Outlaws (computer game)
| Outlaws | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Studio | LucasArts | ||
| Publisher | LucasArts | ||
| composer | Clint Bajakian | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
1997 | ||
| platform | Windows | ||
| genre | 3D shooter | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Keyboard , mouse | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
Pentium PC with 60 MHz processor, 16 MB RAM , SVGA - graphics card , 30 MB on the hard drive , 4 × CD-ROM drive (recommended: 90 MHz processor, 70 MB on the hard drive) |
||
| medium | 2 CD-ROMs , download | ||
| language | German | ||
| Current version | 2.01 | ||
| Age rating |
|
||
Outlaws is a 3D shooter that is set in the Western scenario. The game was released in 1997 and was developed and distributed by LucasArts . On March 19, 2015. Outlaws by Disney Interactive over gog.com first time in digital distribution republished.
action
Marshall James Anderson has retired and now lives on a farm with his wife Anna and daughter Sara. Businessman Bob Graham has a railroad track for the area where Anderson lives and sends his henchmen out to convince Anderson and other farmers to sell their farms to him. One of those henchmen, Dr. Death has its own way of convincing people. He waits for Anderson to go shopping, kills Anderson's wife when she points out that the family has finally turned down the offer, and kidnaps Anderson's daughter as a hostage. Upon his return, Anderson finds his dying wife, who can still tell him about what happened, and then tries to snatch his daughter from the hands of her kidnappers.
Gameplay
Outlaws is a classic 3D shooter in which the western genre, which is rather neglected in this genre, is the prominent feature. On his quest for revenge, James Anderson traverses a number of different scenarios, ranging from cities, railways to canyons and cave labyrinths to mining and sawmills. The usual weapons of that time are available, i.e. knives, revolvers , rifles and shotguns, and dynamite sticks can also be used. There is even a Gatling Gun , but it can only be operated stationary. Ammunition can be picked up along the way (sometimes from killed enemies). Occasionally there are extras such as armor plates, which give additional protection from enemy bullets for a while, or oil lamps, with which one can see better in unlit rooms. Wounds can be partially or fully healed with canteens, medical kits and elixirs.
The game contains three levels of difficulty, whereby great caution and concentration are required even with the medium level, as even small inattentions can be fatal. Special secret rooms are hidden in the nine complex levels, in which extras such as a doctor's case, ammunition and more are hidden. Some smaller puzzle elements have been put into the game, so in one of the city levels the bank with an important key cannot simply be entered through the door, but you have to gain access in an alternative way. Various jumping and swimming insoles are reminiscent of the Tomb Raider that was published six months earlier . At the end of each level, a particularly difficult boss is waiting for the player.
The story begins with animated sequences and continues between the levels. In terms of graphics, the game was partially out of date when it was released, as the opponents were represented as sparsely animated 2D bitmaps , although other 3D shooters such as Quake were already using polygons here . It is then also a rather less prominent element of the game, the emphasis is rather on the story, the atmosphere and the challenges resulting from the level design.
Historical missions
The main game is complemented by five special levels called historical missions. These are located before the actual plot and reflect the rise of James Anderson to Marshall. The career ladder begins with the position of an assistant sheriff and continues with that of an assistant sheriff and sheriff until he has made it to the marshal. By successfully completing the missions, the player gradually rises in rank. For each rank acquired, a special level is unlocked, which is more of a practice and fun character.
Anderson's office is the focal point of the missions, from here they can be started in any order. In each mission, a special villain must be arrested or killed, who finds himself in one of the prison cells after successful completion. A special feature of the historical missions is the awarding of points, for example the capture of an end boss is rated higher than his killing. Furthermore, points are awarded for the (as small as possible) number of shots fired and wounds suffered, the number of opponents killed and gold found.
Allusions to other titles
As in most LucasArts games, Outlaws contain references to other titles. On the second level there is a Stan's Used Coffins building , a reference to Monkey Island 2 . The unlocked special levels contain allusions to the LucasArts classic Sam & Max and the Indiana Jones films produced by George Lucas .
extension
In 1998, LucasArts released an expansion called Handful of Missions for free download, which consists of four single and five multiplayer missions and also updated the game to version 2.0.
Soundtrack
The most noticeable element and highlighted in reviews of the game is the soundtrack, which is heavily based on the famous film scores of Ennio Morricone and other spaghetti westerns . It comes from Clint Bajakian , who was responsible for Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and Monkey Island 2 at LucasArts . Bajakian received a Musical Achievement Award from Computer Gaming World magazine for his soundtrack . LucasArts also released a separate audio CD with the titles; Even with computer games, the music titles are available as audio tracks, only that they are distributed over two CDs and stored on the CDs together with the data section.
Multiplayer
- Modem , serial (two players), IPX , TCP / IP (up to eight players)
- Modes: Capture The Flag , Deathmatch , Team Play. There is a special mode "catch the guy with the chicken", whoever can keep a chicken the longest wins
- Six levels included (the installation of the "Handful of Missions" extension increases the number to eleven)
- You can choose between six characters from the main game, each with their own individual strengths and weaknesses
technology
The game does not require a 3D card , but also (initially only) supported 3Dfx cards. 2001 appeared Direct3D - Patch , which expanded support for 3D acceleration on all Direct3D-enabled video cards and resolutions allowed to 1024 × 768 pixels.
Reception of the game
The game received mostly good ratings in the specialist publications, an average rating given by the video game website Gamespot comes to 8.1 out of a maximum of ten points, Gamespot itself awarded 8.6 points. The game did not become a box office hit, but it was able to gather a loyal fan base around itself, which continued to publish levels nine years after the game was released, for which there is a special level editor called Lawmaker . The game had no successor, later western shooters such as GUN or Call of Juarez are still rarely found in their genre.
“Outlaws also infects people who don't have much to do with westerns. The reasons for this are an excitingly told background story, the very varied gameplay and a game atmosphere of incredible density. Smaller discrepancies [...] hardly matter. "
In contrast, Jörg Langer expressed himself less enthusiastically in the PC Player , who particularly criticized the playful and technical aspects:
“The Dark Forces engine is too old, the graphics are too slow, the opponents too pixelated, the weapons too similar [...] the controls are imprecise. New territory for fun doesn't open up either, because instead of western romance, pure shooting is offered. [...] Only the music is really atmospheric, it could almost have come from Ennio Morricone and has its place in my CD collection. "
Web links
- Outlaws (computer game) at MobyGames (English)
- Outlaws fansite with a large collection of levels (English)
- Outlaws in TheLegacy (German)
Individual evidence
- ^ John Paul Jones: Outlaws, Zak McKracken among new line up of classic Lucasarts games hitting GOG.com ( English ) gamewatcher.com. March 19, 2015. Retrieved March 19, 2015: “ Following on from their agreement with Disney last year to release the Lucasarts back catalog, digital retailer GOG.com have gone and put five more classic titles from the house that George built on their store. There are some real gems there too. From underrated wild west FPS Outlaws to cult point and click adventure Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders [...] "
- ↑ a b See also reviews of, for example, Gamespot (English) and Gamesmania ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , last accessed July 23, 2008
- ↑ teamxbox.com: Clint Bajakian Composer Interview ( Memento of the original from January 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , September 30, 2003, last accessed August 7, 2013
- ↑ Review by Gamespot from March 31, 1997 ( Memento from October 15, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ FTP server with levels created by players
