Resident Evil Outbreak

"Resident Evil finally goes Online!"

Ever since Online Gaming has gotten more and more popular, it would only be fitting for die-hard Resident Evil fans to wonder what the famous Survival Horror series would look and play like online. Well, I'm proud to say that Capcom has pulled it off quite nicely in the form of Resident Evil Outbreak.

Being one of the first online Survival Horror games, you would expect Outbreak to not concentrate as much from the elements of previous games as to the online perspective. Well, I'm proud to say that Capcom has pulled it off quite nicely, not only in keeping to the traditional Resident Evil formula, but also adjusting it so it can be played by two or more players at once.

RE Outbreak is basically a scenario-based game where you choose one of the 8 main characters and then choose level you want to play in (more on these later), and the only goals of these scenarios is to complete all the objectives to guarantee your survival.

Graphics: 9/10

The graphics are very impressive for a PlayStation 2 game, you can see that the level of details that Capcom added really contribute to the spooky environment. My overall favorite is the bar in the first scenario, Outbreak, because the whole design of it looks complete authentic, right down to the wine bottles and beer cans.

Overall, since this game is on the PlayStation 2, you can't expect REMake or RE:Zero graphics, but you should expect that they will be better than REC:V for the Dreamcast.

Sound: 9/10

The music in this game is also very impressive, not only does it bring mood to the atmosphere, but it is also soothing to listen to. Most of it is done by composers and writers such as Mitsuhiko Takano, Akihiko Matsumoto, Tetsuya Shibata, etc. My favorite would definitely be the Main Theme because without knowing what game it was for, I can hear it and instantly know it got to be from Resident Evil.

Controls: 9/10

Nothing much to say, the controls have stayed mostly the same from other RE games, but with a few changes. Basically there's a button for aim, attack/talk/confirm, reload, map, and special move (more on these later). The right analog stick now represents all the different commands that your character can give to your teammates. These include "Go", "Come Here", "Yes", "No", "Help", and "Thank You" and you can also call out the names of your teammate. There is also an ab-lib button, where the character just blurts out something random about the situation and possibly give you clues on what to do next.

Gameplay: 8/10

Now here is where most of the good and bad of this game comes from. From beginning you are given a choice of playing Single or Network mode. In Single player, you choose your character and your automatically given two AI controller characters to help you complete your objectives. Now the characters of the AI depend completely on what character that 'you' chose. In Network you choose your character and play with the characters that the people you're playing with chose.

These characters include Kevin (Police Officer), Mark (Security Guard), David (Plumber), Alyssa (Reporter), Jim (Subway Staff), George (Doctor), Cindy (Waitress), and Yoko (Student). Every character has their own abilities like David can create new weapons, Alyssa can unlock doors, George can make recovery pills, and Cindy can heal others around her. These characters also differ in stats, Mark for example has relatively high attack, high vitality, but low speed, while Yoko has low vitality, low speed, but a slow virus gauge (more on that later. Finally each character is also given a special move assigned to the special move button, these include Kevin's kick, Mark's guard, David's wrench throw, Alyssa's back step, Jim's play dead, George's special tackle, Cindy's duck, and Yoko's escape. Now I can't say that I have a personal favorite character, but I can say that there are different tiers and some characters are obvious way better than others and will be chosen often by others.

After you choose your character, you choose the stage you what to play in (in Network, you choose the game you want to play in before you choose your character). The scenarios include a bar, the basement of the RPD police station, a hospital, a burning apartment, and a mansion. After you complete the stage you are given points based on your performance and you can buy special items such as pictures, music, movies, and extra costumes.

Now overall, I say that should definitely buy this game only if you plan on playing online since the single player is highly lacking. Not only are the AI controlled characters incredibly dumb, but also sometimes they won't even do what you tell them to. It is surprising if you eventually have to finish the mission by yourself, since the AI tends to also wonder off on their own. The only help that the AI characters actually give your is occasionally attacking the enemy or finding herbs and weapons for you to use. But don't expect them to solve any puzzles for you since obviously that would make the game too easy.

Now this isn't to say that Network doesn't have it problems also. This like every other online game depends on the people that your playing with. Sometimes during a mission, people leave or disconnect and leave you to finish the mission with whoever's left on your team. There are also occasionally people who will hog all the key items just to be found dead hiding in a locker in hopes to prevent other from finishing the mission. And then there's those who will just straight-out attack you for the fun of it.

Finally is the case of lag during the game. Now it isn't as big of a problem as it is in File 2, but there will be occasions where zombies will appear right in front of you to make up for the lag, this can be troublesome for those who are not used to it, since you will be attacked before you realized what happened. There is also a glitch where you are picking up a item and you can't move for about a half minute.

Overall: 9/10
Overall, I say that this series is a great addition to the RE family and hopefully will get better as time goes by, and hardware advances.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/31/05