Over a year ago, CAPCOM released the original Resident Evil (RE) Outbreak, which introduced Raccoon City from the "people`s" perspective, exposing those who had fallen victim to a mysterious biological weapon leak.
Now, RE Outbreak: File #2 is hitting game outlets everywhere. File #2 is an expansion of the first release and an effort to fix some of the problems that were encountered with it.
Eight citizens of Raccoon City have managed to survive the outbreak. Only by working together will they make their way to safety.
Characters in the game are Kevin, equipped with a handgun; Mark, the security guard who`s skilled with melee weapons; Alyssa, the newspaper reporter proficient in lock picking; and Yoko, the ill-fated student whose only real contribution is her backpack, which offers double the inventory space to any of the other characters. George is the resident doctor with the ability to make medicine; Jim, the subway transit system employee, who is armed with a lucky coin - yes, it sounds dumb but this coin can get Jim out of sticky situations if he flips heads; David, the plumber equipped with a toolbox of various items; and Cindy, the waitress, whose herb case is useful to wounded characters.
The characters are mostly undeveloped, having not established relationships with each other or any past RE characters. They are not good marksmen or in great physical condition - just regular people in an extreme situation.
Single-player mode allows the gamer to choose a representative character, which will be directly controlled, and two other characters that will help the principal character through the mission. These other characters should be chosen wisely as each of them have their own strengths, abilities and personal items. Although the player won`t be able to control the extra characters, they are very important to survival.
Should the player`s character become injured, a quick tap on the right analogue stick will bark out commands and the extra characters could help with some quick healing. The only problem is, they tend to wander off when needed most.
Since each character, except Yoko, can only carry four items at any given time, the character`s hands are always full. This means constant trading of items to solve puzzles -annoying, especially as the action keeps running in the background while you`re trying to combine herbs or find the right item needed to solve a specific puzzle.
A few new moves have been included such as simultaneous shooting and walking (unlike previous RE games when the character had to stand still to shoot). There is also the useful "ground grab" and crawling.
Given the scenario of the game, I`ve always felt that the characters should move faster. If it were me stuck inside a zombie infested building, I`d be in and out of there faster than you can say, "beware the walking dead". But still, the characters trod around and feel a little clumsy at times.
File #2 was designed as an online game, which although is a great idea, it`s pretty pointless in SA, as most of us don`t have PS2 online capabilities.
A real pity - imagine the fun of battling other zombie slaying gamers online. I guess we`ll just have to stick to the single player game until such things become available.
Another thing to consider is that the game only has a few levels to beat. Sure, you can play them over with different character combinations, but CAPCOM should have had more than four scenarios.
Character models are smooth and lighting effects in environments are excellent, but load way too frequently. The load times are also fairly long.
In a game like this, sound plays such an important role, without the distant moans of wailing terrors and echoing footsteps there would not be the same level of suspense.
Eerie effects and the music are nicely orchestrated and once again, brilliantly achieved. Too bad the gameplay wasn`t as great as it could have been.
If you aren`t a diehard fan of the series, or can`t play online, it pains me to say you should be wary of dishing out hard earned cash for this one. I rate it a disappointing 4/10.
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