Blue Stinger

"Jill and Chris! Claire and Leon! Um, Eliot and Dogs?"

Blue Stinger was the third game I'd ever bought for the good, old, Dreamcast. I remember seeing screen shots for it in an dated copy of Tips and Tricks before the DC even came out, and had been interested ever since. Besides, I was just starting my love-affair with the Resident Evil series as well as Silent Hill. Blue Stinger looked like it was similar to both.

And it was.....but it wasn't.

Let's start with the eye-candy. BS (all too appropriate) had some very nice graphics for a first generation DC title. The environments on Dinosaur Island were cold and industrial, player-characters and enemies alike moved fluidly, and there was a satisfying splatter of blood from your foes when you shot them with a .45 or smacked them with baseball bat. Personally, I enjoyed the bat; I think Capcom should include a Louisville Slugger in your arsenal for their next RE title. But I digress. Anyway, the graphics don't leave too much to be desired is my point.

And now, unfortunately, things are going to go downhill. While there isn't much to nitpick about the general in-game sounds, the voice acting is atrocious and the dialogue is right up there with House of the Dead 2. I think I made more sarcastic comments whilst playing through this title than I've ever done before or since. In line with that, the music is quite possibly the worst I've ever heard. It alternates between trying to sound overly-dramatic and light hearted and funny, neither of which particularly adds to the game's atmosphere. The Happy Market theme (or whatever the hell it's called) is the worst tune I've ever had to put up with in a game, bar none.

Story wise, I couldn't stand the main characters. Eliot is, as Dogs points out when they first meet, quite the wimp. And how possibly likable is a guy named "Dogs"? Besides these endearing qualities, our protagonists continually show a severe level of stupidity throughout the game. It's great when you shut the freezer down and accidentally turn the heat way too far up. "No! Now it's too hot!" exclaims Dogs. To which my response was " Yeah, we're just a couple of geniuses, we are."

Also I got through the entire game without ever figuring out what on earth was going on. Not that the game didn't try to explain things. It just did so in a random and completely confusing manner. When you slug your way through a game that can take upwards of three hours to beat and you're left scratching your head at the conclusion, this is not good. On a final note, I believe I've mentioned how I hate it when games (and indeed movies, books, and other forms of media) end with the promise of a sequel and then never deliver one. Such is the case here. Grrrrr.....

Gameplay-wise, BS does act like a Resident Evil clone with a few new gimmicks, such as buying different weapons out of vending machines (?!) and money (am I the only one who thought that the fact that Eliot starts out with his ATM card but DOESN'T KNOW THE PIN was a really dumb and irritating idea?). However, it's also much more linear than the RE games, taking some of the exploration-fun out of the mix.

At any rate, the bottom line is that Blue Stinger is pretty to look at, but not very interesting to play. Everything that can be done within the game has been done better and with more panache elsewhere. Pass this one up if you want to; you'll be missing nothing.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 06/29/06