An ode to old school gameplay, Outland is a reminder to all that classic 2D games can still be made.
Outland is a 2D side-scrolling game akin to Metroid-style adventure games. The core gameplay of hack and slashing, and running around the levels looking for new abilities to reach inaccessible areas is all well and good, but Outland takes is a step further. It has a color shifting mechanic that it so integral to its gameplay, you cannot hope to survive without mastering it. The player can shift from two different energies; light energy which is blue, and dark energy which is red. It's quite easy to do this with just a flick of the LB button.
Shifting affects everything. Enemies born of dark energy can only be harmed when you're blue, and vice versa. There will be founts that will spew blue or red particles at you, and you can neutralize harm from these projectiles if you're the same color. Platforms are also affected by shifting, some disappearing when you're the opposite polarity and others moving up or down when you're of the same. The level design can be pretty challenging at times, testing your reflexes and pattern analyzing pretty fiercely. You might even have to shift two or three times in the middle of one jump just so you don't get hurt.
Aside from shifting, you'll also find other abilities that will help you traverse Outland's world. There's a charged attack and a ground smash that will allow you to burst through crumbled walls and floors. There is the launch ability that lets you fling yourself from launch pads. You'll also be given power swings, beam attacks, and a move that sucks in all projectiles and hurls them back at enemies to clear the screen. These moves cost yellow energy, though, but they can definitely save your life.
Outland has a simple currency system of doubloons. You'll find them as drops from slain enemies and from bashing apart vases and other objects. There will also be areas that contain several thousand doubloons tucked away in hidden rooms, so always test the limits of any walls you come across. It's vital that you collect as many doubloons as you can, because you can spend them on health and yellow energy upgrades. Also, you can hunt for relics that will unlock concept art and grant you an extra ability or two as well.
There are a handful of bosses for you to encounter, and they're all well designed and very engaging. They start out small and easy and then progressively get larger and more difficult as the game goes on. Before you can even approach them, you first have to locate the Guardian Key for the respective boss door, and then it's time for some real fun. Each boss becomes more aggressive and changes up their patterns with the more damage you inflict. You'll constantly have to change from red and blue and back again to avoid their screen-filling barrages of bullets.
The pacing of Outland is superb. The learning curve is very gradual, and it never throws anything at you that you simply can't handle. There are only a few instances where it becomes frustrating, but if you just calm yourself down and try again with a fresh approach, you'll wonder why it took you so many tries in the first place. New enemies with new patterns to figure out are introduced at perfect times. The game's also placed a good number of checkpoints throughout the levels, and that really helps stem the frustration of less skilled players. There's nothing like ruining an action adventure game than by not having enough check points.
There are a couple of minor annoyances in Outland, the first being some bosses have you run down a path for a while fighting enemies or avoiding hazards before you get to them. If you die, you have to redo these segments each time instead of resuming right at the start of the fight. The controls of the platforming also take a bit of getting used to, and may not be quite as responsive as you'd like. Trying to change directions in mid-air or letting go of an edge is a bit cumbersome, but you'll eventually get the hang of the controls after a time. And of course, there's the inherent flaw of this particular style of game, and that's backtracking. Although you have a guide that tells you where to go next, there's no way of telling in the game's map where you've already been and what parts still need to be checked out. It discourages exploration.
Outland is quite a beautiful game to behold. The design of the characters and environments have an ancient style to them, and its further helped along by using mostly silhouettes to cast the game's foreground. The constant use of red and blue is very appealing to the eyes, and the animations are smooth as silk. What's even more, there are plenty of subtle ongoings in the game's background to be witnessed. The only fault of the game's visuals lie in the special effects. Although they are great, they can sometimes overwhelm you making it extremely hard to make out an enemy or platform at the most crucial of times.
The game's nothing short of amazing in the audio realm as well. The sound effects are excellent for a game of this type. Slashing enemies sounds satisfying, and there's small little chimes that you'll hear when you deflect energy. The ambient noise in the game also helps add to Outland's mystical nature. There really isn't any voice acting to be had, as the only person who speaks is the game's narrator, who comes in and reveals more of the game's story after boss battles are won. The best part of Outland's audio is of course the music. It's very well composed, using a range of instruments you would expect to hear from an ancient jungle world. It's enough to make you want to go out and purchase an official soundtrack if one's available.
What's the best part of Outland? It's only 800 MS points. That equates to 10 dollars, and this price point puts an already amazing arcade title into the upper echelon of games in the 360's marketplace. For everything that Outland offers, Ubisoft could have charged 400 points more and still sell exceptionally well. Outland is an amazing game from top to bottom, featuring fantastic gameplay mixing Metroid-style adventuring with Ikaruga inspired color shifting. It's damn pretty, and it's simply a rare gem you'll want to spend a good deal of time with.