Blue Stinger
- ️@RetroGamer_Mag
Released: 1999
Genre: Adventure
Format reviewed: Dreamcast
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Climax Entertainment
Submitted by: James Holian
Blue Stinger seems to have been labelled as a Resident Evil Clone. That's a tad unfair to the game. Though comparisons can be made, there's very little 'survival' style gameplay here – items are bought via shops with money earned through killing enemies, and so the health & ammo conservation aspect of Resident Evil is totally absent.
I'll open with Blue Stinger's bad points. Of these, anyone who has played it will instantly notice the camera. The camera in the UK version Blue Stinger was much altered from the even worse Japanese version, and in general does its job. But those stuck-in-the-corner moments truly do stink up the game.
Structurally, Blue Stinger is stronger in terms of story than gameplay. Some of the puzzles require just a little too much leg-work, and a few puzzles are unnecessarily obscure or whimsical.
Now for the good. For me, the games strongest point is its story. More specifically, the way in which story has been integrated with gameplay. Story elements are continually justified by gameplay, and vice versa, meaning that a player who takes note of the story will enjoy the gameplay more. The other strong point of Blue Stinger is the design of the graphics. Monsters are superb, being bizarre hybrid entities generated through a collision of the human form with massive dinosaur type beasties. Locations are also nicely depicted, being bright and shiny, and attractive to the eye.
I really don't want to give anything away but the plot does stray from the usual survival horror games and is really put together. I felt the story kept me playing because I always wanted to see what was up next and nice open ending.
Difficulty isn’t terribly high, although it does contain some tough parts.
Approximate length I believe my overall time through was just under 11 hours. There are some extras but they require way too much work to unlock them. I might try again to get them when I have time.
Many have criticised the voice acting of this game. Yeah, it ‘s rubbish, but also unintentionally hilarious. “What’s up………Elliot”.