Capcom's discussed its just announced Resident Evil shooter, Operation Raccoon City, telling the French OPM it sees the title as "a spin-off" from the main survival horror series.
The game, which is being developed by SOCOM studio Slant Six, looks to be quite a departure for the Resident Evil series, with 4-player squad shootouts replacing the traditional slow-paced monster scares.
Asked why Capcom chose to move the series into third-person shooter territory, Kawata-san said: "As you know it's our fifteenth anniversary, which is a long time for a video game series... Some players came to the series when it made a turn towards action [in Resident Evil 4] (still with horror elements, though). This design led the series towards third-person shooter.
"The idea [to work with a Western developer] came up when we were working on Lost Planet 2," he added. "We didn't have any other teams internally to work on it. Western studios are known for their ease of development, and in terms of gameplay, this genre.
"We just bought a studio in Vancouver (Blue Castle) and when we were looking for external partners Blue Castle talked with Slant Six, and they were well known for their online games and their coding skills. We met them and they were big RE fans. A good starting point!"
He added, calming fan fears: "I want to clarify something, even though [this is] a shooter, there are still tons of horror elements."
Yesterday Capcom promised a "dark and sinister" atmosphere and "thrilling triple threat battle" for the shooter. See more Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City details here.
Comments
17 comments so far...
zombiesinmyhead on 29 Mar '11 said:
Oh yeah because that was such a massive success wasn't it!
Jesus, get me a job at Capcom, I'll turn that company round in a matter of months. It really does need saving from the titanic amounts of muppetry and daft-arsed foolishness its current exec just seem hell bent on churning out.
ensabahnur on 29 Mar '11 said:
Wonder if you can finally move and shoot in this game?
And your right Zombies, Capcom and Konami seem to have lost the plot this gen with poor products like Dark Void and ridiculous DLC prices. They used to be my favourite developers last few gens but they've both disappointed this gen..
zombiesinmyhead on 29 Mar '11 said:
@ensabahnur
Yeah, they were my favourite last gen too. This game does have potential, but with the exception of Street Fighter they're just churning out stinker after stinker. Until I see evidence to the contrary I'll be keeping this at arms length.
Fr33Kye on 29 Mar '11 said:
Lost planet 2 is awesome. Greatest co-op ever and one of my favorite tps. So many secrets in the game. While this game doesnt really sound particularly exciting, can you blame capcom? Japanese games dont sell well in the west and thats a bigger problem this gen because of how expensive they are, and this is what the western gamers buy.
ninja-key on 29 Mar '11 said:
must admit i cant wait to shoot proper zombies again
yourmumwasfun on 29 Mar '11 said:
Resident Evil: Left for dead
wrightandrewjame on 29 Mar '11 said:
I think that'd be pretty good. As long as you could move while shooting, a more horror orientated L4D could work. Add some puzzles and teamwork into the mix, with the proper pacing this could be what the stagnant Resi Evil series needs.
ensabahnur on 29 Mar '11 said:
Fixed!
WHERESMYMONKEY on 29 Mar '11 said:
There already is a series of resi mods for left 4 dead.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8nCMLJURY8
subform on 29 Mar '11 said:
I cant see this being a massive departure from the previous Resi games, because of Slant 6 being involved. Socom: Confrontation played like a fat kid on Dance Dance Revolution.
I'm still looking forward to it though. I hope they include some sort of mission based stuff.
Black Mantis on 29 Mar '11 said:
This. I like that they're trying different things for RE, but apart from SFIV, I haven't really liked any of their retail releases. All their best producers seem to have left as well.
delmariachi on 29 Mar '11 said:
Well if this is more than a L4D / Dead Rising hybrid, i'll be pleasantly surprised...
gavedge81 on 29 Mar '11 said:
New direction, i was perfectly happy with the old one thankyou! I dont think ill be buying this.
DrRickDagless MD on 29 Mar '11 said:
Personaly I think a move back and to the side will be good for the series. 5 missed the point so a change is better than them churning out 6 in my eyes. Nun-chucks are my only request.
gmcb007 on 29 Mar '11 said:
Spin off makes it sound worse. Just stick to 6 Capcom and this time ASK the public what they want to see and stop using your stupid 'western' philosophy where every game must be like COD.
Mad Garrotter on 29 Mar '11 said:
Will they ever realise that people don't want these spin off games. Even Resident Evil 4 is not a true Resi game imo. It should be slow paced, atmospheric and most importantly SCARY! It should have zombies and monsters not slightly annoyed human beings who sprout killer dreadlocks. If they even just remade the first two games they would sell like hot cakes but surely it can't be too hard to go back to it's roots and build a new game, not this action oriented drivel. Hopefully Resi Revelations on 3DS will be a return to form!
Very_Silver_Ownz on 29 Mar '11 said:
Even if its a terrible game it can't get any worse then Resi 5. wow that game sucked ass.