Resident Evil: Outbreak

Resident Evil: Outbreak - As a rabid Resident evil fanatic, it was with a rather large pinch of salt that I read all the 'exciting' previews for this, the online addition to the Resident Evil game stable. While I love the idea of multiplayer gaming, I was really quite dubious as to whether Capcom could tie it in with their monster (ahem) franchise.

The basic premise is that you choose your character (from a roster including the token STARS member, a waitress and even a plumber!), and you are thrust into the midst of Racoon city during an outbreak of Uumbrella Corporation's 'evil' virus. Sounds good so far, no? Well, things go downhill from here folks... the controls are a little funky, and you feel as much at the mercy of your dualshock as you do the rampaging zombie horde. The interaction with NPC is nice, but it never feels integral: you never feel like you're part of a team. Unfortunately, this last gripe is also shared with when you play it online with your 'human' buddies: Capcom's baffling decision to restrict you to a few in-game comments and requests just left me feeling chilly.

The visuals have their moments, always looking good, but never looking stellar. The ingame graphics are much nicer than the pre-rendered sequences. The sound too is functional, without being noteworthy.

The biggest nail in this coffin though is the frequent (and long) loading times. There are even instances of an intrusive loading time within the same scene! This cripples the game, and robs it of any atmosphere or tension - two key ingredients of all previous Resident Evil games.

Whet your appetite with a rental, hey maybe you will like it more than I did. As for me, I'm off to play Code: Veronica....

Outbreak is a unique Resident Evil game with Levels instead of a continuous story. This works to the advantage of the game. For example, if you love a certain part in the other RE games you need to play through again or create a new save to play it over. There are multiple characters (eight in all) to choose from, each with their own special items and abilities. A fresh new game to hold us over until RE4 comes out on GameCube.