This game is a masterpiece of the sci-fi shooter RPG genre! The base campaign is designed around a 30 level cap but there is also an expansion which I have just reached after finishing the base campaign just a couple minutes ago. At this stage in all shooters I am ready to move on due to the monotony having been playing the same game, with the same mechanics and crafting system for many hours on end. HOWEVER not with this game! I am anxious to go back into a few of the main campaign side quests I left undone then progress onto the expansion. Enemies seem to scale with your current level even in the main campaign so all of this is like new content that I "skipped" over in my rush to finish the main campaign story line.

The real draw is the amazing crafting system which seems like a bit much at first but you quickly get the hang of it as you play the game. I can honestly see myself playing for another 50-100 hours or more just to create the perfect Outrider for my game style. I already achieved this for the main campaign BUT the final boss level had me dying several times as I realized I had used the amazing strategy capabilities in this game to get to the end a couple levels too low! The fact that I was able to use strategy to push forward and enjoy the game at the higher levels while being a level or two too low is proof of the depth of game play on offer with this game! This is a form of chess not tic-tac-toe as so many shooters these days are!

As a developer trust me when I tell you the AI in this game is top notch. If you try there are some choke points in some areas you can funnel enemies into and knock them down as they come through but in most cases battle areas are expansive with multiple pathways to protect. Also the enemy has "tank" characters that will storm your position along with ancillary forces if you sit at it too long as a sniper in a shooter such as this is apt to do. It is truly brilliant shooter design to make such a game enjoyable for all play styles. I am a sniper at heart so when these enemy rushes came I had to use the tricks up my sleeve (special skills) to stave them off then return to the long distance mayhem.

The story is top notch and the voice acting is superb in the English version (the one I play). The IGN review said, "The game takes its story a bit too seriously..". For me this is one of the best parts of Outrider. It is a true sci-fi classic as the story is CLASSIC sci-fi from its golden age. Not to spoil it for you but generation ships and their idiosyncrasies form the main basis of the story. If humanity ever goes to another star system as of current scientific understanding it will be sub-light which will require generation ships. It feels good to see a top notch sci-fi shooter embrace this staple of the golden age of sci-fi and do it justice. Also the constraints set were realistic as per the technology and the time frames.

I felt connected with the characters, the story flow was very well done, levels were also very well designed. Difficulty was well balanced but at the higher game difficulty settings you will probably stop playing due to the difficulty spikes at those higher difficulty settings. Be warned, take it slow and find your ideal setting to enjoy this game to the fullest.

I would strongly recommend any true sci-fi fan get this game and play it at the lower difficulty settings for just the story. That's how good this game's story arc is. The writing is also top notch and a hard core sci-fi story NEEDS to take itself too seriously sometimes. I'd give this a 10/10. I am VERY happy I purchased and played this game. I was expecting to be done with it by now and instead I have my "forever RPG shooter" at least for a while. I feel like how I felt playing the original Borderlands while in the middle of the story but this is past the end of the story!

I let all of the credits roll at the end and it ran for what felt like 15 minutes! These guys take game AI seriously and in a multiplayer game that is almost unheard off. They have created a true masterpiece of a shooter that also makes you part of an epic sci-fi story. This harkens back to a time when story had to make up for level size and content. Game makers had to truly invest in the story. This art has faded away as technology has allowed games to dump so much content story is forgotten. I deeply enjoyed the Outrider experience and if you like what you read in this review I advise you give the game a try. Thus concludes my review on the base campaign of Outriders.

:)

i love the gameplay, graphics and story line. it has a large skill tree with so many things to choose from and the abilities and mods make the game that much better. i haven't even reached endgame and i cant wait for expacs.