Blue Stinger

"An Over-dramatic Masterpiece."

Introduction
When I first saw Blue Stinger in a review I knew that we were in for a real treat. But then I found out that it was being compared to the Resident Evil series, Blue Stinger had already fallen off its pedestal before it had even gotten a chance to shine.

Story 7/10
Blue Stinger is set on a small Island called Dinosaur Island, a place where a meteorite had supposedly landed and wiped out all the dinosaurs. Scientists secretly take the island to study its mysteries. Some time in the future the lead protagonist Elliot Ballade, a member of a special force branch called ESER is on vacation nearby. It's only when Elliot is washed upon Dinosaur Island after a freak explosion that he takes it upon himself to figure out the mystery behind the island. It's a typical B style movie storyline that's easy to understand and enjoy. With a quirky cast of characters that back its movement, Blue Stinger provides an interesting plot that rarely gets boring.

Gameplay 8/10
This area was compared with the RE series but to be frank, Blue Stinger is nothing like Resident Evil whatsoever. BS is more action orientated, its control system was and still is more fluid, the camera angles were behind the character unlike in RE. BS although classed as Survival Horror is nothing like anything else that genre offers. BS is a well made action game with few flaws. The character movement is a little disjointed at times when swimming, walking or even in the shooting sections, but it's not a frequent problem. The main problem with BS though lies with the camera angles. They can seriously affect the overall experience of the gameplay due to their persistence with watching the floor in tightly spaced rooms when they really should be looking straight ahead. Although the camera angles can be frustrating, every other area of the game is done so well that I got passed that problem pretty fast.

Blue Stinger also incorporates some clever puzzles with some rather tricky clues. Though some of the hints are smart, some of them require you to have knowledge of a civil war and as such isn't really fair to any type of gamer. I honestly didn't know the answer to that one. As a whole though the puzzle sections are a nice breather from the well made action sections.

Blue Singer also offers you two styles of gameplay. You can play as either Elliot Ballade, an Eser member who is fast, agile, can swim, but lacks strength and takes more damage. Elliot will only be allowed to hold the lighter weapons in the game, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Then you have Dogs, a sea captain who can hold the heaviest and the most powerful weapons. Dogs is slow and can't swim, but he can take more damage than Elliot. Both dogs and Elliot have their advantages and you can switch between them at will.

Audio 9/10
The score to Blue Stinger can be said in three words, Over The Top. Its score is very dramatic and suits its locations very well. BS was always supposed to have a cinematic approach to it and this score certainly shows what its creators were trying to produce. Its stunning soundtrack is accompanied by above average voice actors, creatures/monsters moans and groans as well as weapon noises, water effects, etc... that are all over the top as well. The audio area of the game is very well done.

Visual 9/10 (at the time) 7/10 (now)
Now when the Dreamcast came out these visuals would have impressed probably every reviewer and so I'm going to talk about them as if it was back them. At the time BS had stunning visuals that allowed the creators to show the gaming world just a taster of what a 128 bit console could produce. For an early console title BS looked and felt as great as a lot of later titles. It looked like a movie and felt cinematic. Explosions were vast, vivid, energetic and awe inspiring. Monsters were highly detailed, gruesome and very sci fi/ b movie like and were nicely designed. They even managed to make Elliot's rolls, dives and jumps look cinematic. The locations were also highly detailed and each area was completely different from the last giving each area a distinct feel to it. Everything in BS felt right except for the lip synchronization.

Replay Value 9/10
Well BS had tons of replay value. Every time you beat the game you are rewarded with extra items, guns, money, health drinks and other unusual gimmicks that you are given the next time you play. But that alone should not provide the incentive for another play through. It's the sheer amount of fun, action and drama available that should pull you back in.

Conclusion
BS failed because people compared it to a legendary series. But as a stand alone title, at the time there was nothing quite like it. BS was original, unique and breathed new air into the gaming industry. It was a game that was so screaming so loud that I'm surprised it barely produced a whimper of impact on the gaming public. BS is an underrated little hidden gem that I recommend everyone pick-up.

Pros and Cons

+ Superb Action Adventure with a Survival Horror/ B-Movie Setting
+ Brilliant Dramatical Score. The Hello Market Christmas theme is unforgettable.
+ Blue Stinger is still as good now as it was way back in 1999 when it first arrived.
+ Nice lengthy Adventure.

- Camera Angles are dodgy
- Lip Synchronization is poorly done.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/13/08, Updated 04/22/09

Game Release: Blue Stinger (EU, 09/23/99)