Arguably the only good thing to come out of the premature demise of the Sega Dreamcast was the fact it led to droves of unsold games for the system being flogged off at discount prices. When this happened I picked up a great few games I'd never have touched before...all for less than the price of lunch at McDonalds. Red Dog: Superior Firepower was one such game that I'd never even heard of before picking it up, and it turned out to be something of a pleasant surprise.

Released in 2000, fairly early into the Dreamcast's life, Red Dog never really received any fanfare, and I've rarely heard it mentioned, even in discussions about the Dreamcast and games nobody talks about. In it you are placed in control of a jeep-style vehicle armed with laser cannons and homing missiles with a goal of reclaiming Earth from alien invaders. If I'm being honest, I can't say I can name too many other 3D Shoot 'em Ups that place you in control of such a vehicle, truth be told the only game full stop that springs to mind is SWIV back on the Amiga, though that's not to say the game is overly original. It basically takes the form 90% of all action games these days take, with missions separated into 3 types; search and destroy, make it to the end of the level or protect something until the end of the stage.

This isn't necessarily a negative mind, arguably Red Dog is at it's best when it plays it simple. It's controls are fairly easy to pick up, in addition to the triggers controlling accelerating and reversing you have your laser machine gun fire (missiles are performed by holding this down and moving your cursor over enemies), gun charge (which, when charged, increases the power of your gun), Side Arm fire, which activates any power-up weapons you pick up and a shield. Within these controls are some neat little nuances. For example the shield doesn't just stop you from taking damage, but can actually be used to deflect enemy fire back at the aggressor, and you can boost by double tapping accelerate. The only real complaints I had regarding the controls were that perhaps the steering is a bit loose, though that can actually be put down more to a flaw with the Dreamcast controller, a 2nd analogue stick and set of shoulder buttons would have made things a little more comfortable, though at the time of release these weren't the norm, so this could be seen as a hindsight thing.

Indeed while the stages may not offer a great deal of variety in terms of gameplay, what it does do it does in an entertaining fashion. While I enjoy a good story-driven adventure as much as the next gamer (and for the record, Red Dog's plot is hilariously threadbare) sometimes it's just fun to drive about and gun down alien tanks and horrible electric spider things. It's not big, it's not clever, but late at night with some rock music blaring and there can be no denying the simple pleasure of zooming about in a dodgy jeep thing with all guns blazing. Come to think of it, I'll never understand why the army chose to make what is essentially a giant crossbreed between a tank and a quad bike their last hope. It's like something out of a 1980s Italian Sci Fi film.

Indeed though, it's when the game strays from it's simple "drive about and shoot stuff" mantra that things seem to become less entertaining. For example, the game becomes a whole lot less fun when the stages ask more of your driving skills than your shooting, and the difficulty also takes a sharp turn upwards when this happens also, one such part of the game is ridiculously harsh in what it asks you to accomplish with less than stellar driving controls at your disposal.

The game does find a fairly nice balance with regards to its length. There are around 6 Missions in the 'plot' (the plot is basically "Aliens are here: Shoot them") but several more 'Challenge' missions which involve blasting so many enemies in a certain time limit or race to the end of a stage and so on. This makes for a nice balance in that it offers a fairly short, but adequate main game, but also something more for the players who want more. The game also boasts a 4 player Deathmatch mode. I can't say I've spent a great deal of time with this mode, but it's a neat little addition to the game.

The game's aesthetics are a fairly mixed bag to boot. The soundtrack is really disappointing to be honest, its got some really awful generic techno style music for a soundtrack, and its really a game made for the mute button. The visuals have their downsides too, the water effects are pretty grim, but for the most part it looks really good for an early DC title. There are neat little touches like skid marks on the road, and burn marks after explosions or gunfire. I mean it won't blow your mind, but there are a lot of nice little touches to offer a pleasant surprise.

Overall, Red Dog isn't a great, or even a very good game. It isn't a game I'd ever use to try and sell a Dreamcast, or even go out of my way to recommend. At the same time though, if someone was a Dreamcast owner, or potential owner, thinking about it at a low cost I certainly wouldn't dissuade anyone from buying it. Given that it wasn't an overly popular title and doesn't have a cult following, so I don't imagine it trades hands for much money these days.