Expendable

by Infogrames North America

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00001ZT4T
• Item Weight: 8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: September 2, 1999
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,923 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Platform: Sega Dreamcast

Editorial Review

Fans of the old arcade hit Smash TV will most likely enjoy Expendable. The rest of us may want to look elsewhere. While the game boasts impressive graphics and really shows off the lighting and color abilities of the Dreamcast, repetitive single-player gameplay quickly leads to boredom.

You control an expendable clone soldier from a third-person perspective. The game is divided into missions, each mission having roughly the same goal: blow everything up and run to the end as fast as possible. Along the way, you fight hordes of mindless aliens, rescue hostages, and play with your choice of 18 powerful weapons. If you have an additional controller, a friend can join in the mayhem. The game saves your progress with the optional Visual Memory Unit and also makes use of the optional Jump Pack, which vibrates to indicate hits and explosions. While Expendable won't win any awards for creativity, depth, or longevity, sometimes you just want to team up with a buddy and kick alien butt. For those times, Expendable does just fine. --Michael Fehlauer

Pros:

• Brilliant graphics
• Chaotic, rampaging two-player cooperative play
• Over-the-top weapons

Cons:

• Mindless "run and gun" gameplay
• Repetitive single-player game

GameSpot Review

Consider yourself expendable. Disposable. Easily replaced. As the protagonist of Rage Games' newest eye-melting ammo-fest, it is up to you to shoot everything in sight and, hopefully, not get destroyed in the process. Not a cheerful premise, no matter how you look at it, but that's the breaks.

Attempting to take the reins where Konami's Contra series had pitifully tailed off, Expendable is the next-generation's torch bearer of the old-school shooters of the '80s. The game's overhead perspective is reminiscent of the view in games like Ikari Warriors, Contra, and even Smash TV. While the premise is a bit thin (you're a space-marine plopped down on a number of "hostile alien worlds" trying to save our race from extinction, or something like that), it easily sets the stage for some of the most furious shooting action you've ever seen.

Like most shooters of this nature, your main goal is to barrel your way through the levels (which in Expendable's case are fairly lengthy) while shooting the bad guys and picking up as many power-ups as possible - and power-ups there are aplenty. All sorts of items are available, from a wide variety of guns reminiscent of the Contra series (flamethrowers, Gatling guns, lasers, spread-shots, etc.), to health-packs, score modifiers, time bonuses and even human hostages to rescue. You'll need these power-ups, because while the standard gun (whose shot speed depends on the quickness of your thumb) is impressive enough, it is not all that powerful. Other semi-familiar power-ups - such as little satellites that orbit you and fire extra volleys for every normal gunshot you produce - are also available. There's a boss at the end of every couple of levels, and you'll need to use a different strategy to beat each one. Mixed in with the standard gameplay are little objectives, like having to find key cards to open doors. Other twists - like land mines, "infested" human hostages, and alien worm-dogs that leave behind a harmful ooze when killed (a tip of the hat to Aliens, most likely) - conspire to enhance the experience you get when playing Expendable. At times, certain "bonus" stages put you in a much closer third-person perspective (think over-the-shoulder, as in Broken Helix), adding a frenetic element to the already hectic proceedings. Thankfully, the control of the analog or digital pad is tight and responsive. The shoulder buttons, when pressed down (left or right will do), let you strafe, which is integral to your survival in Expendable.

Like Rage's previous Dreamcast title, Incoming, Expendable is a hardware-pushing slice of software that, even at this early stage, shows what the Dreamcast is capable of. Although Rage developed the game for PCs equipped with 3D-acceleration, the company has adapted quickly to the PowerVR2-based DC hardware. Running at a smooth 60fps, Expendable features amazing particle effects, which lavish the screen with every gunshot fired. Environments, while not completely destructible, warp and morph at times to give off a truly organic feel. The lighting effects and brilliant use of transparencies also have to be seen in motion to appreciate. Appropriately, the sound is lively, full of punch, and so is the music - although, to fully absorb the action, you should turn down the music so you can hear the sound effects.

All this blinding goodness does not come without a price. At times, your main character can seem a little small compared with his surroundings - a problem magnified when he's obscured from view, courtesy of the constant explosions. Also, the enemies are a little repetitious, and you'll likely be seeing the same droves of foot soldier, worm-dogs and hover-pack snipers time and time again. Although the variety of opponents increase as the game progresses, it still gets a little annoying to see the same type of soldier materialize relentlessly. The biggest "problem," however, is the simple nature of the game itself. While gameplay is king, and 3D doesn't necessarily need to be gratuitously complex, if you've ever played any of the classic games mentioned here, then you've already played Expendable. Although Rage tried to incorporate some simple "find the key" elements into Expendable, this is still a largely repetitious game. Things almost get silly when an on-screen prompt has you "find the yellow key" to open a gate, and the key is sitting right next to it. It's almost like, why bother? There are also some funky camera moments when you switch from one room to another that will have you running back and forth, unwillingly, until you've sorted yourself out. Playing with a friend is considerably better than playing alone, since both of you can whoop it up as the pyrotechnics flare, but gamers looking for a more cerebral challenge will be better off looking elsewhere. For what it is, (and that would be a "twitch game"), Expendable is in a league of its own, mostly because of the competent gameplay and the amazing graphics. It would be frightening to see what Rage could come up with if it moved beyond basic gameplay, because the company has the visuals down pat.

The end of it is, should you desire a return to the old-school and want no more from a game than to simply to turn it on and start pushing buttons, Expendable is the game for you. No thought process necessary, feel free to leave the gray matter at the door. While there has been an effort to overcomplicate games these days, with every button on the controller being used for something arcane, Expendable is a refreshing blast of arcade gaming that never seems to get old. That alone warrants a good hard look at this flashy game. --James Mielke
--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

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed 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: Expendable (Video Game)

This game isn't mindless! I completed it (after many long hours) and I was only able to do so by using my mind and trying to figure out how to destroy the enemy without losing all of my men. You have to have cunning and daring or else your dead. Basically, it's like guerrilla warfare. The graphics in this one are really great.

But this game really hits home that war sucks. You see that a solder really is expendable. You have to be in order to win. However, its a great game to relieve some stress.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mindless Fun, November 22, 2000

By 

SH in Tampa "SPH" (Tampa FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Expendable (Video Game)

Expendable is not a complex games requires hundreds of hours to comprehend it's subtle nuances. It is a pulse pounding, shoot the c**p out of everything, explosion fest.

You play a marine that has been dropped onto a colony over run by hostile aliens. You must traverse each level, shooting the bad guys and find checkpoints before the time limit expires. Not a new idea but very well executed.

This game can be picked up and enjoyed immediately. The control system is simple and responsive, with the one exception that sometimes it seems that you can't quite get the angle right. The gameplay is simple and straightforward - shoot everything.

The graphics and sounds are what make this game worth owning. The open CGI shots show that the makers of this game put effort into the visuals and this carries forward into the game itself. And the sound is fantastic, the explosions are deafening when played through a surround sound system.

For a cheap price ..., this game is a great buy.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Instant Action with minimal learning curve!, November 28, 1999

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: Expendable (Video Game)

This is coming from the perspective of a 35-year-old who probably shouldn't be playing games but still enjoys shooting up a few aliens after a hard day at work. I love this game! Action, lots of shooting and you don't need to spend too much time reading the manual or listening to the game tell some flippin' story in Japanese Anime-style drama. Just get me to the fighting and let me shoot, throw grenades and see if I can accomplish my mission.... getting to the next level. Thanks.

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