"An excellent concept needs plently of work"

What is Burning Rangers you might ask ?

Well, it's a futuristic firefighting game that was one of the Saturn's final games.Combine non stop action, platform running and jumping, and strategical elements and you get what is called Burning Rangers.

Story :
You're a new recriut for the Burning Rangers Task Force and have to put out fire's along with what's causng them.Sound a little slim? Well, it is, but the Sega team trimmed down the story and beefed up the gameplay.While each individual mission has it's own story, none are of the ''epic'' type.


Graphics :
The look of the game is fair at best. While the menu screens and anime cut scenes are well drawn, the game itself is full of the polygonal jaggies. Loose texturing and slow framerates are to blame for most of the bigger problems as far as the graphics go. Observing your surroundings can be difficult at times when the game slows up and starts to get sluggish. To sum it up, the look of the game is bearable but needed LOTS of work.


Sound :
Bravo! Finally, music that really adds another layer to a game. Everything from the catchy openeing theme song to the in game music sequences are perfectly thought-out and placed within the game. The sound effects are not too shabby either. You can hear a raging fife starting up in the next room right before you enter. You can hear a gas tank charge up right before a massive erruption. Good work here!


Gameplay:
This is by far the strong point of Burning Rangers. Many elements are incorperrated into the Burning Rangers mix. Run' and gun action with your water blaster putting out 3 different kinds of fires. Platform running and jumping by hanging on to that ledge for dear life and making that near impossible jump to safety. Finally, strategic planning when making sure you take the safest path and not get blown up by that volnurable gas tank. Putting out the fires is the key to being succesful and staying alive. You need special crystals to keep your shield (energy or life meter) at a healthy level, the only way to nab these babies is to get into the heat of things and put out those raging flames. The more crystals your shield has, the better chance you have of surviving. By holding down your water blast and waiting for your power meter to fill up you can unleash a hyper blast that will make those fire's seem like nothing. Hyper blasts are also a neccssatiy against bosses as they will take big chunks from thier energy/life meter. Controlling is fairly easy which means you can just pick up and play the moment you start. My biggest complaint about Burning Rangers is the lack of missions, only 4! While they are long and challenging to a certain extent 4 missions is simply MUCH too short for just about any game.


While Burning Rangers has it's flaws the gameplay just cannot be overlooked. Entering a new area, jumping to the top of a lab base, and then blasting those flames away just in the nick of time has never been this much fun.


MY SCORE :

STORY : 6/10
GRAPHICS : 7/10
SOUND : 9/10
GAMEPLAY : 9/10

OVERALL : 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/22/00, Updated 05/22/00