Resident Evil: Outbreak: File 2
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| Resident Evil: Outbreak: File #2 | |
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| Developer(s) | Capcom Production Studio 1 |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Aspect ratio | 480i (SDTV) |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 |
| Release date |  September 9, 2004 April 26, 2005 August 26, 2005 |
| Genre(s) | Survival Horror Third Person Shooter Science Fiction |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Mature (17+) PEGI: 16+ |
| Media | DVD-ROM |
| Input methods | DualShock 2 |
- The correct title of this article is Resident Evil: Outbreak: File #2. The substitution or omission of a # sign is because of technical restrictions.
Resident Evil: Outbreak: File #2 is an online survival horror game developed and published by Capcom. It was released for the Playstation 2 on September 9, 2004 in Japan, April 26, 2005 in North America, and on August 26, 2005 in Europe.
Following the success of the first title in Japan, Capcom quickly announced the release of Resident Evil: Outbreak: File #2 in fall of 2004. The same eight characters from the first title return with similar abilities, and the game takes place once again in a zombie-inhabited Raccoon City. Five new scenarios are available, and the first four are available from the beginning. In Japan, the game was packaged with a demo of Devil May Cry 3 if pre-ordered. Despite the financial success of the first title, File #2 sold roughly 40% of what the first did when it was released in Japan, thus dampening the chances of a future installment.[citation needed]
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[edit] Features
File #2 includes several new features. Loading times are now much shorter, there is no longer a brief pause when the inventory or map is opened, players can now walk and shoot at the same time, a new item was given to each of the original characters, including magazines for their weapons (Kevin and Mark), a new defensive weapon (Alyssa), a team-aid item (George, Cindy), a lighter that has "J's Bar" engraved on it (David), and stat-boosting items (Jim, Yoko).
Communication is roughly the same. Instead of creating a new system from scratch, the old communication system from the first game has been improved upon. These new additions included the ad-lib phrase "Sorry", and the ability to say comments based on what players were looking at on the Map and File screens.
The game also boasts a new difficulty feature and some changes to the game's balance. These include a new Nightmare Mode and several alterations to previous damage charts.
[edit] Regional differences
In the American version of the game, the 'ad-libs' from the first game have been removed. Now, only when a character uses the analog stick or makes a request do they make a noise. If context ad-libbing is attempted, no sounds are made, affecting gameplay. If a player attempts to tell someone they were poisoned, the chances of that player getting the message are low if he or she is in the middle of combat. The Japanese release, however, features full voices, with the European featuring only voices and no text.
The Japanese version features Japanese subtitles for the cutscenes while all characters speak English, like previous Biohazard games. Because of the character variety, this leads to a strange continuation where the Japanese subs read as having all characters saying the same thing in some cases.
Linda is called Rinda in the Japanese version. Although the characters still say her name as Linda during cutscenes, the NPC select screen shows her name beginning with an R, similar to her NPC name in the original Outbreak. This could be considered Engrish.
In Japan, the game runs on the KDDI MMBB service. In America, this service was swapped out for the Sega Network Application Package. Because of this change, several features were removed from the NTSC/PAL versions, including private messaging, advance search options, and special options to limit the rankings to find specific ranks.
[edit] Online mode
Network Play has had a major overhaul from the previous game. File #2 has a new lobby system, new event system, and an increase in options and modes of play.
Capcom ran events from the month of April to late May that were sponsored by various gaming magazines. This included events from PSM and EGM, amongst others. Clearing these events rewarded the players with characters and costumes. Some events took place in standard levels on set difficulties, while others placed the player in selected levels with Infinite and Nightmare options activated, before the two options were available for free use. After all sponsored events ended, Capcom ran two events in circulation, a point bonus event, and an SP item hunt.
The lobby system was revamped, now including ten areas with different options in each one. However, this change made it harder to join games with friends. In order for a player to join a friend in their hosted or current game, the player would need to enter a menu to search for their name, then exit that menu. Choose the area they are in, and find the game. This menu does not mention the amount of players in the current game when searched for, meaning the game could be full before the player joined.
In early July, Capcom closed an alternate server, leaving only one choice for the player when they connected. Months after, Nightmare Mode, Infinite Mode, and changes to the Area system were made. HDD Support was dropped from the Area Screen, but players could still host games with HDD mode turned on by activating it offline.
From within the game, or by a link on the official Capcom sales page of their US site, players could look and see their position on the ranking boards.
On March 31st, 2007, Capcom closed their PAL & US servers for File #2.[1].
[edit] Sales
The final sales of File #2 were 200,000 for US, Europe and Japan, making the total of 600,000 sales.[citation needed]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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