Blue Stinger

The Good
Blue Stinger was one of the earliest releases for the Dreamcast. Some stores were even stocking the game before the console. Often launch titles are crude, often riddled with problems or are just low quality as the developers have not had enough time to adapt to the new hardware. Blue Stinger, along with almost every other Dreamcast launch title bucked this trend and delivered a graphically stunning, slick survival action game.

You play Eliot Ballard, an AESIR search and rescue member who is stranded at a strange facility after his helicopter goes down. He suddenly meets Dogs Bower, a local fisherman and the two venture into the facility to unravel the mystery contained therein. The story is serviceable but never really transcends that becoming unique. The exception to this is some interesting plot twists pertaining to the origins of some of the characters that are quite obvious but interesting nonetheless. In addition to that the protagonist undergoes a sort of...transformation at some point in the game that totally turns the gameplay on its head.

I'm glad the camera system in Blue Stinger was changed. In the original Japanese release the camera system was pure Survival Horror borrowing more from a game like Dino Crisis and less from Resident Evil. Luckily the camera was changed for the Western release focusing on a more over the shoulder 3D camera. This allows you to see the greatly detailed environments Eliot and Dogs wander through. Speaking in context of 1999 when this game was released Blue Stinger features some fantastic graphics. Outside areas suffer from low resolution textures however inside, especially the market area the facility has been meticulously detailed. Textures are vivid and realistic when they are not being stretched and character and monster designs have quite adequate form and detail to them.

Speaking of Eliot and Dogs the two characters work in tandem as they progress through the facility. By going into the menu and selecting a character change you can select either character and unlike other games with multiple characters there are definitive positives and negatives to both. For instance, Eliot can swim while Dogs cannot however Dogs has access to a guard move and more powerful weaponry. This was a very interesting gameplay mechanic and balancing both Eliot and Dogs is a joy. Combat feels quite unique. For instance unlike a typical Survival Horror game pressing the right trigger fires your currently equipped fire arm or attacks with a melee weapon. Dogs also has melee attacks which is interesting (while also being tactically useless.) Additional weapons and ammunition can be bought from certain vending machines scattered around the facility or can be found. The vending machines are a great concept. Using coinage dropped by fallen enemies (which comically shoots out of their bodies when they die) you can buy items, weapons and ammunition. This is a good way of pacing the game and not everything is available to you on a first play through. It teases you by being there, encouraging you to play further. Environments are large and detailed, as mentioned previously however they are broken up by the occasional swimming portion and that aforementioned transformation which turns a fairly run of the mill portion of the game into something genuinely unique.

The Bad
The story is methodical. There is a mystery you have to solve, there are mysterious characters you must find the origins of, you have to overcome the infection, find a way off the island and everyone is happy. It's happened before. It's the plot of almost every single other Survival Horror game. The acting is serviceable although at times the actors lack emotion, sounding bland and static. There was an occasion where Dogs began to spout random obscenities which was puzzling and unintentionally hilarious.

While the geometry of environments and overall texturing is above average the character models suffer from joints that don't match up, bad lip synching and lack of detail on items and weapon models. Surprisingly food looks better than the weapons when examined.

There is no quick turn in Blue Stinger and healing items must be consumed in real time. While I have no real compunctions with the engine and the game play the fact that you can be killed WHILE HEALING is a ridiculous oversight. Enemies also respawn, meaning you can keep going from room to room smacking low level enemies with a high end melee weapon, racking up tons of coinage and theoretically ending up with an unlimited supply of Hassy and Rockets.

The general sound design in Blue Stinger is typically very good. Although the music is an often absurd mix of overally enthusiastic action tunes or strange little melodies that play out in the background. A lot of the sound design doesn't even seem like it has any thought put into it at all. While I like the theme song in the market it is clearly supposed to be coming through the P.A system. Instead of running the sound through a filter to make it sound like a P.A system it is simply background music that replaces the previous track.

The Bottom Line
Blue Stinger does a lot of things right. It shows off the Dreamcast early on by displaying the vivid, life like textures, well modeled characters and detailed environments. The game play features some inspired elements like the multiple characters with noticeable strengths and weaknesses, the vending machines and the expansive environments.

Then are the silly oversights that really stop it from becoming anything more than mediocre. Character models look good but suffer from bad joints, bad lip synching and a general lack of emotion. Items don't have nearly enough detail and exterior locations are bland and feature blurry, stretched textures. The multiple characters could have been elaborated further with character specific puzzles. Items have to be consumed in real time, which while tactical is stupid when in combat with an overpowered boss. Music is uninspired and often ill fitting with little thought put into the sound design.

Don't overlook Blue Stinger. It is an under-appreciated gem on the Dreamcast that offers a real challenge and a genuinely interesting game play design to keep you immersed for a few hours. It's full of fresh ideas and while it is quite flawed it does not feature anything that could potentially break the game for you.