Resident Evil Outbreak

Resident Evil Outbreak's engrossing one-player adventure is the star of the show, but the game could be hampered by potential drawbacks in the online world.

Resident Evil Outbreak is the first online-capable entry in Capcom's popular franchise. Outbreak is a tangent off Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis as you witness the monster infestation of Raccoon City firsthand through the eyes of eight different characters. Up to four people can play a Network (online) game, and Outbreak's structure emphasizes teamwork and cooperation over the go-at-it-alone one-player RE adventures. You can swap specific items and weapons with other characters, shoulder fellow survivors if they're severely injured, help pull them up from ledges, and hold doors closed while teammates look for an escape route.

"None of Us Is as Dumb as All of Us"
The object is simple: Get to the end of a Scenario alive. Health isn't the only thing to worry about, though---there's also a virus gauge to watch. With each monster attack, the gauge slowly creeps up. Once it reaches 100 percent, you turn into a zombie that can attack other players for a limited time. In Single Play, Outbreak is more intriguing with each play-through. A meaty reward system spices up the replay value as extra costumes, characters, and cinemas can be purchased with points given at the end of each Scenario; bought goodies can be used in Network and Single Play games. This is the most "primitive" of the Resident Evil games in that you're forced to use ordinary objects, such as pipes, broomsticks, and bottles, as weapons, and characters can kick and shove attackers. Each of the eight initial selectable characters has a specialty skill, such as the ability to create weapons out of normal objects, make medicines, or pick locks (just to name a few).

Communication Breakdown
All was fine in the one-player offline mode (A.I.-controlled characters immediately delivered any items in their possession that you desired), but it remains to be seen how cooperative four humans can be in Network Play as a quick Network mode play-through yielded frustrating results. You could not save midgame, accessing the in-game menu was done in real time, and there was no way to pause the game (although you could stop the action in Single mode). Furthermore, some load times were very long (a problem that may be alleviated by the upcoming PS2 HDD, although it's unknown at present if the U.S. version will utilize this feature), and communication---or lack thereof---also posed a huge stumbling block. Rather than supporting voice chat, Outbreak gave each player several preset verbal cues that made it impossible to deliver specific commands, and confusion ensued. Hopefully, the online concerns will be addressed before the game's launch in late March.

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