he X-Files: Resist or Serve returns to the heart of the science-fiction series of the same name, when Fox Mulder and Dana Scully were still a team, alien bounty hunters stalked refuges from the Syndicate, and black oil infection was a lurking fear.
Players assume the persona of either Mulder of Scully as they investigate the mysteries surrounding the small resort town of Red Falls, Colo. The action takes place during the seventh season of the series, just after the opening episodes "The Sixth Extinction" and "The Sixth Extinction II." It's played in the familiar third-person perspective of most survival horror games (Resident Evil, Silent Hill), with the camera set in a fixed, television-like location rather than the over-the-shoulder view of games like Tomb
Raider.
As with Resident Evil, Mulder and Scully find themselves up against hordes of undead zombies—the classic, lumbering kind, rather than the quick-moving ones of 28 Days Later. As the story unfolds, the monsters and circumstances force Mulder and Scully to separate and follow their own unique paths. Within the game, this means that players can choose to play either agent, and encounter a different set of challenges and threats as they do so.
To combat the evil around them, the FBI agents wield a variety of weapons, starting with 9mm pistols and eventually acquiring shotguns, machine guns and flamethrowers. In addition to their weapons, the characters have inventories consisting of the various clues and equipment they've picked up throughout their investigations. Each of these items can be examined in a special window, allowing the items to be rotated and searched. Further, some items are components that can be combined into new forms—for example, both agents can combine beer bottles, rags and gasoline to create Molotov cocktails.
Complementing the game are several DVD-like features, including commentary and interviews with the designers, outtakes of the actors recording their lines, and storyboard art.
Until the next cinema sequel, this will do
The X-Files: Resist or Serve expertly recreates the look and feel of its source material, creating a moody, mist-filled environment filled with all manner of creatures that go bump in the night. Mulder and Scully's signature flashlights cut through the murk as the familiar
notes of Mark Snow's eerie soundtrack plays in the background. The game draws heavily upon the X-Files mythos, bringing back such staples as the Lone Gunmen, the Cigarette-Smoking Man, Alex Krycek and the mysterious alien black oil. All of the characters in the game are voiced by their traditional actors, and Mulder and Scully's familiar back-and-forth banter should make any fan smile.
The game's parallel story arcs are not just a gimmick—they allow both agents to do what they do best. In Mulder's case, it's hunting down supernatural leads and protecting Scully from the undead. In Scully's, it's using her scientific expertise to figure out what's really going on. For example, at one point in the game, Mulder is bitten by a zombie and infected with the virus it carries. In order to save him, Scully must perform an autopsy on one of the town's victims, extract some bile from the corpse's stomach, analyze that sample under a microscope, and then come up with an antidote. Each of these steps takes on the form of a simplistic puzzle made challenging by the time limits and undead threats. Meanwhile, Mulder must keep the zombies off of Scully long enough for her to perfect the cure.
Resist or Serve shares the same weaknesses of other games in the survival genre. The camera angles are normally fixed perspective, changing only when a character enters a new area. This can be infuriating when that perspective switch occurs when searching for a door or trying to explore an area hidden by the perspective. The ability to switch to different views—like over-the-shoulder or free-look—would have been welcome. The game's auto-aim abilities are severely lacking. While it's capable of having Mulder or Scully lock onto a human zombie, it's all but useless for targeting undead cats or dogs unless they're far away. There's something very wrong about veteran FBI agents being felled by cadaverous felines and putrefied Dalmatians.
As with its kin, the game's boundaries are often blatantly artificial—burning fire trucks and jackknifed tractor trailers block roadways, and despite all evidence to the contrary, Mulder and Scully are incapable of climbing fences, shooting locks off doors or pretty much doing anything more strenuous than walking or jogging.
These limitations won't come as a shock to veterans of such games, but they'll probably turn off those who never mastered Resident Evil's quirks. The game itself doesn't require an extensive understanding of series' history, but X-Files fans will definitely get the most out of the game.
The X-Files: Resist or Serve isn't a great game, but as an X-Files fan who can't wait to see Mulder and Scully reunited on the big screen, I found it to be an enjoyable one.
— Ken
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