Operation Raccoon City Dev: Mission Accomplished

[The Wooster]

Operation Raccoon City Dev: Mission Accomplished

"I think we accomplished what Capcom wanted us to do" says Slant Six, the developer of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City.

""[The critical reception to the game] seems to be fairly polarized," Studio producer, Mike Kerr, told Eurogamer.

Like most of Capcom's collaborations with Western developers, Operation Raccoon City [http://www.amazon.com/Resident-Evil-Operation-Raccoon-Xbox-360/dp/B004UDLRMS] has been poorly received. The game currently stands at 51 points on Metacritic, with 14 of the game's 15 professional reviews described as either mixed or negative. The only two outlets to give the game higher than 5/10 are Eurogamer Italy and The Guardian. GamesRadar described the game as "One of the worst Resident Evil Games to date" and a Games Beat reviewer said it was "defective in ways I've never seen before." So, not really polarizing at all then.

Slant Six is an independent Canadian developer founded in 2005. It's responsible for three installments of the SOCOM series, all of which received a generally lukewarm response. Fortunately, Kerr seems to have the right idea regarding criticism.

"It's challenging. A lot of people put a lot of time and effort into the game and obviously we'd like to see the review scores be a little better than they are right now," he continued. "In the end, I think our position on it is that we read every review and we try to pull out all the constructive feedback that we can so we can learn a little about what people liked and what they didn't."

"Then we look to what our internal goals were and what Capcom asked us to do and I think we accomplished what they wanted to do - we took the Resident Evil franchise in a different direction," he said.

One fan of the game tweeted the following to Slant Six's official twitter account: "having a hard time figuring out why this game is getting such bad reviews".

"Us too" responded the developer.

That tweet has since been deleted.

Source: Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-03-23-operation-raccoon-city-dev-i-think-we-accomplished-what-capcom-wanted-us-to-do]


Permalink

 

[Yopaz]

This is a shame, I was really looking forward to this game... I might still pick it up when it comes to PC, but now both this and Ninja Gaiden 3 seems to have failed.

 

[Doclector]

Actually, I've been enjoying it so far. And I haven't even got to multiplayer yet. I think it's because despite the shooting being incredibly mediocre, run of the mill stuff, and the AI being kinda dumb, this is a pretty unique experience.

The core idea, a squad based shoot em up within the universe of resident evil, more specifically raccoon city, perhaps the best part of said universe, is interesting, and this is kinda something I've wanted for a while, to play as one of the nameless yet badass umbrella operatives. Hell, HUNK barely appeared at all in resident evil 2, but he became a really popular character, which I guess is kinda a boba fett effect. Boba effett? I always saw these guys and thought "some of these guys are actually cooler than the main protagonists".

They ain't well rounded characters at all. Aside from pride in professionalism, they don't do much apart from be laughably evil. My favourite example of this being the german (?) medic. She's just so damn pantomine evil, it's hilarious.

To cut this mini review short, this is a pretty dumb shoot em up with an interesting idea at it's core. Resi fans who aren't too upset about a game blatantly taking the action route instead of horror should find something to enjoy here.

 

[go-10]

other than the god awful partner AI I really like this game, its a bit unbalanced as characters like Four Eyes and Specter will quickly dominate the battlefield in both campaign and versus, but the game still offers a zombie experience that I hadn't had since the first Left 4 Dead

 

[antipunt]

Is it just me or have games been receiving a lot of 'fail' responses this month-ish?

 

[Tohuvabohu]

Actually, I've been enjoying it so far. And I haven't even got to multiplayer yet. I think it's because despite the shooting being incredibly mediocre, run of the mill stuff, and the AI being kinda dumb, this is a pretty unique experience.

The core idea, a squad based shoot em up within the universe of resident evil, more specifically raccoon city, perhaps the best part of said universe, is interesting, and this is kinda something I've wanted for a while, to play as one of the nameless yet badass umbrella operatives. Hell, HUNK barely appeared at all in resident evil 2, but he became a really popular character, which I guess is kinda a boba fett effect. Boba effett? I always saw these guys and thought "some of these guys are actually cooler than the main protagonists".

They ain't well rounded characters at all. Aside from pride in professionalism, they don't do much apart from be laughably evil. My favourite example of this being the german (?) medic. She's just so damn pantomine evil, it's hilarious.

To cut this mini review short, this is a pretty dumb shoot em up with an interesting idea at it's core. Resi fans who aren't too upset about a game blatantly taking the action route instead of horror should find something to enjoy here.

This is pretty much how I feel about it.

RE2 and 3 were my favorites of the classics.

As for the game, and being a fan of the RE franchise, I'm able to accept this game. I was happy to get to revisit Raccoon City and see it all over again. It is just a spinoff after all, one that attempts to take advantage of the RE universe to offer something new.

The end result could've been alot better. But at it's core, with friends to play, I think it was a blast to play through. It was also a lot harder than I thought it would be. I imagine Gears of War with zombies.... but you actually have health in this game instead of bloody screens. It was also a riot whenever someone gets infected and turns into a zombie. I remember I became infected and stayed silent about it, while lurking nearby behind my friends while they were distracted with other zombies...
Then I turned, and started tearing them apart. My friends all responded in unison with a "What the fuck is going on!?" I killed one, infected another and turned HIM into a zombie too, before the last one succeeded in killing us. The thought of that still makes me crack up laughing.

The zombies, the crimson heads, Birkin, Hunters, Tyrants... It's great! I loved the part when your squad had to find Nemesis. Standing on a Catwalk above Nemesis, watching him shoot his minigun everywhere while caught in a crossfire between more than a dozen soldiers all blasting at him with their rifles. That was just awesome.

But, the game was, way too damn short. All the guns, and abilities you can unlock and upgrade... there's too many of them for how short the game is. I wasn't even able to max out ONE character's abilities before the game ended, they all still need one or two more upgrades. And forget about the ridiculous amount of guns the game has that I've yet to unlock.

What am I supposed to do? Replay the game over and over and over and over to unlock everything? Yes I know there's multiplayer but still. It was too damn short. Not enough Birkin either (I thought we'd see him in all his mutation forms, but nooooo.)

It's a shame too. The weapons all handle differently, have different stats, different advantages, different uses. It would've been great to have a lot more content to play through and really have a reason to use everything the game has to offer.

Also, it would've been PERFECT for a horde mode too. But, no horde mode.

All-in-all. It was a cool idea, executed roughly, but still has potential I think. I wouldn't recommend this as a buy to anyone but the biggest fans of coop games.

 

[Doclector]

Actually, I've been enjoying it so far. And I haven't even got to multiplayer yet. I think it's because despite the shooting being incredibly mediocre, run of the mill stuff, and the AI being kinda dumb, this is a pretty unique experience.

The core idea, a squad based shoot em up within the universe of resident evil, more specifically raccoon city, perhaps the best part of said universe, is interesting, and this is kinda something I've wanted for a while, to play as one of the nameless yet badass umbrella operatives. Hell, HUNK barely appeared at all in resident evil 2, but he became a really popular character, which I guess is kinda a boba fett effect. Boba effett? I always saw these guys and thought "some of these guys are actually cooler than the main protagonists".

They ain't well rounded characters at all. Aside from pride in professionalism, they don't do much apart from be laughably evil. My favourite example of this being the german (?) medic. She's just so damn pantomine evil, it's hilarious.

To cut this mini review short, this is a pretty dumb shoot em up with an interesting idea at it's core. Resi fans who aren't too upset about a game blatantly taking the action route instead of horror should find something to enjoy here.

This is pretty much how I feel about it.

RE2 and 3 were my favorites of the classics.

As for the game, and being a fan of the RE franchise, I'm able to accept this game. I was happy to get to revisit Raccoon City and see it all over again. It is just a spinoff after all, one that attempts to take advantage of the RE universe to offer something new.

The end result could've been alot better. But at it's core, with friends to play, I think it was a blast to play through. It was also a lot harder than I thought it would be. I imagine Gears of War with zombies.... but you actually have health in this game instead of bloody screens. It was also a riot whenever someone gets infected and turns into a zombie. I remember I became infected and stayed silent about it, while lurking nearby behind my friends while they were distracted with other zombies...
Then I turned, and started tearing them apart. My friends all responded in unison with a "What the fuck is going on!?" I killed one, infected another and turned HIM into a zombie too, before the last one succeeded in killing us. The thought of that still makes me crack up laughing.

The zombies, the crimson heads, Birkin, Hunters, Tyrants... It's great! I loved the part when your squad had to find Nemesis. Standing on a Catwalk above Nemesis, watching him shoot his minigun everywhere while caught in a crossfire between more than a dozen soldiers all blasting at him with their rifles. That was just awesome.

But, the game was, way too damn short. All the guns, and abilities you can unlock and upgrade... there's too many of them for how short the game is. I wasn't even able to max out ONE character's abilities before the game ended, they all still need one or two more upgrades. And forget about the ridiculous amount of guns the game has that I've yet to unlock.

What am I supposed to do? Replay the game over and over and over and over to unlock everything? Yes I know there's multiplayer but still. It was too damn short. Not enough Birkin either (I thought we'd see him in all his mutation forms, but nooooo.)

It's a shame too. The weapons all handle differently, have different stats, different advantages, different uses. It would've been great to have a lot more content to play through and really have a reason to use everything the game has to offer.

Also, it would've been PERFECT for a horde mode too. But, no horde mode.

All-in-all. It was a cool idea, executed roughly, but still has potential I think. I wouldn't recommend this as a buy to anyone but the biggest fans of coop games.

Well, there is free dlc coming soon. No joke, no gimmick, actual free dlc. Only one mission, however. http://playstationlifestyle.net/2012/03/15/free-spec-ops-mission-dlc-coming-for-resident-evil-operation-raccoon-city-in-april/

 

[Kopikatsu]

This is a shame, I was really looking forward to this game... I might still pick it up when it comes to PC, but now both this and Ninja Gaiden 3 seems to have failed.

I still think they're crazy. I have both games and I think they're great.

ORC is bad if you're looking at it as an RE game; but it isn't. It doesn't try to be an RE game. It's a squad based co-op shooter with zombies thrown in. (Slant Six even said at the very beginning that the zombies would be an environmental hazard more than anything with the real challenge coming from the guys with the guns...and it's true.) My personal problems with ORC are: AI is pretty shit. "VECTOR. BELTWAY. STOP RUNNING IN FRONT OF ME WHILE I'M SHOOTING WHEN FRIENDLY FIRE IS ON. RAAAAAAAWRGH", some events can only be triggered by the player (Which cause unavoidable damage), it wasn't really what I expected (I figured you could kill or let RE characters escape throughout the game...while you do fight them, I don't think you can kill them early. I've never really tried though.), and there are a few visual bugs sometimes; like Lickers sliding across the air instead of jumping...but those bugs are really minor.

Aside from those points, it's a very solid, fun game. Especially the multiplayer.

Edit: WAIT, I FORGOT. WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE SO MUCH HEALTH? FMFQMRWMFPMAP,M. The only thing in the entire game that had a reasonable amount of health was the Super Tyrant. Why? What sense does that make?

As for Ninja Gaiden 3...story is good with interesting characters (Especially Reagent of the Mask). Combat makes you feel like a major badass while retaining a great deal of challenge (Much more difficult than NG1 and Sigma). You are stuck with a katana throughout the entire game unless you get upcoming weapon DLC (Although the particular katana you're wielding does change), a few events (LIKE KUNAI CLIMBING. I HATE YOU SO MUCH NWIDQM) pop up rather frequently, but at least they're fast if you can mash L1 and R1 in rhythm. The multiplayer is pretty cool with it's unlock system (If you're getting beaten too badly, you can grind up for weapons/skills/outfits in co-op or solo modes). Combat gets a bit repetitive, but again, it's so fun and badass that it never really gets old.

I don't know how reviewers can possibly give these games 3-5/10. Even if you don't like them, a 3 is like...broken unplayable mess (Like Skyrim for a lot of people).

 

[Tohuvabohu]

Well, there is free dlc coming soon. No joke, no gimmick, actual free dlc. Only one mission, however. http://playstationlifestyle.net/2012/03/15/free-spec-ops-mission-dlc-coming-for-resident-evil-operation-raccoon-city-in-april/

Sweet! I'm glad there's some DLC coming for this, this game definitely needs it.

I hope they'll bring more to the game too. Besides costumes, or more multiplayer VS maps. The core of the game is the squad-based coop campaign, and there wasn't enough of it.

Oh well. This DLC is a nice gesture regardless.

 

[Yopaz]

This is a shame, I was really looking forward to this game... I might still pick it up when it comes to PC, but now both this and Ninja Gaiden 3 seems to have failed.

I still think they're crazy. I have both games and I think they're great.

ORC is bad if you're looking at it as an RE game; but it isn't. It doesn't try to be an RE game. It's a squad based co-op shooter with zombies thrown in. (Slant Six even said at the very beginning that the zombies would be an environmental hazard more than anything with the real challenge coming from the guys with the guns...and it's true.) My personal problems with ORC are: AI is pretty shit. "VECTOR. BELTWAY. STOP RUNNING IN FRONT OF ME WHILE I'M SHOOTING WHEN FRIENDLY FIRE IS ON. RAAAAAAAWRGH", some events can only be triggered by the player (Which cause unavoidable damage), it wasn't really what I expected (I figured you could kill or let RE characters escape throughout the game...while you do fight them, I don't think you can kill them early. I've never really tried though.), and there are a few visual bugs sometimes; like Lickers sliding across the air instead of jumping...but those bugs are really minor.

Aside from those points, it's a very solid, fun game. Especially the multiplayer.

Edit: WAIT, I FORGOT. WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE SO MUCH HEALTH? FMFQMRWMFPMAP,M. The only thing in the entire game that had a reasonable amount of health was the Super Tyrant. Why? What sense does that make?

As for Ninja Gaiden 3...story is good with interesting characters (Especially Reagent of the Mask). Combat makes you feel like a major badass while retaining a great deal of challenge (Much more difficult than NG1 and Sigma). You are stuck with a katana throughout the entire game unless you get upcoming weapon DLC (Although the particular katana you're wielding does change), a few events (LIKE KUNAI CLIMBING. I HATE YOU SO MUCH NWIDQM) pop up rather frequently, but at least they're fast if you can mash L1 and R1 in rhythm. The multiplayer is pretty cool with it's unlock system (If you're getting beaten too badly, you can grind up for weapons/skills/outfits in co-op or solo modes). Combat gets a bit repetitive, but again, it's so fun and badass that it never really gets old.

I don't know how reviewers can possibly give these games 3-5/10. Even if you don't like them, a 3 is like...broken unplayable mess (Like Skyrim for a lot of people).

Thanks foe enlightening me on this matter. I was planning to play Operation Raccoon City with some friends online when the PC version comes so I doubt the AI will be that much of a problem. I guess I will see how things go with Ninja Gaiden 3 though... my backlog is becoming massive and I'm not sure how much I will have time to get through, but this summer I will try though. Again thanks for giving me your opinion on both games.

 

[Frankster]

Have been keeping tabs on the game as it does look like it can be a viable coop game for me to play with my friends. This talk of horrid AI is worrysome, how can you mess up AI for zombies? o0 Unless it's only for ranged enemies?

Am on the fence as the concept really does appeal to me, but a 4hour campaign seems short for the price of a new game. Will need more detail on multiplayer before I can make up my mind.

 

[Reaper69lol]

Ive been a huge fan of Resident Evil franchise for years and years. Hell, I even have a tattoo dedicated to it. Operation Raccoon city, despite few problems that were pointed out earlier is a very enjoyable experience as a whole and a step forward for Capcom and Resident Evil. Thats just how I see it, I enjoyed the single player campaign, even though it was a bit short, but multiplayer definately takes the cake on this one. However, they should have spend a bit more time polishing the game before releasing it.

 

[Syzygy23]

Actually, I've been enjoying it so far. And I haven't even got to multiplayer yet. I think it's because despite the shooting being incredibly mediocre, run of the mill stuff, and the AI being kinda dumb, this is a pretty unique experience.

"unique experience"?

Yeah, I cannot think of ANY other games that involve surviving a zombie apocalypse on a team of 4 uninfected people.

 

[Doclector]

Actually, I've been enjoying it so far. And I haven't even got to multiplayer yet. I think it's because despite the shooting being incredibly mediocre, run of the mill stuff, and the AI being kinda dumb, this is a pretty unique experience.

"unique experience"?

Yeah, I cannot think of ANY other games that involve surviving a zombie apocalypse on a team of 4 uninfected people.

Throwing human enemies (sometimes even focusing on them) into the mix along with character progression makes it significantly different from Left 4 dead.

 

[Doclector]

Have been keeping tabs on the game as it does look like it can be a viable coop game for me to play with my friends. This talk of horrid AI is worrysome, how can you mess up AI for zombies? o0 Unless it's only for ranged enemies?

Am on the fence as the concept really does appeal to me, but a 4hour campaign seems short for the price of a new game. Will need more detail on multiplayer before I can make up my mind.

The AI is bad for both your teammates (although, to be honest, they've rarely proven an actual hinderance, they just don't help much) and for ranged enemies.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

Loads of bad reviews, and they call it "Mission Accomplished"? I'd like to see what goals Capcom actually gave them.

Wait. I get it now. I think they mean:
http://blog.buzzflash.com/articles/files/bush-mission.jpg

 

[JoesshittyOs]

As bleh as the game is, it still is rather charming in the disaster sort of way.

It's a mess, but it's fun. The three way fight between the Mercenaries and the zombies is entertaining, the character dialogue is atrociously bad in an entertaining sort of way, and the cameo encounter is almost worth it.

It's a beautiful disaster.

 

[Frankster]

]The AI is bad for both your teammates (although, to be honest, they've rarely proven an actual hinderance, they just don't help much) and for ranged enemies.

Cheers for the info, as I would play this with friends team mate ai shouldn't be a problem and as for ranged enemies... Well that's unfortunate but so long as zombie and monster ai does its job in wanting to kill you it's tolerable.

Fuck negative reviews , I think there's some fun to be had in this game so will definitly give it a try when it comes out on pc. Seems that the game does have issues but I'm still interested.

 

[gigastar]

Well, if Capcom charged Saint Six with taking the ancient IP in a new direction, they certainly did that.

It may not have been the greatest start but with constructive feedback its at least a start.