Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is a third-person shooter and a spin-off of the long-running Resident Evil series. Unlike the main games in the series, it is less of a survival horror game and more of an action-packed shooter, also prompted by the involvement of Slant Six Games, known for its titles in the militaristic SOCOM series. The game is not part of the series' canon and details a hypothetical scenario set in September 1998 around the same time as Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis . Players control a member of USS, the Delta security team of the Umbrella Corporation nicknamed Wolfpack. It is sent into the Umbrella Raccoon City facility to neutralize Dr. William Birkin who intends to sell the G-Virus that introduces mutations to the American government. Their initial mission is to team up with HUNK, the Alpha Leader to assist with the infiltration and secure the virus.
At the start of each mission, the player assembles a team of four characters based on a pool of six with different classes. There is Vector (Recon), Bertha (Medic), Four Eyes (Field Scientist), Beltway (Demolition), Lupo (Assault), and Spectre (Surveillance). Next to a primary and a secondary weapon, they all have a different playing style and both passive and active abilities tied to their class. The weapons are also selected from a large arsenal with similar unlocks. The game is played from a third-person perspective and combines shooting with cover mechanics. Opponents include infected humans as the T-virus has leaked city-wide as well as mercenaries part of the Umbrella's Biohazard Countermeasure Service (UBCS) who protect Birkin and turn out not to be reliable partners.
The game also features two additional mechanics: bioweapons that cause members of the same team or infected to fight each other, and when the player's character is bitten, he risks getting infected. Health is drained and the character is eventually turned, attacking the team members until an immunisation spray cancels it out.
Multiplayer adds a second team of six characters from the United States Special Ops (USSO) with similar abilities. The Heroes Mode pits famous characters from the series' franchise against each other. The game modes include Team Attack (team deathmatch), Biozahard (capture the flag), Survivors (survive with a team until the helicopter arrives).
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City was released on March 20, 2012 for the Playstation 3.