Disaster Report

"A Unique Experience You Won't Forget"

Introduction
Disaster Report takes place on fictional Stiver Island which has been torn apart by a series of earthquakes. Along the way you'll help stranded people and uncover the truth behind the islands demise.

Story: 9/10
You are Keith Helm, a newspaper reporter. He was on his way to his new job on Stiver Island when a huge earthquake hit, derailing the train he was on. Keith wakes up a day later and makes his way to the island, looking for safety. On his trip to the Island he comes across another survivor named Karen who was supposed to leave the Island the other day. Together, you and Karen must find a way to survive until rescue. There is more to the story than it seems, though. There are also a few different endings you can get.

Graphics: 8/10
The graphics are good for the year this game came out. I mean, the city is greatly detailed and beautiful. The character models are decent, they could have put a little more effort into them though. Other than that everything is good.

Sound: 6/10
The sounds used in the game are good, but get repetitive rather quick. Like, instead of having a few sounds for water, they have one that is used over and over. And there is a lot of water in the game so it tends to get kind of annoying. Apart from the repeated sound effects, the sound is good. The voice acting is done really well and sounds realistic.

Gameplay: 9/10
The gameplay for this game is almost perfect. There are a few things, however, that could've been better.

Controls
The controls in this game are good and bad. They are good because they are simple and easy to learn. The bad thing is basically camera control: there really isn't any. If you need to change the camera angle you need to go into first person mode and aim, then exit first person mode. Other than that, not much to explain.

Difficulty
On word can describe the difficulty of this game: none. Basically all you do is navigate through the map with a few objectives here and there. The objectives aren't much, just go here and do that, real basic stuff. You also have a thirst meter which you'll have to replenish every so often so your health doesn't deplete. Other than those two things, there isn't much difficulty to the game.

Extras
After you finish the game with the best ending, you unlock a photo album which you get just by being in certain areas. The only way to complete it is to play through the game a few times. There are also multiple paths you can take.

Play Time/Replayability: 5/10
You'll definitely spend a good amount of time playing through the game for the true ending. There are also different paths along the way with different events. The only problem is that you won't want to play it again after it's done. Even though the photo album requires a few play throughs, it's not really worth it.

Rent or Buy?
Buy, that is the only way to play it. This game is really rare and I've been to a bunch of places that rent out games and none of them have it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/27/07

Game Release: Disaster Report (US, 02/15/03)