The most dangerous man is the one with nothing left to lose.

When outlaws murdered your wife, and took your daughter, everything you had was gone. Your guts aches for blood and sweet revenge. Dyin's too good for 'em now.

Ride back into the wild west as the gun-slinging Marshall James Anderson. You'll encounter a dusty town, and abandoned mine, a runaway train, and the orneriest cowpokes this side of the Mississippi as you uncover a twisted plot of greed and corruption.

Nothing warms the heart of a cold-blooded killer like hot lead.

It's Payback Time.

And so begins Outlaws, the latest 3D shooter to enter the genre. Outlaws comes from LucasArts, perhaps best known for Dark Forces, Tie fighter, etc. and of course the Star Wars and Indiana Jones Films. Outlaws takes a little bit of different twist, they aren't going after the deep dark seeded evil that lives in the world, but they have a created a good old fashioned western. Stylistically they have made a departure from most 3D shooters that are striving for realism, LucasArts chose another path, they went for a stylized approach that reminds me of a comic book, or graphic novel to be more specific.

The look of the game is beautiful, and the comic look and feel comes across very believably, and seems well suited to the medium. Additionally, LucasArts went all out, and added a completely hand animated opening sequence and transitions.

The gameplay is fantastic, it is very immersive, the speed is impressive. Alot of games are really good at doing one thing, which leaves the experience flat, on the other side of the coin there are games that try to do it all, and none of it well (reminds me of Jack of all trades, master of none). Outlaws has done it all well, they built simple easily animatable models, added great ambient sounds, and created a believable environment.

Outlaws is many games in one, you have your spaghetti western shooter, Bounty hunter action, and Multiplayer shootouts. In multiplayer mode you can play with 2 to 8 players over the modem, LAN network, or over the Internet.

One thing that I have to ding Outlaws on is the lack of a level editor. Having a level editor allows the player to customize the game to his/her preferences, so that when you are playing with friends it makes it all that more fun. It also gives people the ability to extend the life of the game. Not a major thing but just one of my pet peeves.

I really like Outlaws, it is a ton of fun, it takes 3D shooters to another level. Because there is a great story to go along with great graphics, and it all works seemlessly together, this is a first. My recommendation is to try the demo, and then buy the game.

Hints and Cheat Codes

Minimum System Requirements:

• CPU: Pentium required - 60 MHz or better recommended
• Memory: 16 MB RAM
• CD-Rom: Double Speed (2x), 4x recommended
• Video Modes: SVGA Graphics
• Input Devices: Keyboard and Mouse required. joystick and DirectInput compatible devices also supported.
• Sound Cards: 16 bit audio card required.

Downloads:

• LucasArts Outlaws Home Page
• Download the Demo

Other Sites:

• Spittin' Horse Saloon

Sign up for the FREE GameOfTheMonth.com Newsletter! Enter your Email address Below: