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| - Taking place as three consecutive episodes in season 7, The X-Files: Resist or Serve allows players to control both Mulder and Scully as each plays their part in discovering why a town's dead have arisen, and why the government is involved. When witchcraft is suspected in murder in the town of Red Falls, the beloved FBI agents begin their journey through Renascence, Resonance, and Return, the three episodes that introduce all the twists and turns that the show was known for. Featuring intros and the show's actual opening theme, each episode, consisting of two acts each, play out and genuinely feel like an episode of the show - only with a lot more action. Upon completing an act, the player is rewarded with behind the scenes material, like videos of the voice actors at work. Watching the voice actors at work will be a particular treat to fans of the show because Black Ops utilized the voices of the actors from the show, which makes the game particularly authentic. The voices, along with the music, go a long way in giving the game the creepy ambiance that is needed for a survival horror title. The episodes take place in settings familiar to fans of the show and genre. A small town, an abandoned military base, and even the FBI offices are all digitally recreated. Fans will no doubt enjoy being able to walk around in Skinner's offices, though I'm not sure if that excites many others out there. Also similar to the show is the story; it ranks slightly above average when compared to most episodes, with a few of the twists being a little predictable. This being an X-Files game, it's required that aliens, or the idea of aliens, be brought up, and they are. However, in doing so, most of the show's characters make an appearance, including The Lone Gunmen and The Cigarette-Smoking Man - the story worked well in introducing the other characters in a natural way, as opposed to the feeling of a force job, where references and characters are tossed in just for the sake of being represented. | |||||
So as far as capturing the feel of the show, Black Ops achieved that. With authentic voices and opening theme, and a solid story that introduces the characters in a natural manner, Resist or Serve certainly has its high points. Unfortunately, much of the gameplay feels reminiscent of Resident Evil. And not the refined Resident Evils, but the original, clunky one that was released so long ago; and it isn't just like that in presentation, but with similar, but worse, controls and camera angles. Even aesthetically, Resist or Serve is remarkably similar to Resident Evil: the inventory and examination menus are nearly identical. From those comes the similarity in solving puzzles, like combining elements (a more minor role here) or examining a book to open and find a star pendant that opens a particular lock. For longtime gamers, this will feel like a weird mod or retread of Capcom's series, instead of a new release that pushes the established norms of the survival horror genre. Not to be outdone, Resist or Serve also features worse controls and camera angles than any of the RE series; controls are stiff, twitchy, and random (pressing up goes forward, camera switches, up/left goes forward, then the controls suddenly change so that makes the character walk backwards) and the camera is more prone to sit itself a few inches away from the player's face than to be of actual use, showing what's a few feet in front of the player or in a hallway they are facing - it's like the controls don't want you to like the game. Despite much of the anxiety coming from not being able to see what's around, the game does instill some chills with the more outlandish settings and the few moments of surprise. It's a shame, though, that the detective work on the show was reduced to simply finding keys. Despite the notes that the agents keep on unfolding events, the linearity of the game still doesn't stop some spots from being confusing as the key-searching formula tends to create; the few sparks of creativity, like Scully's autopsy bit, are rare. Luckily, backtracking is kept to a minimum, and it isn't so bad when needed since the areas aren't so large, particularly since enemies rarely respawn to offer continued challenges. From all the material to draw from and with such a dearth of good detective titles, it feels like the easy way was taken in development. There are a few things that Black Ops did right, though. One of the more interesting and enjoyable features is the ability to play as either Mulder or Scully. This was worked in so that the two are split and the adventures are separate, but more a mixture of the two: as Mulder, the player protects Scully while she performs an autopsy, as Scully, the player performs the autopsy while Mulder protects them. They do have their own separate paths that don't involve the other, and these are put in reasonably well within the game so they come across as genuine accidents rather than forced separations. The game world is also large and feels seamless, with recently visited buildings in the background of newly ventured to settings. However, the world, and the cutscenes that convey the story are also largely at fault, cause tons of loading screens, so many that the flow of the game is really broken up by them. Something minor that I really enjoyed was the plethora of weaponry allotted to the agents. They have their standard pistols, but they will also get their hands on a shotgun, AK47, M16, revolver, and flamethrower - much more than what viewers will be accustomed to them seeing. Aiming can be spotty, despite their being a targeting system, and there is a lack of body-specific damage, but it's still great fun letting loose on some pesky followers. What's even better is that these weapons come early and fairly quickly, although there is a lack of ammo and the game isn't all that long, still, I was pleasantly surprised by all the action packed in the episodes; although it will surprise some to find some acts amazingly short, consisting solely of cutscenes. Aside from some good lighting
and the detail found throughout the town, there is nothing noteworthy about the
graphics. Characters in cutscenes look like freakish mannequins while the in-game
graphics just don't seem like those of a title in this generation of consoles
with such power. The agents are stiff, but it actually works in the game's favor,
somewhat, as they move with the same motions and moves they do in the show. The
enemies tend to be of the undead variety, and they aren't easy to spot up close,
but they do sport some fantastic death animations and have the creepy stumbling
walk down pat. The environments vary at points that go towards the game, with
one scene featuring a cathedral that looks great. Faring much better is the audio,
with great voiceovers and creepy music contributing much to the game's atmosphere. Overall:
6/10 [ top ] |
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