Rumors swirled last week about a brand new Resident Evil title that looks to break the mold of the previous games, and today, Capcom has confirmed that game. Called Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, the game is a reimagining of the events that took place in Resident Evil 2 and 3. The game is a "team based shooter" first and foremost, being developed by Slant Six Games who have created several SOCOM games including the excellent SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3 on the PSP.
The game will also feature and single player and four player cooperative element as players are dropped in the shoes of a Umbrella Security Services soldier to battle against the competing forces of Raccoon City. That's right, you'll be playing as the "bad guys" during the T-Virus outbreak.
The official material tells us to expect "fan favorite characters" as well as "iconic" landmarks to return. In addition to the single player and co-op, the team based versus mode of the game sounds pretty unique thanks to the three way combat between the Umbrella Security Service, US Special Ops and threat of zombies. Because of this, players aren't just worried about the opposing forces, but also the undead.
So that's the official line - what about the "unofficial info?" Several European magazines and the Official Xbox 360 magazine are said to have the cover story in their upcoming issue and details have been gleamed from these previews.
From what we gather gameplay is going to be much faster paced and from a third person perspective. Players will still rely on things like collecting herbs to heal, but weapon gathering and collecting will play less of an important role. The game will also have an XP system which will be used to unlock character abilities.
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is in development for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
More info will be revealed at E3 in June and Co-Optimus will be there to cover it.