Xbox Hardware & Games

If Sergeant Rock were a video-game character, he'd be leading The Outfit.

Video: 3
Sound: 3
Gameplay: 3

World War II has been re-fought countless times in video games and in every conceivable way. In the last couple of years, the emphasis has been on extreme realism, almost to the point that some of the games have become a little predictable. That's why The Outfit, which is closer to a Sergeant Rock comic book than Band of Brothers, actually seemed like a fresh idea, at least at first. But, just as it is a little hard to go back to The Dirty Dozen after the intensity of Saving Private Ryan, the same applies here. Now, imagine a big-budget remake of Lee Marvin's exploits but with even more intense explosions and over-the-top special effects—yet with a story that drags way too much and is somewhat lack luster in art direction. Unfortunately, that sums up The Outfit pretty quickly.

Part action, part strategy game, you get to play the role of a front-line squad leader, directing the attacks while still taking part in them. Other squad-based action games let you take command yet still get let down and dirty, but The Outfit somehow gets a bit tangled up the process. Thus, the experience can be both frustrating and a little unrewarding. When everything comes together the game can be intense and enjoyable, with cinematic moments of over-the-top mayhem.

The destructible environments and rapid gameplay are ideal for the comic-book-styled action. But, the rest of the time, everything is too predictable to make up for those few moments of greatness. Part of the problem is that the developers almost went too far in making the game over the top. The Outfit is filled with cardboard caricatures of soldiers, three battle-hardened stereotypes that include J.D. Tyler, Deuce Williams, and Tommy Mac. (I guess Tommy Gunn was too predictable.) One is good with a rifle, another is armed with a bazooka, and, of course, there is the guy with the flame thrower. You'll pick one of these fine men as the squad leader and then have four totally generic GIs who will follow you into battle through the 12 missions that make up the single-player campaign. You'll face off with equally banal enemies, including the predictable vial Nazi generals and fanatical troopers.

The campaign would probably be more entertaining if it wasn't for the fact that your troopers seem as green as beer on St. Patrick's Day. Perhaps this is the AI, or perhaps just poor game design, but your troops aren't exactly what you'd consider to be highly motivated. As a result, the type of commands you can issue and the rate at which you can issue them is somewhat limited. They'll lay down fire on the enemy really well, but, if you absolutely need something done right you're bound to have to do it yourself. You can actually "purchase" additional troops by accruing points for killing enemy units and destroying enemy positions. This way you can size up your unit, but the combat effectiveness of these troops still remains questionable at the best of times.

On the plus side, the game is a blast when it comes to blasting stuff. The destructible environments make for some especially nice eye candy, and seeing buildings and other objects blow up is almost worthy of a tour of duty. However, this big plus in the game comes at quite a price. Because you can destroy so much of the game's world, the level of detail is seriously compromised, and, compared to other Xbox 360 games, The Outfit falls way behind. In fact playing it on an HD set shows some of the shortcomings.

Even with 480p, 720p, and 1080i support The Outfit just looks like a low-resolution comic book in a 16-by-9 setting. The sound is a little better, with the usual mix of military marches, big explosions, and some truly campy voice acting, which is fitting considering the setting. Each of the three main characters sounds like the badass archetype that you'd expect. The fake German and French accents are equally bad, but well within the context of the game.

Where the game manages to make a bit of a punch is with its in-game Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, which includes some really impressive surround moments. The designers did a good job of creating an immersing soundscape, and, while it's not exactly realistic sounding when compared to Call of Duty or Battlefield 2, the game still manages to sound pretty darn good. If comic books had soundtracks, this is what you'd want to them to sound like. Too bad everything else is too much like a comic book when we were hoping for something grittier.

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