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How Metascores Are Calculated
68
1942: Joint Strike
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games. |
THQ and Relic Entertainment take explosive World War II combat to the next generation in an all-new 3rd Person Action Game. Combining intense squad-based combat with the freedom of total destruction, The Outfit takes players behind enemy lines, battling the Nazi War Machine through a variety of combat missions. Choose from three playable squad leaders - each with their own skills and abilities, as you lead a squad of battle-forged soldiers on missions ranging from reconnaissance and rescue to search and destroy. With interactive and fully destructible environments, you have the freedom to shoot, blow up or demolish anything in your path. As you complete mission objectives, you'll gain Field Units (FUs), a currency that can be used to order "Destruction on Demand" - air-dropped into the action at any time. With "Destruction On Demand" (D.O.D.) you can order in everything from tanks, jeeps, half-tracks and other combat vehicles to machinegun nests and anti-tank emplacements, or call in for squad reinforcements, air-strikes or artillery strikes. Experience the cinematic intensity of WWII combat through 12 epic Single-player missions or go online for a variety of Multiplayer modes, including Co-Op and Versus. [THQ]
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more... 100
AceGamez
Wrapped up with gorgeous presentation all round, with sumptuous 360 visuals and booming, atmospheric sound and music, the gameplay never fails to be anything less than engaging and enjoyable, both throughout the single player campaign and in the fantastic and fully online multiplayer modes.
 90
GamePro
Though a bit rough around the edges in places, The Outfit's fearless fusion of action and strategy pays off in a big way. It's engaging, it's addictive, and it's ferociously one-of-a-kind. [Apr 2006, p.74]
85
Official Xbox Magazine
The Outfit does not aspire in the slightest to reflect the sights and sounds of real-life combat in dubya-dubya-two. It aspires to be one thing and one thing only: fun. [Apr 2006, p.82]
83
Team Xbox
The vehicle controls are a sticking point. Many of the maps in The Outfit are big, so vehicles are the main means of transportation. It’s so easy to zig in vehicles when you meant to zag - a major no-no with enemy A.I. this tough. The rest of The Outfit is a superfine romp that any action gamer should experience.
80
Games Radar
The unique gameplay is extremely well conceived, if not perfectly pulled off, and coupling it with some super hot multiplayer action earns The Outfit a medal.
80
ZTGameDomain
Meshing a perfect blend of action and strategy while maintaining an enjoyable experience is no easy task, but Relic has captured it perfectly.
80
Official Xbox Magazine UK
Relic's game achieves so much, almost creating a new console genre, combining the shoot-'em-up with the RTS. While it fails slightly in not being tactical enough (at least in Campaign mode) or quite compelling or consistent enough as an action shooter, the range of game modes and levels on offer means you get plenty of bang for your buck.
80
Play Magazine
Online action provides the game's best thrills, with up to eight players slogging it out at one time. [Apr 2006, p.28]
80
Computer Games Magazine
As such, not only is The Outfit worth having, but it's probably the best reason to have an Xbox 360. [Jun 2006, p.90]
80
Pelit (Finland)
A simplistic, but solid, light WW2 strategy game with fierce action. The clunky vehicles are annoying, but the destructible scenery and the furious net play make it worth a try. [June 2006]
78
Game Informer
For those whose tastes run more toward competition of challenge, this could well be a recipe for disappointment. [Apr 2006, p.129]
78
GamingTrend
There are a lot of shining moments, especially in multiplayer, that make the game a lot of fun.
78
GameBrink
While the single player is definitely below average, the multiplayer in the game is well-balanced, requires a new style of strategy, and is most of all fun.
76
Kombo
Almost a little above average. It has a great idea, but it just fails to implement it properly or with any real sense of fun.
76
Cheat Code Central
You're either going to love it or not. With the right people online, there isn't anything on XBL that plays quite like it and you're sure to have a blast with likeminded players. Those who are content with "G.R.A.W." and prefer that style of gameplay most likely won't get the appeal of The Outfit.
76
XboxAddict
I think The Outfit was a good first effort, now all the need to do is wrap the DOD feature in some innovative solid game play and you’ll have yourselves a real winner.
75
Game Chronicles
But even so, there is a solid core gaming premise here and one that I hope is polished and refined in a future sequel. Until that day, your military service might better be served in any of the other battlefield-style games.
75
Gaming Age
Even those seasoned RTS gamers may think twice about this game based purely on its awful driving implementation.
75
Xbox Evolved
The RTS share is fun fun fun! The single-player is inexcusable.
73
Next Level Gaming
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".
71
GameZone
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.
70
Digital Entertainment News
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.
70
Jolt Online Gaming UK
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.
70
GamerFeed
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.
70
MS Xbox World
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.
70
Edge Magazine
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]
70
GameSpy
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.
70
Planet Xbox 360
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.
70
3DAvenue
It’s action all the way with this one and it will provide at least a few hours of fun gameplay.
70
1UP
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.
70
DarkStation
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.
70
Gamezilla!
Probably the most notable issue however is driving the various vehicles which can be extremely cumbersome.
69
IGN
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.
69
eToychest
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.
69
Gamers' Temple
The Outfit’s single player mode needs to be sent back to basic training, but the multiplayer game deserves a tour of duty.
67
Electronic Gaming Monthly
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.
67
GameSpot
The Outfit's aim for a bold blend of action and strategy gets sabotaged by a repetitious single-player campaign, but it is redeemed somewhat by a more-inspired multiplayer.
67
GameShark
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.
64
Gamer 2.0
There is definitely a market for The Outfit, with its fast action and (initially) interesting premise, but it has neither the raw staying power nor the type of epic presence needed to grab and keep the average gamer for long periods of time.
62
Xbox World Australia
There are a lot of great ideas contained in the game, but overall the game falls flat and leaves you feeling greatly unsatisfied.
60
360 Gamer Magazine UK
For the single-player, re-treading your steps is frustrating. [Issue #6]
60
Sydney Morning Herald
Variety is lacking, ensuring replay appeal is limited to the fun multiplayer modes only.
60
Total Video Games
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.
59
Worth Playing
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.
58
Game Revolution
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.
56
My Gamer
Average looks and average personality makes for a less-than-ideal date in the real world, and in the game world.
50
Boomtown
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.
50
PALGN
Everything The Outfit does has been done better on lesser hardware.
50
X360 Magazine UK
An undercooked mess of different genres that doesn't satisfy. [Issue#5, p.98]
50
VideoGamer
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.
50
EuroGamer
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.
50
games(TM)
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]
Adam D. gave it a10: Mr. Review gave it a5: John L. gave it a5: Merrill L. gave it a5: Jimmy H. gave it a9: Stephen S gave it an8: Bart H. gave it a1: |
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