Outtrigger was originally an arcade title, which could be linked up to other arcade Outtrigger cabinets to allow multiplayer play. AM2 took the most important aspects of a FPS title, stripped away the rest, and left gamers with a high-energy deathmatch extravaganza, which was most definitely worth 50 cents a pop. The Dreamcast version is nearly identical to the arcade original in every way. There is the addition of a single player mode or two, but they are extremely short-lived, and only really used as "training" for online or offline multiplay (and for unlocking new characters/stages/weapons).

Most PC gamers cringe at the thought of playing a FPS without the now standard keyboard/mouse combo. Outtrigger features support for every Dreamcast peripheral imaginable, including the keyboard/mouse. Playing the game with a controller, despite the many setup and customization options, just doesn't compare. The keyboard/mouse players will always have the advantage, unfortunately. Assuming you do have access to a keyboard and mouse, gameplay is as tight as can be.

Online play, which is the focus of Outtrigger, is some of the best yet found on a console. The sign-up/login procedure is extremely simple and intuitive, and the lobby layout, chat and overall GUI are excellent. The game supports both the broadband adapter and of course the stock 56k modem right out of the box. With a modem, gamers occasionally face some issues of lag and dropped connections, but nothing that would really ruin the experience. With the BBA however, all you get is a perfectly seamless lag-free environment.

Getting started is quite simple, join a lobby, join or create a room, choose a character and a control type, and you are good to go. If you created the room then you can set the match options yourself, such as teamplay, handicaps, stages, and point/time limits. The game starts up in about 5 seconds or so, and the action begins.

Even though they all have different speed, jump and defense ratings, all the characters are pretty closely matched. When playing online, you can choose any of the characters and weapons that you have unlocked in the single player modes. Some of the enhanced weapons, such as the flamethrower and guided missiles are pretty heavily favored over the stock weapons, so if you don't have access to them, you may find yourself getting fragged very often. These weapons are also usually scattered about on the stages, but you can't always rely on finding them.

Graphically, Outtriggers is very nice, but nowhere near as crisp and well textured as the arcade original. The textures are noticeably of a lower resolution, especially up-close, and even a bit washed out looking at times. If you have never seen the NAOMI arcade version, than it is most likely something that will go unnoticed. The game does maintain its 60fps framerate constantly, which is a definite plus and honestly more important than the disparity in texture quality. The soundtrack is nice and moody, and the effects and voice samples are both high quality and plentiful.

The problem with the game itself is that after you have Deathmatched for hours on end in the same somewhat small sized, but well designed stages, there is not much more to do. You can Deathmatch some more, or break up into teams and play some Team Deathmatch, but that's really it. Some Capture the Flag, or mission based multiplayer modes would have been a worthwhile addition. AM2 didn’t really add much beyond what was found in the arcade game, and that is Outtrigger’s only real shortcoming.