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Codename: OutBreak Review
Chris Leyton
00/12/0000
Codename: Outbreak is an interesting hybrid of different FPS styles, but does it gel together.
Codename Outbreak is a tactical 3D first-person-shooter set in the near future.
The story starts with a meteor striking Earth, a team of scientists are taken to investigate, however mysteriously disappear before they can complete their research. When a police unit sent into to investigate fails to respond, the state calls on a crack group of marines to find and rescue them, however the same mysterious disappearance and breakdown in communication occurs.
So itās up to you and your teammates to find out whatās been happening. Soon realising that the meteor contained alien spores, which when inhaled let the parasite take over control of the human host, and thereās alien eggs which hatch little face huggers, and theyāve got infra-red visionā¦ ok the plot may rip off every sci-fi film in existence, but we can forgive that when the actual game brings new ideas to the FPS genre.
The game is an interesting hybrid of FPS gaming styles; elements of the stealthy covert-ops are merged with the all out action of Quake, whilst the game adds a unique factor to the genre. Rather then going it alone, you control a squad of two soldiers; whilst you can only control one at a time the other is a highly intelligent bot. You can give him orders (hold position, cover me, free fire, hold fire), which can also be developed to include targeting specific targets. The most surprising aspect of the bot is how realistically he behaves, stairs, walls, ladders pose no threat to him, whilst heāll mimic your actions yet act on his own if a threat materialises. Itās certainly an innovative function, and Iām pleased to say not just novel, the extra person adds a sense of tactics and comradeship to the action, as you keep an eye out for each other and build your strategy to completing the mission objectives.
Youāre given a wide choice of soldiers to accompany you, each with individual skills and attributes. So it makes sense to select a good grouping that complement each other, one soldier could be a sniper whilst the other could be heavier equipped for the more open combat.
Youāll both need to be at the height of your game, and plan some strategic manoeuvres as the opponents you face are pin-point shooters, whilst the levels are often populated with watch towers, patrols and guardhouses. Stealth and action are needed in equal quantities, itās this merge of FPS styles that proves to be the main allure behind Codename: Outbreak, as the developer has integrated them so well.
One point that must be made is Codename: Outbreak isnāt for the casual gamer, because of the high level of enemy AI, the fact that a head shot means instant death and the reliance on strategic manoeuvres, youāre going to be reloading frequently. However the game does generate that āone-more-goā feel admirably, you never really feel hard done by, more a case of having to go back to the drawing board and rework your strategy.
Graphically Codename: Outbreak isnāt going to set the world alight, whilst levels are often huge, open ended, expansive affairs, the actual geometry is very box like, and not organic, textures are basic and offer little variety and there is a substantial amount of fogging. In the days of Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Soldier of Fortune 2, Codename: Outbreak comes across as wellā¦ bargain bin material, however itās a classic case of substance over style.
Extreme Gamer
Date Added:Fri 23rd May 2008 11:56
Anonymous
Date Added:Sun 2nd Mar 2008 12:33