The Good vs Bad when it comes down to Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City.
As for the good things about Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (which will be shortened down to RE:ORC from here on out); While playing the campaign, there are 6 characters to choose from who each belong to an individual class [ie: Medic, Assault, Recon, etc]. Each class has its own abilities, which can change the way that the game is played when switching up the characters. The same concept applies for the multiplayer, though there are 18 characters (3 factions with 6 characters each).
RE:ORC is a game that makes sure teamwork is used through the majority of your experience with it. No matter how much you'd like to, there's no way you can do just about anything in this game alone. You could try and may even succeed for a few moments, but I wouldn't expect to get very far. With the enemies being able to team up on you, trap you, and even spam you to death in some situations, a team is definitely required. While on the topic of teamwork, this game is definitely meant to be played online. There are reasons for it that I can't quite explain until later, but overall, playing online makes the game a much more enjoyable experience.
While playing RE:ORC, you gain experience points that don't only help you level up but act as currency. Abilities, ability upgrades, and weapons can be purchased with your experience points that are earned in the campaign and versus modes. The coolest part about this is the fact that your campaign and versus level/experience is universal, meaning that your level and the things you choose to buy will be available no matter what mode you play on.
If the campaign isn't really your thing, the games versus modes are all pretty fun and can add quite a bit of replay value to the game if you've got a competitive side. There are 10 multiplayer maps from the start, which actually seems like a lot compared to similar games out there. Each map is designed relatively well, swarming with zombies and B.O.W's (Bio Organic Weapons) to help you rack up more points, kill you, or distract you from your goal.
Though I may be wrong here, this game seems to be the first that I've noticed to use 2 very interesting features. The first is that you can actually be infected by zombies and B.O.W's. If the infection is untreated by the time your health bar drains, you will turn into a zombie and have the chance to run after your teammates. When you turn into a zombie, it's controllable when you are in the campaign but it isn't in versus modes. The second is an interesting feature called 'bleeding', which is basically when your character takes a hit that causes them to bleed heavily. When this happens, zombies are so attracted to you that they may very well run right by everyone else in order to get you. Unfortunately, that's where our good things about the game end and you've hopefully been holding onto that First Aid Spray I was telling you about earlier.
As for the bad things about RE:ORC; Remember when I mentioned that this game was meant to be played online? Well, the main reasoning for that is how terrible your A.I. companions are. I've dealt with some pretty sloppy A.I. allies over the years, but these ones can actually be quite rage inducing. They don't put forth much of an effort at all in combat, they never seem to sprint/are terrible at keeping up with you, and they can't revive you when you're downed. If you want to experience how this game would feel if you were to play alone without assistance, just play offline.
The number of different enemies in this game is quite unsatisfying, especially for a Resident Evil title. There are only 7 different kinds of enemies that can be found within RE:ORC, and one of them are the 'Humans', which take a lot more damage than they should in order to die even on easier difficulties. Other than that there are; zombies, lickers, hunters, tyrants, crimson heads, parasites to keep you busy. I would say zombie dogs, but I've only seen 3 or so in the entire game.
Are you a hardcore Resident Evil fan who knows just about everything there is to know and is looking for an expansion to the series' story? Perhaps you're new to the series and this is your first Resident Evil game… If that's the case, then I would try my best not to remember anything about this game besides the names. There's a lot of information that's thrown at you without explanation if you're unfamiliar with Resident Evil's back story. If you are, then this game may upset you for the fact that the game has moments in which is rewrites Resident Evil's history.
Speaking of the games story, there isn't really much of one. On Normal difficulty, the game sadly took me slightly over 4 hours to complete. I'm pretty sure that if I kept track, this game would actually hold the record for 'Shortest Retail Game I've Ever Played' at the moment. The story also can't be enjoyed via split-screen, which is always a disappointment when it comes down to cooperative games.
Overall, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is an OKAY game, but it's definitely not worth the price. Honestly, there are times when I feel as if this game should have been downloadable and released at $20-$25. With that being said, I would definitely recommend renting this before you buy it unless you are a fan of cooperative gameplay and have friends with the game. 6 out of 10
Thanks for reading my review. If you liked what you saw, be sure to follow me on either my Youtube Page (TrueFreakinGamers) or Twitter (thatSTERLINkid) and share your thoughts on whether you agree or disagree!
*Review based on PS3 version*