Resident Evil Outbreak

"Resident Evil Online....I think I wet my pants."

Hello, and welcome to my review of Resident Evil Outbreak, Capcoms newest venture and by far one of my favorites of the series. You can play this online or off, but I will be reviewing the online portion today.

Graphics: 8/10

This isn't the best looking game on PS2, and isn't even the best looking of the series. But it get's the job done.
I added an extra point for the FMV, which rival FFX and FFX-2 in terms of quality. Very well done. This game also has real-time graphics, instead of the normal pre-rendered, but you could never tell the difference. They look simply amazing.

Gameplay : 9/10

What can I tell you, it's typical Resident Evil, but with a few major differences. You can select from one of eight starting characters, each with his or her special ability. For example, Alyssa can pick locked doors, which Yoko has four extra inventory slots.

More major differences include the ability to kick or shoot your way thru doors, the ability to brace doors to keep enemies out, and the addiction of melee weapons, just to name a few.

Overall, I was very pleased at the amount you can do, and the way you can help (or hinder) your teammates. The only thing that hurts this score, is the fact it's typical Resident Evil, and that might not appeal to some gamers. (Although I love it).

Example for this or search for a key to unlock this door. Search for <insert item> to get to point B. it also has its fair share of puzzles, many of which are random. Some are simple; some are not so simple.

There is also the fact the items are completely random, well almost completely. Depending on difficulty, REO will load one of four sets of items. The four sets are different for each difficulty, and also different from each other. So you never know if a certain item will be there or not, although key items are mostly in the same place, and some items will appear at a location no matter what set you get.

Controls - 10/10

I was once told you either love or hate Resident Evil controls, and I in fact love. They have the old controls system here, with added voice commands among others. For the people that use to hate RE's controls, fear not. They have added a Devil May Cry like control scheme, meaning you will walk in the direction you face on screen, unlike the typical controls scheme of Up = forwards no matter what.

Sounds - 7/10

Typical bad voice acting hurts the overall score, but the score for this game brings it right back up. From freaky background noises, to the great music. It even has difference scores for the difference scenarios and boss battles. Very well done, best of the series. I also love that you can unlock the sounds to play anytime you want, see replay value for more details.

Story - 6/10

This is what hurts the game most. It's a decent story, just not what we have come to expect from the series. You could compare it to RE3 in terms of story. It's there, just now the series best. Basically each character has their own unique ending for each scenario, which mainly contains their thought on the current situation. For the final scenario, there are ALOT of different endings, including different ones for each character, pair endings, and even more depending on your actions in the last scenario.

Again, the story is not the best, and sometimes you will be wondering how a character got from point A to point B, but other than that, it's an okay story. Maybe File 2 due out later this yet will help solve some of the mysteries.

Replay Value - 10/10 (20/20 if you ask me)

Wow, what can I say? From playing as 8 different characters, to the immense amount of unlockables, including pictures, sounds, difficulty modes, and ingame movies/cutscenes, this game has a ton of replay value. You can unlock these by gaining points, you get points by doing certain aspects of a scenario, like beating it fast or collecting items.

Don't let me forget the 31, that's right, 31 unlockable costumes/skins for the different characters to use. Oh and did I mention the 260 special items you can find throughout the game? If you ask me, this game has the most replay value of any game.

Let me explain the special item more clearly. Each scenario has a unique set of 20 items you can find. Also, when you start a scenario, a certain ''set'' will spawn. Easy and normal has sets 1 and 2. Hard/Very Hard has Set 3/4. So you will have to play all difficulties to acquire every item. Add to this that certain items are rare and only appear in one set, and only eight can be found at one time, that adds up to alot of replaying.

I know what you’re thinking, I said 260 items. ''But you said 20 per scenario, and there are only 5 scenarios!'' Each character also has 4 unique items per scenario, also depending on difficulty and set. You can get this along with the scenario specific item, but it also counts towards your limit of 8. Some of these character specific items are pieces of a costume, which once you have all the pieces, you get to buy one of their extra costumes. Males have one, Females have 2.

So there is a ton of replay value, if you’re willing to work at it. I myself never got tired of playing this, especially online, since every playthru is different and unique.

Online - 8/10

I had to bring this down two points. For one, you sometimes have lag, which can be a real pain against some of the enemies, although it isn't unbearable. Another down point is the fact you can't block/kick some people from your games. Some people spam endlessly in the lobby, and some people join your games just to mess you over. If there were some way to block the spammers or kick disliked player from your game (before the game starts) I would be a happy man. The inability to not use a keyboard or mic ingame doesn't bother me at all, in fact, if as much spam went on in the game then when in the lobby.....
It also adds to the survival factor, and most of what needs to be said can be said thru the pre-set voice commands.

Overall - 10/10 (not an average)

In closing, this is one of the best Resident Evils of the series, and my second all time favorite. (I don't think anything will ever beat RE2)

If you’re looking for a good online game (or single player) than look no further. Fans of the series know this is a game come true, and probably already own the game. Newcomers should at least rent it to try.

Rent or Buy: Buy

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/29/04