April 24, 2016 by Paul Curtin
Capcom’s first deviation from Resident Evil‘s horror roots was a controversial decision that ultimately failed in its attempt to stand out as a unique shooter. Partly due to its different gameplay mechanics, but more so due to the overwhelming negative feedback from horror game genre purist who never wanted to give the game a chance. Slant Six’s Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City sadly didn’t do much to help the franchise to say the least.
But unlike most people, we here at MediaStinger actually really enjoyed playing Operation Raccoon City because we didn’t look at the game as a sequel to the Resident Evil horror series and rather something completely different that stood on its own as an exciting and unique non-canon experience. So when it was revealed that Capcom was trying once again to make the competitive shooter concept work, we were thrilled, despite popular opinion being negative once again.
Although now from a different developer, Umbrella Corps will be following the same interesting concept of two teams of human players battling it out in the middle of zombie-infested maps. As a fan of the Resident Evil series who grew up playing the horror games, it’s understandable how other gamers could be upset when Capcom is doubling down on the shooter genre rather than trying to scare gamers, but as a fan of shooters who is a bit fatigued, you have to appreciate the developers trying to change up the typical player vs. player environment by throwing in other elements… it’s basically what Ubisoft’s The Division is doing now… and most people’s biggest complaint about that game is the enemies are boring and they’d be happy to see zombies instead.
Umbrella Corps looks to play at a much faster pace than ORC and seems to have an even greater emphasis on close quarters axe-to-axe combat and player customization. The latest trailer once again teases said combat along with a bigger zombie monster foe that will occupy the new Code: Veronica-inspired map. Players will also be able to completely customization their characters who this time won’t be taken from the Resident Evil universe to keep fans of the series happy that their favorites aren’t being misused in a tactical multiplayer setting.
Umbrella Corps is set for release on PC and PlayStation 4 on June 21, 2016.
