Operation Redemption

A different look at Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

I’m not going to lie, I picked up the special edition of RE:ORC on the PS3 and began to get excited. I looked over the description on the back and I was hoping that work went a little quicker as my break drew to an end. For fun I figured I’d take a look online and see what some of the other sites had given RE:ORC as far as a review score. I play this game in my head too. Before the score actually pops up on the screen I imagine what number I am going to see in red. “I feel like it’s going to be 8.5, maybe an 8”. You can only imagine what I felt when I was staring at 4/10.

The first thought in my head was, “Wow, I’ve got to go return this on my way home…a 4? That’s damn near unplayable.” It ate at me for the last 4 hours of my day. I finally got off and drove past the local retailer that I had purchased it from, and just as I was about to take a left something in my head stopped me. I have loved some of the most critically hated games. I have also hated some of the most critically loved games out there. Where am I headed with this? RE:ORC is at least worth a rental.

Lupo, My Charator Choice

Where RE:ORC starts off is amidst the breakout infestation of Raccoon City. You are charged with controlling one of the Umbrella Special Forces group that is set out to destroy all evidence of any Umbrella involvement in the breakout. To not give too much away, my abbreviated playtime with the game had me blasting through humans and zombies alike, destroying records of Umbrella involvement and collecting data that translates into XP that you can invest into your desired character of choice.

These abilities go from passive to ones that need to be activated by a specific button press. For example, the character I chose was Lupo, the assault class character. By pressing triangle I was able to activate an ability that allowed me to shoot fire rounds for 10 seconds, setting my enemies on fire and causing them to stop rushing at me.

Of course there is a flipside to everything. Is the hit detection a bit off sometimes? Yes, but that can truly be attributed to the type of gun you are using. Is it the smoothest cover based shooter on the market? No, but it is fully functional. I would just not relay on the AI players, as they are about as effective as a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest.

I’m not going to give this game a score. I have only played it for 2 hours, but I feel that everyone has been a bit too hard on it. I will tell you if a game is fun or not, and it defiantly is fun. RE:ORC is well worth your time, and if you’re a fan of 3^rd person shooters this is one that you can easily grab out of the bargain bin in the near future.

-Matt

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