Codename: Outbreak (also known as Venom. Codename: Outbreak in it's native Ukraine and Russia) is a military-themed sci-fi Tactical/First-Person Shooter developed by GSC Game World, the same guys behind S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and the company's first modern military shooter.
16 April, 2012 - a meteor landed in Montana, the United States, leaving behind a crater that was immediately investigated by the military, police, scientific community and relevant authorities.
They were never seen or heard from again.
Months later, a covert elite task force was sent to infiltrate the crash site, only to be suddenly ambushed by the missing military personnel. Which they kill in self-defense, before uncovering some spider-like creatures attached to the napes of their attackers. And there were more of those things, including arachnid-like monstrosities larger than humans, emerging from the meteor crater in large quantities, before it's gradually revealed earth is under attack from a parasitic alien organism infecting humans and animals alike, having done so to most of the surrounding population and are expanding their numbers across the country.
As a game that allows for single-player and Co-Op Multiplayer alike, you are in command of two soldiers at the same time. In singleplayer mode, you direct both soldiers into exploring the game's environment with an AI controlling your partner and you're free to alternate between each of them - though getting one killed will penalize you.
Are you prepared for an Outbreak?
- Advertised Extra: In a few international versions of the cover art, you might be led to believe the guy in military gear
up there is one of the player characters. He's not - the guy is Captain Wilson, an unfortunate Special Ops commander who died in the opening FMV. Another cover variant shows Wilson with his fallen comrade, Steve, but neither of them plays an important role (both of them failed to outlive the opening scene). - Anti-Air: "Wings of Death" and "A Hearty Welcome" involves you infiltrating an airfield crewed by alien-possessed soldiers to recapture the SAM defense system, turning them back against the aliens' impending air support.
- Body Armor as Hit Points: You obtain body armor to offset taken damage, and there's a different armor type for each stage. Including an armor called "Seraphim" that might as well be an extra life.
- Came from the Sky: In the backstory, meteorites carrying colonies of alien spiders crashes in Montana, and as the relevant authorities investigates the resulting craters everyone else within it's vicinity were promptly assimilated alive.
- Cave Behind the Falls: The final level is set in an uninhabited tropical island where the alien Hive Queen known as the Mother Organism is hiding underneath some caverns, whose entrance is cloaked by a waterfall.
- Chicken Walker: The stage in the Saudi desert base, where you try to infiltrate a high-tech laboratory captured by the aliens. As it turns out, the aliens managed to reverse-engineer human tech into creating bipedal mechs on chicken-legs taller than humans patrolling the desert.
- Giant Spider: Among the assorted alien spiders, the largest ones ranges from human-sized to bigger than vehicles. Tellingly, instead of latching on a human and controlling them like their smaller counterparts, they instead prefer trying to pounce on humans and devour them on sight.
- The Hive: The invading alien race takes the form of a spider swarm, with their smallest members opting to capture humans to be used as meat-puppets while the larger one assumes a commanding position. In the final mission, it's revealed they have a Hive Queen called a "Mother Organism" hidden in an uninhabited island which serves as a command center for all the lesser aliens - the climax involves you infiltrating said island and eliminating their queen with a nuke.
- It Can Think: The alien parasites looks and behaves like real-world spiders, but they're much smarter than they appeared. Besides possessed marines retaining the ability to use firearms, in a few stages you realize the spiders have captured tanks as part of their arsenal and is using them against the humans, and one stage involves trying to stop alien-possessed scientists from launching nukes into human cities.
- Meat Moss: Most of the game is set on the surface, consisting of deserts, valleys, swamps, military installations, jungles and the like... except for the final level, "A Good Old Mother Gift". In which you uncover the hidden "Mother Organism", underneath a series of caves whose walls are coated in red, sticky, meat-like resin, where alien spiders will occasionally spawn from the walls to ambush you.
- One Bad Mother: "Mother Organism", the alien Hive Queen spearheading the invasion by controlling her brood from an unknown location. Eliminating her causes the lesser alien spiders to gradually die out, ending the invasion for good.
- Puppeteer Parasite: The smaller alien creatures control unfortunate victims by latching themselves on exposed skin, with their stinger extending into a victim's nerve controlling them like puppets. In an early stage after you kill off some possessed marines, you roll over one of the corpses and noticed the dying spider-thing attached to the dead guy's nape...
- Reflective Eyes: The opening FMV depicts two Special Forces guys investigating the crater where the meteor landed, only to be ambushed by possessed military personnel right before they're assimilated by alien critters - the last survivor who got an eyeful of how the monsters looked like, reflected into his cornea right before the screen turns black and cuts to the title.
- Sniper Rifle: The game calls it "Sniper Gun" but it otherwise behaves like your typical FPS Sniper Rifles, turning the screen into a giant scope for you to snipe away at mooks from a distance. More than one stage begins with a Sniping Mission to prevent you from being ambushed."I wouldn't rush headlong into the base. Try sniping the enemy soldiers from the cliffs."
- Stealth-Based Mission: More than one mission requires you to sneak into military installations and outposts captured by aliens, that the game reminds you to operate with stealth and avoid tripping the alarms.Don't raise the alarm ahead of time. The Base is well guarded...
- Vulnerable Civilians: A few stages have you uncovering surviving doctors, technicians, scientists and other non-combatants who escaped alien assimilation, and you're frequently tasked with escorting them to the end of the stage (since survivors could provide necessary intel). Getting them killed will lead to a Failed Mission.
- Zero-Effort Boss: After making your way into the Mother Organism's lair where the Hive Queen is waiting... turns out Mother Organism is a giant, immobile alien slug confined into a pit. With zero means of self-defense, save for the alien spiders stationed outside the lair you killed on your way in. Instead you just toss in a nuke and flee in three minutes, and the game ends.