Resident Evil: Outbreak

by Capcom

Product Features

• Race against the clock in this deadly survival-horror game as you search for traces of uninfected life
• Collect weapons and equipment for use against the zombies, and fight your way through them to stay alive
• Witness the chain of events that span from Resident Evil 1 to 3 -- your character choices will enable scenarios from each
• Cooperative and 4-player multiplayer gameplay for terrifying gaming -- you'll never know what's waiting for you in the darkness
• Advanced game mechanics and 3D graphics to emphasize the horror aspects and improve gameplay

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000TSRA6
• Item Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: August 7, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (164 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,745 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #34 in Video Games > PlayStation 2 > Adventure
  • #56 in Video Games > PlayStation 2 > Action
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Game Informer Review

The virus has spread online, and Resident Evil's gameplay has never been so infectious. Fighting for life with three human-controlled characters at your side definitely adds an element of unfamiliarity to the survival horror mix, but make no mistake, this is still Resident Evil. Whether you find yourself jumping out of your seat as a zombie crashes through a window, marveling at the action in the cutscenes, or complaining about the stiffness of control and awkwardly placed camera angles, this is just another trip to Raccoon City. Only this time, you're with friends.

I really have to hand it to Capcom for making teamwork the cornerstone of gameplay. In every room that you reach, this game hammers home the message that you have to stick together and work as a group. When jumping from one rooftop to another, you may misjudge the distance and fall short. Thankfully, a teammate can pull you up.

Even before the game commences, you'll find yourself coordinating tactics with your soon-to-be companions at the character selection screen. In a similar vein to an RPG, each of the eight playable characters that you can select brings completely different abilities to the table that you must factor in. Do you bring a lock-picker? Someone with extra inventory spots? Or rely on firepower with a weapons expert?

Unlike the other games in the series, zombies can pass from room to room and are often found in packs. Taking this newfound hunting prowess into account, Capcom has implemented a handful of new techniques that players can use to survive. You can slide under beds, hide in lockers, and even repel a zombie attack by forcing their head away from your neck with enough breathing room to raise your pistol and shoot them directly between the eyes. You'll even find strategy in the reloading of weapons. For instance, a box of shells takes more time to load than a clip. As annoying as it is to watch your character get munched because he couldn't load the rounds quick enough, I really like this aspect. It makes you keep an eye on every little detail.

Where Outbreak excels in engrossing multiplayer and creative gameplay, the overall design of the game is very odd. Rather than creating one lengthy quest that players can really sink their teeth into, Capcom opted to break up the game into five separate scenarios that are roughly 45 minutes each. If you die, you'll turn into a zombie for a brief extent (and yes, you can attack your teammates if you like), then will be dropped out of the game. Sadly, you can't re-spawn. You either have to wait for your friends to finish up, or find another game to enter. While scripted controller commands are offered, it doesn't support voice chat at all or keyboard functionality in-game. Someone's head should roll for this!

All told, this is a surprisingly enjoyable online venture that showcases some amazing gameplay concepts, yet a lack of foresight in the delivery of multiplayer.

Concept:
A highly creative, yet slightly flawed approach to multiplayer survival horror

Graphics:
Not as lavish as the recent GameCube releases, yet impressive nonetheless

Sound:
Great ambiance, but it sure would be nice to communicate with other players. Where's the voice chat?!

Playability:
Familiar RE controls with innovative teammate techniques and newfound environment interaction

Entertainment:
Entertaining, yet lacking all the elements that would keep you hooked

Replay:
Moderately Low

Rated: 7.5 out of 10
Editor: Andrew Reiner
Issue: May 2004

2nd Opinion:
Why isn't there voice chat in Resident Evil: Outbreak? For the love of all that is holy, I want to give this game a good score for its thoughtful level design, nice graphics, intense gameplay, and smart mission structure – but that missing headset support throws the whole experience out of whack. These levels are fast-paced and frantic, almost like an FPS, and what you want is to make some sort of strategy. This just isn't possible with the canned commands available, as "You two check out the locker room and we're going to search the owner's office. Meet back here and we'll go up to the 3rd floor," weirdly isn't mapped to the right analog stick. So, this game gets the backhanded compliment of being "high concept" like Crystal Chronicles and Steel Battalion, for example. My ideal setup is playing this game with four friends, four TVs, and four PS2s all in the same room. Get this setup, and the game is a real gem.

Rated: 8 out of 10
Editor: Lisa Mason


Subscribe to Game Informer

Product Description

Resident Evil Outbreak tells the dramatic & frightening story of the Resident Evil games in a new cinematic form. A secret biological weapon was unleashed in Raccoon City, turning citizens into flesh-eating zombies. The entire city is now a walking, shambling nightmare. But there are a few survivors, and they'll have to fight their to way to the city limits before the government quarantines them -- leaving them trapped there. If you die in the game, you'll be reborn as a zombie -- a new twist on the Resident Evil series

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Resident Evil OutBreak is really Out for a break., July 3, 2005

By 

Mr. Panah Mosaferirad "joshua_pan" (Philadelphia, Pa United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Resident Evil: Outbreak (Video Game)

This Game Sucked Big Time. Now before you guys start ripping me for saying this on the fly, I'll tell you what's wrong with it. First of all, the game is really slow-paced in comparison to other resident evil games such as Resident evil 1 and 3. Also, if you don't have anybody to play this with, this could be a long boring game. Frankly, not a lot of people have the guts to play Resident Evil Games, so this tag team thing is really a serious issue with this game. But, the most amazing thing about this game is the level of difficulty that it has. Even in easy mode you will have problem fighting your way out of the mess. When a Zombie touches you, you will see an infection percentage that goes up with the speed of light and no green or blue herb will fix it. Also the controls suck big time for this game, and it will ground you down after a while. All in all, I recommend renting this game first before buying it since you might actually like it. I did not, so I am getting rid of my copy. Should have rented it first!!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could have been better, April 14, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Resident Evil: Outbreak (Video Game)

I have been an avid Resident Evil fan since it's first installment. This game has some great options. First of all the character select. You can use any character for any scenario. Each character has his/her own niche. For example, one starts with a gun, another can carry more items, etc. The backgrounds and landscapes are done very well. And anyone with experience in RE will quickly be reminded of certain scenes and situations. I have never not finished an RE game. Having said that, here are the flaws with this game. Most RE games forced a good flow to the game. They didn't let you go somewhere until you figured out why. You could go floor to floor, room to room and still not figure out what it is that you need to continue. During all of this gameplay, you get extremely annoyed by the few characters following you. They constantly say the same thing over and over again, even if you aren't trying to speak to them. Instant headache with that problem. I couldn't play for more than a half hour without putting it down. Next, it appears you can only save once during a scenario. Apparently you can only reload that save once...so if you die, then it's back to square one from the beginning. Irritating to know that you can waste an hour and not have anything to show for it. Another serious problem was the downtime. Every time you open a door or use the stairs, you have to wait a PS1 amount of time before you can continue. Way too much time in between loading screens. Even if you just walked through the door and went back out, you have to wait approximately 10-15 seconds each time. Doesn't sound like alot until you are playing it.
Great graphics, great scenarios, great choice of characters. But this turned out to be the most annoying RE game to play because of the obvious faults. I would definitely recommend you rent this game first before you decide to buy.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars More Annoying Than Scary, March 21, 2007

By 

MISSterio (Muskegon, MI USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Resident Evil: Outbreak (Video Game)

I actually own 'Resident Evil: Outbreak File #2', but I rented the first Outbreak for over a week, and let me say this Outbreak is by far the most annoying Resident Evil I've played/seen!

Gist Of The Game: If you've played all the other Resident Evils out there, then you know what the games are about. If not, here's the scoop: Umbrella Corporation has 'accidentally' released a deadly virus into the air, turning all living/non living into undead, flesh eating creatures! Now it's up to eight survivors -- all with unique personalities/careers -- to try and get out of Raccoon City before the virus takes over them!

Gameplay: You control one of eight characters (3 females and 5 males) and out of the rest, two of them join you on a mission to complete each scenario without being taken over by the virus. Meaning, if your 'virus gauge' reaches 100%, you die. Overall, you have a time limit on whatever scenario you choose (there are 5 scenarios to start out with).

My Opinion On Game: The only nice things I can say about the game is the unique characters that Capcom made (along with people who wear more 'normal' outfits'). Also, the levels, the bosses, and even the creepy monsters that sometimes chase you around in certain places are rather disturbing. I admit that this first Outbreak is better with the scenarios than the second one.
Actually, even though the characters are unique, but they're the biggest flaws in the game! You can't even choose the people to acompany you, and their dialouge -- they just can't keep their mouths shut! They barely help you out in the first place! The side characters just usually run around complaining and whining about the situation.
Another thing is the whole aiming system. The second Outbreak actually improves greatly on this, but for this one...it stinks. It would help to move and 'auto-aim' at the enemies rather than doing it manually (I guess it's good for people looking for a challenge).
Last but not least is the puzzles. Usually I can figure out puzzles without any help (at hard ones, I sometimes shut the system off and think it over) but these Outbreak puzzles can be quite tricky without help from a players guide. Also, puzzles and the number of monsters changes depending on which difficulty level you pick. Even the easy difficulty can be somewhat hard.

Overall: I guess if you're a Resident Evil fan, then I reccomend playing this just for the heck of it. Personally though, the second Outbreak is much better -- unfortunately though, the scenarios aren't as frightening and...neither are the monsters/bosses...