Reviewed by Martin Goldstein
I had the distinct pleasure of experiencing my first true beta release and am anxious to share my impressions with you. While I'm more apt to review a flight sim, I'm a well rounded gamer that plays them all no matter how brief the experience. I just love seeing what's out there. So you can imagine that it was pretty exciting to fire up a new game that I knew almost nothing about other than some press releases that Ken had e-mailed me. There was no manual provided so I relied upon the help file and the normal online cues that you get when you hit the F1 key....ie this key does that etc. Fortunately, Microsoft included a cheat file that included all of the missions found in the game so that if a tester got stuck in campaign structure, he could still try out the other missions which could be found in the "Single Mission" bin. It's time to include a blurb from the Outwars web site that sets the stage for what kind of game Outwars is.
"For centuries, mankind searched the heavens for signs of life other than our own. Across the farthest reaches of space and time, we appeared to be very much alone. This seemed even more apparent as the clutter and decay of the earth's natural resources finally forced humans to colonize other planets. However, this assumption was recently altered drastically. Recently, several colony outposts have been ravaged and destroyed by an unknown force.
The elite Colonial Defense Force (CDF) Marine Jump Corps has been sent to investigate the disturbance. Nicknamed "Dreadnauts", they are highly skilled fighters equipped with rocket packs that allow them to negotiate even the most rugged terrain. Their protective battlesuits are loaded with an arsenal of weapons, making each soldier a virtual walking tank. Advanced tactical training for quick insertion and demolition make the Dreadnauts perfect for this mission."
Get the picture? You and your squad are assigned to find and kick some alien butt. Your search and destroy missions cover several planets and culminates in a meeting with the "queen" as it were. That's right, the bad guys are insectoid and are referred to in the game as "skulls". There are different kinds of skulls....some more menacing than others....some even fly. They are all capable of shooting projectiles at you with "tail-mounted" launchers. Some are just more deadly than others. You quickly find out who to fear most. Where Outwars most resembles Jedi Knight is the third person manipulation that many of us used during play. Assorted key presses produce several third person views as well as a first person perspective. You probably have the idea. While we're not talking ground-breaking here, there are some new twists that will be covered in our break down. Suffice it to say that Outwars is a semi-strategic shooter with a mix of puzzle solving, maze negotiation and finger twitch character maneuvering that has many faces. Let's take a closer look.
The test system was a PII 266 with Diamond Stealth II and Creative Voodoo 2 12 meg., 64 meg of RAM. As a new Voodoo 2 owner I was pleased to find that Outwars fully recognized and supported my new toy. The 3D drivers used are of the D3D variety and make for some eye pleasing graphics as will be discussed.
As stated above, Outwars does support 3D acceleration. The beta supported no higher than 640 by 480 in an accelerated mode. While the overall effect of the 3D acceleration was impressive, Outwars lacks the hi-res graphic pizzazz of other recent titles such as Battle Zone or Quake II. Distant scapes often appear to be lacking in texture overlay and at times appear unrefined. Frequent "tearing" of walls and barriers were noted depending upon your dreadnaut's movements.
To be fair the scope of the playing field is vast and in many ways reminded me of Jedi. The dreadnaut that you control often faces vast chasms to traverse via jet pack. The sense of distance and depth is both convincing and well done. The color palates used to create the landscapes of the various planets are varied to the extent that the scenery remains intriguing as you progress from mission to mission. One planet is a lush tropical forest setting while another is an ominous ice planet. The finale takes place in a planet sized hive. The variety is appreciated by the gamer.
As for your character's animation, the body motions are fluid and life like....One exception would be the side step/strafing move which looks more like a ballerina doing a side step than a mean fighting machine. In addition, the strafing motion is disproportionately slow compared to the other moves that the dreadnaut is capable of.....Thus he becomes a sometimes easy target.
Your sworn enemies, the skulls, grow on you. At first, I laughed at their appearance- no where near the elegantly rendered enemies found in Quake II (a bit "sprite looking" at times). They can be quite ornery, however, and will actively pursue you with your annihilation in mind. Their animation is a bit crude, however, as they perform what I call the "skull shuffle". Skulls use their back legs to move about in grass hopper like fashion but without leaving the ground....therefore the shuffle. Sometimes you'll be whaling away on one as it shuffles back and forth in front of you...doing an about face and shuffling in the other direction.....Other more dangerous skulls are capable of hopping and dropping from nowhere. They too are goofy looking with their insectoid mandibles opening and closing in "threatening" fashion. They do splatter well, however, and are fun to blast. As they take hits, a small, horizontal health bar become visible under their image that goes from green to red as they near death....full red and splat.
I should mention that many of the explosions found in Outwars are amongst the finest I've yet to witness in a PC game. One scenario in which it is necessary to blow up several skull silos features amazing blasts that not only resonate but shake the picture in a huge release of smoke and fire.....most impressive. You don't want your character too close when this takes place for obvious reasons.
Game set up screens are nicely rendered still drawings featuring push button selections. Full motion video briefings precede the beginning of each mission with both a male and later a female commandant telling you what you're about to be up against. The video screens are rather small windows but are well done. Finally, the game's intro is reminiscent of Mech Warrior's intro with several dreadnauts battling it out in desperation.....the scene is set for action.
Given the above, I would rate the graphic quality in this beta release to be an 8.0. Eye pleasing to say the least, but not yet where many of its contemporary releases are.
Graphics score-8
Outwars does not play second fiddle to anyone in the sound department. Both stereo and Q-sound (a three D sound effect) are supported and as in other SingleTrac Studio titles, one can adjust bass and treble as well as mix the levels of fx, music and voice. Music is of motion picture quality with tracs that are context sensitive. The atmospheric effects created by the powerful sound track smack of the big screen, top shelf all the way. In many ways I felt that the stirring sound track made up for what amounted to some graphic shortcomings as mentioned above.
As for the sound effects, here again, superbly done. Everything from armament fire to the swish of your jet pack are convincing and satisfying. Especially worth noting are the snarling sounds made by the skulls as they pursue you....right out of the movies. Also noteworthy are the splattering sounds heard when one of these bad boys has taken in too much ammo as you almost want to wring your hands dry. Voice clips from your squad mates are done in a humorous tone as your guys moan and groan about the dangerous aspects of their jobs and gripe when they are fired upon by the skulls. No, in the sound department, Outwars does not disappoint.
Now to the meat- how does it play? Bear in mind that Outwars is mission based and features a campaign mode as well as a single mission mode and a multiplayer module. The single missions become available in real life once they've been completed in career mode. The beta offering allowed access to all missions....luckily!!! The Career missions are linear in nature. That is, there isn't any branching based on success or failure as in some of the previous Wing Commander packages....Either beat the mission or you're stuck.
Your career begins as either a male or female dreadnaut, your choice. First you train. The first training mission is concentrated on learning to use your jet pack. This ability is central to the game as it's your only real edge against overwhelming odds. You will fly from pylon to pylon. They are of different heights and expanses. You need to touch down on 14 of them within a 5 minute period. The need for this ability is called up throughout the game. Your jet pack is of the rechargeable variety but you need to gauge how much juice you need to make it from point A to point B. Interim stops may be necessary to allow for recharge time. Further, the type of armor suit you've selected influences your flight time. The lighter scout suit gets more mileage than the heavier combat suit. The walking tank "dreadnaut suit" allows you to take a lot of fire but is a terrible suit to jet pack in. These considerations enter into the strategy aspects of the game. The player is also called upon to outfit his squad mates....usually two of them. As for armament, your dreadnauts usually pack some kind of gun (one rechargeable and one with a finite number of bullets), a projectile weapon or two, and explosives. The number of weapons carried depends on the suit you choose for your mission . More heavily armed suits become available as the game progresses. Your helmet features a radar that helps you locate waypoints and your enemy. I never really found the radar to be particularly useful for enemy detection, however, usually noting conflicting results with the radar detecting aliens present but none in the area to be found. A stealth indicator was also found to be somewhat useless. Here again, no manual so perhaps I missed something.
Once you've learned to jet pack, then you receive lessons in weaponry and taking out stationary and moving targets....this too is timed. Upon completion of your training it's off to battle. At first your primary concerns are evacuation of your base. Later you take the offensive and seek out the alien menace. Each mission has a specific goal. Such goals range from steeling a secret weapon such as the valuable glider wings (more on these shortly) to escorting vehicles from one place to another. There are several demolition missions as each dreadnaut carries some form of timed explosive. Other missions are of the search and destroy genre while others involve rescue of some VIP. Some are solo and others are squad level missions. The variety is more than ample and it can be said that Outwars never gets tedious. There are 25 missions in all not including the important training missions.
SingleTrac references the tactical nature of Outwars. What does this mean? As commander, you have 5 commands available to you, In Wing Commander fashion, you can tell your guys to rejoin formation, attack your target, hold position or fire at will....the usual stuff. The problem with this system is that it is very limiting. While a map is available during game play (similar to Jedi and Duke Nukem) you can't point to a particular location and send a squad mate to it. You need to go to whatever point you want guarded and have your "wingie" follow you. You then tell him to stay put while you go off on your appointed rounds. When you are ready to be rejoined just hit the old "R" key. He or they'll come running. When you blow something up, you want them out of harm's way. Their primary benefit to the player is really just extra fire power when faced with a large force of skulls....As for tactical planning....let's just say it was a nice thought. Further, your squad mates are very good at getting themselves killed so don't grow too fond of them. You can keep an eye on their health with vertical bars seen in the bottom of your HUD. Your health is also monitored by its own vertical bars as is the integrity of your armor. Firefights are indeed intense and are amongst the most exciting that I've yet to experience in a PC game. I experienced some melees that involved myself and three squad mates duking it out with six to eight aliens, some on foot and some flying. The screeching, firing and explosions gets the adrenaline pumping.....hoooah!!!
An innovation is afoot.....remember those glider wings I mentioned above? In a limited number of missions you are issued the same glider wings that you hi-jacked. No training, just learn to use them on the fly says your CO. So now you're hang-gliding with a jetpack to give you an extra boost when your stall alarm sounds. This effect is incredibly cool but quite difficult to master. What's more you get to dogfight with flying skulls with you toting guided missiles that home in on your locked target. Is this neat or what? This is truly a distinguishing feature in Outwars. Control is tricky but once mastered your dreadnaut becomes deadly.
So what's not to like? Well, a few things. First and foremost, there is no difficulty level setting. Either I missed it or that was one large omission. Outwars is one hard game and is conceivably impossible to finish in a human life time. Perhaps a guide book would ease the pain. I got hung on the "hi-jack the glider wings" mission....played it no less than 30 times only to succumb to overwhelming odds or buggy graphics where my dreadnaut became lost in the walls. There is also a curious lack of powerups. While health kits, amour patch kits and ammo can be found they are few and far between. In the end I tossed it in on the glider high jacking and found it necessary to jump to the singles so as to see more of the game. I suspect that this mission was buggy and will be fixed in its final release.
I think you get the picture. You have a first person/ third person shooter with some tactical consideration that has thrown in a new way to move. Artificial intelligence appears to be reasonably good (too good, actually) since the skulls are pretty good shots and can make your life unpleasant in space. Action is fast and furious and atmosphere is well crafted. Outwars is fun to play and I kept coming back for more. Were the difficulty adjustable and were there less bugs still present, I would rate it higher but as is score it 8.5 for game play....not too shabby.
Since there appears to be a full featured but untried (by this tester) m ultiplayer module, I would guess that the replay value of Outwars is high. No doubt it will be playable on the Microsoft Internet Gaming Zone (IGZ) as well as through the other usual venues such as Kali and modem to modem....all the options are listed within the game including HEAT. Such capability always extend the life of a game. As for solo play, I doubt anyone will accuse Outwars of being too short. The mission difficulty will keep you busy. The expert gamer who takes on all challenges with a confident smile might enjoy replaying a difficult mission in a light scout suit, trading off armament for speed. One may also choose to defeat thine enemy without the help of your squad mates, so there are many ways to play Outwars.
As stated above, no manual yet so I can't comment on that. There is an online help file which seems be thorough and Outwars has a dedicated web site that right now just serves as an overview of the game listing its features. There is also a place for testers to lodge their gripes which I did but received no reply. The game has a library module in one of its pre-game menu screens that provides a full run down on your suits and weapons and their respective capabilities. Game play can also be interrupted for an on screen listing of key stroke commands. It's meaningless to rate docs on a scale here as no printed matter was provided.
Control is a bit tricky in Outwars. The majority of gamers will probably use keyboard and mouse. As in Jedi, the keys can be used to move your dreadnaut while the mouse can be used to move his view point and fire a weapon or ignite the jet pack. The part that takes practice is adjusting one's viewpoint while jet-packing from platform to platform....You almost need to see your feet to know that you will land on a solid surface. Numerous times I erred in this matter only to run out of jet recharge when having over shot my mark simply because I had not properly adjusted my view. When this happens over a deep chasm, you're toast. You plummet to your death as your dreadnaut utters..."What a waste of a good marine.". After awhile I did get the hang of it. Two on-screen markers aid the gamer in remaining oriented. One "X" indicates where you are aiming and illuminates red when a target is locked while a small circle, similar to a velocity vector in flight sims indicates what direction you are currently facing. A punch of the "E" key will center your bearings for a renewed reference.
Joysticks are supported. Both the keyboard and your joystick can be fully remapped with and in-game utility that works quite well. Those with p rogrammable joysticks may enjoy mapping the hat to move the aiming cursor while the stick itself can move the player. This, of course, would be done outside the game.
I own a Space Orb 360 which is a 3D controller that lends itself to shooters. I was able to program the Space Orb to handle most of the movements necessary. This controller really shines in games of this nature....especially good in Quake, Jedi, and Battle Zone, Duke etc....Once you use it, it's tough to play a first person shooter any other way but I digress.
As for Outwars' interface....very straight forward....point and click. It's that simple. I appreciated the choice of replaying a mission with the same setup by punching the F2 key after getting creamed. It eliminates having to go though the mission assignment and setup screens in order to replay a mission. Good one, SingleTrac.
In summary, while the control scheme is challenging (especially while hang gliding) it is doable. The game interface is where you'd want it to be.
OK....The $64,000 question. If I was at an EB and saw Outwars on the shelf would it be worth my hard earned jing? Remember the recipe? Therein lie the answer. If you like blasting away at virtual foes as in Jedi, jumping (flying) from precipice to precipice ala Tomb Raider; the linear, mission based, cinemagraphic structure of Wing Commander and the configurable weaponry of Mechs then jump in. This games' for you. It's not perfect (yet) but I trust it will garner a sizable following based upon the popularity of many of its like-minded entertainment packages. I'm glad to see Microsoft is recruiting some talented programming houses in an effort to bolster their gaming repertoire. Only time and other reviews can tell but I would put my marker on Outwars becoming a successful package. Until next time....save your money for this and the other new games on the horizon. There's a lot of new software a comin.
Tell us what you think of this review (or write your own ) at thegamers@gamepad.org
Here are some screenshots.
annoyed
your armament options
these are some bad odds!
another one bites the dust
getting briefed
a furball
game selection
an iceplanet
waterfall
I can fly!
