Resident Evil: Raccoon City confirmed

First details have emerged of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, the much rumoured franchise spin-off from SOCOM developer Slant Six.

According to Official Xbox Magazine's imminent scoop, kindly summarised by StickSkills, it's a team based shooter set in the Resident Evil 2 era that sees up to four players cast in one of three factions.

As a member of the Umbrella Security Services Squad you'll have to scour Raccoon City destroying evidence, head-shotting zombies and brutally sweeping T-Virus survivors under the proverbial rug.

There are also two other teams to choose from, which Capcom apparently insists constitutes a "three-corner conflict". As well as the Umbrella death squad, US Special Ops are also on the scene, as are "bio-organic weapon monsters" created by Umbrella.

The Umbrella team is made up of four new characters: Vector, Beltway, Bertha, and Spectre, and the game will play out slightly differently depending on who you choose. Various familiar faces are due to pop up along the way, including Leon Kennedy.

You'll earn XP as you progress, which allows you to earn new abilities, such as Vector's cloaking skill, and weapons.

It sounds like it's set to be a more gun-ho Resi than we're accustomed to, with ammo management not playing such an important role. "It's not fair to give people big guns, then take all the ammo away," reads a quote from the OXM piece.

Apparently the game is due out on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in the Autumn.

Expect a shedload more information when Capcom officially takes the wraps of the game, possibly at its annual Captivate event early next month.

Looks like it's set to be a busy year for Resident Evil fans. That's two HD catalogue remakes, two 3DS titles and now this all on the release slate.