I finally got a chance to play through this game (thanks to my new found love for Gamefly) and thought it deserved a little review. First off, I'm a huge X-Files fan, although I can recognize that over the course of the tv series many mistakes were made with the mythology episodes. In the end the tv show didn't quite satisfy me, I'm sure I'm not the only one. Regardless of that I still hold a dear place in my heart for Chris Carter's work, otherwise I never would have given this game a chance. "X-Files: Resist or Serve" is broken up into 2 parts: you can either play as Mulder or Scully. Each respective character will give you a slightly different game, and that adds enourmously to it's replay value. The game itself is organized as "episodes", which really give you the feel of actively playing an X-Files episode. The storyline revolves around the mythology of the series and does so very well. Two words: Black Oil. And finally, this is indeed a survival horror game. First let me adress what is good about this title. First of all, the amount of X-Files trivia and references is simply astounding. I noticed so many little things that any Diehard fan will lap up ferouciously. The voice acting is top notch, bringing the real voices of Mulder and Scully, CSM, Krychek, Skinner, and a few others. This fact alone adds significantly to the game's appeal, it truly feels like an X-Files episode. The musical score is pure Mark Snow, and works beautifully in the survival horror genre. Fans will notice certain musical themes from the show that were applied here to great effect. The story, from the first intro movie, is engrossing. Yes, sometimes it can be a bit confusing, but it is still quite enjoyable. Lastly the X-Files material applied to survival horror is something we should have seen a long time ago. It works so well if they could release plenty more games in this framework, as long as the mechanics are fixed. And that leads me right to the bad: the gameplay. As a survival horror game this title works in storyline, but fails miserably in gameplay. The same mechanics are employed that the old Resident Evil games used, which makes it, at least for me, very difficult to play. Clunky and clumsy describe it best. The camera is of course a serious issue. You can't control it at all, and often times you can't see what's in front of you, or what is trying to kill you either. The item management system works just like Resident Evil, and it's fine for what it is, but nothing special. The control scheme is very easy to pick up, but often times you just wish it were more complicated if it meant that you could see where the heck you're walking to. The graphics in game are ok, but nothing spectacular. Basically if you enjoy the Resident Evil games (I'm not talking RE4 here), and have no problem with those games, then you'll enjoy it. Finally the game is a bit short. I sped through it in a day. It should have been longer, and could have been. All problems aside I really enjoyed this game. Being a big fan no doubt helped my enjoyment, and if you are one there truly is a lot to see here. Gameplay problems are there, but if you miss Mulder and Scully this is definitely a game that's worth playing. Just don't expect to be wowed by the gameplay, expect to be wowed by the comprehensive "X-Files-ness" of it.
Other Helpful Reviews for The X-Files: Resist or Serve
Vivendi Universal is the latest game developer to jump on the X-File's wave, and boy, do they ride it to new heights! If you enjoyed the X-files PC game, then there's something wrong with you . Ok, ok, it was alright, b... Read Full Review
The game has a bit of trouble with character handling and level geometry. Going through doors and other areas can be a problem because the start and stop of where the walls begin and end are not very well defined and you... Read Full Review
