The Outfit Preview

With the year 2005 behind us, it's time to look forward to the plethora of kickass Xbox 360™ games on the horizon. There are many blockbuster titles that threaten to keep us locked inside the house for weeks on end when they launch later this year.

But before any of those titles see the light of day, an unassuming World War II third-person shooter is set to storm the next generation. Published by THQ® and developed by Relic, it's called The Outfit™.

Lighting up the battlefield.

Rather than retread the same ground as recent WWII fare like the intense first-person shooter Call of Duty® 2, the game's designers opted to take a different approach. The action in The Outfit is part third-person shooter and part squad-based tactics; the end result is a new spin on an old genre sorely in need of a change.

After spending some time with a pre-release build of the game, I can say this—it's mad fun blowing stuff up! Read on for the full carnage.

Hollywood-Style Action
The designers at Relic have taken a decidedly unorthodox step and pulled the stern and grim overtones out of a genre that thrives on realism and replaced it with all the grit and patriotism of a 1960s chest-thumping war epic. Heroes in The Outfit have stubbly chins, chew on stogies, and spout G.I. Joe one-liners that would make the Duke green with envy.

Man the big guns and fire away to your heart's
content, leaving a ruinous wake as you go.

The violence and displays of pure, unadulterated machismo that unfold onscreen are so over-the-top you can't help but laugh in your chair. It's as if THQ shrunk the entire cast of the Dirty Dozen and turned them into action figures that you direct via your wireless controller. Best of all, you blow up pretty much everything in sight. In short, it's every man's prepubescent childhood fantasy come true.

Army Issue
When playing The Outfit, take control of a member of your squad and lead your boys into the thick of battle. Each officer has a particular weapon specialty (such as machinegun, bazooka, flame thrower, etc.) and is best used in certain circumstances. Press onward under a ceiling of whizzing bullets, with comrades follow close behind you and fight the good fight.

Bazooka Joe: The Angry Years.

Each level has a certain objective laid out for you to accomplish, and how you accomplish it is up to you. You can march on foot, commandeer a civilian vehicle, or request reinforcements by air drop.

Any implement of war you come across can be taken control of, as can any truck, tank, or other type of transport. Once you jump into the driver's seat, your A.I.-controlled buddies hop in the passenger chairs and man the guns (if there are any) while you mow down any goose-stepping Nazi stooges unlucky enough to cross your path.

Destruction on Demand
Dish out tailor-made carnage on a larger scale, with the "Destruction on Demand" feature. After acquiring Field Units (FUs) by destroying things, pull up a menu in a split second and "purchase" troop reinforcements, machine gun emplacements—even tanks or jeeps! In seconds a plane flies overhead and drops your order off, complete with a soldier to man emplacements (if that's what you requested).

Somebody order a tank?

The destruction in The Outfit is truly a marvel to behold. Whether you're laying waste to a cluster of enemies with a simple grenade or shaving the top floor off of a building with a tank's cannon, rubble rains down from above complete with a shower of smoke and debris. Not only are such wanton acts possible, they're encouraged.

Man the big guns and fire away to your heart's content, leaving a ruinous wake as you go, all in the process of completing your mission. Who said being in the Army was a lame job?

The sheer volume of doom and destruction you can cause with the tug of a trigger is as empowering as it is comical. If you're looking for a new kind of war-themed experience—one without the fanfare and mood of more serious titles—you'll get a kick out of this game.

Article by Franklin Beans