IGN: Reader Review of: The X-Files: Resist or Serve
The X-Files: Resist or Serve
Better Than The Bargain Bin!
by patrickiscool
This Review's Trust Rating: 0 0
January 1, 2008 - An X-Files game? In theory - Classic. I mean, what better things are there to do in life other than investigating mysteries and shooting up your foes?! Well, the game pulls it off rather nicely.
As a big fan of the show, i decided to pick the game up, after seeing it cheap in a local games shop. The fact that it was cheap didn't give me an awful lot of hope, but i thought i'd give it a go either way. The packaging and boxart is decent, so i take a look at the back of the case. There's a gory picture of Agent Dana Scully's hands devouring a dead guys innards (an autopsy in other words). I got the feeling that the game could be made over-gory, in the hopes to draw in the gamers, when all we really need is it to be put in the right places, and not gung-ho, so to speak.
Anyway, back to the game. The opening scene of the game explains the storyline. Agents Mulder and Scully travel to the fictional town of Rocky Mountain, where two teenagers are being tried for witchcraft. The car stops as the duo see a man lying on the pavement. They get out to investigate. You choose to play as either Agent Scully or Mulder, with myself opting to play as Scully.
As Mulder departs to check in a nearby "restaurant" for a phone, Scully is left to attend the man. As she kneels beside him, looking for a response, he suddenly launches at her, pushing her a ridulous distance in the air, and the falls with a thump to the ground. As she regains her footing, we see the man's complection is all too familiar to horror gaming fans. Zombie Time! The man staggers towards Scully, as she pulls a basic handgun from her pocket. You now take control.
The controls feel a little laggy at first, and the strange "Hold R1+X to Fire" combination does take a bit of getting used to. The character animation leaves a little to be desired, as the characters look overly bored and uninterested in the situation, as they seem to almost glide when a basic walk is all that's desired.
The storyline soon escalates, as Scully and Mulder are separated, and need to find each other. Anyway, i shaln't spoil any more of the story for you, but some memorable moments include Mulder's trippy experience in his appartment, the exploration of 3 wide levels, and the boss battles all stay in my mind.
Graphics vary in the game, with the cutscenes and locations looking decent, but the enemies and well known characters leaving a bit to be desired. There were moments with Scully where she seemed to imitate the internet phenomena that is the "O RLY?" owl. Speaking of well known characters, the lovable Lone Gunmen make a comedic appearance in the game, one to look for. The locations are impressive, as Mulder's Flat and the X-Files office are well replicated, and Rocky Mountain is of a good size, and is fully explorable. Some character faces look a little bland and emotionless at times, but they're fairly decent on the whole. The formentioned autopsies can be tough to look at for the weak at heart!
The sound has always been an important feature for the X-Files TV series, with the eerie tones sending shivers down spines. This is brilliantly replicated in the game, with tension music put just where needed, adding great effect. The voice acting, thankfully, is done by the real cast, with David Duchovny (Mulder), Gillian Anderson (Scully) and Nicholas Lea (Alex Krycek)
among others putting in impressive performaces. There are a few funny clips of the voice recorings of the Lone Gunmen in the Extra Features, which bring a smile to your face.
The gameplay is OK, but seems all to similar to the early Resident Evil games, and with the X-Files and Resident Evil games being two respective options for a player looking for a survival horror experience, it is likely that the latter may be chosen. However, the gameplay is still enjoying, but is often halted by the confusing and frustrating camera angles throughout, but you can usually get over this after a while. The variety of weapons is fairly slim, with the standard handgun, typical shotgun and average rifle being included.
As for lasting appeal and reason to replay the game, you can always choose to play as the second character, the one who you did not pick at the start of the game, and the experiences really do differ with the playing of each character. The game itself was fairly lengthy, lasting in excess of 14 hours to complete. The special features are interesting and worth a look, though there aren't exactly hundreds of things to do once you've finished.
Overall, a game that i had little hope for, proved me wrong, as i thoroughly enjoyed it throughout. Understandably a little dissapointing when compared to the Resident Evil experiences, but come on, it's a TV adaption, how good do you expect it to be
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