Resident Evil: Outbreak

The Basics:
Platform: PlayStation 2
Developer: Capcom
Price: $49.99
ESRB rating: M (17+)

Summary: As one of a few survivors who have not been turned into a zombie by a mutating virus, you must escape the doomed town of Raccoon City. Use a variety of weapons or avoid your enemies to escape before the virus overtakes you and you become a zombie yourself.

Note: The game is designed to be scary and bloody. In fact, the game starts with a disclaimer advising that the game play contains "explicit violence and gore." While there are some positive elements, such as team work and puzzle solving this mature-rated game is not appropriate for younger players.

Further Breakdown:

Overall rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Best for ages: 17+
Playability: Difficult, with controls that take some getting use to
Graphics: Better than average, camera angles can make the game challenging
Entertainment value: Some, the game offers various skill levels and a variety of secret items to keep the game challenging for replayablity.
Educational value: Minimal problem solving skills
Reading Level: 7+ some reading is required in the game play in order to progress
KidScore Rating

Ages 3-7: Red
Ages 8-12: Red
Ages 13-17: Red
Violence Amount: Red
Fear: Red
Illegal/harmful: Green
Language: Red
Nudity: Green
Sex: Green

Review:
What do you get when you cross an out-of-control pharmaceutical company, some suspicious biochemical experiments and a small city of innocent civilians? Naturally, some sort of hideous mutating agent (in this case called the "T-Virus"), which turns the average peaceful little town (Raccoon City) into a raging horde of bloodthirsty creatures (zombies, giant moths, etc.). Such is the basic story of many a video game and such is the story of Resident Evil: Outbreak. While not exactly the most original of storylines, Resident Evil: Outbreak is likely to be a popular game this summer. The Resident Evil series has been an extremely successful and long-running series of games and it is likely that Outbreak will be no different. However, if your child is asking to play or purchase this game, you need to know that this is not a game for kids. After all, the game is rated "M" by the ESRB for good reasons. In actuality, the game itself is candid about the levels of violence it contains, as even before the game begins there is a disclaimer reading the game contains "explicit violence and gore".

Overall, the environment of the game is designed to create a sense of fear and foreboding and contains a lot of elements found typically in horror movies. The game opens with a long cinematic sequence, showing a view of the world from a rat's perspective. As the rat scampers through the sewers, a battle rages overhead between mutant creatures and members of Raccoon City special police forces. The cinematic concludes with a swarm of rats feeding on a still-living policeman. This sets the stage for a multitude of other "gross-out" scenes throughout the game. It would seem at times the game attempts to scare players and at other times it simply attempts to make them squeamish.

Naturally, the game contains a great deal of violence. The zombies attack by biting the neck of their victim, causing blood to spurt out-and this is just the beginning levels. Other creatures have a variety of other attacks, some which poison players. All attacks lead to an increase of the "T-Virus" in the player's body, and if it reaches 100 percent the player turns into a zombie themselves. Before long a "Your Dead" message appears with blood dripping down.

Players defend themselves from this cruel finish with a variety of weapons including pipes, handguns, Molotov cocktails, rocket launchers etc. However, it is impossible to "clear" levels-that is to completely eliminate all of the monsters. Instead, monsters will continue to appear until all of the level's objectives have been completed. In fact, some monsters are invincible and can only really be avoided. This constant danger can be stressful and adds a certain amount of fear to the game.

Besides the violence, parents need to be aware of a fairly consistent stream of profanity. Computer controlled characters continually spout of semi-nonsense statements. Sometimes they say something useful, but often it is simply annoying exclamations, which can contain profanity. In addition the main player will swear at some points during the game.

There are a few positives to look at regarding the game play. First, the game does stress some problem-solving skills by containing some puzzles. However, the majority of these puzzles are simple scenarios of finding items and bringing them back to a certain area, or finding notes with codes to enter into a computer in a different area. Secondly, although the game is violent and bloody, it doesn't always emphasize confrontation. As mentioned earlier, some monsters cannot even be killed. Avoidance is often stressed as a tactic. The game will give a player a significant point bonus for not using a weapon, and another bonus for not getting hurt at all. Finally, the game does utilize teamwork. The player plays a main character, while two other characters assist. These allied characters can be controlled by the computer or played be by other human friends over a network. By using basic speech commands, players can call for help, trade items, and thank their allies-even the computer-controlled ones. Trading items becomes vital as the amount of items a character can carry at on time is very limited. In addition, each character has a special tool or technique that they can use to assist the rest of the team-for example lock picking or creating weapons.

Despite the positive aspects of the game, there is not enough evidence to show that this would be a good game for players under 17. The negative aspects simply outweigh the positive ones. The levels of violence, gore, scariness, and profanity make this a game suitable for mature players only.