The X-Files: Resist or Serve

Resist or Serve opens with a CG movie that lays the groundwork for the story. Mulder and Scully are called to Red Falls, Colorado to investigate reports of witchcraft involving twins sisters. After a fight with a crazed waitress and a dead hitchhiker, the agents come to realize that the dead walk in Red Falls. Later, the X-Files conspiracy will rear it's ugly head and players will be treated to appearances by X-Files vets like the Cigarette Smoking Man, The Lone Gunmen, Skinner, Krycek and others.

Resist or Serve knows it's place very well in the video game hierarchy. It's a survival horror game through and through, with wholesale pieces cribbed from the king of survival horror, Resident Evil. Everything is there: The cinematically styled static camera. The horrid control scheme that is built on the idea that up equals forward, so when the camera angle shifts, you have to shift with it. This shifting is what drives most people bats*** with the "Resident Evil Control Scheme". Too often you turn back the way you came and it's frustratingly difficult to get a hang on, even if you've used it many times before. Oh, and finally, there's zombies. Lots and lots of zombies.

The similarities to Resident Evil are apparent right away. Early on, Mulder is holed up in a gas station bathroom fighting back zombies that are rushing through the door. The camera is positioned to face Mulder so the only way you can see the zombies is in the mirror behind you. Cinematic? Yes. Practical for a game? No.

And if it's possible, the control of Resist or Serve might just be worse than your typical RE game. Trying to walk up stairs or through a door is made more difficult because you'll often get caught on the edge of something. The control also gives no favors when trying to switch weapons in the middle of a fight. The agents have to put the old gun away, take the new one out and then point it at a zombie. This takes way too long when the legions of the undead are breathing down your neck. This leads right into the next problem: the game has poor hit detection. Emptying a clip on a zombie that is no less than a few feet from your character will often result in all of those shots gonig wide. There's just no excuse for that.

More of RE's quirks quickly descend on the game. The endless backtracking that is a staple of RE turns the Red Falls section into a coma inducing exercise. Some games are faulted for being too linear, the Red Falls section should be faulted for not being linear enough as early on there aren't enough clues to point you in the right direction and a pesky problem of throwing an endless stream of zombies after you with no explanation that it's an endless stream. Much of the time is spent just groping around in the dark waiting for the X-Files logo to appear in the corner (which indicates an item that can be picked up or a door that can be opened).

It's truly a shame, as the game really picks up after the Red Falls section. It's not great, and all of the quirky camera and control problems are still there. But at least it's not boring anymore as the game delves deeper into the conspiracy.

Players are also given the option of playing through the game as either Mulder or Sclly. Mulder's game is more action oriented and Scully's game is more built around puzzles. Scully also can perform autopsies and mix chemicals as part of that puzzle solving but it is not intutive at all and actually kinda pointless. I'd just as soon preferred it if they left it out.

Scully also manages to run in a very jerky, slow motion, Chariots of Fire kind of way. It's awful looking. Mulder is better, but the environments of both leave alot to be desired. Small town streets, a "haunted" mansion and for some reason an ugly ass cathedral that appears in Mulder's mind (don't ask). They're passable, but no one is going to confuse Resist or Serve for eye candy. And the flicker in the cut scenes, ugh!

Resist or Serve gets at least one thing right though. The game oozes X-Files atmosphere. The music is pure X-Files. The locations look like they were ripped straight from an episode. In fact, the game is broken up into three sections, each acting as a separate episode, complete with the actual opening credits.

All of the X-Files cast reunited to perform the voice work. And it's great to hear Mulder and Scully going back and forth again. And the Gunmen. And the Skinman. But the voice acting varies from scene to scene. It often slips from pretty good to a stiff, "Where's my damn paycheck?" reading and back again. In spite of this, the story sections of the game work pretty good. It really does play out like a lost episode.