Disaster Report

"Decent enough take on the regular survival horror template"

To call Disaster report a survival horror game would be a misleading half-truth. There are no aliens, ghosts, zombies or dinosaurs to battle; and you can’t even use any weapons, meaning that it doesn’t follow suit precisely! But the familiar interface and puzzle filled gameplay will seem commonplace to anyone who’s a fan of the genre, and you’ve even got a conventional plot involving a conspiracy from a shady organization that easily allows this title to fall into the aforementioned category.

Early one morning, Keith Helm is on his way to Capital City to start his new job as editor of the ‘Town Crier’ newspaper. This is his first visit to the artificial metropolis, which was constructed four years earlier by a team of the Government’s leading engineers. Almost as soon as he arrives, a devastating earthquake rocks the island, causing complete chaos and turning the town into a perilous danger zone. Keith awakes from unconsciousness only to realize that he is stranded and must try to escape to safety. Soon after, he meets Karen Morris and the couple pair up to help each other to evacuate the ruined city.

I picked up Disaster Report for the budget price of £9.99 for a brand new copy, which was indeed a good bargain. The game comprises an interesting blend of puzzles and strategic adventuring elements like climbing or jumping from one point to another and it even manages to throw in a few stealthy enemy-dodging scenes towards the end. Death will mainly come in the form of debris that descends from the wrecked landscape or if you fall from dangerous places when tremors occur due to the aftershocks of the earthquake. As you traverse along slim pipelines or rails, things can feel dramatically tense, because you’ll never know if there will be a sudden tremor or a forceful gust of wind that will send you crashing to certain demise.

One of the key features is to keep Keith stocked up on water as he tackles the various obstacles on his path to safety. A status bar in the top left-hand corner gradually depletes as you progress and if it reaches zero, then you’ll begin to loose health. It sounds like it should be as infuriating as trying to have a long-winded conversation with the ‘st…st…stuttering’ Gareth Gates, but it helps to increase the tension and really doesn’t feel out of place. There’s plenty of drinking taps located throughout the levels that you use to replenish yourself and they are also the points in which you’ll save your progress. Where as a lot of titles often fail for not having enough save points, DISASTER REPORT is in serious danger of having far too many, if that’s an offence! I remember at one time during the game, I recorded my progress at the bottom of the stairs, only to be greeted by another point when I reached the top! Fortunately, when it is game over, there’s a helpful continue option that’ll place you back almost exactly where you were before you died, which is handy in preventing lots of unnecessary traipsing through areas that you’ve already completed. You’ll meet a fair few characters throughout the escapade, and at points there will be up to four others on screen at the same time that’ll follow your lead. You’ll be able to make important choices at various points, which will drastically alter the storyline making replayabillity seem much more beneficial.

Working through the mission is a satisfying experience, although it can seem somewhat leisurely paced in places. But, just when you’re beginning to feel that things should be livened up, the action sequences save it from becoming boring or tedious. The tasks that you’ll be given mainly involve using objects to get from one location to another and you’ll never really get stuck in one place for too long. Along with the necessary items that you’ll find scattered about, Keith can pick up things like ‘cool glasses’ (!), a bandanna and even a cowboy hat, that do nothing except make him look like a pillock and add an amusing element to the gameplay. By the time I’d got to the end, I had him dressed in a pair of shin pads; a chest guard, shades and a helmet and he did indeed look silly!
The lack of any combat doesn’t feel like a problem at any time and you’ll be amazed at how it never fails to keep your attentions running high right up until the end.

One of the most pleasing aspects is the fact that it’s quite a relaxing gaming experience, a million miles away from the adrenalin filled button bashing of all out action titles. Just like a pleasurable Sunday afternoon movie, you’ll breeze through it attentively right up to the mission’s completion.

If you are enticed by the relatively slow pacing and don’t mind the lack of any real action, then the minor – mainly graphical faults really don’t seem all that bad. Although the flat and uninspired visuals do indeed lack the quality of other titles, they do the necessary job and if you’re a fan of the survival horror genre then by now, you should be well acquainted with bad voice acting. The game’s only unforgivable flaw is the horrendous amount of slow down that is most evident when there are a few too many obstacles on screen at one time. The camera angles can also prove to be annoying in parts, especially during the stealth sections right towards the end. Mind you, only a handful of developers can pull off successful game mechanics when it comes to stealth. It is one of the few styles that are either conveyed brilliantly or hilariously badly. Sadly, there is no middle ground.
The plot feels somewhat underused and more time should’ve been spent uncovering the story elements. It takes a long while for the tale to begin and once it finally does, the game feels like it’s over far too quickly leaving a few unanswered questions that should have been resolved. Why was Frank murdered in the beginning? Who was the freaky girl that chased Karen? Why wasn’t Karen wearing any underwere (don’t ask)? Unfortunately, the storyline takes a backseat when really it should have been riding shotgun upfront.

Disaster Report really shouldn’t have been this much fun. On paper, the thought of just climbing obstacles and solving puzzles sounds tedious, but actually it just about works! It’s a wholly original concept that stands out just for being exactly that. If you want a relaxing adventure that satisfies in giving you characters that you care about and a few impressively different but challenging tasks, then there’s really no better title. 7/10 is either a fair score if you like the gaming style I’ve mentioned, or ridiculously high if you’re an action junkie. But if like me, you just fancy a break from the norm without straying too far from the typical survival horror genre, and then this is certainly recommended!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/28/03