There was quite a celebration on the floor for this year's WonderCon in Los Angeles, and we had the chance to go to see what was new for game companies in attendance. Smack-dab in the middle of the con's floor was video game central with a massive Capcom sign hanging over it. It was pretty apparent Capcom was celebrating the 20th anniversary of Resident Evil by bringing a demo of their new team-based first-person shooter based in the Resident Evil universe named Umbrella Corps. We had the lucky chance to get to play the demo hands-on, and we were pretty excited for what Capcom is bringing to the table. This is Resident Evil, but with a strong multiplayer focus.
First-off: Umbrella Corps throws out previous iterations (we're at 12 now?) of RE and focuses purely on multiplayer action. Those looking for a strong narrative fighting the zombie horde will be disappointed as there is no narrative-based gameplay. The fun hits with using the weapons and tools at your disposal to get rid of the enemy team. The zombies in UC aren't even the greatest threat to the survival of your team--they're primarily a tool to help in the fight. Sure, if you wander up to a zombie and pester it enough, it'll engage it's brain-feed mode, but each player is equipped with a zombie scrambler to ward off most threats. Just be mindful that the scramblers can be disabled by gunfire, turning the zombies against you while giving the enemy team advantage. We're happy to see the zombie horde as a useful tool in plights against the enemy team.
The demo we played at Wondercon had three multiplayer modes--waypoint domination, VIP protection, and "special item" grabbing, where the first team to carry 5 briefcases at once wins the round (my team won with those leet skills). Game modes don't seem plentiful out of the box, but we'd argue we'll see more after the release. Competing first-person shooters are hitting the market soon (coughoverwatch) and if Capcom wants to see some fair share of the mutliplayer fiasco market, more time needs to be put into game modes to flesh out what we're given. They're still fun though, and mixing in the RE universe will definitely pique players' interest. Several maps spanning many games are featured here, and we're anxious to see what unlockables players can reach. New weapons? Character skins? Awesome new maps? Are you listening Capcom?
The demo was short and didn't allow us to explore some of the neater functions in the game, such as the zombie shield, taking cover behind shelter, and the exciting "brainer" weapon. We're pretty sure what we experienced was an earlier build from January, so there's time to polish and add some flair. As before, there's not a lot fleshed out here in terms of game modes, but the potential to expand is pretty hefty. We haven't gotten word of DLC or micro-transactions in order to support longevity. There's an attractive price of 29.99 assigned to this game, so when the game drops this May I think many, myself included, will drop the money to have some old-fashioned shoot-em-up with a hint of zombie in lieu of parting with a full 60 for something that may not deliver. Congrats to Resident Evil on 20 years!
