The very first game I purchased for the Sega Dreamcast was Blue Stinger.  In fact the game was released a couple weeks before the Sega Dreamcast Console was even available in North America.  I was so excited for the Sega Dreamcast to be released that I purchased and pre-ordered games as they became available to do so.

After seeing a few screenshots and some articles on the Japanese version of Blue Stinger, I was really anxious to play the game.  When the console finally hit stores 9, September 1999 critics were already tearing the game apart.  What they failed to realize is that the game, while being flawed, was still a lot of fun and groundbreaking at the same time.

First off the "shinning" point of the game is the visuals.  The game has an immense amount of crispness to it and the colors are bright.  The lighting effects are executed nicely, and while they don't push the limits of the hardware, the degree of shading and shadows cast by the characters are accurate.  The character designs were fairly realistic looking but edged more towards the anime/cartoon side.  The environments in the game range from the well lit streets to the dark hallways of a security complex.  The neon lights of the abandoned stores and businesses you visit are colorful and vibrant.  The advertisements in the grocery stores and on the buildings as you walk down the street are especially fun.

While the first couple Resident Evil games felt like Ridley Scott's film Alien, this game feels more like that film's blockbuster sequel Aliens.  The game was marketed as a "survival horror" game, but in all reality there were not too many "make you jump out of your seat" moments.  For the most part the average enemy you encounter isn't that hard to defeat.  Most the enemies you encounter are mutated, disfigured humans that drop money when you kill them.  Many of the bosses though are tougher (and quite a bit bigger) and require heavier firepower.

The main story follows Eliot Ballade, a member of E.S.E.R. (a search and rescue group) and his friend Dogs Bowser.  While vacationing on a boat near a place called, Dinosaur Island, a strange item falls from the sky and lands in the ocean creating a force field around the island.  Since they are trapped in the force field, they decide to investigate the island which appears to be abandoned, except for the occasional mutated people with extra limbs shuffling around the place.  Parts of the story seem to borrow some plot elements from Jurassic Park.  A biotech company builds a research laboratory on the island and things "go wrong", etc. etc...

Blue Stinger featured your typical 3rd Person action/adventure gameplay with a few exceptions.  Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2 featured pre-rendered backgrounds that were static.  The "camera" angle was fixed.  Blue Stinger featured a camera that followed behind the character and would spin around when your character turned or moved around a corner.  For a beginner it may be a little frustrating, but for me I gained "control" over the camera system within minutes of playing.  You do have a little more control with the camera than most critics would like you to believe.  Like I mentioned before enemies dropped (or should I say "sprayed") money when you disposed of them.  Money is used to buy sports drinks and food that replenish life and to purchase other items. You can even buy t-shirts and other clothing items as well as weapons and ammunition.  Instead of shops, you purchase items (including weapons) from vending machines around the island you are trapped on.

The soundtrack in my opinion was great sounding except it didn't fit with the "survival horror" aspect of the game.  The soundtrack was very "epic" sounding and would be suited for a faster paced adventure game.  But with that being said, it wasn't horrible.  I would have expected to hear a darker, more suspenseful soundtrack that what was provided.  The game features voice-overs during cinemas, cut scenes and key sequences.  The voice acting is actually not that bad. Yes, some of the dialog is a bit corny, but for the most part it's bearable.  Your friend Dogs does drop a couple profanities in the game, but he only does it a couple times.  The biggest problem with the voice-overs is the syncing with the animation.  It doesn't match up most the time which takes away from the "scary theme" of the game and adds to its overall quirkiness along with the high-tech weaponry being sold in vending machines and monsters that spill money all over the place when you kill them.

Overall this game is a lot of fun and there is a small amount of replay value to it, especially if you want to try and find all the items, weapons, and secrets in the game.  Blue Stinger was a nice attention grabber until Resident Evil-Code: Veronica was released the following year.  If you want to play something different and a little "off-the-wall", you might want to give this game a try.  For its quirkiness and nostalgia value, I give this game 5 Stars.  Originally I may have dropped the score down to 4 Stars or less.  I would personally like to see a sequel made, but I doubt that would ever happen...at least not in the United States.
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[TITLE]:
Blue Stinger

[PLATFORM]:
Sega Dreamcast

[DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER]:
Climax Graphics/Activison

[YEAR of RELEASE]:
1999

[GENRE]:
Action/Adventure/Survival Horror

[ESRB RATING]:
M for Mature (17+)
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© Copyright 2009 Chris_Billings

*Not that anybody really cares...but...I still have the Free T-Shirt that came with the game when I bought it from Electronics Boutique in its original package.

Recommended: Yes