Blue Stinger

"A pretty good game held back by control problems!"

This was a very early game from the ill fated Sega Dreamcast. It is in the vain of survival horror with a twist, your on dinosaur island at X-mas time. I would have to say that I am a Die hard fan of survival horror games, and by even today's standards there is a lot of fun to be had. However there is also a lot of frustration as well.

Gameplay/Control 4/10
This is the area where most of blue stinger problems lie. First the camera is mostly positioned at horrible angels. For example during a boss encounter you may barely be able to see what your actually hitting. fortunately you can manipulate the camera but the angels are not very good. The other portion of the problem is the overall control from walking to the down right dreadful auto aiming, this is where the game gets highly frustrating. for example all I will say is I was at the last boss standing directly in front of him. Just to watch my rockets wiz right past him. it takes the players out of the game since you really don't control what you are hitting. Anyway if you can deal with the aiming problems the game is fun.

Graphics 7/10
WOW for 1999 they look as good as almost a ps2. The boss/creature models look very good as well as the variety of environments you will interact in. I also like the use of color very different from your average survival horror game. More bright's as opposed to the darks very interesting and well done. with minor clipping/jaggies.

Sound/Music 8/10
I think the music really shines there isn't to much but what's their is catchy and well done, I really like the x-mas theme music. The sound effects overall are serviceable and fit the game, of course expect cheesy dialog and voice acting but it fits pretty good. I love cheesy acting in survival horror games it makes me laugh.

Plot/Story 8/10
I really don't want to give anything away but the plot does stray from the usual survival horror games and is really put together. I felt the story kept me playing because I always wanted to see what was up next and nice open ending.

Difficulty I would say overall easy/medium, although it does contain some difficult parts.

Aprox length I believe my overall time through was just under 11 hours. There are some extras but require way too much to unlock them and unfortunately nothing that effects the overall story but it is a fun adventure i've beaten it a few times now.

Overallfun 8/10
I have to admit even though I was frustrated at least a hand full of times, because of the control, it still is a very fun game. I really enjoyed the level design that offer a bunch of variety. I recommend this game especially since you can get it so cheaply now a days. So if your a survival Horror junkie like me you may want to give Blue Stinger a chance, but it is for the patient. Now Where's the remake and the sequel ? Hopefully with better reworked aiming controls.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/15/04