Outtriggers Preview

The Dreamcast seems hell-bent on becoming the console of choice for FPS gamers: With the imminent release of a Dreamcast version of Quake III Arena, and the nearing bloom of SegaNet, the platform seems, at the very least, to be providing fertile turf for the genre to flourish. Factor in Outtrigger, Sega's first-party stab at the genre, and it appears as though the company is downright courting those-about-to-frag onto its nascent network.

Outtrigger is a Naomi arcade game, developed by former in-house Sega developer AM2 - the company responsible for, among other titles, Shenmue, the Virtua Fighter series, and Ferarri 355 Challenge. AM2 is known to concoct some brilliant stuff, and people all over have been chiming in endlessly about the greatness of the arcade versions. The home version of Outtrigger, though, is supposed to one-up the arcade version, by not only offering a handful more stages, but, more importantly, by also offering online support via SegaNet.

The arcade version lets four adjacent players go at it simultaneously, throwing them into arenas significantly tighter than those found in the traditional FPS, but armed with weapons that are just as perverse and outlandish as those found in other FPS titles. Players, simply, are allowed to blast it out for three minutes, and the winner is the one with the most kills when the clock expires. The result is truly a console-esque simplification of the FPS deathmatch, which requires less precise strategy and places more of an emphasis on visceral point-and-shoot elements.

The arcade control scheme consists of a joystick; buttons for jumping, shooting, and arsenal cycling; and a trackball for view controls. Reportedly, the trackball initially takes a bit of getting used to, but becomes quite effective in the hands of a proficient player. Though the game can be played in either a first- or third-person perspective, the control setup remains identical for each.

As for the Dreamcast version, Sega will undoubtedly provide mouse support. In light of the recent unveiling of Quake III Arena DC at this year's QuakeCon, and the positive responses Q3 Dreamcast has garnered from the press, it is also easy to make the assumption that Sega will opt to include keyboard support. However, as QuakeCon proved, a control pad/mouse setup can be just as viable. Needless to say, we're all pretty excited about what Outtrigger will do for Sega and for online console gaming in general. While there's no word yet as to the release of the home version of Outtrigger, you can rest assured that we're going to keep on top of this one. Keep your eyes on this space for further details, and check out our hands-on impressions for detailed info regarding the game's systems.