Resident Evil Outbreak

"A risky leap"

Introduction
Resident Evil Outbreak - A risky leap.

It is yet another expansion of the largely successful series of Resident Evil. When Capcom first dropped hints that an online game based on this horrific Raccoon City was under development, it sure drove the fans into speculation. They imagined a game that involves many players working hand in hand to escape the clutches of the living dead, racing against time and risking their lives across the shadowy streets with other people around the globe. Today, Capcom's project is finally complete. Was it worth the wait? This game accomplishes the main idea more or less, and will certainly be appealing to fans of previous games, but the rather awkward gameplay might just be a little bit more to handle for the ordinary gamer.

If you've played multiple Resident Evil games before, you can be either sinking deeply into the game's rich storyline, or like me, hopelessly lost. Past games have been very dependent on the plot, but in Outbreak, the game has been broken down into five different scenarios. They're activated in sequences, but does not really have any link between each other. Nevertheless, gamers that once liked the dark story of Raccoon City would most probably be disappointed in this area. In any case, you start off at J's Bar whilst getting attacked by a bunch of zombies, fight your way through and eventually come across a couple of key buildings. There's the Umbrella Corporation Research Facility, a creepy hospital and a hotel set on fire.

Another great twist from the previous games would be the selection of eight different characters to play, rather than the fixed one or two characters you get to control last time. Each and every one of them have their own special attributes that you should try to exploit. For instance, David has a toolkit that will prove to be very essential during the game. It can combine two or more ordinary items that you pick up along the way, to form another (hopefully) more useful item. Of course, the requirements for the item are fixed, so don't try to use any combination and expect to pick up a Rocket Launcher from it. Another character that stands out is Kevin. Being a police officer, he starts the game with a handgun that can dispose of regular zombies with ease. Like any other survival-horror game, ammunition is limited so shoot discreetly.

While there's the addition of the huge amount of characters now, some things never change. Scattered along the streets of this doomed town are still some items that will surely bring back memories. The herbs are still growing, health sprays are still being neglected, and handguns are also located at certain areas. The game now spawns a couple more everyday items that can be used in events like this. Iron pipes, brushes, choppers are just some of the many items that can serve as an alternative rather than being trigger-happy. The game also plays the same. You run around dodging zombies and surviving, while advancing from one room to the next. In between, there would be several puzzles to solve. This usually involves bringing a certain item from place A to place B, hence allowing you to move on.

Since the game now usually has more than one person running about, it never stops. Regardless whether it be online or offline, the game will continue running. This cause several problems, such as reading a certain file or inputting passwords and such. If you aren't that lucky, you would be playing offline and stuck with your AI partners that prove to be more trouble than help. Be dependent on them, and you're screwed. Halfway while playing through a scenario, they would probably be off on their own way, leaving you to continue the story alone. They do reappear on the level sometimes, and when they do stick by you, the AI does a pretty good job in making good decisions. But then again, they would most probably run off again.

If you do get to play online, you're hopefully stuck with players that are more intelligent than the average AI. However, the potential that can be exploited in this game is severely restricted due to the limited communication system in the game. You can neither speak via headset nor by using a keyboard in-game. You can only say ''yes,'' ''no,'' ''thank you,'' ''help me,'' and ''that way,'' that can be utilized by moving the right analog stick in certain directions. There's also another button that supposedly make your character say something useful, but in most circumstances, it proves to be more laughable than helpful in any way. In conclusion, if you do not know your way and are hopelessly lost, the game would surely degenerate into a hopeless state whereby each player consequently get eaten and are seeking revenge.

Graphically, Capcom has done a pretty impressive job in making Outbreak an extremely detailed game. There are some little touches that make the rooms stand out very distinctly. In addition to that, the models also feature an excellent quality of detail and smoothness. The animation are also extremely life-like, making the game look more alive. However, the loading time between events will be sickening long, even if it means just moving from one area to the next. The camera angle also adjusts accordingly to your position in a certain area, and it does a relatively good job at it. There are only several occurrences whereby you cannot exactly see which creature is approaching you, so that's just one minor problem. Outbreak also features some pretty decent sound quality. The voice acting are suitable, and the background music establishes a creepy and dark atmosphere for the player.

Needless to say, previous Resident Evil fans would jump on this game and most possibly bring it online. However, if you weren't such a survival-horror genre fanatic, this game might not be your cup of tea. Nevertheless, Outbreak has a pretty good replay value as it features a ton of stuffs to be unlocked. There are CG movies, music tracks and also alternative costumes. This game might not be worth that of a hype, but it will prove to be an above average game.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/10/04