Developer: Climax Publisher: Activision Release: 09/9/99 Genre: Horror
When the Dreamcast debuted one of the earliest games shown was Blue Stinger. Coming off years of pre-rendered survival horror games Blue Stinger was a notable step up with its real time 3d environments, lighting effects, and creepy monsters. It looked promising but the reviews would savage the game relentlessly despite its initial potential. Playing it for myself not long after the US Dreamcast launch I can see why. Blue Stinger makes almost every rookie mistake in the book. But somehow it is charming despite that. I sure as hell would never recommend it but it is at least an interesting failure.
In the year 2000 an earthquake sinks the Yucatan Peninsula except for the single island where the meteorite that killed the dinosaurs landed. Dubbed Dinosaur Island a research facility is established there to investigate the energy emanating from there. In 2018 ESER member Eliot Ballade is on vacation nearby when another meteorite crashes on Dinosaur Island. It creates a barrier around the island trapping Eliot and everyone inside and mutating nearby life forms. Now Eliot has to get to the bottom of what is happening on Dinosaur Island, guided by the mysterious Nephilim and with the assistance of few companions.
Despite appearances Blue Stinger is not strictly a survival horror game. It certainly tries to scare you, although it does so for different reasons. This is more of an action adventure and the game goes out of its way to hammer that home. Rather than limiting weapons, ammo, and healing items you can buy most in the various vending machines around the island. In fact that gives the game a unique pacing as it is in your hands. If you grind you can buy late game weapons early and a near endless supply of healing items. That will take a god awful long time but it is possible. Whether you will want to considering the laundry list of flaws in this game is another matter entirely.
You play as both Eliot and Dogs and can switch at any time. Eliot can equip both a melee and ranged weapon while Dogs can only uses at a time. However he can guard against attacks which is pretty effective. The weapons are….interesting. They range from shotguns to rail guns, metal bats and even a futuristic ray sword. You will quickly realize most of them suck. But there is at least one or two options for both characters that will carry you through the game. While Eliot can equip most weapons in the game Dogs has unique items. Equipping T-shirts bestows different moves: a karate shirt makes him a martial arts master while a sumo shirt lets him sumo slap enemies. It is just as goofy as it sounds. The game gets points for providing a range of extremely stupid weapons, almost as though it is in on the joke.
The gameplay revolves heavily around puzzles, backtracking, and lots and lots of key card hunting. Any time the game tries to incorporate side activities to distract from the tedium it often fails or is plain stupid. Collecting stamps from a side game crossover to access the second floor to buy one item within a time limit is fun if repetitive. The awkward swimming controls are not. Navigating the various mazes in tight corridors with the awful camera system is an exercise in frustration. These mechanics often feel more confusing than rewarding, resulting in an experience that is more frustrating than terrifying. They are also blatant padding of which the game most definitely does not need. You have to wonder if someone, anyone, actually sat down and played the game or if they were in a mad rush to get it out the door.
What truly ruins Blue Stinger and I cannot stress this enough is its atrocious camera. Blue Stinger has one of the worst 3d cameras ever. And the shocking part is the Western version is supposedly an improvement over the Japanese version! For its localization Blue Stinger has a third person camera rather than the fixed camera angles of the import. Unfortunately the camera does not know what the fuck to do with itself. It will shift and rotate for no reason, offer the absolute worst possible view imaginable and sticks in walls constantly. There is no camera control so you have to deal with it. It is common to enter a room with an enemy immediately present and the camera does nothing to orient itself, leaving you to attack blindly and hope for the best. It is embarrassing the game was released in this state.
Yet somehow, somehow this god damn train wreck is compelling in spite of its massive flaws. Part of it is its absurdity. Despite being a supposed survival horror game the game is goofy. Dogs and his different T-shirts cannot be taken seriously. Some of the weapons are a bit out there like a ray sword, rail gun, and laser gun. But the script is laughably bad. I will give it this; it has a lot of personality. The interactions between Dogs, Eliot, and Janine are fun and at times funny. The leads are voiced by Ryan Drummond, Deem Bristow, and Lani Minella, the voices of Sonic, Dr. Eggman, and Rouge at the time. Once you view the game as Sonic, Eggman, and Rouge on a buddy cop adventure it becomes even funnier. You have to overlook a lot to find any enjoyment in this one. But it is there.
In Closing
Ultimately, Blue Stinger is best remembered as a flawed but entertaining title, one that offers moments of unintended hilarity amid its chaotic design. It may not invoke fear like its contemporaries but it never tries to. What it does do is leave a lasting impression for its unique weirdness, for better and for worse. If you are a fan of campy, experimental games it might still be worth checking out—but go in to it with low expectations and absolutely do not pay more than a few bucks for it.
