You shouldn't oughta done that...

James Anderson is an Ex-Marshal in the old west. He quit marshalin' and has got himself a nice life. Farming and just generally being happy with his wife and daughter. Things are going good for him.

Then a Railroad baron decides he needs Anderson's land and sends his goons to run him and his family off. They go too far. Killing Anderson's wife and kidnaping his daughter....

They shouldn't oughta done that. Now it's time for revenge.

This is where we enter the world of Outlaws, an excellent first-person shooter from Lucas Arts. Outlaws plays out like a spagetti western. We've all wanted to be a cowboy, now we get the chance.

Outlaws is played just like any number of first person shooters on the market. Leave it to LucasArts to give us a couple twists:

1) There is an interesting and coherent story line. Each level you go through ends with a "boss", one of the Baron's henchmen (and henchwomen) await you at the end to tell you (usually with their dying breath) where you daughter has been taken. Some of the bosses are pure evil and some are genuinely sorry for what they've done. Too bad for them.

2) There is no fantastic armorment. Lucasarts has strived to keep it real. You are armed with a revolver and rifle. You can get a couple different shotguns as well as dynamite and knives, along with my personal favorite the semi-portable gatling gun. Semi-portable means when you are firing you cannot move.

3) All guns (except the gatling gun) MUST be manually reloaded. This is one of the things that makes Outlaws unique. You have limited ammo for each gun but they don't keep firing 'till you are out of ammo. Each gun holds a set number of rounds and when it's empty you need to find a shady spot to reload. This introduces an added element to gameplay. Nothing feels worse than storming a room of bad guys and hearing the click of an empty chamber.

4) Few powerups. There is no super run or jump. There are no shields. You can get armor, which is a boilerplate that acts as armor but that's about it. The only powerup are the badges which give you shots a little extra power for a short time.

5) No super health. Canteens give you a point of health, elixrs give you full health but that's it. You can't go over 100% health.

6) The scope, my favorite (behind the shotgun). This mounts on your rifle and lets you blast away the bad guys from a safe distance.

The game itself looks really good. The cutscenes are animated so that may turn some people off, but I liked them. Some of the levels have innocent bystanders. If you shoot them (and who isn't tempted to do that) you lose health (you are the good guy after all). I really liked the feel of the levels. Most of them are fairly straight forward, but there are a couple that were a real pain to get through.

The music is awsome. It is fairly low key and fits the mood perfectly. The music really makes you feel like you're in an old western. Along with the music the sounds were fitting as well. From the click of an empty gun to the taunting of the bad guys, the sounds enhance the mood of the game.

After you finish the game there are "historical" missions which let you continue to play. These are just as fun as the "real" game, they just do not follow a story line.

Outlaws can also be played multiplayer, the levels are versions of the game levels and are really good. Some are too large for two people but there are levels and games that suit any number of players. There is even a game called "Kill the Fool with the Chicken" which is just fun because fo the name.

This is an excellent game. Since it is a little older, the bad guys aren't "smart" like in new games. The graphics may not be cutting edge any more but the game is really fun to play. I would suggest you pick up a copy.