In a blog post made last night, Capcom made it official: Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is by developed by Slant 6 Games and its focus is on squad-based zombie killing. Rumors first surfaced in late 2010 of a new installment in the long running Resident Evil franchise which would take the franchise in a new direction away from the series’ traditional survivor horror style. Yesterday’s formal acknowledgment from Capcom gave us an official screenshot of the latest Playstation Official Magazine (seen above) which features the game as its cover story.
Capcom also provided the following screenshot of the Raccoon City-themed Official Xbox Magazine cover which first surfaced last week.
The title is to be a collaborative project from Capcom and Slant 6 (who previously developed Socom: Confrontation) and is slated for release at year’s end. Operation RC will take place during the events of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 and will offer a reinterpretation of the happenings contained within those games. This multiplayer excursion will pit two squads of player controlled humans against one another in a competitive setting while simultaneously tasking them with fighting off hordes of angry zombies and “bio-organic weapons.”
Capcom promises that the game will create “a brand new style of gameplay and [will break down] the conventions of traditional team based shooters.” These are some lofty claims, but it does sound like an intriguing approach to the Left 4 Dead style of cooperative zombie slaying. Speaking of which, there was no mention of players taking control of zombies in Raccoon City. What they did promise is that fans can expect to come across familiar characters, places and enemies from the franchise’s storied past. Leon S. Kennedy will also be making an appearance along with a return trip to the Raccoon City Police Department.
As the game is scheduled for release this holiday, it’s probably a safe bet that we’ll get a more in-depth look at Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City when E3 rolls around this June.
Source: Capcom Unity; Images courtesy of Capcom Unity
