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Mars Matrix (DC)
by thole09
"Mars Matrix" is a scrolling action video game. It was first released for the Sega Dreamcast in 2001 by Capcom. In the United States, the game received a guidance rating of "E" which deemed it appropriate for all ages.
The story of the video game is sketchy at best and is wide open for interpretation. What ... I was able to gather from the various cut scenes and fragments of text was that the planet Mars was colonized by humans who are revolting against their extra terrestrial leaders. The player, assuming the role of a leader, aims to restore peace on the planet by dealing with the insurgents by force. This brings forth an immense, full scale war which presents itself as a vertical scrolling video game. Quick wit and a crafty navigation finger ensures safe travels through the setting, and also allows players to respond with their spaceship's firepower.
The player has access to two ships which are differentiated by colour. The red spaceship features a slow traveling "spread" shot which fires an assortment of particles towards the enemy at a reduced rate. The blue ship, however, features a single quick beam which travels in a linear direction. I have not found either ship to sport any particular advantage over the other as both are found useful on certain stages of play. Both ships include a special attack known as the "Mosquito" attack. When utilized, the player will reverse all oncoming shots from enemy fire back towards the enemy. It is based on a charge metre which requires replenishing over time, so sporadic use is something I found to be essential as the time it takes to restore is noticeably longer than that which it takes to deplete.
What I like about this video game is its experience system. Once destroyed, enemies will leave behind small gold objects which, if collected, award the player with experience points. In a similar vein to traditional role playing games, meeting experience point requirements award the player with a more powerful and devastating weapon with each subsequent "leveling". I haven't found the accumulation of experience points to be necessary for overall performance but boss characters may be dealt with in a speedier fashion if a player chooses to harvest these points for additional damage ratings.
The graphics are presented from a top down perspective which focuses on the centre of the game in play. The player's ship occupies the bottom portion of the screen, and enemies will flutter from the top towards it. The visuals are two dimensional in their design which is appropriate for this type of video game though didn't really strike me as being refined. I found several backgrounds featured a "muddy" blend of copper reds and browns which didn't appeal to me as a player. The soundtrack is an improvement over the graphics. A flurry of high tempo techno recordings accompany the player and are accented by the standard "beeping" of intergalactic phasers being fired at one another.
Arcade aficionados would likely find Mars Matrix to be a fun and energetic gameplay experience. It is something I enjoy personally and would happily recommend to prospective buyers, though felt a little disheartened by the lack of polished visuals when considering their basic appearance.
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Razor Freestyle Scooter (DC)
by thole09
"Razor Freestyle Scooter " is an alternative sports video game. It was first released for the Sega Dreamcast in 2002 by Ubisoft. In the United States, the game received a guidance rating of "E" which deemed it appropriate for all ages.
Kick scooters have always seemed to be fashionable in my area. Perhaps ... it's the budget priced mode of transport, or perhaps it's the manufacturers' appeal to the sexualized idea that blue is for boys and pink is for girls, but it's something I've never really understood. A boom in scooter use was seen in the early 2000s which seemed to have a short lived global impact, and this prompted video game developers to capitalize on the popularity. While few titles were released to merge with the fad, Razor Freestyle Scooter stands out as one of the better albeit very brief video games.
The story of this video game involves an evil robot capturing the player's scooting friends, and it is up to the player to secure their freedom by touring eight stunt parks while performing tricks using the featured ramps, railings, and other material. Trick performance is not necessary for success in this title, however, as stunts are merely used to gain a higher elevation in the air to grab the necessary item; "scooter wheels". Each stage is timed and will inform the player as to the number of scooter wheels required before progressing on to the next stage. For the most part, players can meet this objective by gathering the items seen on the ground, but for a few moments of visual interest an entering of certain button combinations will propel the player to a higher point in the air in aims of snagging an elusive suspended scooter wheel.
The graphics are presented from a trailing view of the player's character. I was taken off guard when the game animated at a very smooth and consistently high frame rate. Most children's games seem to suffer a fate of mediocrity and visual choppiness, but the latter wasn't the case in Freestyle Scooter. While there isn't an abundance of colour, nor a wide variety of visual implements, they fit their intended purpose and I was able to identify what certain objects were in relation to a known skate park. The soundtrack was also acceptable in its presentation. The title features eight pop rock recordings from amateur artists which came through audibly, though often masked the minimalistic sound effects in the background. I was only able to clearly hear one sound effect for falling off the scooter, and one "hissing" noise when using the grind railing.
The experience of Razor Freestyle Scooter is a brief one and is over in a single afternoon. At the point of completion I felt there was little to re attempt my efforts and the game disc has been in its jewel case for the majority of my ownership. Freestyle Scooter is likely a game which would appeal to a younger audience fascinated with their own kick scooters, however a general or casual audience may want to avoid this release.
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Silent Scope (DC)
by thole09
"Silent Scope" is a first person shooting video game. It was first released for the Sega Dreamcast in 2000 by Konami. In the United States, the game received an age guidance rating of "M" which deemed it appropriate for ages 17 and above.
Silent Scope first rose to fame in as a freestanding video arcade ... machine. I remember it being one of the more popular and costly choices in my local game room at the time, and I would willingly plunge a few tokens into it in the rare event the system was free. In a similar vein to "Virtua Cop", players assume the role of a tactical marksman and must eliminate hostile threats from a distance using a high powered sniper rifle. In the arcade this was executed by utilizing a plastic rifle which featured an attached scope. Players would look through the scope and thus zoom in on whatever the scope happened to be looking at. Terrorists and other enemies would appear through the lens, and players could then pull a trigger after aiming a crosshair into the target. On the Sega Dreamcast, however, it is a very different story.
Rather than distributing the video game as bundle package with an included light gun, the developers of this title made use of the analog joystick on the Dreamcast's game pad. This item allows the player to guide the crosshair around the screen. I did ultimately find this to be troublesome. Due to the looseness of the joystick, I often found my crosshair flying all around my television set which made it very difficult to aim with the accuracy required for successful completion of the game. It seems that Konami anticipated this struggle as unique to the console release is a target practice feature where players shoot at idle targets. Within moments of being immersed within the training environment, I found myself more able to control the crosshair and could accurately aim with ease. Unfortunately, this level of ease also transferred to the video game's story mode and made for a rather lacklustre domination over my enemies.
The story itself focuses on the capture of the President of the United States and his family, and negotiations with terrorists for their release have failed. Police and other special forces are caught in a lethal fire fight, and the player must act as a specialty sniper to eliminate the terrorists. Being a typical arcade game, the experience is a race against the clock with each successful elimination rewarding the player with additional time. Players will travel through typical urban locations such as motorways, hotels, and stadiums, and will eventually confront the higher-ups of the terrorist elite. The game increases in difficulty as the player progresses and enemy terrorist will eventually spot the sniper and return fire. If the player sits idle for too long, the sniper will incur damage and can be eliminated from the game. In my experience this is a rare event and can only be brought on intentionally. Generally speaking, the game is very easy to complete with minimal effort and can be whizzed through in a matter of minutes. I remember being very excited before purchasing the title but felt very let down after completing it within a day of play.
The graphics of the title keep with what was seen in the video arcade. The terrorists tend to sport identical bland looks, but move and react with a sense of fluidity. The player's crosshair quickly adapts to sudden changes in movement and is accented by a blinking arrow which suggests the location of the nearest enemy. Each region the player will find him or herself in sports a three dimensional design and fits its intended purpose, but as the game is focused primarily in the crosshair the decent surroundings seem to be moot points. The title's soundtrack is somewhat limited in its delivery. The player will not be treated to any noticeable musical scores. Instead, the game focuses primarily on gunshot sounds and repetitive vocal prompts which compliment the player in action.
Overall, Silent Scope is a video game which I would be hesitant about recommending to prospective buyers. I found it to be far too simple to complete in comparison to its coin operated counterpart, and far too brief in duration. Dedicated arcade enthusiasts may find some joy in this video game though more casual players may want to look elsewhere.
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