Co-op was really the saving grace of Operation Raccoon City. It was designed with co-op in mind and for the most part it plays well. The introduction of character classes lends some strategy to the proceedings. Each character has his or her own specialization so picking the right combination is important, especially on the higher difficulty levels. In addition, the levels were large enough to accommodate four players and there were plenty of opportunities for teammates to save one another or provide cover fire. One area where co-op didn't perform so well was firearm selection. It would have been nice if certain characters were limited to a set list of weapons, instead of the entire weapons list available to all. That way, the developers could have introduced more enemies and scenarios that favored certain weapons sets.

Each player can customize his/her weapon loadout and skills.

Kevin: The variations to the different character classes weren't as great as I had hoped them to be. It wasn't until the four of us built enough experience points to purchase and upgrade our abilities that we saw the benefit of the classes. There were specific abilities I rarely used and some that were pointless in certain levels of the game I.E. The ability to cure infected teammates or oneself when the level didn't have any zombies to infect you. The fact that I could buy or carry any gun the other classes had could have been looked at. If I were to play this again on a harder difficulty, I would like to see how the co-op abilities cash in against a tougher horde or more vulnerable teammates.

Nick: Co op is integrated very well into this game, it is how the game is meant to be played. I doubt the game would be very much fun playing by yourself.

Rob: As always I enjoy video games the most when being able to save the world with my idiot friends. Co-op certainly made the game more enjoyable as opposed to playing alone where I would certainly have become bored. However it seemed the co-op was not as essential as in Resident Evil 5. Co-op moves and strategy certainly played a large part in the campaign. Even in a game such as Left 4 Dead you could not make it to the end without your teammates, and usually a real person was better to have on hand than a bot. In ORC, you could just fend for yourself and leave your teammates to die. Since only one person needs to make it to certain checkpoints, rather than attempt a strategy or risk your own life to save a teammate, you could just haul ass and pull everyone else forward. Certain parts of the game I found myself lost as to where to go, only to magically appear in a new room. Co-op makes the game easier to beat, but also disengages you from the proceedings. I was not as invested in playing ORC as I was previous co-op games.

Which character did you play as? Why?

Four Eyes

Evan: I played as Four Eyes, the Field Scientist of the group. We decided early on that our group should include a field scientist and medic to heal injuries/infections, so I volunteered for Four Eyes. She was a fun character: smart, serious, logical, and lots of dialogue.

Kevin: I played as Bertha. It was good to be carrying more health spray than the average teammate, and I took advantage to heal everyone with them. There were an abundance of herbs throughout the game, so health wasn't an issue from scene to scene, but the sprays did come in handy just after a tough enemy or boss attack. As for the infection healing ability, that was handy, and I can imagine it would be a vital skill on a harder difficulty. There was a temporary health increase ability called "Painkiller" that I never opted for due to all the herbs. Also there was an increase in speed and accuracy ability called "Stimpack" that wasn't necessary during our run through. I didn't find out until later that one of Bertha's melee moves triggers the appearance of a green herb. Of course, it's a Resident Evil game, and there always has to be more herbs available when you run out of ammo.

Nick: I played as Lupo, the team leader and assault character. I picked this character because it fits my style I've always been the charge in head first gun's a blazing sort of player. It works about 5% of the time.

Spectre

Rob: I played as Spectre, the surveillance expert. I picked Spectre largely because he tends to hang back and assess the situation before taking action. I like to charge blindly forward firing wildly as much as the next guy (coughNickcough), however in co-op I try and play smarter in order to help out others. Spectre has the ability to detect those precious objects needed in order to survive (such as ammo and health) and also those that are just for getting more XP than your friends (such as data). In such a poorly lit game, seeing an icon on the map highlighting where the ammo was could be a lifesaver. He also had an enemy detector which could send out a pulse and let the entire team know what to expect in the next area. Lastly, Spectre is just a really cool name.

How does ORC compare to other Resident Evil games?

Evan: It's easily the worst. Apart from the uninspired and clumsy combat and cover mechanics, which borrow heavily from Gears of War, the story is full on plot holes and inconsistencies. Moreover, it does a great disservice to the original characters and stories of Resident Evil 2 and 3, which take place during the events of Operation Raccoon City. The game also veers away from the series by being less scary and more linear than earlier installments. Zombies are more of a nuisance than a source of terror. The greatest threat to survival is actually human enemies, which deflates the supernatural element that makes Resident Evil so compelling.

Kevin: As you can assume, I rank this as the worst of the Resident Evil games -- if you could even call it one from the franchise. The game play was nauseating and unoriginal due to the color scheme and recycled 3rd person multiplayer play control. The plot was thin and ridiculous to the characters motives, and only referenced the original games a few times. It was neat though to be in the places of Resident Evil 2 with a multiplayer setting. The zombies were not frightening like the other games. I almost felt like this game was add-on pack for SOCOM...made (and very poorly mind you) just because Call of Duty: Black Ops had their zombie level. This game would have been better if there was unique puzzle solving and item inventory for the various character class. I wish I could collect the city's items around me and use them, rather than find randomly placed "data" and kick stuffed raccoons to gain only a minuscule amount of experience points.  

Classic RE enemies make an appearance in ORC.

Nick: Poorly. I've not played many of the resident evil games but this is easily the worst I've played. 

Rob: I only have Resident Evil 5 under my belt, but I can definitively state that while RE5 was one of the best co-op experiences I ever had, ORC was certainly one of the worst. In addition to the issues already mentioned, the story is just not that interesting. The levels tend to be repetitive and the bosses lackluster. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more had I known more of the RE history and about the events that were taking place around us. RE5 was refreshing because it wasn’t just another shooter. It felt more like survival horror. I’ve been told that it was more action oriented than its predecessors, but for me it was different enough to be unique. ORC, to me, is just another shooter which happens to take place in the RE universe. I was disengaged throughout most of the game.


What did you like most about the game? What did you like least?

Evan: My favorite part about Raccoon City might have been the multiplayer, oddly enough. There are a few fun modes available, including one where members of Umbrella's special operations unit fight against Resident Evil heroes like Leon Kennedy. My least favorite part was the ending of the final chapter, which takes some liberties with the Resident Evil timeline and disrupts the cooperative nature of the game.

Lupo and Bertha take on government security forces.

Kevin: The aspects of the game I liked were from conventions already created in previous multiplayer survival games. These were, the ability to pick up different weapons during the gameplay, the ability to heal and revive your fellow teammates, the abundance of enemies varying in difficulty, and exploring or navigating though a complex map. The on screen map which displayed enemies was great, but not original. The Call of Duty games had it, so of course, why not this one too? What did I like the least? The plot and character motives, and the ending of the game, which didn't fit with everything that came before.

Lupo

Nick: A well integrated four player coop was the best part of the game, it was nice to different characters with different abilities that could help each other to form a cohesive team. The least enjoyable part was the story, it never really game together and was just a hodgepodge of different parts of resident evil lore not a complete story. 

Rob: As always, playing with my friends is usually what provides the most joy. However, I will say that ORC did provide me with more of an incentive to play the earlier Resident Evil games. Giving a taste of what is going on in RE2 and RE3 may have been intended to provoke nostalgia in players, but for me it motivated my desire to play those games firsthand. Hearing my friends chuckle over an in-joke or commenting on a particular event and how it relates to prior games certainly whetted my appetite for more RE and for that I am grateful to ORC. Without co-op, that wouldn’t have been possible as I would have just played through unaware of repercussions on the RE storyline. The cover system is what I liked the least. Running around trying to find suitable cover takes up way too much time in a fight and contributed to most of my deaths. It’s a clumsy system and it shows in the gameplay.


Favorite memory of ORC?

Evan: Unlike Left 4 Dead, which gave our group dozens of great memories, Raccoon City didn't produce many funny or memorable moments. I guess the best moments came when all four of us huddled around each other while one of us used a health spray so everyone could be healed at once. Seeing four highly-trained mercenaries in a circle ready to sing "Kumbaya" was pretty entertaining.

Kevin: I wish I had a favorite, but there weren't any. The only two ordinary memories that come to my mind were when we would gather close to use a spray health and thus "group heal". Two people would accidentally end up both using a spray when only one was necessary to heal us all. Rob would always say "I love you guys!" and someone would shout "Go Team!" or something just as ridiculous.

Operation Raccoon City features several multiplayer modes.

Nick: Kicking Evan and Rob's asses in a 2-on-1 multiplayer game. SUUUUCK IT. 

Rob: Unfortunately there were no real standout moments for me unlike in previous co-op games. It really seemed we were just playing to get through the game a lot of the time. The biggest laugh for me was actually during a cut-scene which was providing the mission brief for the next level. Exposition regarding an earlier RE game resulted in a twist in that game to be revealed. Not realizing at first the gravity of what I had just heard, I then listened as my friend (Evan) proceeded to frantically announce “Spoiler Alert! Rob, you didn’t hear that.” As also stated, standing around in a group healing also provided much needed comic relief. I do really love you guys!


What score would you give Operation Raccoon City?

Evan: Raccoon City has some fun multiplayer options and a bunch of good ideas, but the lazy, imprecise mechanics and bad storytelling ruin what could have been a really good game. Two stars for me.

Kevin: One star. The developers found an idea for a great game, and then failed to fully deliver it on all aspects. It doesn't get zero stars, as the graphics kept up with the system and gameplay.

Nick: Two stars. Great potential, poor execution.

Rob: Unfortunately ORC is an uninspired game, with uninteresting visuals and rough mechanics, that I never really felt provide an interesting and engaging experience. It had potential but it was mostly squandered away and the only real saving grace was the co-op. I’m going to go with two stars as a final score. If you’re a fan of RE, you may want to check it out, but you’re not missing much if you should decide to skip it.