I'm sure everyone here has played, or at least heard of Left 4 Dead. Valve and Turtle Rock Studios multi-million selling franchise. When you think of coop and zombies, this is the game that pops up into most people's minds. With it's focus on action and sheer number of zombies, it's a enjoyable romp for most. But for some gamers their was only one game that could crave their Online zombie fix. A game released in 2004...

That game was Resident Evil: Outbreak, a game that sadly lost it's online functionality in 2007.
Destructoids own Nick Chester reported on it

here:http://www.destructoid.com/capcom-shutting-down-resident-evil-outbreak-servers-30217.phtml

As he reported the community erupted in disappointment, but why would these gamers be so mad over this? Since once the servers closed, no game yet has captured anything that made Outbreak great.

Outbreak was a game that put Teamwork first and foremost. Everyone needed to work together and help each other out if they all wanted to escape alive. Whether it was holding a partner up to prevent his infection meter from rising to fast, or having to split up so that you could accomplish tasks faster to escape. These game strived on everyone working together, which brought up it's biggest flaw. The lack of voice chat. Though many hardcore players found ways around this (some even making a rough way to communicate within the game through certain verbal gestures). It definitely was a stopping point for many players to enter it's online realm.Which was a shame, since to this date it's still the closest one can get to a realistic zombie experience with friends.

The fanbase however remains strong, and shows their love for the series quite frequently. Even if they can't play the game the way it was intended anymore. Over at capcom-unity the resident evil outbreak thread has gathered 2,495,018 views and 22,479 posts as of this writing. Showing just how much these fans care about these games. Which is a sight to see, even after the games release so long ago. If the online functionality was still there, there would still be a very dedicated base playing on it at this very moment.

With online chat being so prominent in online gaming now, this games biggest flaw for many would not even be a issue anymore.Which could bring in a whole new group of players to experience this unique gem. If capcom could listen to it's fanbase a bit better for once (Megaman fans know what im talking about), and give these fans what they want. Either a new game based off this series or something as simple as a HD release with the online functionality included. Something that would go a long way in pleasing fans in general.

If you like come show your support at:

http://www.capcom-unity.com/resident_evil/go/thread/view/7391/18679115/Resident_Evil_Outbreak_Discussion

So that hopefully one day, we can all experience surviving in a zombie overrun city the way only this game can show.