Six years have passed since the destruction of Raccoon City and the crushing downfall of the Umbrella Corporation due to it's involvement in the viral outbreak. Now, Leon S. Kennedy had received special training and became a government agent for the President of the United States. Leon has been recruited for an assignment, which is to rescue Ashley Graham, the President's daughter from a sinister cult led by Osmund Saddler. What Leon discovers is that the villagers and monsters are caused by a parasitic disease known as Las Plagas (The Plagues).
The gameplay has changed since Resident Evil Code: Veronica X. Now players get to play in a third-person mode type of shooter and genre went from survival horror to action survival horror. Although, some elements like mixing herbs, key items, reading documents and puzzles have returned. And a new feature is introduced such as finding treasures and combining jewels to create a better treasure to sell to the Merchant for a higher price. The Merchant sells weapons, first aid sprays, upgrade weapons, and even special weapons when beating the game for the first time at a much more higher price. Resident Evil 4 shows the inclusion of context-sensitive controls. Based on the situation, the player can interact with aspects of their environment: kicking down a ladder, jumping out of a window, or dodging an enemy attack. There are also quick time events, in which the player must press buttons indicated on-screen to execute actions such as dodging a falling boulder or wrestling an enemy to stay alive. These are often incorporated into the game's many boss battles, where the player must avoid instant kill attacks.
Resident Evil 4 has three mini-games seen in the PS2 version. The Mercenaries, which Leon, Ada, Wesker, Krauser and even Hunk himself are playable characters. In The Mercenaries, if every character has 6 stars, a new weapon known as the Handcannon is unlocked, a weapon that is similar to Mega Man's. Assignment Ada is a mini-game that has a non-canon story where Ada must obtain various Plaga samples while fighting or avoiding infected commandos and at the end fighting Jack Krauser. Separate Ways is a mini-game which tells Ada's story during the main game where she randomly encounters Leon, and works for Albert Wesker to obtain the Plaga Sample from Saddler.
The main enemies of the game are infected violent villagers known as Los Ganados (The Cattle). Los Ganados can dodge, wield melee and projectile weapons, and are capable of working collectively and communicating with each other. They were once simple farmers until becoming the product of an infestation of Las Plagas ("The Plague" in Spanish). They are all part of Osmund Saddler's cult known as Los Illuminados (The Enlightened Ones). Resident Evil 4 was also released on the Wii and PC alongside it's three mini-games that were included in the PlayStation 2 version. There are also new costumes for Leon and Ashley and cutscene browser. In 2011, the game was downloadable on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox Live.
Eleven years had pased since Raccoon City, Chris Redfield is now an agent working for the B.S.A.A. (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance) and works alongside Sheva Alomar to investigate a terrorist threat in the Kijuju Autonomous Zone. Upon their arrival, they discover that all the villagers had been infected with Majini parasites, and killed the rest of Alpha Team. In intelligence provided by Delta Team's leader, Josh Stone, Chris discovers a picture of Jill Valentine, who was presumed dead during a confrontation with Wesker. Now, Chris must find out if his old partner is still alive and finish off his nemesis Wesker, once and for all.
Resident Evil 5 has the same elements from Resident Evil 4 and previous games, but it also introduces a new feature. That feature is co-op mode, in which players can either play with others or solo. Players can select either Chris or Sheva to play with, and they can exchange weapons, ammo, herbs, and first aid sprays. If one of them is dying players can save their partner from being killed. Like in Resident Evil 4, players can sell or upgrade weapons, sell treasures and jewels, etc. This game also has mini-games such as Lost in Nightmares, which tells the story of Jill's supposedly death during a confrontation with Wesker, and Desperate Escape, in which after saving Jill, she and Josh Stone fight off Majinis in order to save Chris and Sheva before escaping the doomed base of Tricell Inc.
The mini games can either be downloaded or played in the Gold Edition of the game. Most fans would say that after the fifth game, the series would go on it's downfall.
The story of the game bridges the gap between Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5, labeling it as an interquel. The story revolves around BSAA co-founders Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield, the protagonists of the first Resident Evil. During the game's events, Jill and Parker Luciani are sent to search for Chris Redfield and Jessica Sherawat on the SS Queen Zenobia, that serves as the game's setting. The game's story includes a flashback, which revolves around the "floating city" of Terragrigia (Italian for "Grey Earth") one year prior to the game's events, when the Federal Bioterrorism Commission (FBC) sent agents – including Parker and Jessica – to keep the situation under control after the bioterrorist organization "Il Veltro" launched an attack on the city using bio-organic weapons (BOW) in opposition to Terragrigia's solar energy development.
The game will be released this May 23, 2013 on the PlayStation Network, PC, WiiU and Xbox Live.
Gameplay elements from old games including 5 return once again, as well as mini-games such as The Mercenaries. However, players can select three different characters: Leon Kennedy, Chris Redfield and Jake Muller (son of Wesker).
The story is told from the perspectives of Chris Redfield, a former member and founder of the BSAA traumatized by a failed operation, Leon S. Kennedy, a Raccoon City survivor and agent for the U.S. government, Jake Muller, illegitimate son of Albert Wesker and associate of Sherry Birkin, and Ada Wong, a freelance agent framed for the bio-terrorist attacks by Neo-Umbrella. They must all confront the force behind a massive bio-terrorist attack with the newly developed C-virus in cities across the world.
Players can pick up items quickly and change weapons in real time. Players are also able to move while aiming their firearms. A new feature comes in the form of tablets, in which players can recover health at the push of a button. More tablets can be produced by locating herbs. By finding various herbs and saving them before converting, more tablets can be obtained from them. If one player runs out of health, that player will have a short time to try and defend him/herself while his partner attempts to revive them. If either player is killed, gameplay resumes at the last checkpoint. The game will have several primary enemies, including zombies and the newly introduced J'avo. Unlike zombies, J'avo are able to interact with each other to plan an attack, use weapons, and heal themselves.
Players can play online in campaign with other players or private, and also in multiplayer mode. The gameplay is in the style of the SOCOM franchise. Most would say that Operation Raccoon City is Resident Evil meets SOCOM, Call of Duty and Gears of War. Many players were angered at Capcom for making Resident Evil like Call of Duty just to appeal to the American market.
The story of the game begins with the Umbrella Security Sevice team led by HUNK. Their mission is to retrieve the G-Virus sample created by William Birkin. They succeed in obtaining it, but Dr. Birkin would NEVER let anyone take his research from him, so he became his own creation. With the G-Virus sample missing, Hunk stays behind to retrieve it and Umbrella faces it's worse case scenario as the T-Virus leaks into the city.
In Operation Raccoon City, players are given the choice to hunt down Leon and Claire and kill them or let them escape.
Tune in next time for The Rise and Fall of Capcom, which our next topic will be the Vs. Capcom trilogy.
God Bless and Play Hard Gamers!