thatdemoguy

Yesterday at Tokyo Game Show, Capcom, one of the most revered companies in all of gaming, annouced a new entry into to the critically acclaimed and well loved Resident Evil series. This really should come as no surprise though, considering that the upcoming year marks the 20th anniversary of the series. This is exciting news right? I mean we all know that we have the Resident Evil Origins Collection to look forward to, and then also the recent announcement of Resident Evil 2 REmake actually happening (BTW you should download the original Resident Evil REmake, which is available NOW on XBOXLive). As a fan of this series, I should feel pretty much spoiled. But alas, another new game was announced. What more can they do? Give us a new numbered entry in the main series....maybe a new spinoff in the vein of the stellar Revelations series (which you should also download right NOW). The excitement could barely be contained, so what is it?

 

Its a team based competitive shooter?

 

Yes, thats right. A shooter. With a strong focus on PVP, titled Resident Evil (Biohazard) Umbrella Corps.

Now, all we have currently is a teaser trailer, but from what can be seen this appears to be less of a Resident Evil title, and more of a straight up online FPS with zombies thrown in for show. Even in the gameplay the creatures that brought Resident Evil to the dance, seem rather....for lack of a better term....well LIFELESS. Cannon fodder. I want to speak about this objectively, but thats very difficult considering I still have the scar from the abysmal Operation: Raccoon City left on me. Theres some cool things going on with the dark corridors and close quarter battles that seem to have tools meant for personal encounters, but I have to question the direction Capcom is taking this series. And I also question who the target demographic is for this to be honest. Follow me for just a little bit here.

 

The current landscape doesnt really allow for very many "new" shooters to even have a chance to get that financial commitment and promised shelf or hard drive space. The juggernauts of the genre are known already. You have Call of Duty, Battlefield, and the recent monster Destiny. And the new Call of Duty even marks the return of the awesome zombies mode, complete with its own campaign. So if Capcom wants to enter the fray and try to go toe to toe with all of the aforementioned titles, the mechanics have to be absolutely spot on and the gameplay needs to be solid. They cant just slap the Resident Evil name on a poorly executed title and expect the players to flock to it. I want to be optimistic, but this could prove to be a very slippery slope, especially if the other kings of the hill structure their DLC properly.

 

Does this mean that im not excited? NO. But I will definitely be keeping my eye on this right on up til 2016.