I had to sit on all of the info and media for a good day to form a consensus, I really wasn't sure quite how to feel initially. For one I just want to point out, I respect developers and their ambition to try different things. The best game is one where the developers are genuinely excited to make it. With that said, there's definitely a certain standard the series has worked up to and I think that should be met in some form.
I'm going to try the game with an open mind, it's definitely one of those need to play to form an honest consensus type of games as it heavily relies around gameplay, strategy and teamwork. With that said however, I can form some opinions on other factors such as presentation and what we've been given to look at thus far. The UI is godawful. When I see screenshots without the UI, it actually looks like a Biohazard Online title. When the UI is active however, it looks cluttered and cheap. The effects such as damage numbers, healing auras, etc. all take away from the realism the RE engine set out to create. I feel like the game is not a fit for this engine and it likely shouldn't have been outsourced. You come to expect a certain sense of realism with this engine post RE7 and especially RE2, everything this dev has done detracts from this.
There are obvious nods to a game like Outbreak, but nods alone don't make a game a successor or anything similar. They are just that, nods. Like cvxfreak said, it may encourage or discourage fans of the series from enjoying this. What makes a game like Outbreak special is it's atmosphere, high quality single player like experience molded for 4 player teamwork online. There is very little quality drop off. After waiting this long for a proper online title, I expected the first use of the RE Engine to hit this mark. Capcom hit the ground running with RE:2, the praise and sales speak volumes. It's a simple concept, people ask relentlessly for something and you give it to them as they want. Profit and praise. RE3 is sure to follow in these footsteps. The same could have been said for a proper RE Online experience being asked for over a decade now, however they went a different direction. Had the initial reveal of a 4v1 been a more traditional style that meshed a bit of what people asked for and a bit of what they're trying to achieve, I think the reception would have been a lot better.
I'm going to play, hopefully test and respond with proper feedback to help shape the game to be the best it can be within their focus. I will say however, I hope it hasn't fully wasted the opportunity for a proper RE Online using this engine. I truly feel now was the time, though seeing as this is outsourced, perhaps Capcom simply doesn't have the time or resources being so busy with RE:3. I'm holding out hope that time will still come, but in the meantime will give this a shot despite being a bit off put by the initial direction.
