The Outfit
Added June 8th, 2005 by Dakota Grabowski
The THQ booth had a few surprises I never expected to stumble upon. While touring the booth with their lovely representative Kristina, I asked her what the small theatre was showing that only a select few at a time were able to view. She mentioned that it was their new Xbox 360 game and my eyes lit up. I bet she saw the glowing sparkle from my eyes since she quickly escorted me into the small viewing area to see it up close and personal. The reason for my excitement was that I wanted to see anything and everything next-gen that I could first hand. The Outfit is clearly next-gen material with all the action taking place on the screen at one time.The Outfit pits the players in the roles of three selectable squad leaders. Each squad leader has their own specific skills and abilities for the user to utilize to his advantage. Switching through the squads is easily done and will assist you in taking over the battlefield with more than just one team. Each squad leader has their separate personality and they are a bit over the top too. This can be expected as the designer, Mark Noseworthy, mentioned this would be all about the action and less about the drama. Think of any Jerry Bruckheimer film and you can easily point out the goal they are hoping to reach with the combat. For those who don’t know, Bruckheimer is known for his outrageous action and explosions in movies such as Armageddon, Bad Boys 1 and 2, The Rock, Pearl Harbor, and even Pirates of the Caribbean. So, if the Outfit turns out to have any type of action found within those movies, it should be fun to play out for sure.
A few of the characters were detailed on whom you will be able to use. Tommy Mack is their squad commando that is the frontline man who will mow down anybody with his guns. Deuce Williams walks around with a bazooka and a cigar in his mouth, not a person you’ll want to mess with, especially if you are driving a vehicle. J.D. Tyler is used excellently for cover, as he’s the scout. He is a marksman with a rifle so he’s easily the sniper in the group that will be used for long-range combat. All the characters have charisma and should be a delight to use on the battlefield.
Another interesting tidbit is that you can call in tanks to aide you on the go. To do this, you have to build up your currency, which is done by action points. Action Points are earned by each killing and even when you are fired upon yourself. When you have earned enough, you can call in air strikes, new tanks, and new soldiers to replace deceased soldiers, and several other vehicles to drive. The Outfit is pure mayhem on the battlefield and the added fact that you can message for reinforcements adds to the havoc in the game.
Speaking about ‘havoc’, Relic is implementing the Havok 3.0 physics system. Relic, known for their PC titles such as Homeworld and Warhammer, are making use of all the Xbox 360’s new touted abilities. All the High-Def loving will be included and so will Dolby 5.1 surround sound support. So, not only will you be seeing the impressive visuals but also feeling the vibrations from your speakers, provided you have a great system intact. Of course Xbox Live will be there for all those fraggers that continue to play Halo 2 online. The Outfit will be played similar to the single-player campaign as you use four soldiers on the field to combat one another. Relic plans to support the highly regarded Marketplace Microsoft is bragging about with download content such as decals, tattoos, new maps for single-player and multiplayer. The Outfit should also see the use of co-op online for two players.
Speaking about ‘havoc’, Relic is implementing the Havok 3.0 physics system. Relic, known for their PC titles such as Homeworld and Warhammer, are making use of all the Xbox 360’s new touted abilities. All the High-Def loving will be included and so will Dolby 5.1 surround sound support. So, not only will you be seeing the impressive visuals but also feeling the vibrations from your speakers, provided you have a great system intact. Of course Xbox Live will be there for all those fraggers that continue to play Halo 2 online. The Outfit will be played similar to the single-player campaign as you use four soldiers on the field to combat one another. Relic plans to support the highly regarded Marketplace Microsoft is bragging about with download content such as decals, tattoos, new maps for single-player and multiplayer. The Outfit should also see the use of co-op online for two players.
The Outfit is exclusively on the Xbox 360 and will be out this holiday season. I have a feeling Relic will be able to capture the true enjoyment of blowing things up and will entertain me for a long time to come with its Xbox Live multiplayer. The levels are fully destructible and should be heaven for any war-craving player. Whether they are a fan of WW2 or even sick of the standard WW2 games, The Outfit should stand out above the rest as being clever with all the action in the game.
