Resident Evil Outbreak

Resident Evil goes online in Capcom's latest series.

Capcom's got a new Resident Evil game coming called Resident Evil Outbreak. Unlike previous Resident Evil games, this one specifically caters toward online play. Up to 4 players can play online, and single-player is also available with computer-controlled characters working with you instead.

Story
You are a Raccoon City civilian infected with the T-virus. You will take on the role of one of eight characters: Kevin, a police officer, George, a doctor, Alyssa, a newspaper reporter, Yoko, a college student, Cindy, a waitress, Jim, a subway employee, David, a plumber, and Mark, a security guard, waitress. Having already contracted the virus, you must race against time to escape the city before you turn into a zombie.

Gameplay
As time goes by, the T-virus slowly infects your body. A virus gauge in the lower right corner of the screen displays the severity of the infection. Although there are items to temporarily stop the spread of the virus, there are no items to lower your virus gauge. Your physical health plays a factor as well, as the virus gauge increases more rapidly when you are severely wounded. In an interesting twist, players will still be able to play when they become a zombie, but can only move and attack other players. As a zombie, you will not be able to use any items, and enemies will ignore you.

Given that the game is multiplayer-oriented, there are a lot of cooperative gameplay elements. For example, in the jumping puzzles in the game (and we can all hope that there aren't too many), another player can pull a person up from the other side if they didn't quite make it. Also, if you are heavily wounded, another player can carry your shoulder to make you walk faster (but also making both of you vulnerable to attack). If you are in close vicinity to another, you can swap items as well as see each other's health status. Since each character has their own strengths, having the right combination of people working with you is critical. For example, Cindy is a handy character to have for healing, as she carries an herb case, and Kevin comes in handy in battle with his .45 caliber pistol and his special aiming skill.

Zombies are feistier this time, doing much more than puking their innards out and loping around. They're smarter and faster, being able to climb over obstacles, open doors, and punch and kick. You have to pick places to swap items carefully, as you can be ambushed by hordes of zombies if you're close to a door. If you have a pistol, you can quickly dispatch them when they pounce on you by putting a bullet through their head.

The Characters

Kevin

A police officer of Raccoon City who's a skilled shot, and quite athletic. Flunked the examination to become a S.T.A.R.S. member due to his easy-going attitude. (Has an uncanny resemblance to a certain actor...)

Special Skills:
Kick - When he doesn't have a weapon armed, he can kick enemies back.
Aim - Holding down the aim button and shooting enables him to do major damage to enemies.

George

A quiet and skilled physician who carries with him a medical set that allows him to create medicine from herbs. Has a rocky past of an affair with nurse leading to a divorce.

Special Skills:
Dodge and Tackle - When an enemy is close by, he has the skill to evade and tackle the enemy.

Cindy

The waitress for J's Bar in Raccoon city. She carries with her an herb case to stock up on all the different kinds of herbs. A healer type?

Special Skills:
Squat - She can dodge attacks by squatting down.

Mark

A hardy and seasoned security guard who is also a Vietnam vet. Mark carries with him his pistol from the beginning of the game. He desires nothing more than to lead a quiet life.

Special Skills:
Guard - Guarding reduce the amount of damage inclicted upon him.
Full swing - With stick or club type weapons, he can unleash powerful melee attacks on enemies.

Yoko

Cool and quiet, she spends most of her time on computers. She carries with her a backpack that allows her to carry 4 more items than usual.

Special Skills:
Escape - When she is about to be attacked, she can dodge and crawl away.

David

A succinct plumber who doesn't say more than he needs to say. He is good with tools, and can combine items to create new weapons.

Special Skills:
Rapid knife attack - Skilled with the knife, he can make quick attacks using his knife.
Wrench throw - He can throw his wrench to inflict damage on enemies.

Alyssa

A newspaper reporter with a sharp tongue. She can open locked doors with her lockpick tool by pressing the button rapidly.

Special Skills:
Aim - Like Kevin, she can aim to inflict greater damage.
Backstep - Alyssa can dodge quickly by backstepping.

Jim

A quick-witted and rowdy Subway employee who likes to solve puzzles in his free time. He carries with him a coin that he enjoys tossing when bored. Maybe his fortunes will change depending on the results?

Special Skills:
Play dead - Jim can evade enemies by playing dead if he's out of the line of site of enemies. Unfortunately, the virus gauge goes up a lot faster when playing dead...


Resident Evil Outbreak is slated for release in Japan this winter, and North America some time in 2004.

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