Online, blasting action courtesy of Sega. - by digitaltaco
Outtrigger, as you probably already know, is an arcade-styled, first-person shooter, developed by AM2. So, as you can guess, it's really, really cool. At E3, I was able to give the game a test drive.
Gameplay is set in small, yet highly detailed, arenas. Each has plenty of places to jump up, or down to and duck behind if you happen to see oncoming enemy fire. Each area is really a sight to behold, as the textures are crisp and detailed and the modeling is precise.
Unfortunately, there wasn't a mouse and keyboard set up to play the game with, so I was forced to use the standard Dreamcast controller for testing purposes. The standard control scheme has movement assigned to the analog stick and turning assigned to the "L" and "R" buttons. After a bit of practice, I was able to dominate the AI opponents with nary a scratch. The only time I wasn't my best was when the opponent would jump up to higher level. It's just too hard to move and aim up at the same time with a controller. But gamers who are fluent in console FPSs should have no problem jumping into the game and playing. I, on the other hand, will just have to make use of the included mouse and keyboard support.
One nice feature is the ability to change between first- and third-person with a quick button tap. My Quake training makes the first-person perspective more suitable for me. But some gamers may really enjoy the ability to play the game in third-person.
Well, I didn't get to play any multiplayer capabilities. The promise of online-mulitplayer modes should be enough to lure any Dreamcast FPS player into Outtrigger's paws. We're still not sure if broadband support will be included, but here's to hoping. The game will be available on the Dreamcast starting June 12th. And as you probably suspected, I'll be gaming online with you as soon as this puppy is released.
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