Outlaws + A Handful of Missions: Remaster Review – A Relic Revisited

Criminals + several missions: remaster review

Where were you in 1997? I suspect many of you haven't even been to the character creation stage in your lives. Others were probably not old enough to play first-person shooters. Outlaws came out in 1997, the same year as my favorite game of the era, Redneck Rampage. Outlaws, developed by LucasArts, came to town on the heels of games like Doom, Quake and Duke Nukem. He had Old West Themesome of the B-listers are called talent for their voice acting and amazing musical score. Criminals + several missions It's literally what it says it is: a remastered version of the original game plus some DLC from 1998.

Pure horse opera

Outlaws begins with an extended cutscene/cinematic cutscene done in a hand-drawn style. It tells a classic Western tale of retribution. Marshall James Anderson left all his guns behind for a simple life on a farm with his wife and young daughter. While he goes into town to buy groceries, Marshall's ranch is attacked by bad people who want to buy his land. His wife was killed, his daughter was kidnapped. Marshal Anderson has no choice but to strap on his six-shooter again and hunt down the criminals.

The game's cinematography was exceptionally well done for its time and holds up much better than the next game. The remaster decompresses and upscales the videos, but they still look like the good old Westerns they were meant to emulate.

Start shooting

Outlaws takes players through several iconic Wild West levels, such as dusty towns, moving trains, canyons and mines. They were built using simple technology of that time. The levels are mostly empty, the buildings are boxy, and the enemies are barely responsive, poorly animated puppets. There is a decent set of weapons like pistols, a rifle with a scope! – and even a Gatling gun, but they are all extremely inaccurate compared to more modern shooters.

If Redneck Rampage captures the feel of the swampy South and Duke Nukem gives us a compelling urban alien invasion, Outlaws does just as well with its Wild West feel. Graphically it is clearly primitive by today's standards. But the appropriate color palette and good decoration highlight the western atmosphere.

Outlaws' music, composed by LucasArts composer Clint Bayakian, does some heavy lifting as well. At times it sounds like something out of a spaghetti western, and at other times there are dissonant piano and percussion. However, no matter how good the music is, it does not necessarily reflect the action at the moment. It also gets quite repetitive.

Dust off your guns

The remaster does everything it can without remaking the game. Improved textures, 4K 120fps resolution and full controller support lead the way. Cross-Platform Multiplayer – The game has four multiplayer modes – the Handful of Missions DLC and some behind-the-scenes goodies round out the package. Options include controller and graphics tweaks that were unheard of in 1997. Other than the music and weapon sounds, there isn't much sound. “Where are you, Marshal?” the line loses its appeal in the first 15 minutes, but at least the semi-positional audio helps identify enemies.

The entire main campaign from start to credits, plus the DLC, takes around five hours on the hardest difficulty, which might be a tough sell for $30. If you're going to play Outlaws, this is the edition you should pick up, but it won't become your favorite shooter once the nostalgia factor wears off.

Back in 1997, Outlaws did a great job of turning classic Western stories into a video game. However, it's hard to ignore the fact that the gameplay and design are stilted and simplistic compared to modern shooters. Fans of the original will certainly appreciate the joyful acknowledgment, and there is some value in seeing new gamers step through a time machine to a much simpler period of technology. All that aside, Outlaws' fun doesn't last long, even in its updated form.

***PS5 code provided by publisher for review***