Impressive graphics, outstanding voice acting and satisfying gameplay. The only con is that it could have been better...
The best way to describe Outcast's story is to compare it to quicksand. At first glance it looks like regular sand then you step on it and it sucks you right in. You are Cutter Slade, ex Navy SEAL tough guy with nightmares and a drinking problem. One night while relaxing at the local bar you are contacted by Admiral Dawson to lead a group of scientists on a secret mission. As it turns out the government had been secretly funding the development of dimensional travel, the program was successful but the probe they sent was damaged and has created a terrible vortex that is sucking our reality in and will eventually destroy the universe. Your job is to travel to this parallel dimension and repair the probe so that you can send it back and stop the end of the world from happening. Sounds simple enough eh? Well as it turns out things don't exactly go as planned. You wake up in a hut on a snowy region just to find yourself surrounded by strange creatures, their leader refers to you as "Ulukai", apparently there is a prophecy in this world that predicted the coming of a "higher being" (yup, that's you) that would unite the five mons and end the reign of terror of Fae Rhan, the ruler of Adelpha home to the Talan. Have I already lost you with all the names? Well this is only a fraction of what can be found in this game.
The game's originality is astounding, aliens are a very common feature in a game but rarely do we see such dept, hierarchies, religion and even politics come into play between the Talan. The world itself is huge and the six regions you get to visit are both interesting and unique. From the start you'll have access to all six regions so exploration is always an opportunity but the heart of the game lies with it's story, every step towards it's completion adds another variable to the equation, whenever a question is answered ten other questions rise from the ashes, it's so good that you will find yourself remembering the bizarre and complex names of this parallel dimension by heart but, never fear, should you forget what you were supposed to be doing the game keeps a very extensive record of all the opened quests, which you'll come to depend on because the names these talan have can be especially difficult to remember. All of the NPCs are voiced, you will find that all generic NPCs say the same things but you'll use them to find the ones related to quests and I can also say that it is hard to find a generic NPC that has the same voice actor as another one. The game does a very good job of masking it's repetitions from you, of course, you can still notice them but only if you go looking.
The graphics are fantastic, keep in mind this game was released in 1999. Because of the voxel engine the game has no problem rendering curved objects but it has a bit of a problem rendering textures, it does look a bit blurry or pixelated but that will be the least of your concerns, the world is so rich that you will find yourself almost drowning into all the things that you can find around. The sound is good for the most part but the weapons could have been a little better, of course that is not a problem because when you do hear your weapons it means you're shooting and therefore have other matters to attend to. The action in the game is fast paced, usually you'll fight soldiers of Fae Rhan and they will always outnumber you. Thankfully you are given a moderate arsenal to defend yourself. It goes from pistols to rocket launchers and, my personal favourite, a mine launcher. Careful where you shoot though as hitting innocent talan will hurt your reputation amongst them, if you push them too far they will eventually deny you side quests and even deny directions to other talan which is catastrophic in such a big world as Adelpha. There are also plenty of raw materials to be found, you cannot use these yourself but you can take them to a specialized talan and he will craft ammunition from them. It all just ties in so perfectly it is very hard not to be drawn to it. There is always something else you could be doing and the wonderful job the developers did with the NPCs keeps even the most basic of tasks interesting. There is some mild puzzle solving in the game but they are few and usually pretty basic, you can also just get the answer to some puzzles by asking someone about them. The puzzles just serve as a break in the pacing though as most things can be solved by shooting.
The only thing I can criticize in this game is probably not the developer's fault. There is so much content in this game so much diversity that some of these things have not been developed to their fullest. Some times a quest will end abruptly and a few minor technical glitches suggest that if this game had been given a proper budget and time it would have become the greatest action-adventure game ever. That is not saying that the game is mediocre, it's a fantastic game, but when you reach the end of the road you are left wanting more. Unfortunately there is nothing else.