Back To Reviews
By Contributing Writer Jimmy Payne Rating: Average Blue Singer isn't a bad addition to the Dreamcast's line-up, but it is a big disappointment in terms of suspense, excitement, and fun. It's a survival horror game, so by definition, it's supposed to have lots of undead enemies, a story line shrouded in mystery, a decent amount of weapons, and some puzzles thrown in for good measure. Blue Stinger has all of these elements, but they're very poorly implemented. The game's monsters are probably more abundant than the United States' supply of coal. Everywhere you turn there's something that's big, hungry, and has two or more arms waiting for you. Some might say this makes the game "action-packed," but I prefer the Resident Evil formula of not a lot of monsters and even less ammo because it creates more suspense. While we're on the subject of killing sadly mutated construction workers (at least that’s what I think they are), you’re going to need some pretty cool weapons to kill them with, right? Luckily, there are enough weapons in this game to make the most experienced survival horror players at least somewhat interested. These weapons range from a bazooka to a blue thing that looks sort of like a light-saber. The weapons add a nice pinch of spice to an otherwise stale game. Ammo is a completely different story. The development team went more than a little overboard in giving the player too much ammo. There is so much ammo in the game that I didn't need to look at my ammo rations more than twice while playing. A typical gameplay experience for me in Blue Stinger goes something like this: 1. Jimmy sees monster 2. Jimmy raises bazooka and fires 3. Jimmy misses and pisses monster off 4. Jimmy fires three more times and misses again 5. Jimmy finally hits monster and still has plenty more rounds to fire at neon signs for fun Besides the mindless shooting, there are hardly any puzzles to solve. I can see how the developers wouldn't want the game to have too many puzzles, but the lack thereof in Blue Stinger is pathetic. Even more pathetic is that the puzzles that are here take about five seconds to figure out, so they may as well have been left out of the game completely. The camera isn't a problem in large, open areas, but all hell breaks loose when you find yourself in a tight area with an enemy. I lost count of how many times I fired a bazooka into a wall and killed myself because I couldn't see my character and I thought I was aiming at the monster right in front of me. The character designs in Blue Stinger are definitely worth mentioning simply because they are so terrible. It's mind-boggling how the background graphics can be so amazingly well done and the characters still turn out to be so blocky. Besides the rendering of the characters, their designs are downright silly. One of the characters goes by the name Dogs and looks like a guy you'd see in a commercial for Jiffy Lube or Grease Monkey (a picture of Dogs has been posted below). The main character isn't the least bit appealing either. The characters are one of the biggest reasons I wasn't drawn into the game. When you combine Blue Stinger's lack of puzzles with its over-abundance of enemies and ammo, as well as its horrible camera and its putrid character designs, you've got yourself a pretty bad game. If you're looking for a survival horror game for the Dreamcast, wait for Resident Evil: Code Veronica. Send your thoughts on this review to jimmy@mastergamer.com
© 2001 ivan@mastergamer.com