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It’s hard to argue that computer games can be ‘art’ without having a counter-example that lacks artistry -- and thanks to games like Outlive, that’s not a problem! While it technically has everything you’d expect from a StarCraft clone, it lacks the artistry that would give the game a soul.
One look at the box, and the debt to StarCraft is already beyond repayment. The buildings, the units, the resources, the interface all has a StarCraft feel -- not to mention an actual box cover image that looks suspiciously like the Protoss cover. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right?
The year is 2045 and the world government yada, yada, yada, two factions, blah blah, robots and humans, cha-hee-hee, conflict, etc., world domination by corporations. The typical sci-fi pap is dished out between levels in a droning text crawl with a synthed-up voice reading it. There are three single-player campaigns (fancy that), but in a stunning derivation from its source inspiration, the last is a combination of the units from the first two, not a third faction.
Outlive has technically regurgitated all the traditional features of a real-time strategy game. There is a tech tree, resource mining, construction, transport, and combat units. There’s a single-player campaign mode, skirmish mode, multiplayer for up to 16 unfortunate souls, and a built-in map editor that will probably never be used once. So I can’t accuse Outlive of not delivering on all the features to be expected from the genre.
The gameplay is also immediately recognizable, but there are a few new elements that weren’t around back in ‘98. For instance, laboratories will research the technology tree without supervision if wanted. Buildings require energy, so you’ll need to set up energy grids. And units have an AI that can be adjusted to make use of special abilities automatically -- time-bomb units will seek out opportunities to pop their payloads without you needing to trigger the special ability individually.
Even with the additions, though, as you can tell, this isn’t a revolutionary RTS -- just slight adjustments to the standard fare.
There are, however, some especially noteworthy mediocrities. Nothing is worse than the voice acting for the human units. Just like every RTS since WarCraft, clicking a unit queues up a voice bit. Normally these are unobtrusive little quips, designed to be humorous. That might have been the intent with Outlive, but the result is some of the worst acting since Richard Gere tried to do an Irish accent in The Jackal. Even worse, the narration and the unit voices are tied into the same volume control. If volume is turned off, it’s possible to miss key narration.
Basically, Outlive should have been called Standard RTS Game; for those folks out there that are strung-out for more 2D sprite-based RTS action, it’ll satisfy your craving.