Monday , March 18 2024
Capcom brings Resident Evil to New York Comic-Con

Capcom Brings ‘Resident Evil’ to New York Comic-Con

It doesn’t take long for the floor of New York Comic-Con to feel relatively full today, the first day Umbrella Corpsof the 2015 event. Movies, books, t-shirts, and all other manner of collectibles are readily available. Many people clearly have worked out in advance what they want to get or check out and make sure to head to the appropriate quickly. It is no surprise then that the Capcom booth, with its assortment of demos, has a sizable line (it should also be noted that the booth is near the entrance to the floor).

The games company is offering looks at several titles this year, including Street Fighter V and two Resident Evil games. Not being a very swift button-masher, I opt to check out the RE titles, the Resident Evil 0 remaster and the new shooter Umbrella Corps.

Starting with the latter first, Umbrella Corps is an online multiplayer experience and while there will be multiple modes available, the one on display at NYCC offers three-on-three team battles without respawning – one death and you’re done, the team that survives, wins.

Umbrella Corps promises small maps with multiple levels, and that’s instantly apparent here as it doesn’t take long at all to find the enemy (they’re Bravo, our side is Alpha). In fact, there is one round during our best three out of five match where Bravo loses two plays within 30 seconds and no round lasts more than three to four minutes.

One of the particularly brilliant bits of the game is that it has zombies (come on, it’s Resident Evil, there ought to be zombies). They are present in the map, just doing their zombie thing and not going after players. Why? Because we have little packs strapped to our backs that make them invisible to us. Get shot in the right spot by the opposite team, the pack breaks, and the zombies will come for you. During one round, I am in fact taken out by one of the undead.

It is fun. It is quick. And, true to Resident Evil‘s nature, it is bloody. I am told that there is no rating as of yet, but it is certainly looking as though it’s going to end up M.

As for Resident Evil 0, and as some will recall, it was originally released on the GameCube. It features a lot more old school mechanics than current RE titles, from having typewriters to save your game on (if you have a ribbon) to static cameras. The updated graphics look great, but the static camera angles definitely make it a moderately more difficult game to play – the ability to aim at zombies is diminished and with bullets in short supply it can be rather frustrating.

Playing RE 0 right on the heels of Umbrella Corps only enhanced the sense that 0 is an old game being rereleased. It is much more an oddity for lovers of older games or aficionados of the franchise than it is a title with mass market appeal.  Fun?  Yes, definitely anachronistic.

Both Resident Evil titles are due out in 2016.

About Josh Lasser

Josh has deftly segued from a life of being pre-med to film school to television production to writing about the media in general. And by 'deftly' he means with agonizing second thoughts and the formation of an ulcer.

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