As a huge Resident Evil buff/fan, I'm inclined to write up a big blog piece about Raccoon City, the city that won't die. Capcom keeps coming back to the setting of RE 2 and 3, games that came out over a decade ago! As a fanboy of course I love all things RE by default from the get go, then have my hopes and dreams crushed later.

This game sure isn't "resident evil" (in either of its typical incarnations), but I'm still nostalgically motivated to follow this game. I've been playing through 2009's Darkside Chronicles on the wii (again, Raccoon City a big part of that game), and it's been lovely seeing some of the RE2 locations redone even with wii graphics. Seeing the tyrants, lickers, hunters, and dare i say NEMESIS in current gen HD for operation raccoon city would really get the nerd boner going for a lot of fans, never mind the fact that they'd be fools to not give us an opportunity to play as these creatures. or maybe it's just me...

The only question I have right now is...is this game going to be entirely 100% outdoor open air "arenas?" So far we've only really seen gameplay of footage from the streets and a car garage, and while one of the trailers shows combat outside the front gates of the infamous police station, it has yet to be seen (as far as i know) that we can actually go into the police station and other locations and shoot it out in there alongside each other and the undead. Unfortunately this style of game play does seem better suited to more open areas where there is plenty of cover and things of that nature. The cramped hallways and corridors of RE's past don't make a lot of sense in a third person shooter. As un-resident evil as it would be, put me in that police station to freely run around hunting down creatures, zombies, and other humans, and I'd pay any price. Not having that ability might turn me the other way. Clearly this game is not going to be the Resident Evil 2 remake that most fans want these days, but I'm ready to just give in and take what I can get!

So I'll put it out to any other giantbomb RE fans; what are your hopes and dreams that you have for this game that you are ready to have crushed or fulfilled? Or have the trailers and gameplay just made you give up on our fair city of Raccoon?

I always thought that the PS2 Resident Evil Outbreak games had some interesting concepts, but failed to really do it correctly. The current generation has the tech to do those kind of games correctly. I think that this is basically just that as viewed through a modern lens. Sadly it is also falling into the modern trend of demanding to cost 60 dollars for people to take it seriously.

For me this is the kind of game that I could see getting a loyal niche following if it came out at 40 dollars, but most people will avoid the chance at 60. Personally I want to pick it up, probably two months after it comes out for less, because the undead body of Raccoon City is the best setting the series has ever had.

I've always been intrigued by these sorts of games in the RE series, but frankly, multiplayer RE rarely holds the attention of the fan base for long. Is there really an audience for this type of thing regardless of the mechanics?

Not sure where I stand on ORC just yet. I need to see more gameplay footage before I get more excited or disappointed. I do however lack confidence in anyone to handle the RE name very well anymore. After RE5, Capcom seems to barely care anymore, let alone Slant Six. The game looks OK so far, but seems a bit.....well, soulless in some ways, but it's not like we've seen a lot of it to date.

While Outbreak was flawed in many ways, there was still a certain charm to the game, it still felt like RE at all times. What I wouldn't give for a revival of that with revamped gameplay. I'll have to keep up on more preview material for ORC before I make the decision to buy or skip.