Tag Archives: Dreamcast

Fur Fighters (PC, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2 & iOS)

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Fur Fighters

Developer(s) – Bizarre Creations

Publisher(s) – Acclaim Games

Designer(s) – Jeff Lewis

Producer(s) – Brian Woodhouse

ELSPA – 11+

Released originally on the Sega Dreamcast, and subsequently re-released on the PlayStation 2 as the Viggo’s Revenge edition, Fur Fighters is a third-person shooter 3D platformer hybrid brought to consoles by Liverpool-based developer Bizarre Creations, and whilst not performing particularly well financially, was universally praised by critics at the time of it’s released and has since gained somewhat of a cult following as one of the most overlooked games of the sixth generation. In my opinion, the praise was well-deserved. I remember watching video reviews of the game at the time, but I never got around to picking up a copy at the time of its release. But after finally getting my hands on it and finishing it in full, I wasn’t disappointed. 

Graphics – 7.5/10

The game makes use of cel-shading, which was still in relevant infancy at the time with games such as Jet Set Radio, XIII, and the original Sly Cooper making waves in the early 2000s. The environments are quite varied and the character design is just as so to match. In terms of technical quality, it is about on par with most of what players can come to expect from a late fifth-generation or early sixth-generation game. Being cel-shaded, it didn’t stand out in terms of a technical marvel, but it comes with its own unique conceptual design, which brings a strong sense of charm to the title. 

Gameplay – 8/10

A third-person shooting 3D platformer, the objective is to traverse through various different levels and hub worlds shooting enemies and procuring collectibles scattered throughout the game, including tokens and rescuable baby animals. It has an element of Donkey Kong 64 to it. In that, the player can take control of several different playable characters. Their abilities must be utilized to progress through certain areas of the game. For example, the dragon character Tweek can glide to reach otherwise impassable ledges, and the penguin character Rico can swim through bodies of water to reach different areas. There is a fair amount of variety to be had in this game. And whilst it doesn’t quite measure up to some of the best 3D platformers ever released, such as Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie, does relatively well to stand on its own two feet. 

Controls – 10/10

The game’s control scheme is faultless, provided the player picks the right control scheme; particularly in the Viggo’s Revenge edition. The default control scheme almost makes the game unplayable, however. With the movement controls being nigh-on impossible to get to grips with. It made me thankful that there was mercifully an auto-aim system for when enemies attack. In my opinion, the best control scheme to go with is the Beginner 2 control scheme. It makes life ten times easier whilst playing. I found it confusing, however, that the developers chose to associate the control scheme with the game’s difficulty. Because, to me, a bad control scheme shouldn’t exist for the sake of adding to the difficulty, simply because it doesn’t. It just adds to the game’s frustration. 

Lifespan – 8/10

Lasting around 30 hours, more intrepid players looking to collect everything within the game will not be disappointed. There is plenty on offer for players who want to make the experience last as long as possible. And I was pleasantly surprised myself that there was more to play for in this game than meets the eye. I went in expecting this to be a much more generic gaming experience than what I eventually got. And the game’s surprisingly long lifespan is the main reason why. 

Storyline – 6/10

What isn’t so great about this game is that the plot is pretty typical. The evil General Viggo has kidnapped the families of the Fur Fighters. And the team resolves to defeat Viggo and get them back. Given that each of the Fur Fighters has his/her own personality and traits, I would’ve thought the developers would’ve found a lot more room for characterization and plot than what was ultimately included. But I was unfortunately wrong. Luckily, the added voice acting in Viggo’s revenge edition and the fact in and of itself that the different characters do have outstanding personalities and traits keep the story from being overly terrible. But there was definitely room for elaboration in this respect. 

Originality – 7/10

The game stands out to a fair enough extent. But the main reason why it doesn’t stand out with the best of the best 3D platformers is that it doesn’t do enough to stand out. Maybe this is the main thing that hurt sales of the game at the time since it’s easy to make the assumption that this game is a lot less than what it actually is. It’s unfortunate, but to play devil’s advocate, there are also reasons why this game remains a beloved diamond in the rough in the eyes of many other gamers. It’s not a completely generic game. But there are a fair few things that could’ve been worked on to give the extra push it needed at the time. 

Happii

However, that being said, Fur Fighters is still a very worthwhile title. It has great gameplay elements, and its conceptual design is just about better than good. And I would recommend at least one playthrough of it. 

Score

46.5/60

7.5/10 (Good)

Sonic Adventure 2 (Dreamcast)

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Sonic Adventure 2

Developer(s) – Sonic Team USA

Publisher(s) – Sega

Director(s) – Takashi Lizuka

Producer(s) – Yuji Naka

PEGI – 7

Released to a generally favorable response from critics at the time, Sonic Adventure 2 delivered a much different Gameplay experience from the original Sonic Adventure with a more linear play progression, a side quest beloved by many Sonic fans. And the introduction of new characters such as Shadow the Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat. I did spend a great deal of time playing through this game multiple times when I was a kid. But going back into it with an entirely new perspective, I’ve come to the conclusion that I prefer the original game for a number of reasons. 

Graphics – 9/10

The main thing Sonic Adventure 2 improves on its predecessor, however, is the quality of the visuals on the technical level. Some cutscenes are even presented at 60 frames per second unlike the first. Which was presented entirely at 30 frames per second throughout. From a conceptual standpoint, it’s just as wonderfully varied as the first game was taking place in vibrant cities, deep jungles, space stations, and even pyramids. As far as graphics go, it was most definitely one of the best-looking games on the Dreamcast. 

Gameplay – 8/10

The gameplay is structured much differently than the original too. As opposed to having six different overlapping scenarios, there are two scenarios to play between the heroes of the game and the villains, with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles making up the heroes. And Dr. Robotnik, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Rouge the Bat making up the villains.

The gameplay structure is far less open-ended than the original with merely two predetermined paths. With the added side quest of Chao raising, which is like raising a farm of Tamagotchis. Some players even think that the Chao raising is the best aspect of the game. But to me, in comparison to the first, it falls below par. The gameplay concept of the original game needed to be expanded in the right way. And the developers didn’t do that, making for a more than decent gameplay experience. But just not the experience it could’ve been. 

Controls – 7.5/10

The control scheme is as varied as in the original game, with both Tails and Robotnik in mobile robots this time around. Differing from how Tails handled it in the first game. But the problem. Being is that Sonic’s control scheme, along with Shadow’s, is the same as what is the first Sonic Adventure. And as such, it still presents the same problems. If anything, they actually seem more prevalent as there are fewer open locations than there were in the first game. So although there are positives in regards to the controls, there are enough negatives to keep it as lacking in fluency as the first game. 

Lifespan – 4/10

The biggest downgrade compared to the first game, however, is in regards to the Lifespan. The first game lasted an underwhelmingly short amount of time anyway at 8 hours. But the second game can only be made to last about half that time. Which for a game in a series as popular as Sonic is unacceptable. The point of a sequel is to build on the ideas perpetuated by the first in an attempt to create a better game. And having the second last less time than the first is not building on the first in a positive way. 

Storyline – 8/10

One aspect in which there have been improvements made, however, is in the story and the dialogue. The six characters involved are in the search for the seven chaos emeralds again. But this time, Dr. Robotnik enlists the help of Shadow The Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat to find the emeralds to activate a weapon capable of destroying planets to ensure his dominance over the world. Although there are serious Star Wars vibes, almost to the point of self-parody in fact, the element that makes this game’s story much more interesting than the last is Shadow. On the surface, he seems no better than the likes of Robotnik. But after slowly learning his back story, the player can come to empathize, or maybe even sympathize with him like I ended up doing. 

Originality – 5/10

The game stands out from the original but in many of the wrong ways. Although the overall experience isn’t bad by any means, it’s just not the game it could’ve been developed into in my opinion. And it left me wanting so much more than what is offered. It’s an exceptional example of how not to build on a successful game. Giving players a somewhat watered-down experience. In the end, I found myself asking a lot of what-if questions about this game. And to me, it’s always a bad sign when I find myself doing so. Because it’s a clear indication of the game falling short in comparison to what it could’ve been given a little more development time. 

Happii

However, as much as I have criticized this game, Sonic Adventure 2 is still an enjoyable gaming experience with a fair bit to offer for the short time it lasts. Although it’s nowhere near the quality of the game it had the potential to be, it just about does enough to be considered a worthwhile sequel. 

Score

42/60

7/10 (Fair)

SoulCalibur (Dreamcast & Xbox 360)

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SoulCalibur

Developer(s) – Project Soul

Publisher(s) – Namco

Director(s) – Jin Okubo & Yoshitaka Tezuka

Producer(s) – Yasuhiro Noguchi & Hiroaki Yotoriyama

PEGI – 16

Released back in 1998 to widespread acclaim, to the point where it would be regarded as the second most critically acclaimed game of all time after The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, SoulCalibur was a fighting game series that spun off from the PlayStation game Soul Edge. Improving on the former game in significant ways. And later going on to become one of the most recognizable fighting franchises in all of gaming. As a child, I spent an ungodly amount of time playing this game trying to unlock all the extras and secret characters. And to me, it still stands as one of the best games on the Dreamcast and one of the most definitive fighting games of all time. 

Graphics – 9/10

Seeing the game’s sixth-generation graphics on the Dreamcast whilst at around the halfway point of the fifth generation, the game in this respect was years ahead of its time. Everything from the character sprites to the stages is wonderfully polished and beautifully rendered. The attention to detail in this respect is staggering. It’s evident that this was as much of a labor of love as many of the best games released in 1998. Such as Banjo Kazooie, Tekken 3, and Crash Bandicoot 3. The soundtrack to the first SoulCalibur may also be my favorite soundtrack to a fighting game ever. The intro to the game makes the very clear statement that all these characters have a purpose. And that this is a fighting game unlike any other. And it certainly delivers.

Gameplay – 8/10

Although it wasn’t the first fighting game to do this, SoulCalibur’s appeal is the ability to use weapons in combat as opposed to bare-fist fighting as what is perpetuated in most fighting games. It also has a ton of unlockable content; the game is comparable to Super Smash Bros Melee in this respect. It has a load of characters and alternative costumes to unlock as well as artwork and beautifully told backstory, which whilst playing this game as a kid, did exceptionally well to endear me to this series to a greater extent than what I could’ve possibly imagined after having p[layed the like of Mortal Kombat and Tekken. 

Controls – 10/10

Also, there are no problems with this game in any other respect, the game’s control scheme is also flawless. Playing this game, was the first time I found myself being able to string proper moves together instead of merely button-bashing, which is what I’m normally used to doing whilst playing a fighting game. It made me feel like I had genuine skill playing it, and there’s never been another fighting game that’s made me feel that way since truth be told. 

Originality – 7/10

Though it did definitely perpetuate many ideas that had been adopted in fighting games long before its release, the developers took these elements and made them into their own fully cohesive concept in the respect of every element down to the fighters, the combat style, the range of locations and the mythology behind it all. It laid the foundations beautifully for what was to come, whilst also still holding up as an enjoyable game to play even after all these years.

Happii

Overall, the original SoulCalibur remains to me, one of the best fighting games I’ve ever played. There are other genres of gaming that I’ve taken to better than fighting games, but I still revisit certain titles within it including Tekken 2, Dead or Alive 4, Ready 2 Rumble, and my favorite game in the series, SoulCalibur IV; the first SoulCalibur still fits into that category for me. 

Score

34/40

8/10 (Very Good)

Jet Set Radio (Dreamcast, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation Vita, Android & iOS)

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Jet Set Radio

Developer(s) – Smilebit & Blitworks

Publisher(s) – Sega

Director – Masayoshi Kikuchi

Producer – Kawagoe Takayuki

PEGI – 12

Originally developed as a Dreamcast exclusive back in 2000, Jet Set Radio is a skating game and was the first game in history to make use of cel-shaded visuals. These have since been popularized by developers all over the mainstream being used within the likes of the Legend of Zelda series. And being the staple visual style of franchises like Borderlands and No More Heroes. Though I was able to appreciate the origins of this now iconic graphical style, I was, however, a lot more disappointed with how this game plays out than what I was expecting having seen just how highly regarded it is. For how much innovation there was in terms of visuals, it’s quite flawed in terms of its style of play; especially compared to other games of its kind.  

Graphics – 8/10

In terms of visual style, this game was groundbreaking at the time and would go on to influence the visual style of countless other games to come. Such as XIII, Sly Cooper & the Thievius Raccoonus, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The character design is also very diverse with inspiration from street culture and hip-hop music. It’s as if the movie The Warriors was set in the early 2000s. There are flaws with the technical aspects of the cel-shaded visuals. But this was to have been expected from the first game to use them.

Gameplay – 6/10

The gameplay, however, is not very satisfactory in my opinion. The story mode involves progressing through a series of courses whereby the player must rewrite graffiti spots to mark the gang’s territory. The scenario is completed when all the graffiti points have been marked. It’s really as simple as that. There is a scoring system for completing stunts (the logistics of which I will cover later on in this review).

But the scoring system is only about as significant as the scoring system found in any old-school adventure game like the original Super Mario Bros or even Sonic Adventure to draw a closer comparison. As both that game and Jet Set Radio were released on the Dreamcast originally. There are additional characters to unlock. This gives the game a little bit of additional incentive to play. But to me at least, it wasn’t enough to hold my attention for the full lifespan of the game. 

Controls – 6/10

The true dealbreaker for me where this game is concerned, however, was the control scheme. Games with similar mechanics have frustrated me throughout the years, such as Sunset Overdrive. But this game takes that disappointment to a whole new level. I’ve read reviews whereby people have said the controls weren’t enough to hamper their experience of the game to too great an extent. But to me, the controls make this game almost unplayable at times. The layout of each scenario seemed paramount for me to be able to draw any pleasure from playing this game. They can range from simplistic to overly complicated with each level. And if you’re enough of a stickler where the controls are concerned, it can become a very serious issue. 

Lifespan – 6/10

For those who are able to get past this game’s many flaws, it can be made to last there around 18 hours in total. Which for a game of its kind, isn’t too bad a lifespan. But to my way of thinking, I don’t understand how a vast majority of games, especially newcomers, will be able to bear with it for any more than one hour. Short of what I’ve already described, there’s not a great deal more to do in this game and more content. And objectives could’ve been added to hold the gamer’s attention better. 

Storyline – 5/10

Although in terms of conceptual style, I compared this game to the movie The Warriors, the plot is considerably more simple than that. It centers around a street gang named the GGs. Who battle for street territory and credibility against various other gang members of the same ilk, all the while trying to avoid the police. Who goes to increasingly unnecessary lengths to apprehend them. All whilst under the commentary of a quirky DJ named Professor K.

And when I say the police to ridiculous measures, I mean it. Throughout the first level, they try to shoot the player with guns and use tear gas against them. But later on, they then make use of attack dogs as well as missile-mounted helicopters. All to try and catch a few kids on skates. I realize the developers did this for either comic relief or the purposes of gameplay mechanics (I’m not so dense as to not realize that). But it just doesn’t lend a great deal of integrity to the plot. 

Originality – 7/10

Although this game disappointed me overall, the fact of the matter is that its visual style has gone on to become one of the most popularly utilized throughout the industry since the turn of the century. Many games have come and gone that have not only made use of cel-shading. But have built on the idea of it exponentially. Making for some of the most visually stunning games of all time. But this game provided the original template by which all cel-shaded games have followed since. That being said, there have been more influential skating games to have come and gone, such as those in the Tony Hawk series, and it’s in that respect whereby this game failed to show as much innovation as it should’ve done. 

Niiutral

Overall, Jet Set Radio, whilst having gone on to influence a plethora of games since its release, was not the great game that I was expecting it to be; the controls are sketchy at best and the gameplay left a lot to be desired in my personal opinion. 

Score

38/60

6/10 (Average)