3RRDC Outtrigger

Every once and a while you find this game that is just fun to play. It's
simple and easy to learn, challenging to master, and it's good to spend
a half hour or so playing it. Then you can put it away and go do other
things. But you could always just bust it out to play for a few minutes
here and there. Outtrigger is such a game. Ripped from the arcades
and sent to the Dreamcast, this is a game that is a blast to play both in
single player and multiplayer. Unfortunately, the online support for this
game has long since been dropped, and now no one can enjoy playing
it over the internet anymore. But with that in mind, can it still deliver
rocket size amounts of shooting goodness for offline players? Suit up
everyone; it's time to take out some terrorists!

This game was ported from the arcade so such don't expect a massive
story. Instead, all you need to know is that you play a member of a
special counter-terrorist squad, and you need to kill terrorists. That's
about it. There are a few characters from which you can initially
choose from, but none of them have a story. After that, you can also
unlock additional characters, like the enemies. But the point of the
game is to shoot all the evil terrorists, not to ponder the wonders of
the universe.

There is quite a lot to do here in Outtrigger. You get Arcade mode, Vs
mode, Mission mode, Character edit, Options, and the now dormant
Network mode. Arcade mode is a short series of 4 tutorial missions
that you will beat in no time; it's a good way to introduce yourself to
the game. VS Mode is the fun battle mode (team or deathmatch) that
can be played with up to 4 human players via split screen. Lots of
levels to choose from (although most have to be unlocked) it's a fun
way to kill some multiplayer time. Character edit mode let's you save
your own character to the memory card with custom color, name, and
weapons. Cool, if you like being the same person when you play.

Mission mode is where the bulk of the game is. There are three levels
of difficulty, each with 15 missions. To play the 15th and final mission
in each difficulty, you have to beat all the other missions before.
Missions range from killing the most people in a certain time frame, to
rescuing hostages, to hard boss fights. Some missions are a breeze
and some of the later ones can be quite hard. Also the final boss
mission took me a ton of tries until I finally beat him. His health bar is
far bigger then yours and he has those silly one hit kills blue missiles.

This is a very customizable game when it comes to how you want to
play it. You can change the camera from 1st to 3rd person, and you
can change the control scheme too. I think originally the controls are
that you move with the four face buttons, so it's kind of like MDK2 in
that regard and you switch weapons and such with the D-pad. You can
also jump. There is also the option to play with the keyboard and
mouse if you have them. I still don't have a mouse so I can't comment
on how that goes. In the game, there are a few power ups to look for.
Health boxes give you more hits, and bullets give you more ammo
(duh). Also there is the golden eagle medallion thing which makes you
stronger and what not

With lots of characters to unlock, weapons to unlock, and stages to
unlock, your gonna be playing mission mode for a while to get
everything. Many of the stages though, are dark versions of existing
stages, but most of the levels are really fun to play, some being more
bigger and open then others.

The game is a visual treat. It doesn't boast having the best graphics in
the world, but it is arcade perfect here. Character models are nice and
good, levels are very cool and detailed (from the library to the temples)
and the guns and bullets fly with hardly a drop of slow down. The game
can get very hectic, so don't lose your cool. You might shoot a hostage
if you do that! Shooting the bad guys in Vs. mode will give you one
point though. Then you can try and rush to their dead body to pick up
another point by collecting a medallion. Fun stuff.

So it's a fun game, it looks great, and surprise the music is wonderful!
And thankfully they included a sound test for you to hear all 39 of the
great tunes, many of them cool remixes. I was shocked at the amount
of good music in this game, especially the very hip jazzy piece it plays
when you beat mission mode. A lot of the other music is very cool
techno so it makes a great soundtrack to shoot to. The announcer is
good and fine, but characters don't really have voices. But the
wonderful music more then makes up for it.

With all the stuff to unlock and missions to beat, this game will keep
you busy. For me, it took 10 months to unlock everything, and beat
mission mode. Granted, that's because I didn't play more then a little
here, and a little there, but the replay was and still is there. It's a fun
game to play both alone and with friends. I have very fond memories of
playing this game up in my room while it is raining outside; it's just fun
and relaxing to play. It's a shame that most of never got to experience
how cool this would have been online, but the game still stands up very
well as an offline title.

In the end, I was very satisfied with this game: it keeps you coming
back for more too with all the customizing stuff for the characters.
Running and gunning, and also not gory, this is the perfect game for
those that like the game play of games like quake, but don't like the
scenery. So score another fantastic game for the Dreamcast, because
you can't find this game on any other platform.

Review By: Orochi Sonic