Outland Reviews

  • CrimsonGaidinCrimsonGaidin202,295
    11 May 2011 28 May 2012
    63 2 7
    This is my first review so please leave a comment with advice about what to add/change if you don't like something.

    Outland Review

    Gameplay

    The gameplay borrows here and there from several different games (Prince of Persia (2D) platforming and swordfighting, Castlevania exploration, and the Ikaruga light and dark system) and becomes its own very unique game along the way. They come together to make a very fun and somewhat challenging game that is actually quite different from anything before it. The game starts simple as a basic sidescroller with basic jump and swing your sword abilities. As you progress, you gain abilities that enhance combat and allow you to explore new areas.

    Not too far into the game, you gain the ability to switch between light and dark powers. This is the game's primary focus. When light power is activated, light energy beams and energy balls can't hurt you, only the dark ones can. Also, you can only hurt dark enemies when you're light. The same is true vice versa. This leads to complicated puzzles and combat. You will often find yourself quickly switching back and forth to compete with different environmental dangers and enemies.

    The best part of this game, IMO, are the boss fights which are epic! Every boss is huge! Most will take up the entire vertical length and a good portion of the horizontal length of your screen, Each one requires learning it's weakness and then exploiting them. They are all great fun, although they can get a little frustrating towards the end as the difficulty picks up.

    There is also co-op. It's not throughout the whole game, but there are individual portals throughout the game which allow you to meet up with a friend and make your way through some side levels together. It works great online, and so-so with a second controller at home. Either way, it's not quite as fun as the single player, but it is a good time with a friend none the less.

    There is very little to complain about, but there is one small thing I will pick on. The checkpoints are a little off. They are almost too generous throughout the levels. They are everywhere which take out a lot of the challenge. There are still difficult little parts though so it's not a giant complaint. Oddly enough, the exact opposite can be said about a few of the boss fights. One boss has a checkpoint, then a warmup fight with the boss, then a somewhat long tunnel to run with a few enemies along the way, and finally the main boss fight. If you lose in the main boss fight, you have to start the whole process over. It's not an overly challenging boss fight, but it can take a few tries to learn the tricks so restarting gets very irritating around attempt 3.

    Story

    The story is minimal. It is your standard Epic Hero defeated an Epic Evil years ago and now the evil is back and the hero must rise once again. Text moves the story along when you get new powers and defeat bosses, but it's nothing spectacular. Outland is more about understanding the story through the gameplay, which works since the gameplay is so engaging,

    Graphics

    The graphics are stunning within Outland. The light and dark energies bouncing around the artistic backgrounds make the game worth playing alone. The silhouetted main character with little detail minus his light/dark energy colors forming his armor make him look quite grand as well. Outland being displayed in full 1080p should put a smile on anyone's face.

    Sound

    The music is great and fits the game well. The sound effects are even better. I personally found the audio in Outland really pulls you into the experience.

    Achievements

    The achievements are pretty easy. It shouldn't be a difficult 100% at all. There is one that will probably require a small grind at the end of the game but nothing too crazy. The hardest outside of that is killing a boss without taking damage. Play the first boss a few times to learn his moves, and it's pretty easy to pull off this achievement right at the beginning of the game. The rest are pretty easily managable.

    Final Rating

    Gameplay: 9/10
    Graphics: 10/10
    Story: 7/10
    Sound: 9/10
    Achievements: 10/10

    Outland is very well done. If you like sidescrollers, I highly recommend picking this one up! Action, platforming, puzzles, exploring, and boss fights. It has it all!
    5.0
    Showing most recent comments. View all comments.
    Connolly800Cheers Reborn, decided to go and buy it while I have the points.
    Posted by Connolly800 on 28 May 12 at 01:39
    FIVWPPJ4/5.
    F.I.V.W.P.P.J.
    Posted by FIVWPPJ on 02 Jul 12 at 20:10
    FFX BrotherhoodGreat guide. I particularly like how you split it up to make it easier to read.
    Posted by FFX Brotherhood on 26 Sep 12 at 15:05
  • CassiopeiaGamesCassiopeiaGames181,905
    15 Jun 2012
    15 4 0
    This review was originally posted on http://gamingirl.com which I own

    External image


    Outland takes you through time in a colourful experience with a decent story. A great mix between Limbo and Mirror’s Edge in a colorful world where color matters and leads you on your way.

    You are the lonely hero, bound to be the savior of the world. There are several stories in the game, each and one of them tied to the big bosses that you are going to meet along the way. What they all have in common, is that they’ve lived in harmony with the people on earth, but something got screwed and they turned against the people and then retracted. Now they are back, and you as the hero, have to stop them from destroying mankind.

    Skills in timing is needed
    This is a beautiful and challenging puzzle platformer that really asks for the players patience and skills. Timing is vital, and boss fights are challenging to beat, mostly because you need to learn the patterns of the characters moves and bullets.

    External image


    The learning curve is great, introducing you slowly to the the different ways of playing the game, really giving you the feel of progress all the way through the game in a great pace. You start the game with absolutely no way of fighting back, you can only run and jump, but quickly you’ll get a sword to slice through the spiders that you encounter. Soon enough you get the power of sliding, and going into light and dark mode. Here’s whats new. Light and dark power is a switchable mode for the player to get through tricky points in the game – if you are in light mode, you won’t be hurt by light bullets, and you can’t hurt enemies in light mode. Thus forcing you to switch between light and dark mode, making the gameplay more flexible, and this is done easily by twitching your right index finger on the shoulder button, not interfering with your ongoing move, and this is vital – you will absolutely encounter several complex pathways on your way. There’s a bit of Mirror’s Edge in there with the sliding, jumping and avoiding being hit – not to mention that colors guide the player through the game.

    The game includes online co-op. You have to make your way through the same story as in singleplayer campaign to reach the starting points of the real co-op levels. This is in my book not really acceptable. If you’ve reached the spot and kind of activated it in the singleplayer mode, you should be able to start an online game in these short levels. I must admit this is the only thing I was annoyed with in this game – apart from the frustration some of the boss fights made, but on the other hand it made the game challenging.

    External image


    Simplicity makes you focus on the gameplay
    Graphics are simple, yet beautiful. It takes the simplicity of Limbo with a lot of colors, but without the intense feeling that Limbo pulled off. Sounds is suitable – the snapping from the spiders makes my neck hair rise, and the roars from the first boss is as intimidating as something in a video game can get. Additionally the narrator is very well casted, the voice is perfect fitted for the nicely written manuscript, that really gives you the feel of going back in time and being the hero in an aztec like world.

    I love platformers, I won’t deny that. Outland is as much itself as Limbo. If I had to compare these two, they have the same quality and uniqueness, and are similar in many instances. But while Limbo is kind of apathetic, Outland is colorful and vivid with a background story with some epic boss battles, that Limbo didn’t have nor needed.
    4.0
  • Bomb Jack DKBomb Jack DK2,000,413
    01 Jun 2011 13 Jun 2011
    18 20 2
    GRAMMAR WARNING smile Translated from Danish to English using Google Translate

    Ikaruga meetings Another World karateka meetings meetings meetings Limbo Flashback! Yes, Outland, developed by Finnish Housemarque is a little different platform game, but many of the classical virtues in the genre is preserved while there is added a little Japanese polarity action - explanation follows in the notification!

    Outland is basically a classic platform game where you control a man who can jump on platforms (both stationary and moveable), bouncing between the walls, climb up and down ladders, slide, shoot and destroy the enemies he meets along its path. But Outland is much more than a traditional platformer. Housemarque have namely polaritetsgameplayet borrowed from the superb Japanese cave shooter Ikaruga, and your character can switch between being blue or red one-touch button. Enemy bullets are harmless, if you have the same color as them while the enemies themselves can be fought only if they have their opposite color. This polarity causes the Outland is a both different but also really yummy platform gaming experience. One should think of a whole new way, and often requires that one is really rap on the fingers, since it is often very quick to jump from as a blue to a second blue platform but through a red ball rain, so timing is crucial. Fortunately, the control functions really well and it is very easy to maneuver around with the main character, and had an accident occurs, the save points located with reasonable distance.

    Along the way through the game makes your character more and more features - eg a beam that can shoot enemies from afar or an ability to remove walls. By constantly learning new things all the time gameplay feels fresh, though the more traditional tasks such as defeating enemies or standard way through the maze-like lanes, sometimes good may feel a little monotonous. The severity is generally quite high without the game however is impossible to implement, and especially the boss battles are a wonderful challenge, where the glorious among other things is to find out how bosses should be abolished.

    The game has a nice length, and in addition to the main game, there are also a series of challenge rooms, both single player and co-op, which extends the playing time considerably. In addition, you can implement the main game in co-op online, which is a very special experience.

    The soundscape consists of beautiful, often more bombastic sound effects and a well-composed background music, often changing atmosphere and is fine to build the somewhat somber mood that prevails in the game. The graphics are really nice, and above all, the neat animations lead me back to games like Another World, karateka, Prince of Persia and Flashback, which among other distinguished himself by some very lifelike character animations. Small, beautiful graphic detail you will find all the time, bosses are also really beautiful and magnificent, and the whole game's graphics page reeks of being well-prepared.

    Overall, Outland an excellent platform game where especially polaritetstemaet is successful. The more ordinary platformdel are sometimes a little bit boring (but only slightly!) And it breaks well by battles with boss'er or mini-boss'er. Different udfordringer and the ability to play online co-op are also elements that pull in the right direction and it should certainly not be the last time that Finnish Housemarque pile into Outland universe, which might be regarded as something of a modern classic.

    9/10

    http://www.gamesector.dk/2011/05/17/outland/
    4.5
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