There's no turning back. The hopes of the human race are riding on you. You're their only chance at survival. To go forward, you'll have to fight your way in. And then pray you can get out...
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Cleared on June 17th, 2023 (SEGA Genesis Challenge: 13/160)
This game took a damn while to actually beat. I actually started on the game as early as April 29th, but I was on and off with the game because the game itself takes approximately 3-4 hours to beat. Now this isn't a problem in its own right. I play video games that are this long all the time and in the context of the Sega Genesis, Beyond Oasis is one of my favorites so far, and I spent more hours trying to master Alien Soldier before realizing I could've had unlimited continues via Supereasy mode. My issue with the game is that it's rather repetitive.
The game is super fun for the first couple of minutes. You are driving in the desert roads of who knows where while shooting enemies and these segments are not 2D, but rather taking on a first person segment while driving in a 3D space. These segments are where the game is at its best. Just reveling in the sheer chaos that comes with shooting enemies from the front with a machine gun, shooting enemies from the side with your shotgun, and later on, shooting helicopters with homing missiles. It feels reminiscent of Mad Max.
However, there are a series of problems that come in when you get on the ground. The first thing you'll notice is that the spritework for the characters are... kinda dull compared to what the car segments would offer and the way the character moves makes me think he would be in a montage for the Angry Video Game Nerd's theme song. These segments work fine, but they are boring. You can punch your enemies, you can shoot them, but most important thing to do is to collect resources so you can proceed with your adventure. This includes health, fuel, ammo, armor, and nitro.
By picking up food, you regenerate health which is oddly connected to the oil which represents health... I don't get it.
Through fuel, you can last longer on the road without being forced to stop and when you do, you have to do those boring 2D segments except on the road and it's much harder with biker enemies, especially those bastards that throw flame cocktails at you.
You get ammo for all kinds of things like car guns, shotgun ammo, and anti-air missiles.
Armor reduces the damage you take.
Nitro lets you boost away.
You can also pick up a few additional things along the way like a detector that senses toxic foods so you know to not pick them up, a supercharger which boosts your overall speed, and a toy which is just cute, nothing much else.
But once you get far enough into the game, you find it being pretty much the same as it was in the first few minutes aside from maybe a few new techniques. It's fun gameplay, but you have to remember you're doing this for 3 hours at minimum, and on top of that, you have to do these 2D segments.
And maybe all of this wouldn't be so bad if there was other aspects that could've made up for it like the music or the visual effects. The environment is the exact same being a sandy desert. Maybe there was some limitation that prevented them from versifying their location, but it would've been cool if maybe the first 1/3rd of the game took place at day, the second 1/3rd of the game took place at sunset, and the last 1/3rd of the game took place at night.
The music is just the exact same that it was driving me nuts and it's not even that great. It's tolerable, but it played a hand in why I was planning on dropping the game. However, I had an obligation to fulfill, and if I'm to going to sit around repeatedly shooting bad guys for hours on end, then I'm just going to blast some Power Metal music to help me get through and somehow that made the experience more enjoyable.
This is a game that I would probably not recommend for very long, but if you have the guts and mental capacity to stick it out like I do, here are some tips fresh out of the oven.
#1: During the 2D segments, ducking is your best friend. You can avoid all projectiles this way and force the female rednecks to approach you, and I think ducking while punching makes it faster.
#2: If you feel you are running low on health, but the gas meter is also low, stop even though it's not completely out. You may have a chance to acquire food and not acquire gas. Then when you move again, you may be forced to stop and give you a chance to acquire food again and get some gas. This will improve your survivability.
#3: Also during the 2D segments when you are forced to stop on the road, to avoid the flame cocktail biker, move left and jump. They will always spawn a few feet close to the first biker that spawns. So if you were to keep moving, it would be the second biker that spawns.
#4: While driving, when you see a helicopter, if you don't have an anti-air missile or it refuses to connect (it actually does that sometimes). Stop and let it barrage the road before moving on. It will minimize the damage you take.
#5: There are points where you could get stuck when you collide with things like a pole or a sign and there is no reverse mode. While it is possible to get unstuck, you will take damage while doing moving. So drive carefully when you see signs or poles come in.
#6: The nitro button is a combination of A, B, and C button. There is no known info on the internet about this and I discovered it while fiddling around with the controls to find it.
#7: The anti-air missile won't always connect even when pressing the Weapon button + Up direction, so keep tapping it to ensure it does.
#8: Some food is toxic and before you get the detector, you cannot tell. When you do, it will warn you. Also related, do not kill an enemy near the toxic food or they will likely drop a useful item near or even on top of the toxic food and you're forced to pick up both at the same time.
#9: Listen to Bat Out of Hell at least once while playing this game. Some other cool songs you can listen to include Set the World on Fire by Symphony X, Play to Kill by Primal Fear, and Painkiller by Judas Priest to name a few.
#10: During the final boss, make sure all the bikers are cleared out and keep as much of your ammo as possible. You are going to need plenty to ensure it doesn't mercilessly beat you like a schoolyard bully.
Happy driving!
This game took a damn while to actually beat. I actually started on the game as early as April 29th, but I was on and off with the game because the game itself takes approximately 3-4 hours to beat. Now this isn't a problem in its own right. I play video games that are this long all the time and in the context of the Sega Genesis, Beyond Oasis is one of my favorites so far, and I spent more hours trying to master Alien Soldier before realizing I could've had unlimited continues via Supereasy mode. My issue with the game is that it's rather repetitive.
The game is super fun for the first couple of minutes. You are driving in the desert roads of who knows where while shooting enemies and these segments are not 2D, but rather taking on a first person segment while driving in a 3D space. These segments are where the game is at its best. Just reveling in the sheer chaos that comes with shooting enemies from the front with a machine gun, shooting enemies from the side with your shotgun, and later on, shooting helicopters with homing missiles. It feels reminiscent of Mad Max.
However, there are a series of problems that come in when you get on the ground. The first thing you'll notice is that the spritework for the characters are... kinda dull compared to what the car segments would offer and the way the character moves makes me think he would be in a montage for the Angry Video Game Nerd's theme song. These segments work fine, but they are boring. You can punch your enemies, you can shoot them, but most important thing to do is to collect resources so you can proceed with your adventure. This includes health, fuel, ammo, armor, and nitro.
By picking up food, you regenerate health which is oddly connected to the oil which represents health... I don't get it.
Through fuel, you can last longer on the road without being forced to stop and when you do, you have to do those boring 2D segments except on the road and it's much harder with biker enemies, especially those bastards that throw flame cocktails at you.
You get ammo for all kinds of things like car guns, shotgun ammo, and anti-air missiles.
Armor reduces the damage you take.
Nitro lets you boost away.
You can also pick up a few additional things along the way like a detector that senses toxic foods so you know to not pick them up, a supercharger which boosts your overall speed, and a toy which is just cute, nothing much else.
But once you get far enough into the game, you find it being pretty much the same as it was in the first few minutes aside from maybe a few new techniques. It's fun gameplay, but you have to remember you're doing this for 3 hours at minimum, and on top of that, you have to do these 2D segments.
And maybe all of this wouldn't be so bad if there was other aspects that could've made up for it like the music or the visual effects. The environment is the exact same being a sandy desert. Maybe there was some limitation that prevented them from versifying their location, but it would've been cool if maybe the first 1/3rd of the game took place at day, the second 1/3rd of the game took place at sunset, and the last 1/3rd of the game took place at night.
The music is just the exact same that it was driving me nuts and it's not even that great. It's tolerable, but it played a hand in why I was planning on dropping the game. However, I had an obligation to fulfill, and if I'm to going to sit around repeatedly shooting bad guys for hours on end, then I'm just going to blast some Power Metal music to help me get through and somehow that made the experience more enjoyable.
This is a game that I would probably not recommend for very long, but if you have the guts and mental capacity to stick it out like I do, here are some tips fresh out of the oven.
#1: During the 2D segments, ducking is your best friend. You can avoid all projectiles this way and force the female rednecks to approach you, and I think ducking while punching makes it faster.
#2: If you feel you are running low on health, but the gas meter is also low, stop even though it's not completely out. You may have a chance to acquire food and not acquire gas. Then when you move again, you may be forced to stop and give you a chance to acquire food again and get some gas. This will improve your survivability.
#3: Also during the 2D segments when you are forced to stop on the road, to avoid the flame cocktail biker, move left and jump. They will always spawn a few feet close to the first biker that spawns. So if you were to keep moving, it would be the second biker that spawns.
#4: While driving, when you see a helicopter, if you don't have an anti-air missile or it refuses to connect (it actually does that sometimes). Stop and let it barrage the road before moving on. It will minimize the damage you take.
#5: There are points where you could get stuck when you collide with things like a pole or a sign and there is no reverse mode. While it is possible to get unstuck, you will take damage while doing moving. So drive carefully when you see signs or poles come in.
#6: The nitro button is a combination of A, B, and C button. There is no known info on the internet about this and I discovered it while fiddling around with the controls to find it.
#7: The anti-air missile won't always connect even when pressing the Weapon button + Up direction, so keep tapping it to ensure it does.
#8: Some food is toxic and before you get the detector, you cannot tell. When you do, it will warn you. Also related, do not kill an enemy near the toxic food or they will likely drop a useful item near or even on top of the toxic food and you're forced to pick up both at the same time.
#9: Listen to Bat Out of Hell at least once while playing this game. Some other cool songs you can listen to include Set the World on Fire by Symphony X, Play to Kill by Primal Fear, and Painkiller by Judas Priest to name a few.
#10: During the final boss, make sure all the bikers are cleared out and keep as much of your ammo as possible. You are going to need plenty to ensure it doesn't mercilessly beat you like a schoolyard bully.
Happy driving!
Outlanders plays like arcade game Chase HQ and Road Rash, originally being intended as a licensed Mad Max video game. This graphically impressive Genesis game has you driving around a highway drive-by shooting bikers in chaotic post-apocalyptic car chases. The game transitions to a side-scrolling beat 'em up whenever you feel like refueling or collecting other resources such as ammo, food, water as well as anti-air missiles used to take down troublesome helicopters. Framerate can suffer at times when driving but did not pose an issue in our playthroughs.