Not that the fighting is much better. Most of the time you will attack using a firearm, but ammunition is limited so there are plenty of times when you’ll need to resort to your fists. In either case the control is clunky and a bit on the unresponsive side, so lining up targets is harder than it should be. Ironically this is actually the most exciting aspect of the fighting, as it is a simple matter of hitting your target a couple of times until it falls down and then hitting it each time it tries to get up. There’s no visual feedback as to the amount of damage you are doing or to how long you need to keep doing it. The animations are basically the same no matter how you attack or where you strike so there’s no real excitement or tension to the battles - and when faced with multiple foes this tedium can quickly turn to frustration. The problem is that when you are hit there is a small amount of time when the game is playing the animation of you taking the when you can not control anything. You can’t counter the attack, run away, or even ready your next attack. This is bad enough when facing one enemy, but when you are facing more you can be stuck helplessly watching yourself take one hit after another without having any power to stop the attacks or to strike back. Also adding to the frustration is the fact that the camera is locked in place for every scene and location in the game. Because of this it is possible to find yourself suddenly facing the wrong direction or fighting an off-camera foe when in tight quarters or when you are on the border between two scenes.

Here comes another slow-moving zombie.

The awkwardness of the controls also extends to the character animations, which are stiff and clumsy. This includes the game’s cutscenes, where the character’s motions and expressions appear stilted and unnatural. On the other hand the models themselves are good likenesses for the actors and actresses that they are based on, and X-Files fans will be happy to see that old familiar faces are indeed familiar. On the audio side of the equation the game’s voicework is excellent. The original cast members provide the voices for the game’s characters and they put as much effort into the task as they did for the TV series.

The camera and control issues will be enough to deter casual gamers from Resist or Serve. Survival horror fans should give the game a shot as they will enjoy its excellent storyline and find the game to be about average for the genre in the area of frustration. If you loved the TV series, then you should play the game more for the bonus of a new episode of the series that could have easily aired during the show’s heyday than for the gameplay. Resist or Serve is a treat for X-Files fans and will help them to remember that the truth is indeed still out there.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 69%.  X-Files fans will love the storyline, but gamers will be disappointed by the game’s control and graphics troubles.

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