Resident Evil Outbreak

"Resident eil Outbreak (offline)"

I am and always will be a massive RE fan. But I initially was a bit disappointed by this game.It had terrible loading times the play mechanics weren't that much different than the previous games.

I think one of the main problems for me was the impact RE4 had on me. At first when i saw the new build of RE4(without zombies) i wasn't impressed i felt Capcom had made a mistake removing the zombies.Over time my mind eventually came to terms with this fact and i began to like it. When this happened i wasn't really interested in zombies anymore.

Then along came RE outbreak. I think my expectations of this title were too high. I wanted to see a totally new game with new controls and lots of new features.
Playing RE Outbreak i found the game too similar to the past games. The new feature of having a team of characters was good but didn't really make the game that much different, (i have only played offline).
Although i began to have my doubts i kept playing as i owed it to the series which has provided me with hours of good gaming over the years.After playing for a while i was killing zombies, combining herbs, rationing ammo etc just like i had always done in the past. I was learning more about the Umbrella corp and its creations. At this point i realized the things i disliked about the game no longer mattered, i was having fun even if the game wasn't that different from the past games. I had regained my appreciation of RE and zombies.
Enemies old and new are throughout the game ranging from a wide variety of zombie types who behave differently and different attacks and speed levels. The you have Hunters who have a little make over which is subtle but makes then look more menacing. Old favorites such as dogs, moth,Hunter (Gamma) Lickers, Spiders, sharks make a return along with new guys the giant Wasps and the Then come the bosses The first level doesn't really have a boss but it does have the largest crowd of zombies seen yet in a RE game how have to been taken care off.. The we see G-imago form resident evil two, there is Leechman who will not die when shot and he follows you every where (even to the loo but not like George Michael thankfully).The lickers get a new addition which is a female licker the Regis licker. And finally comes Tyrant R (Thantos) who has a slightly more realistic appearance to the previous Tyrants and also follows you around a little.
As for weapons this game gives you your standard fare resident evil guns right up to the infamous Rocket Launcher which has seen a new design and can only be fired when crouched. What this game adds to the series is melee weapons such as brooms, poles, knifes and even bits of concrete to throw in zombies faces. These weapons are easy to use which can be quite satisfying at times.
This game does have a lot of good things that the previous games didn't the first being altered level structuring. In the past games the level structure has been One long scenario from start to finish with different locations and save points along the way. The way longevity was increased in these games was by giving the player bonuses for completing the game in certain times and on different hardness levels. The problem with this was that the scenarios were too long and there weren't enough hidden extras to warrant extensive play through's unless you were a complete RE obsessive. What Capcom have done is split the game up into five scenario's which all take place in different locations around about the time of the Outbreak. On your first pay through these scenarios will take you about 30-60mins depending on playing skill and also the scenario. Then your left with four hardness per level and other characters. The traditional RE game has One or two Playable characters with the occasional NPC, well in Outbreak You have an impressive eight Players to choose from who aren't only different in size and appearance but also the abilities they have and can perform. For example A good character for beginners would be Kevin or Mark as they are physically strong making them more resilient to damage and both start with a gun and have good defensive maneuver also. Then you get characters like Cindy and George who good characters when it comes to healing as Cindy has extra inventory space to mix herbs and George has a medical set that allows him not make different health capsules ranging from antidotes to Anti-Virus pills.
There are four more characters who have there own abilities and strength but i will let you discover them for yourself.
The game no longer revolves around one single player (or two players as Zero) but now a team of 3 or 4 (3 for offline) players who must work together to survive the outbreak. The A.I. characters are quite interesting as they do behave quite random like a human character might. To communicate with your team mates you use the right analogue stick, by pressing the stick in different directions you can say different phrases or commands. Although it's not quite that easy players don't always do what you say and sometimes completely ignore you. Exchanging items with team mates usually makes them a bit more co-operative. My only complaint with this aspect of the game is the A.I. isn't quite intelligent enough and sometimes will hinder your progress rather than aid it. The list of commands isn't brilliant and i fear they have suffered after being translated from Japanese. The list of phrases is quite limited and can make communication a little stressful at times.
The scenarios themselves can not be complete a hundred percent a single play through there are extra scenes to view. Different scenes depending on which character you use. Then there are the SP items which are hidden across all scenarios, all difficulties, and all characters totaling at 260. These unlock many of the games extra's including alternate outfits for the original eight characters.
What Capcom have achieved by splitting the game up into different scenarios is a game with quick burst playthroughs rather than long stints. Capcom have also added thirty new characters to unlock in the form of skins (that make the Characters look like someone else rather than a new outfit) for the original players, They have also included nearly all of the Ending, Start and scene movies along with artwork and music files to unlock which will take you a good while to get it all.
This game and no other has continued to occupy my time over the last month or so and i still have a lot of things to collect. I am yet to become board with this game. Then i have online play on top of that.

Bring on file two.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/11/04