Preview published by the Dutch version of PC Gameplay of November 2001. Translated by MR, edited by outcastii.net
Summer 1999: Appeal places our little country on the map of games with their game "Outcast". The reasons Outcast was that popular, were the following: Outcast was a third person action game different than Tomb Raider and all of its clones. Outcast gave you Adelpha, a universe filled with unique animals and other strange things plus a beautiful soundtrack created by Lennie Moore, THE composer for games. There was one thing that made Outcast look different: voxels. The same voxels in Outcast 1 are... not used in Outcast 2.
Graphical engines that use voxels always had their positive as well as their negative sides. Appeal soon had realised that by using polygons, Adelpha wouldn't give you that magical feeling. An other fact is the videocards which wouldn't be powerful enough to create this world on your monitor. Conclusion: Appeal choose voxels using their "No Respect" engine. Outcast was having an unique aspect, but the system requirements were pretty high, due to the calculations the CPU had to make. The biggest down-side of the game were the low resolutions. On a medium system, resolutions above 320x240 were all but a fact. The fastest systems were able to show you a resolution of 512x384. Now, 3D cards have evolved into the most powerful part of the computer, and the next-generation console systems have gone public (Playstation 2) or are going to (XBox). For this, Appeal has decided to drop the voxels and use polygons. The results are indeed beautiful. This engine can handle from 150.000 to 300.000 polygons per frame (at least 5 times as good than the Quake 3 engine), and is introducing 3D models that are better than 8.000 polygons per model. The big creatures, from which we recognize some of Outcast (like the twon-ha), will have up to 5 times more polygons than any other models in this game. The developers haven't only improved their own graphical engine, they have even built an entirely new motion-capture studio that can even track down movements of the fingers. The creators have also created a very improved impression face, as well as a lip sync system, which will make the mouth move realistic in relation to the words Cutter is saying.
So, the graphics are very good. But what about the story? Well, there hasn't been much released about this aspect. But what is known is you don't have to know Outcast to play this game. There are 2 reasons for this: 1. gamers that haven't played Outcast shouldn't be scared away by this, and 2. Outcast 2 is being released on the Playstation 2 and should be able to stand on itself. But Outcast fans shouldn't think that this game is gonna be totally different. On the contrary. The developers describe it as Adelpha in a different time. You'll play the part of Cutter Slade, an elite soldier that was supposed to guide a few scientists to the strange world of Adelpha. You discovered the local natives, defeated the evil emperor and returned back home. This time you will contacted by one the peace loving Talan who claims to be terrorised by a new set of species. Cutter Slade will kick some butt on distant planets. By the way, Outcast 2 will take place in the southern regions of Adelpha where you haven't been yet. It's all new, but all the Outcast fans wil recognize it as the sequel to Outcast. It's also nice to know that Lennie Moore will be composing the music and the Moscow Symphony Orchestra will be recording the soundtrack again.
Being expected late 2002