Resident Evil Outbreak File 2 review

After witnessing its total destruction at the end of Resident Evil 3 (and being reminded at the start of Resident Evil 4), revising Raccoon City in Resident Evil Outbreak File 2 naturally feels like you’ve taken a step back in history.

Unfortunately, that feeling extends to the game as whole, too. As despite its online play File 2 is plagued with problems the series appeared to successfully abolish in Shinji Mikami’s seminal Resident Evil 4.

Not that File 2 is a bad game. Not by any stretch. It’s just a horribly dated one. And after the fourth game in the series practically reinvented survival horror there is just no room for a game like this anymore.

City of the Living Dead

For a die hard Resident Evil fan like me, it’s hard not to smile when the game begins. We’re presented with a very familiar-looking location – the Raccoon City Police Department from Resident Evil 2 and 3 – and the immortal words, “This game contains scenes of explicit violence and gore”.

Even the dodgy voice over guy returns.

What’s interesting to note is Capcom has separated the level progression into five sections (including a terribly boring training section). These can be played in any order. Naturally I had to jump into the RPD first to see a once-loved location fully rendered by the power of the PS2.

Unfortunately that highlights one of the fundamental problems in File 2. For all the story that existed in the previous games, there is virtually none in this. Your excuse is merely that the virus has spread and you must fight to survive.

Like the previous Outbreak you can choose to have partners follow you through the game. There are a dozen or so this time and each has a different ability. Good advice is to balance these abilities. Personally, I always stuck with Kevin's powerful .45, Yoko's large carry space and Mark's melee brawn.

REwind (sic)

Though it’s intended for online play, most people will have forgone the temperamental PS2 online capabilities in favour of the easier to use Xbox Live. This means the majority of people out there will be playing File 2 offline. And that’s certainly not a bad thing.

The computer controls your partners and like before, they tend to do things how they want to. You can win them over with the Appeal function (ie, giving them items and thanking them every now and then). But most of the time they will be off on their own adventures.

It's refreshing to find AI controlled team mates that react accordingly. Obviously File 2 would be a terribly easy game if they were capable of taking down every enemy. Instead it’s the way they immerse themselves that makes them unique. Like you, your partners can move around, attack, pick up and use items, talk to you, help out and trade.

It can be a little cumbersome trying to offer items to your partners. Ideally it would be a simple case of pressing Start, entering your menu, highlighting the item and deciding who to give it to. Instead the character must be standing close to you and it’s generally up to them if they want to take it or not.

What is also annoying is the fact that whenever you enter your menu screen the game continues in the background. This is especially annoying when multiple enemies attack or you have to reload. There is an over-dependence on the menu that sometimes restricts progression.

A Long Time Ago…

This segues nicely into the point I touched upon at the start. For all that's good and appealing in File 2, it just feels far too dated in today's survival horror climate. Having to jump into your men, select a key, and then choose to use is as annoying as it was back in the first Resident Evil.

You do have the option to kick or barge doors open this time – but that only works on the fragile ones. Most of the time it's a case of finding the elephant key and using it on the door with a picture of an elephant. It’s this kind of gameplay Resident Evil 4 dropped entirely.

So playing through File 2 with its linear, claustrophobic levels, constant backtracking, awkward controls (despite the full use of analogue movement this time) and limited menu space does more harm than good.

That said, there is one thing Resident Evil Outbreak File 2 should be commended for. It's something the series could (and should) have utilised in the past but appeared to miss the opportunity. That is, the zombiefied Zoo.

It's such a gorgeous setpiece in design terms and graphically. And it's made all the more scary by a giant zombie elephant that stalks you throughout the early stages. Unfortunately, the whole zoo was created on that key-hunting design that plagues the game.

And it just serves to remind us not of the halcyon days of survival horror, but the annoying ones. Do yourselves a favour and pick up Resident Evil 4 when it hits on the PS2.