Outlaws (video game)

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This article is about the 1997 first-person shooter. There was also an earlier game called Outlaws for the Commodore 64.
Outlaws

Developer(s) LucasArts
Publisher(s) LucasArts
Designer(s) Daron Stinnett, Stephen R. Shaw and Adam Schnitzer
Engine Jedi engine
Platform(s) PC
Release date 1997
Genre(s) FPS
Mode(s) Single player
Multi player
Rating(s) ESRB: Teen (T)
Media Compact disc
System requirements Intel Pentium 60 CPU, 16MB RAM, SVGA graphics card
Input methods Mouse, keyboard

Outlaws is a first-person shooter released by LucasArts in 1997 using an enhanced version of the Jedi game engine, first seen in Star Wars: Dark Forces. It is one of the very few FPS games with a Wild West setting. CG animation sequences, with special filters to look hand drawn, play between each mission and set up the action in the next area.

Although not a huge economic success it does enjoy a strong cult-like following that is still strong ten years after the initial release.

In 2001, LucasArts released a patch to add Direct3D ability to the game, complementing the existing Glide and software rendering support.

Tagline: Dyin's too good for 'em.

Contents

[edit] Plot

James Anderson, a retired U.S. Marshal, comes home after a trip to the general store to find his wife Anna murdered and his daughter Sarah, kidnapped by two outlaws known as Matt "Dr. Death" Jackson and "Slim" Sam Fulton, under the employ of the evil railroad baron named Bob Graham. Graham has hired several wanted outlaws to "enlighten" the people of the county to sell their land to him, so that he can make money on a huge railway. However, the psychotic Dr. Death mis-interprets Graham's meaning of "enlightenment" and kidnaps James Anderson's daughter. After burying his dead wife, the retired Marshal picks up his gun once again and rides off to find his daughter. He travels around the old West, shooting his way through each member of Graham's hired outlaws.

However, on his journey, Anderson is haunted by dreams of his father's murder as a child; while the two were camping out in the wild, an unknown assailant shot him in his sleep, but left young James alive, telling him "to keep that fear [of death], kid". After questioning more and more outlaws, Anderson is confronted by Dr. Death in an old mine. Anderson eventually gets the drop on him, he gets tangled up in a rope above a deep mine shaft. Dr. Death tells him that his daughter is hidden in an old Indian cliff village. After finding out that Anderson is not going to let him out of the pit, he teases Anderson about the murder of his wife. Anderson is enraged and puts his cigar in the pulley from which the rope is hanging, eventually burning up the rope and sending Dr. Death to his death at the bottom of the shaft.

At the Indian village, Anderson is ambushed by renegade Indian Two Feathers. After defeating him, Two Feathers praises Anderson's strength in battle, and out of sympathy because he once had a child he had lost, tells him the real location of Sarah; Bob Graham's estate, Big Rock ranch. Anderson blasts his way into Graham's villa, and finally confronts him. After a fierce gunfight, Graham is believed dead, and falls to the ground, and Anderson reunites with his daughter. However, Bob Graham is not dead, and Anderson carelessly left his gun laying on the floor. The wounded Graham, at gun point, reveals that he was Anderson's father's murderer. Just as Graham is about finish off Anderson, however, Sarah manages to shoot Graham with Anderson's gun. After a tearful reunion, father and daughter ride into the sunset.

[edit] Single player

In the lower difficulty levels, termed "Good" and "Bad", the player is able to sustain several bullet wounds with no apparent ill effects. In the hardest difficulty level, "Ugly", the player's resistance is reduced to one or two shots. This forces the player into a different style of play. Where on the easier difficulty levels a player might charge into a gunfight heedless of Anderson's personal health, in Ugly mode, the player must use stealth and cover to win.

[edit] Historical Missions

Aside from the main single-player campaign, Outlaws includes a set of 5 discrete missions that chronicle Anderson's rise to the rank of U.S. Marshal. Each of the missions requires Anderson to either capture or kill a specific outlaw. Ranks (Deputy, Sheriff, and Marshal) are awarded on the accumulation of a set number of points. Points are awarded for recovering stolen gold, capturing/killing the outlaw, and for killing enemies.

Each outlaw that the player captures or kills appears in a jail cell in Anderson's field office. More points are awarded for capturing an outlaw than for killing one, due to the difficulty in capturing one alive. Completion of the Historical Missions is not a requirement for playing the single-player campaign.

In 1998, LucasArts released a set of 4 unconnected single-player missions, called Handful of Missions, for download from the official website. The package includes several new multiplayer missions, and a patch to update the game to version 2.0. The single-player missions take place outside of the original game's storyline.

[edit] Multiplayer

The player can assume the role of 1 of 6 characters from the main game: Matt "Dr. Death" Jackson, "Bloody" Mary Nash, James Anderson, Chief Two-Feathers, "Gentleman" Bob Graham, and "Spittin'" Jack Sanchez. Each character has its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of speed/maneuverability, weapons selection, and resistance. As a result, a majority of players used Dr. Death, James Anderson, and Jack Sanchez with hardly any opting to play as Bob Graham. From 1997-2000, the IRC channel dedicated to Outlaws hosted a tournament every Sunday, sometimes with prizes and sometimes without.

More than 1,500 custom multiplayer maps have been created since Outlaws was released. New maps continue to be released as of 2008.

Almost all players agreed not to use items deemed unfair (weapons like the Sawed-Off Shotgun or the Invisibility Lotion) that could be found in the original multiplayer maps (very few custom maps included these). The community was very close-knit especially on IRC and KALI networks. Some players joined "Posses" or "Gangs", the Outlaws equivalent of computer gaming clans. Outlaws was one of the very first games to spawn clan-based gaming.[citation needed]

[edit] Post-release life

In spite of there being no plans of a sequel, the game still lives on through a very dedicated, though small, fanbase. As of September 2005 as many as 20 players can be found in the MSN Gaming Zone and several websites still serve up new levels that are still being created to this date.

A less popular game, The Outlaws Mod for Half-Life, also exists. The Half-Life port of the classic game of Outlaws never caught on, but like the game it was based on, there also exists a cult-like following.

[edit] Decline in popularity

Outlaws and its Jedi engine have become quite dated in terms of gaming technology. Thus very few players are found playing it on MSN Gaming Zone or IRC and its small community on the KALI program is basically extinct. Tournaments are no longer held in the IRC channel or on MSN gaming zone, however there is another site created by an ex MSN employee where fans of this classic game still meet daily to play.

Other reasons for the decline in multiplayer play is that it has become less and less compatible with newer versions of Microsoft Windows. Outlaws was originally intended to be played on Windows 95. Windows 98 brought compatibility issues which LucasArts issued a patch for, but still problems persisted. Windows XP brought further problems that have made online play even more difficult.

[edit] Sequel petition

A petition has been made by the fans to get LucasArts to consider making a sequel for Outlaws but so far no plans have been made. The petition has received over 2900 signatures so far. In interviews LucasArts staff have claimed that they consider Outlaws one of its best classic games, however it seems unlikely it will get a sequel, much to the dismay of its fanbase.

[edit] External links

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[edit] Fan sites

[edit] Other sites