Is Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 still worth playing offline?
Resident Evil went online 13 years ago with the Outbreak series. There’s still ways to connect and play online, but is the offline experience worth it?
The Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 is the second installment for the Outbreak series, games developed to make use of online multi-player where up to 3 players could work together in a scenario to try and survive the zombie outbreak occurring within Raccoon city. The concept itself caught my attention but I really wanted to know if it was worth playing offline… I am happy to report, this might be one of my favourite Resident Evil games ever.
Even offline in single-player mode, there’s plenty of challenges and content to get through.
What is Resident Evil Outbreak File #2?
The concept here for Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 falls outside the traditional story-driven narratives found in the main series. We have 8 different survivors, all with different traits, personalities and abilities thrust into an apocalyptic scenario and forced to work together to survive.
Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 has it’s fair share of classic RE puzzles and scarce ammunition. But the scenario’s themselves play out as chapters. Slowly revealing information and backstory from Resident Evil 2, without specifically drawing the characters into that story. This game is about survival and making it out alive.
Playing offline, you’ll need to choose your own AI partners (and deal with the peculiar behaviours of an AI partner). But I honestly didn’t struggle with the AI. In easy mode, they were actually helpful. Bringing key items from across the level over to where I currently was. AI characters managed to navigate themselves through the stages (most of the time). Haul me over ledges and occasionally grab the best equipment.
We’re just scratching the surface here. The more I played Outbreak (both the first and Resident Evil Outbreak File #2), the more I realised there was a lot of thought put into the series. Different characters have different experiences within each scenario. Some may recognise locations, find specific items or even trigger unique events. It adds to the replay value but it also fleshes out the backstories in a clever way without exposition.
In terms of replayability, Resident Evil Outbreak was designed to played again and again. The online mode providing a slightly different experience each time. As you’re playing through, whether you survive or die, you start earning points. These points can be used to unlock extras from the game. Including sounds, movies, images, costumes as well as a boss rush mode.
Playing Resident Evil Outbreak online now?
Outbreak didn’t make a big splash at the time of release. Especially Downunder where there were issues with the online services (as noted in Eurogamers review). It’s also worth mentioning there’s no offline multiplayer support. This game is strictly online multiplayer or single-player. I still feel the single-player mode provided enough challenges, content and replayability to keep me satisfied.
Even though the official servers have been down for years now, there’s been multiple fan-efforts to get the game back online. There’s a great guide a user posted on the STEAM forum to get the game working online via a PC emulator. Personally, I don’t play any games online. I decided I wanted to focus on the single-player experience, whether it was still worth playing Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 offline. But for anyone interested in playing online, it’s well worth having a poke around to see what’s possible.
Looking back however, I’ve come to really appreciate the approach to horror this game brought to the table and the tension it’s managed to create with the ‘on-the-fly’ item swapping and combining. For fans of the series, you might find some great things to check out here and maybe even a new, enjoyable Resident Evil experience that doesn’t rely ‘just’ on excessive action but has a real commitment to tension.
To see a Resident Evil game that does JUST rely on excessive action, check out Resident Evil Survivor 2 Code Veronica. Another Playstation 2 exclusive developed jointly between Capcom and Namco.
Or to see some of the handheld spin-offs from this series, you might want to check out Resident Evil Gaiden for the Gameboy Color. Also, see JAVA based Resident Evil games, Genesis and Uprising over here.
