Thursday, May 11, 2006
Playing Evil: Outlaws
Ex-lawman James Anderson is the least evil of the main characters in the games I'm looking at this week. Still, he's no longer a marshall, which makes him a vigilante as he tracks down the men who killed his wife and kidnapped his daughter. And that's not good.
Gameworld: Outlaws is set in the rail baron days of the old west, and plays out like a Sergio Leone spaghetti Western. The music is reminiscent of an Ennio Morricone score, and the game includes all the staple shoot-em-up sets: gunfight on a train, a mine, an adobe fort, a "peaceful" villiage, etc.
The maps are large (though more constrained than TIE Fighter and Crimson Skies) with secret doors openng up to additional areas. The "key hunt" aspect of the game can become frustrating, but having to dig your way into the bank, for instance, or bullseye gate switches while careening around in a log sluice are nice touches.
The variety of weapons is good--six shooter, rifle (with nifty scope attachment), dynamite (lit off your cigar, of course), etc.--and compliments the setting nicely. Having to manually reload adds to the believability and encourages making every shot count.
Moral Choices: Revenge and vigilantism don't represent the angels of our better nature. But if we were in Marshall Jim Anderson's boots we'd want to do the same things (whether we'd heve the ability to do it without frequent "game saves" is a different issue). Had Michael Dukakis answered the "what would you do if people attacked Kitty" debate question with "I'd put on cowl and cape and hunt them down in the Batmobile," people would have responded to him differently.
Ever the stoic cowboy, James Anderson doesn't let the player into his head, but we empathise with him. However, when he trusses the second-most vile character upside-down above a chasm in the mine, then lights the rope anchoring him in place with his cigar and walks away, you realize that he's gone to a dark place inside.
Fun: In addition to the dozenish campaign missions, LucasArts included some "Historical Missions" (Ice Caves, Civil War, Wharf Town, etc.) and Marshall Training, which included a shooting gallery and some quirky maps--including one that recreated he South American adventure at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark, complete with squat golden idol. In the Marshall Training you score extra points for capturing the big villain by punching him (occasionally her) out rather than a more lethal maneuver.
Replayability: Along with the main campaign and the bonus missions, LucasArts allowed users to create their own scenarios making the game "infinitely" replayable. The three skill levels (good, bad, ugly) added significant challenge as you replayed through each progressively more difficult level.
Unfortunately, the graphics engine is glitchy in Windows XP, reducing the game's replayability. Yet another reason to move that Win/98 hard-drive (more accurately, for the sake of getting anything done, another reason not to).
Gameworld: Outlaws is set in the rail baron days of the old west, and plays out like a Sergio Leone spaghetti Western. The music is reminiscent of an Ennio Morricone score, and the game includes all the staple shoot-em-up sets: gunfight on a train, a mine, an adobe fort, a "peaceful" villiage, etc.
The maps are large (though more constrained than TIE Fighter and Crimson Skies) with secret doors openng up to additional areas. The "key hunt" aspect of the game can become frustrating, but having to dig your way into the bank, for instance, or bullseye gate switches while careening around in a log sluice are nice touches.
The variety of weapons is good--six shooter, rifle (with nifty scope attachment), dynamite (lit off your cigar, of course), etc.--and compliments the setting nicely. Having to manually reload adds to the believability and encourages making every shot count.
Moral Choices: Revenge and vigilantism don't represent the angels of our better nature. But if we were in Marshall Jim Anderson's boots we'd want to do the same things (whether we'd heve the ability to do it without frequent "game saves" is a different issue). Had Michael Dukakis answered the "what would you do if people attacked Kitty" debate question with "I'd put on cowl and cape and hunt them down in the Batmobile," people would have responded to him differently.
Ever the stoic cowboy, James Anderson doesn't let the player into his head, but we empathise with him. However, when he trusses the second-most vile character upside-down above a chasm in the mine, then lights the rope anchoring him in place with his cigar and walks away, you realize that he's gone to a dark place inside.
Fun: In addition to the dozenish campaign missions, LucasArts included some "Historical Missions" (Ice Caves, Civil War, Wharf Town, etc.) and Marshall Training, which included a shooting gallery and some quirky maps--including one that recreated he South American adventure at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark, complete with squat golden idol. In the Marshall Training you score extra points for capturing the big villain by punching him (occasionally her) out rather than a more lethal maneuver.
Replayability: Along with the main campaign and the bonus missions, LucasArts allowed users to create their own scenarios making the game "infinitely" replayable. The three skill levels (good, bad, ugly) added significant challenge as you replayed through each progressively more difficult level.
Unfortunately, the graphics engine is glitchy in Windows XP, reducing the game's replayability. Yet another reason to move that Win/98 hard-drive (more accurately, for the sake of getting anything done, another reason not to).
Mikesell
