The X-Files: Resist or Serve
The X-Files: Resist or Serve | ||
---|---|---|
Composer(s) Tommy Tallarico | | |
Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 | |
Release | ||
Genre(s) | Survival horror | |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
The X-Files: Resist or Serve is a 2004
The game was announced in December 2002, with its release initially scheduled for the second quarter of 2003, to coincide with the DVD release of the seventh season.
The game was advertised as being three
Plot
The game is set during the television series'
"Renascence"
A spacecraft crashes in
The agents infiltrate the nearby Briar Lake mental institution, where they discover vials of black oil and learn that the Winslows were the subject of science experiments due to the fact that they shared a psychic connection. They also discover clones of the Winslow girls, and encounter Alex Krycek (voiced by Nicholas Lea), who tells them that the clones are using powers to release an alien artifact. Krycek escapes, and the artifact is taken by a ghostly entity, while Mulder and Scully are forced by soldiers to evacuate the city on board a helicopter. The soldiers decline to specify who sent them. From the air, the agents notice Red Falls is now in fiery ruins as part of a cover-up. Mulder is dissatisfied with the lack of evidence to present for the investigation, but Scully reveals that she obtained an optical disc from Briar Lake, which she hopes will provide further information.[3]
"Resonance"
It is revealed that Krycek is working with
Mulder suffers hallucinations at his apartment, as the result of poisoning from cosmic galactic radiation, after being near the alien artifact. During his hallucinations, Mulder sees his long-lost sister Samantha, before encountering a ghostly entity in the form of a man. Mulder is saved after Covarrubias injects him with a shot to counteract the radiation poisoning. Scully also suffers from radiation after performing an autopsy on one of the Red Falls victims, but is able to cure herself after creating an antidote.[4]
Covarrubias has arranged for Mulder to fly to Tunguska, while Scully – with help from The Lone Gunmen – investigates Roush Biotechnologies, a company that was referenced in the data disc. Roush funded the experiments at Briar Lake, and bodies from the mental institution are believed to have been sent to the company's facility. Scully and Byers enter the facility disguised as scientists. Langley stays outside the facility, while Frohike covertly infiltrates the building's ventilation so he can tap into the company's fiber optic cable system, allowing Langley to monitor the security footage and help Scully and Byers progress through the building. Scully obtains a piece of the alien artifact, and discovers a disc containing images of Mulder undergoing a brain surgery.[4]
"Reckoning"
Mulder's plane has crashed in Tunguska, leaving him as the sole survivor. Mulder is later contacted by Covarrubias, who informs him that Scully has arrived in a helicopter. Covarrubias urges Mulder to leave, stating that Krycek and The Smoking Man are in Tunguska. Covarrubias had been working with the men to lead Mulder to Tunguska in hopes that he would locate the alien spaceship that crashed there nearly 100 years earlier. After Covarrubias betrayed the two men, Krycek locked her up. Mulder locates The Smoking Man, but is knocked unconscious by Krycek. While unconscious, Mulder has another vision of the ghostly being, before being awoken by Scully. The agents locate Covarrubias, and she informs them that the ghostly entity is a conduit for the power released by the alien artifact. The agents lose sight of Covarrubias after an explosion.[5]
The helicopter crashes after the pilot becomes a zombie. Mulder and Scully then use a truck to reach old ruins in a Siberian forest. Krycek and his team have begun draining a nearby lake to find the wreckage of the spaceship, located underneath additional ruins that are hidden under the water. Mulder is separated from Scully after a creature attacks their raft. Mulder encounters The Smoking Man, who tells him that to discover the truth, he must follow the advice of "resist or serve," relating to the entity.[5]
Inside an old monastery, Scully attaches the fragment of the alien artifact to its main piece, which summons the entity,[5] who now has the appearance of an elderly man, approximately 90 to 100 years old. Scully defeats the entity, and deduces that he must have alien physiology which makes his connection to the artifact possible.[7] Mulder locates the spaceship and encounters aliens, as well as the entity, in his younger form. After defeating the entity, Mulder reunites with Scully, and the spaceship flies away before she can see it. The agents present their final report to FBI directors, including Skinner and Alvin Kersh (voiced by James Pickens Jr.), who find the agents' story to be unbelievable.[5]
Gameplay
The X-Files: Resist or Serve is a
A total of five guns can be used throughout the game, as well as other weapons such as
Development and release
In December 2002, it was confirmed that Black Ops Entertainment was developing an X-Files video game, to be released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in the second quarter of 2003.[12][13] The game's title was announced the following month, with plans to release the game simultaneously with the DVD release of the series' seventh season in spring 2003.[14] By March 2003, the game's release date had been rescheduled for September 2003.[15] The Xbox and PlayStation 2 versions were to be released simultaneously,[16] but the Xbox version was later cancelled.[17] As of May 2003, the game's release date was scheduled for October 2003.[18]
Thomas Schnauz, who wrote two episodes for the series during its final two years, was hired to write the script for the game,[6][14][19] while Whitney Edwards, Gennifer Hutchison, and Jen Johnson served as additional writers.[19] Heather Barclay was the game's lead programmer, while Kirk Lambert served as the lead designer and producer.[19] Tommy Tallarico was the game's audio director.[19] The X-Files: Resist or Serve was developed using a game engine that was created specifically for the game.[2] Various in-jokes and references to the television series were added into the game.[20] Ben Borth, an associate producer and storyboard artist for the game,[19] said, "We wanted to present more of a classic 'X-Files' game experience."[20]
The game features Mark Snow's music from The X-Files series, as well as voice acting by each of the show's main actors.[1][21][22] Additionally, bonuses in the game include commentaries from the series and "behind the scenes" footage,[1] which includes several of the male actors recording their lines while wearing bright red lipstick, a common practice used to get better enunciation and crisper sound. The actors recorded their lines during the 2002 holiday season. Borth stated that scheduling the actors' voice-over sessions during that time was one of the biggest obstacles in creating the game. Anderson's lines were recorded in London, where she was starring in a play, while Duchovny's lines were recorded in Los Angeles.[2]
The X-Files: Resist or Serve was published by
Reception
According to Metacritic, The X-Files: Resist or Serve received "mixed or average reviews".[26] Critics compared the game to the Resident Evil game series for featuring similar gameplay.[6][9][11][21][27][28] GameSpot gave the game a score of 7.6 out of 10 and praised the game's story and voice acting, as well as the likeness to the show's actors achieved by the character models used, while criticizing the repetitive combat, obstructive camera angles and frustrating puzzles.[8] The IGN review was similarly mixed, praising the story and writing, while criticizing it for adhering too closely to the Resident Evil formula, including the use of zombies as the primary antagonists, stating "if you're looking for something new or interesting in the survival-horror genre, don't look here."[21]
Joe Juba of Game Informer praised the scenery, music, and voice acting, but criticized the camera angles, and the character animation for being "a bit awkward." Juba noted that the game "does a good job of capturing the mood of the show," but wrote that the "basic formula never changes. You spend so much time wandering aimlessly and kicking prone undead that you never really have a chance to get wrapped up in the exceptionally intriguing and involved story that was clearly intended to make Resist or Serve stand out." Juba stated that elements from the television series were well used, but that they "aren't enough to overcome the uninspired, repetitive puzzle solving required to get the ball rolling."[11]
Andrew Reiner, also of Game Informer, was more positive towards the game, rating it 7 out of 10 and calling it a "surprisingly decent amalgamation of survival horror's heavy hitters – primarily Resident Evil and Silent Hill." Reiner stated, "Sure, it has a fair share of problems – be it the vagueness of puzzles, or the frustrations that the camera brings – but I just couldn't seem to put it down."[11]
Computer and Video Games praised the music, as well as the differences between both playable characters, but noted that the "1990s" gameplay "doesn't really bear up. Yes, it's perfectly competent, but it has all those survival horror control and camera headaches we got sick of ages ago." The magazine also noted the poor graphics and stated that the animated appearances of Mulder and Scully "are a bit dodgy up close."[27]
Steve Steinberg of GameSpy praised the game but felt that it was not perfect. Steinberg enjoyed the ability to play as either Mulder or Scully, as well as the return of the show's actors. However, he noted that "hardcore horror fans might feel a bit underwhelmed by some of the simplistic gaming elements," and criticized the controls, particularly for aiming and shooting. Steinberg also criticized the "dated" graphics, writing, "The character models are accurate, but they're stiffer than the dead bodies that Scully examines at work. It definitely kills some of the nostalgic buzz when a hilarious line is delivered by an emotionless, glassy-eyed Mulder."[9]
Louis Bedigian of GameZone praised the music and called the voice acting "fairly decent," but stated that it "isn't the actors' best work." Bedigian criticized the graphics, writing, "The backgrounds are too grainy to be scary. And most of the characters look like they were made using a DDK (
John Davison of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine wrote, "There are elements of Resist or Serve that are truly remarkable. Due entirely to the involvement of the writers and cast of the show, it stands apart in a genre not especially known for great scripts or convincing voice acting." However, Davison noted that the gameplay did not "match the class of the story. Just about every survival-horror gameplay faux pas is present, including static camera angles that mess with the controls, the need to run up against every wall to find interactive 'hot spots,' and erratic load times that break up the action when you least expect it. While the character models are reasonably convincing, if a little stiff, the flat environments are almost completely devoid of anything to interact with. It all feels a bit 1998, to be honest." Davison concluded that the game "is not completely dreadful," but that it would disappoint fans of survival-horror games.[29]
Skyler Miller of
References
- ^ AllGame. Archived from the originalon November 15, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
- ^ ISBN 9781411616882. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Black Ops Entertainment (March 16, 2004). The X-Files: Resist or Serve. Vivendi Universal Games. Level/area: Renascence.
- ^ a b c d Black Ops Entertainment (March 16, 2004). The X-Files: Resist or Serve. Vivendi Universal Games. Level/area: Resonance.
- ^ a b c d e Black Ops Entertainment (March 16, 2004). The X-Files: Resist or Serve. Vivendi Universal Games. Level/area: Reckoning.
- ^ X-Play. Archived from the originalon September 8, 2004. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
- ^ Black Ops Entertainment (March 16, 2004). The X-Files: Resist or Serve. Vivendi Universal Games. Level/area: Reckoning: Act 2 (Scully; field note 5).
This man that has harnessed the energy – while he appears to be just an elderly man, approximately 90 to 100 years in age – must have something alien in his physiology that made his connection to the artifact possible.
- ^ a b c d Massimilla, Bethany (March 25, 2004). "The X-Files: Resist or Serve Review". GameSpot. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
- ^ a b c d Steinberg, Steve (April 5, 2004). "GameSpy: The X-Files: Resist or Serve". GameSpy. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e The X-Files: Resist or Serve instruction manual. Vivendi Universal Games. 2004. pp. 8–10, 16.
- ^ a b c d e Juba, Joe (May 2004). "The X-Files: Resist or Serve". Game Informer. No. 133. p. 100. Archived from the original on March 16, 2008. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
- ^ "The Truth Is Out There". IGN. December 5, 2002. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
- ^ "X-Files on Xbox". IGN. January 30, 2003. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
- ^ a b Perry, Douglass C. (January 30, 2003). "The X-Files: Resist or Serve". IGN. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
- ^ Boulding, Aaron (March 6, 2003). "GDC 2003: X-Files Resist or Serve". IGN. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
- ^ Colayco, Bob (March 7, 2003). "GDC 2003: The X-Files: Resist or Serve first impressions". GameSpot. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
- ^ "The X-Files: Resist or Serve (Xbox)". IGN. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
- ^ Dunham, Jeremy (May 28, 2003). "Panic on PS2". IGN. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e "The X-Files: Resist or Serve – Credits". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 17, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
- ^ a b c Lipsey, Sid (March 31, 2004). "New PS2 game allows fans another fling with their favorite 'X'". CNN. Archived from the original on May 8, 2004.
- ^ a b c d Perry, Douglass C. (March 23, 2004). "The X-Files: Resist or Serve". IGN. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
- ^ Lewis, Ed (February 6, 2004). "X-Files: Resist or Serve Hands-On". IGN. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
- ^ Castro, Juan (March 16, 2004). "The X-Files: Resist or Serve Ships". IGN. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
- ^ Marriott, Scott Alan. "The X-Files: Resist or Serve (European) – Overview". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
- ^ "The X-Files: Resist or Serve for PlayStation 2". GameRankings. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
- ^ a b "The X-Files: Resist or Serve Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
- ^ ComputerAndVideoGames.com. June 7, 2004. Archived from the originalon July 14, 2007.
- ^ a b c Bedigian, Louis (March 28, 2004). "X-Files Resist or Serve - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on March 15, 2008. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
- ^ a b Davison, John (June 2004). "X-Files: Resist or Serve". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Archived from the original on June 3, 2004. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
- ^ "The X-Files: Resist or Serve". The Times. June 26, 2004. Retrieved June 9, 2014.(subscription required)
Notes
- ^ Released under the Sierra Entertainment label in Europe.