Video Games : Blue Stinger

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from: "Sega of America, Inc."

: Blue Stinger
Price: $59.99
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Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon Maximum Age: 17 years
Amazon Minimum Age: 204 months
Binding: Video Game
EAN: 0047875109346
ESRB Age Rating: Mature
Label: "Sega of America, Inc."
Manufacturer: "Sega of America, Inc."
Platform: Sega Dreamcast
Publisher: "Sega of America, Inc."
Sales Rank: 13869
Studio: "Sega of America, Inc."



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Editorial Review:

Editorial Review:
Stranded by a bizarre meteor impact and surrounded by monstrous mutations, rescue agent Eliot Ballade must unravel the mysteries of Dinosaur Island--or die trying.

As Eliot or Dogs Bower, a ferry captain Eliot meets early in the game, you explore the island and uncover the story behind the disaster. While most of the game focuses on solving puzzles and learning more about the meteor and its effect on the island, roaming zombies and huge monsters will keep you on your toes.

Graphics are good--with nice flashy weapons effects--but not mind-blowing like Soul Calibur or Sonic Adventure. The Jump Pack accessory (sold separately) provides great tactile feedback when firing weapons or getting mauled by a monster--it seems to spend more time rumbling than not.

While the fighting is a lot of fun, some players may be frustrated by the regeneration of zombies. It can get tedious to exit a room after killing all of the enemies, only to run into them again when returning. The game's viewpoint system also could be improved, as it occasionally leaves you fighting an enemy you can't see. Parents should note that Blue Stinger is a horror game, and the gore flows readily.

All in all, while it doesn't build any new genres, Blue Stinger provides a solid gaming experience. Its flaws keep it from being a great game, but don't keep it from being a good time. --Aaron Karp

Pros: Cons:



Customer Reviews
Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars - You want a farce? You've got nothing but farce in Blue Stinger.
I have played few games that were as funny as this one. Why? Take a bunch of game developers who hated the average controls of survival horror games, get a bunch of inept writers to scribble down a derivative plot with a nice hook and horrible dialogue, music composers who aspire to be better than John Williams, game designers who played WAY too many Super Mario games and anyone in marketing or professional game reviewing to pass the game off as a Survival Horror game and you've got a painfully hilarious game on your hands. This game doesn't do Sega any justice and don't believe the lie that this was their first Survival Horror game, they made their first two years before this on the Saturn and that game, Deep Fear, was art compared to this. I felt absolutely lied to when I played this game thinking I was in for the scare of my life when I found myself rolling on the ground after witnessing some of the silliest character models, inconsistent soundtrack, awkward dialogue, non-existent atmosphere, incomprehensible plot and obnoxious controls I've ever played on a DreamCast game. Your characters run so slow you'd think they had weights tied to their ankles, but their steps look so played out it's almost like they're waddling away from danger! You'll kill monsters who, despite being four legged monstrosities, will literally sprinkle you with gold coins! The overly dramatic music will play on and loop over and over again when nothing is happening! You want a farce? You've got nothing but farce in Blue Stinger.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - More action than horror
If you were expecting a horror game when you saw this you were mistaken. This game has a horror theme but nothing about it is scary. Most of this game is just traveling around the island, fighting monsters, and trying to solve puzzles. There are quite a few cool weapons and some of the boss battles are just plain awesome. The game also has some bloody moments but overall nothing really bad. The graphics are pretty good but the joints of the people don't quite fit together right. When the people speak their words don't match up with their mouths moving. Some of the weapons are pretty much useless and some of the camera angles are bad.

With all that being said it is still a good game and very enjoyable. It isn't too horribly long, if you are a good gamer you should be able to beat it in 10 hours or less, but it is quite a ride.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Great Game
I decided to pick up this game for the dreamcast and it has been very fun to play. It reminds me of Resident Evil, only better. Here's how I rate it:
Graphics: 5 The graphics are just what you would expect out of the dreamcast-perfect
Control: 3 It is hard to control in this game, especially when swimming.
Music/Sound: 4 Sometimes the music will get repeatitive and old, but it is enjoyable.
I recommend you to buy this game.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Survival horror with a more "sci-fi" twist.
Overview: It's a good thing Blue Stinger is a launch title, because had it been released later, closer to Capcom's Resident Evil: Code Veronica, it would have been drowned in the torrent of comparison. Developed by Climax Graphics (of Shining Force, Landstalker and Dark Savior fame), and published stateside by Activision, Blue Stinger, with its cliched portrayals and B-movie voice acting, is an adequate, if underwhelming entry into the ever-expanding genre of survival horror.

Graphics: 8.5 Clean. Very clean. That's the most appropriate way to describe the visuals in Blue Stinger. The high-resolution texture maps and relatively high-polygon models are what you'd expect from a next-generation console, and the developers made sure to add liberal amounts of lighting, particle and translucency effects. Boss encounters are another notable, as they really show off the abilities of Sega's machine. The only area in which Blue Stinger does not stack up is a big one: animation. No motion-capture here. The characters animate quite stiffly, creating a rather slow and goofy-looking gait, and while this is not totally damning, it takes a while to get used to.

Sound: 7.5 Well, this is a CD-based machine, so the music is high quality. Some of it seems a bit out of place for a survival horror game, but it's not bad. This actually works in some places, such as the town/market area, where the Christmas atmosphere and music creates an atmosphere eerily reminiscent of the original Gremlins film. Voice acting is another thing entirely. While I don't think it is quite as bad as most of the professional magazines have made it out to be, it's definitely of the B-movie variety, perhaps a bit better than the original Resident Evil's. Maybe.

Control: 5.5 This is Blue Stinger's weakest point. Analog control is too loose for precision movement, while digital simply isn't responsive enough. The result is a game that's difficult to play at times when precision movement is critical (such as swimming). Luckily, this isn't a platformer, so these are few and far between. What really makes the control so lacking is the camera, which while far improved over the "cinematic" one found in the Japanese version (thanks to some noticeable tweaking by Activision), still manages to get itself in, shall we say, less than advantageous positions (usually they're experienced while in water or in tight corridors). While these are minimal, there are more than enough of them to annoy all but the most hardcore gamers.

Gameplay/Theme: 8.0 Yes, Blue Stinger has it's problems, but it is fun. As with any game of this nature, part of the fun comes with blasting enemies with high-powered weapons. In this area, BS delivers. Ranging from the usual shotguns and rocket launchers, to more exotic weapons such as ray swords (a lightsaber rip-off) and railguns. Each character has their own unique arsenal of weapons, which are either found or bought from numerous vending machines located throughout Dinosaur Island. Needless exploration and a few vague puzzles can dampen the fun for you (remember the passcode 1224, you'll need it), if you stick with it, the experience can be rewarding.

Overall: 7.5 Like many launch titles, Blue Stinger is a flawed first effort, perhaps moreso than many of the others. That said, it does have its good points, which are far more numerous than the gaming press is willing to let on, and while not for every gamer, if you like blasting baddies, adventuring and a decent story, and are willing to work past the flaws, Blue Stinger might just be worth a few of your hard-earned dollars.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Survival horror with a more "sci-fi" twist.
Overview: It's a good thing Blue Stinger is a launch title, because had it been released later, closer to Capcom's Resident Evil: Code Veronica, it would have been drowned in the torrent of comparison. Developed by Climax Graphics (of Shining Force, Landstalker and Dark Savior fame), and published stateside by Activision, Blue Stinger, with its cliched portrayals and B-movie voice acting, is an adequate, if underwhelming entry into the ever-expanding genre of survival horror.

Graphics: 8.5 Clean. Very clean. That's the most appropriate way to describe the visuals in Blue Stinger. The high-resolution texture maps and relatively high-polygon models are what you'd expect from a next-generation console, and the developers made sure to add liberal amounts of lighting, particle and translucency effects. Boss encounters are another notable, as they really show off the abilities of Sega's machine. The only area in which Blue Stinger does not stack up is a big one: animation. No motion-capture here. The characters animate quite stiffly, creating a rather slow and goofy-looking gait, and while this is not totally damning, it takes a while to get used to.

Sound: 7.5 Well, this is a CD-based machine, so the music is high quality. Some of it seems a bit out of place for a survival horror game, but it's not bad. This actually works in some places, such as the town/market area, where the Christmas atmosphere and music creates an atmosphere eerily reminiscent of the original Gremlins film. Voice acting is another thing entirely. While I don't think it is quite as bad as most of the professional magazines have made it out to be, it's definitely of the B-movie variety, perhaps a bit better than the original Resident Evil's. Maybe.

Control: 5.5 This is Blue Stinger's weakest point. Analog control is too loose for precision movement, while digital simply isn't responsive enough. The result is a game that's difficult to play at times when precision movement is critical (such as swimming). Luckily, this isn't a platformer, so these are few and far between. What really makes the control so lacking is the camera, which while far improved over the "cinematic" one found in the Japanese version (thanks to some noticeable tweaking by Activision), still manages to get itself in, shall we say, less than advantageous positions (usually they're experienced while in water or in tight corridors). While these are minimal, there are more than enough of them to annoy all but the most hardcore gamers.

Gameplay/Theme: 8.0 Yes, Blue Stinger has it's problems, but it is fun. As with any game of this nature, part of the fun comes with blasting enemies with high-powered weapons. In this area, BS delivers. Ranging from the usual shotguns and rocket launchers, to more exotic weapons such as ray swords (a lightsaber rip-off) and railguns. Each character has their own unique arsenal of weapons, which are either found or bought from numerous vending machines located throughout Dinosaur Island. Needless exploration and a few vague puzzles can dampen the fun for you (remember the passcode 1224, you'll need it), if you stick with it, the experience can be rewarding.

Overall: 7.5 Like many launch titles, Blue Stinger is a flawed first effort, perhaps moreso than many of the others. That said, it does have its good points, which are far more numerous than the gaming press is willing to let on, and while not for every gamer, if you like blasting baddies, adventuring and a decent story, and are willing to work past the flaws, Blue Stinger might just be worth a few of your hard-earned dollars.

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