The Outfit

Neither attractive looking, nor is it as arcade-like and fun to play as it should be. The single-player game is repetitive and plodding. There is tons of potential to be explored here that isn't.

Sweet in that the title boasts a massive, fully destructible environment with an impressive arsenal of weaponry and some really fantastic and innovative multiplayer. Sour in that the single-player experience grows repetitive and boring over time, and the broken vehicle mechanics really drag down gameplay.

It’s a game built with focus and one that’s going in a truly worthwhile direction, but that falls short of greatness. [Apr 2006, p.7]

What we can't get past is how ordinary the combat feels, the distinct lack of tension throughout, the constant repetition and one-track lack of variety. And as much as the multiplayer is better, you're still hamstrung by uninspired combat, not to mention the game's all-round lack of technical impressiveness.

If you’re on the look out for ‘the next big thing’ then keep looking, but if you quite fancy a laid-back shooter that’s best enjoyed with friends, then you might want to give this a shot.

Firing in the opposite direction of the seasoned games, The Outfit will only appeal to casual gamers who prefer to smash and grab their way through levels rather than apply strategy. [Apr 2006, p.126]

Fun to play in short bursts, especially over Xbox Live, The Outfit never expands on its original premise set in the opening missions. The gameplay is both repetitive and overly structured, and there's a rigidity that simply makes the experience just too linear in the single-player campaign.

Sure, it's a little itchy at times in terms of its single-player redundancy, the graphics could've been a little bit more detailed, and there's something to be said about actually struggling to control a tank, but it still delivers some satisfying team-based action, with different soldiers at your command and the ability to really blow anything up.

It is a must-rent title because it is a unique game for the 360 and will be a welcome break from all of the 1st person shoot-em ups.

Playing The Outfit through in the single-player campaign was a bit of a letdown. There are enough problems in the games execution to not fully endorse it.

Relic and THQ are actually onto something here. The Outfit is not a bad game really, it's just not on the level of "next-generation".

The concept of the game represents creative thinking the industry desperately needs. In execution, however, The Outfit falls short in delivering a gaming experience gamers will keep coming back to. War fans need only rent it.

Despite its interesting strategy mechanic, The Outfit winds up feeling pretty typical. Its lacking single-player campaign is saved in part by its genuinely frantic, yet derivative multiplayer.

The Outfit’s single player mode needs to be sent back to basic training, but the multiplayer game deserves a tour of duty.

What ends up spoiling the experience for me, however, is the general slow and clunky feel of the game. If Call of Duty 2 is a blitzkrieg of shooting action, The Outfit is a leisurely zeppelin ride...underwater. It's still exciting, just severely hampered.

The lopsided AI isn’t the least of the problems in the single player campaign. Most of the levels involve marching down a single path, with the level typically coming to an end when you reach the end.

The Outfit, while it presents an interesting spin on the traditional take for a game of its sort, falls short of not only of its own developmental aspirations, but also of the rigorous standards of console gamers.

Probably the most notable issue however is driving the various vehicles which can be extremely cumbersome.

Though the multiplayer premise sounds like an excellent watered down version of the Battlefield series, the same flaws that come to close to completely crippling the single player experience only detract from the overall quality of the game to the extent that it barely improves on the single player format.

The game is rated “M” and one of the descriptors is “Language.” This is because the nondescript soldiers shout out obscenities when under fire, randomly and without much purpose. It’s a weird little quirk, and one wonders if the designers did just to ensure an “M” rating.

I tried hard to like The Outfit. I mean I really tried hard. If it weren't for the addition of online multiplayer and a co-op mode, The Outfit would barely be worth playing - there's just far too much here that could have been done ten times better.

Everything The Outfit does has been done better on lesser hardware.

Variety is lacking, ensuring replay appeal is limited to the fun multiplayer modes only.

This shooter brilliantly integrates some RTS elements into its core gameplay, but eventually becomes too repetitive for its own good if not for its superb Live support.

Average looks and average personality makes for a less-than-ideal date in the real world, and in the game world.

It’s action all the way with this one and it will provide at least a few hours of fun gameplay.

An undercooked mess of different genres that doesn't satisfy. [Issue#5, p.98]

Going head-to-head can make for some surprisingly complex, drawn-out games, and if the single-player campaign is fun, going through it co-op is 10 times better.

There are a lot of great ideas contained in the game, but overall the game falls flat and leaves you feeling greatly unsatisfied.

For the single-player, re-treading your steps is frustrating. [Issue #6]

Even with great multiplayer the rest of the game is brought down by some major design flaws that mostly occur in the single player campaign.