Outcast is quite simply an excellent game. Worth picking up.
The excellent level design makes for an extremely entertaining, challenging and outright fun FPS. The game also boasts an exceptionally good story. The game spans all over the Star Wars galaxy, from the dark mines of Artus, to the beautiful Cloud City. The difficulty and learning curve is near perfect. While the controls are quite unusual, as they stray away from the typical FPS norm. They are not at all hard to get a grasp of. The light saber battles with the reborn dark Jedi and the intimidating Shadow Troopers are quite intense to say the least. Hit detection and saber mechanics are good. There are also three distinct styles of saber combat to choose from. You can use agile, fancy looking speed oriented moves. An all around move set, or a slow and very powerful collection of attacks. Kyle can throw his light saber at enemies. Deflecting blaster fire is also a useful ability, and it doesn't imbalance the game.
The addition of a light sabre to Kyle's arsenal early in the game, and eventually force powers add a whole new layer of depth to the game. Nothing says fun like hurling pitiful Storm Troopers into a seemingly bottomless abyss, or force choking the living hell out of adversaries. You can send rooms of enemies flying, fry them with force lightening or even mind trick them into betraying their comrades and becoming your cannon fodder. Kyles force powers improve throughout the game. When Kyle first gets his force jump ability he can jump, say.. Roughly three metres off the ground. By the end of the game Kyle can perform astounding vertical leaps, and numerous acrobatic feats such as running on walls. You select force powers, and items for that matter by pressing up or down on the directional pad.
Throughout your adventure, you will encounter your typical Star Wars baddies. Rodian bounty hunters, cowardly Imperial Officers, run of the mill Storm troopers. Several Star Wars characters from the movies also make cameo appearances in the game. The sound and music in this game is perfect. Hell, it's Star Wars, what did you expect? From the melancholy music of Cloud City, to the classic cantina music from the first movie. Oh, and the Imperial March, of course. Excellent sound effects, from the gentle hum of a lightsaber, to the distinct sound of blaster fire. The voice acting in this game is great. Billy Dee Williams also returns to do the voice of Star Wars favourite, Lando Callrissian. One of the funniest things in the game are the interesting conversations between Storm Troopers. Sometimes, you will hear them casually chatting in a room you're about to enter, or when you're hiding in an air duct. Right out of Splinter Cell. One of my favourites is the poor Trooper who ironically remarks: "The last thing I feel like dealing with today is a Jedi".
Graphics unfortunately aren’t as impressive as the rest of the game. While this isn't near enough to kill the game on any level, and the graphics aren’t downright horrible they could have been much better. There is also some slight lag in the frame rate during especially intense moments of game play, but this is rare. Not much of a problem. The cut scenes aren’t impressive either. While the voice acting, script and conversations are excellent, the movement and actions are very jerky and repetitive.
This game also includes excellent multiplayer. Tried and true FPS multiplayer game styles such as Capture the Flag, Team and FFA included. The game also includes a few, completely unique and original game types. Terrific maps and level design here. Bot A.I. is great, and you have access to 28 bots, all based on enemies and allies from the single player game. It's a real pity that the GCN version isn't online like its predecessor. The multiplayer is also fun to play by yourself. It's great if you’re just looking for something else, or taking a break from the story mode.
The bottom line is, if you can find this game nowadays, it’s definitely worth picking up. Less then stellar graphics don’t stop this wonderful game from being a downright fun and enjoyable experience. This game makes a fine addition to anyone’s collection, Star Wars die hard or not.