Games - Raccoon City

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	Games - Raccoon City

Raccoon City is a fictional metropolis depicted in Capcom's survival horror video game series Resident Evil and the setting for the earlier games in the main series (from Resident Evil 0 up until Resident Evil 3), as well as the Outbreak series.

Location and Economy

Raccoon City is based upon an archetypical industrial and commercial mid-western American city. It is never revealed in which U.S. state Raccoon City is located. The population of the city is over 100 thousand, as stated at the end of Resident Evil 3.

The novelizations of the games by S.D. Perry state that Raccoon City is located in Pennsylvania; however, the novels are not officially recognized by Capcom as part of the series' canon. The areas surrounding the city contain a large forest, a lake, and the Arklay Mountains to the north, suggesting that the city is located near the Appalachian or Rocky Mountain ranges.

The city is largely under the economic thumb of the Umbrella Corporation, a chemical and pharmaceutical giant which contributed 50% of the city's income).

History

Raccoon City was governed by Mayor Michael Warren, who was elected in 1987 and served in that position for eleven years. Warren was the engineer responsible for the establishment of the cable car transportation system and who also made contributions to the city's electric system. In his campaign to modernize the city, he made a deal with the Umbrella Corporation, which provided funding for several of Warren's projects, including public utilities, welfare work, and law enforcement. The campaign was known as the "A Bright 21st Century for Raccoon City" Project.

Because of Warren's campaign, the town gradually transformed from a rural community to an industralized city. However, the city's expansion and modernization was accompanied by rising crime rates and even terrorist activities. The local police established the Special Tactics and Rescue Service in 1996 as a countermeasure to the wave of crime.

The Arklay Mountains Incident

A series of bizarre homicides occurred in the forests of the Arklay Mountains north of the city, beginning in May, 1998, and continuing through the following months. Victims appeared to have been mauled by dogs and other, unidentified creatures. The Raccoon Police were at a loss to explain or stop the phenomenon, and in July, S.T.A.R.S. was deployed to the area to investigate. Bravo Team's helicopter made a forced landing in the area due to mechanical problems, and Alpha Team was sent to rescue them. Of the thirteen S.T.A.R.S. members sent to the Arklay Mountains, only five returned alive. They reported having discovered a mansion where the Umbrella Corporation had been conducting illegal biological weapons experiments with an agent called the T-Virus. The grounds were crawling with the results of that research, including zombies. However, the mansion and all evidence had been destroyed, and due to Umbrella's influence on the city and their bribing of Police Chief Irons, the survivors' claims were dismissed and no formal investigation was undertaken.

Raccoon City Outbreak

A second viral outbreak occurred two months later, on September 23rd. When Umbrella attempted to retrieve a sample of the powerful G-Virus from William Birkin, one of its more reclusive researchers, Birkin was left mortally injured. He injected himself with a sample of the G-Virus, knowing its regenerative capabilities. Unfortunately, its mutagenic properties overtook his humanity and transformed him into an unstoppable, mutant, killing machine. He destroyed the paramilitary team which had attempted to steal the G-Virus, and in the process, the T-Virus was released into the sewers. The T-Virus was then carried by rats throughout the city, leading to a full-scale outbreak.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Raccoon City ]

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