Ok, Outbreak is done and dusted. Despite the moronic AI and bizarre pacing of a title that's technically mean to be played online, I would still recommend anyone who's curious about the game give it a whirl (although I'm told Outbreak 2 improved on all aspects, including the crappy save system) since each level can be beaten in a mere 30m-1hr30 on average (be aware that loading a save deletes it) and there are only five of them. It's also an exceptionally easy game, for the most part - once you figure out the silly controls, and combat system, and how to best keep your companions from fucking up too much, you should be set, which is why the tutorial level is possibly the hardest section out of all of them.
The basic controls are similar to the updated "MkII Tank" style of REmake - i.e. useless, and you have the added fiddliness of managing your inventory (which for most characters is very small) in real time. Enjoy switching between your handgun and grenade launcher in boss fights! Technically speaking there's a time limit to every level - your viral infection will grow increasingly aggressive and eventually kill you (sped up by enemy attacks and slowed down by various drugs), and most areas (after the tutorial) have a fairly low number of respawning zombies. Finally, there are several scenes where you must perform an action or escape an area within a certain amount of time to avoid being burned to death, blown up, trapped, left behind and so forth. Yet the basic structure of each area is very similar to the vanilla RE games - semi-open levels with multiple floors and simple puzzles requiring some backtracking to open secret doors, return power to an elevator, turn off gas in a corridor or find a missing key.
Enemies are pretty weak by the standards of the series, as they're easily stunned, knocked back or knocked down and then take minimal ammo on top of that. There is a certain degree of respawning, but you're generally not revisiting areas too frequently and it's mostly zombies, who "cost" nothing to dispatch in this game if you're using the degradable but common melee weapons (and I didn't even bother with that). Even Hunters appear as early as level 2 and can easily be skipped or killed. Cranking up the difficulty actually changes the types of enemies you'll face in some areas, though. The various protagonists are meant to represent regular joes rather than Elite Tier 1 Operators like Leon "Secret Agent" Kennedy or Chris "Boulder-Hammer" Redfield - police officers, waitresses, students, reporters, security guards and the rest. This is represented by a range of mundane abilities for getting out of trouble or useful skills like lockpicking or herb mixing that are unique to each character (shades of Sweet Home?), as well their their characterization, from Cindy's trembling posture to Yoko's awkwardness and Alyssa's scowling quips. You're still killing like fifty monsters per level, though. So their non-combat abilities are somewhat meaningless except for lockpicking or extra carrying space.
As with most RE titles there is a a good degree of replayability (which I DGAF about and never have) with scorecards, unlockable content and so forth. What sets Outbreak slightly apart is that, similar to RE3, events can occur slightly differently depending on random chance or the player's actions. Certain NPCs can be saved or killed, even zombified, scripted obstacles and barricades can sometimes to set up, minor shortcuts can be unveiled, certain characters have unique insights or uses in certain areas, various enemies can be killed or avoided etc. For example, taking the time to pick up and save an NPC in level 1 and leading him to the roof, rather than leaving him to die, will trigger cutscenes where he shoots himself or becomes zombified, depending on the difficulty level. Similarly, Nemesis-style enemy will stalk the players in level 3, but can be killed by leading him into a trap. However, if one of your party died earlier in the level, the parasites will flee to their corpse and create a new miniboss, who will continue hunting you. All these events are noted in a "Checklist" at the end of each chapter, and ticking them all of can require several runs of each level. It was an interesting feature that led each level to feel a bit more organic, as if the world really was adapting to your actions as you played.
Now for the most important part:
WAIFUS
Cindy: Nice ass, cute face, blond hair. She even anxiously clasps her hands to her chest as she walks around, triggering any NEET's deeply-buried protective instincts. No tits to speak of but still 7/10.
Yoko: Weirdly enough, Capcom went out of their way to make the Japanese chick as plain as possible. Yet after a while you start to see their cunning plan coming together. Yoko is dorky, awkward, wears frumpy clothes and doesn't even bother with lipstick, yet this endears her to socially retarded weebs who can empathize with her plight. Some very clever - and unexpectedly subtle - Waifu-building by Capcom. Bravo. 6/10
Alyssa: Capcom, are you even trying? Generic hardass investigative reporter personality. Awful wardrobe, Netherrealms Studios-tier manface. Looks like a transexual in her alternative outfit. 3/10