Blue Stinger

by Sega

Product Features

• Great game! International and Fast fast shipping. DVD File

Product Details

• ASIN: B00001P4Y6
• Item Weight: 8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,616 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

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:

• Long gameplay
• Involved science-fiction/horror storyline
• Good balance between puzzles and action

Cons:

• Occasionally awkward viewpoint system
• Repetitive enemy encounters

GameSpot Review

Blue Stinger is the Dreamcast's first foray into the recently vital "survival horror" genre of games, but it strays rather far from the formula established by Resident Evil. While a solid-enough concept, Blue Stinger is lacking in the execution department. Those expecting anything along the lines of Resident Evil are likely to be disappointed.

A huge meteorite crashes in the Yucatan peninsula, beginning the nuclear winter that drives the dinosaurs to extinction and paves the way for mammalian life. 65 million years later, in the year 2001, an island emerges from the depths of the ocean at the impact site and is promptly given the kitschy name, "Dinosaur Island." Believed to be the crater by that very same meteorite, a biotech corporation quickly sets up camp on the island and soon dominates the market. Eliot Ballad, an elite member of the ESER forces, is vacationing off the coast of Dinosaur Island when a strange object falls from the sky, placing all of Dinosaur Island under a mysterious dome of energy. Shortly afterward, Nephilim, a mysterious, ghostlike being, begins following Eliot around the monster-infested island. Needless to say, it's up to Eliot to get to the bottom of things and save himself from the monsters lurking within his enigmatic prison. Blue Stinger's gameplay borrows a lot from Resident Evil, but it puts a new spin on it. You guide Mr. Ballad through the huge laboratory on Dinosaur Island, fending off hordes of twisted organisms with a variety of weapons. Blue Stinger puts a few interesting twists on the formula that make it feel less like a straight rip-off of Capcom's flagship series. First and foremost is the availability of money. Whenever Eliot kills a monster of significant stature, its corpse spews out $10 coins, which you can collect and use in the myriad vending machines scattered across the island. Vending machines dispense everything from ammo and healing drinks to plasma guns. While the overall game mechanics are similar to Resident Evil's, the availability of virtually unlimited healing supplies and ammo completely removes the "survival horror" aspect of Resident Evil's tension. While different from most games in the genre, the change is a liberating one - no longer is every shot fired a life-or-death decision, allowing you to shoot stuff just for the fun of it. However, this totally kills the tension associated with a scarcity of resources, removing an interesting psychological component from the game.

The Japanese version of Blue Stinger had one major flaw: the camera, which used to glide between fixed viewpoints as Eliot traipsed about the scenery. In keeping with its tendency to improve imported games, Activision has drastically improved the game's camera... sort of. The camera follows Eliot a la Tomb Raider. While this eliminates a majority of the frustration spawned by the original game's camera, gone is the atmosphere that the previous game's camera angles were able to establish. Additionally, a few of the game's cinematic moments can be missed without the aid of a hand-fed view. Finally, the new camera is still a little awkward in tight rooms, but this is a minor complaint.

Blue Stinger's graphics are better than average, but they are riddled with problems. The fully 3D environments are detailed and complete, spanning a variety of locales and are, for the most part, excellently textured. A few areas were censored or redesigned for the US release, and the lack of effort in doing so is readily apparent. The characters and monsters are, however, a different story. While the monster designs look great, the people are bland and simianlike in appearance. Unfortunately, all the game's characters animate poorly, stiffly moving their limbs and waggling their oversized lips like actors in a Godzilla movie. The game's sound is surprisingly evocative, with sweeping, movielike themes that do the on-screen action justice. The voices are surprisingly good, but they still suffer from the camp that you see in most Japanese-produced games with English speech.

Blue Stinger is a decent enough game with just a hair too many execution problems to be great. While it may disappoint dyed-in-the-wool Resident Evil fans, Dreamcast newcomers looking for an adventure fix on their new machine should be pleased. --Peter Bartholow
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars First generation success, January 15, 2000

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Blue Stinger (Video Game)

Keeping in mind that this is a first generation game for DREAMCAST I found the game playable and informative as far as the capabilities of the dreamcast. Comparing it to other first generation games it is very good. Though slightly simple for todays gamer it is still great as far as control,and gaming fun goes. The graphics are great as is the story line. The monsters needed a little more variety but still a good game for DREAMCAST.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really good and adictave game, January 10, 2000

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Blue Stinger (Video Game)

O.k. so the game has its weak points,but it is somthing to keep you busy. It only takes about ten minuets to get used to the control of it. It is also one of the games that you have to play about 15 minuets to get into. once your into it you'll never stop playing it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed playing this game., November 20, 1999

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Blue Stinger (Video Game)

I would recommend this one. The plot kept me interested through out the entire game. It's set up like a mystery/sci-fi novel. You have to solve puzzles or clues before you can move on. When you finish it you feel quite satisfied. I gave it four stars because I hear that the Dreamcast is capable of better graphics. It took me around 20 hours to complete and I recommend this title to all those who enjoy action/adventure games.