Ah, Blue Stinger. Of the launch titles the Sega Dreamcast was sporting (which was a pretty sweet line-up of software with stuff like Power Stone, Soul Calibur, and Aerowings. There's also people that like Sonic Adventure...for reasons that are opaque to me), there was this. Initially viewed by pundits at the time as something that warranted more attention, my memories of this game went from genuine anticipation, to solemn disappointment about 8 minutes in. And it only rolls downhill like an 18-wheeler hitting a patch of black ice. 

Developed by Climax Graphics, who would rebrand as Crazy Games in 2001 and previous work includes Dark Savior for the Sega Saturn. Not too much of a coincidence that Blue Stinger suffers from practically the same problems; plodding, meandering narrative, sluggish controls, and the endless amount of backtracking. 

The game takes very clear inspiration from the Resident Evil series, what with the option to evade or confront monsters to conserve resources, the fact that some of the monsters shamble around like the aforementioned franchise's zombies, using key cards to gain wider access. Seeing how many games have adopted elements of level design like this, Blue Stinger came in with a good deal of hype around it as a technological marvel and a leap forward in visuals and cinematics. For its time, that's certainly ambitious and saw strong commercial success, but this wasn't a strong showcase for Sega's new console.

The plot is actually stuff that's up my alley, feels like some cheesy schlock I'd watch on Sci-Fi Channel in the mid and late 2000's made by Asylum, mixed with John Carpenter's The Thing. A meteor harboring dangerous DNA labeled "Dinocite crashes on a dinosaur island and mutates the life forms there, humans and animals alike, into violent creatures. One of these creatures is a light-based life form Nephilim who opposes the vicious Dinocite, and conveins with three human allies, Eliot (voiced by Sonic himself Ryan Drummond), Dogs, and Janice. It's unintentionally tongue-in-cheek, with laughable dialogue, including a comical ton of profanity that would make the days of "Japanimation" blush.

Blue Stinger's visuals...goodness, this era...It may be considered emblematic for its time, having a slightly more rounded and textured appearance as the tech was improving. While the entire game is fully rendered and I'm alright with the creature designs (this was the game Ryosuke Murakami got his start, working with award winner Robert Short, the make-up artist for Beetlejuice), the character models and environments just look painfully bland. As 98% of the plot takes place within a research facility or factory, I find myself staring at nothing but silver and gray walls. Generally, a Resident Evil game would end with the protagonists delving deeper into a location to uncover the secret bunkers and test labs Umbrella was hiding, but it would build to that. Blue Stinger doesn't really go for establishing a foreboding atmosphere, since every area looks the exact same. 

Speaking of tone setting, this isn't aided by the voice acting and dialogue. In fairness, Shinya Nishigaki stated he was going for something with "wit" and humor, rather than dark and serious. That can be seen, however, most of the times when characters talk, Microsoft Sam delivers more inflection and emotion in its voice. Scenes that DO go for intense are derailed by the spastic animation, as characters will flail their limbs in an over exaggerated attempt to visibly convey what they're trying to say. Nishigaki nailed The Thing influence, these "characters" are clearly aliens attempting to assimilate and replicate hooman emotions. 

The controls are where the game takes a turn for the hideous. Eliot and Dog boast different skills, and I don't mind the idea of switching between the two and utilizing their skills to proceed. Eliot can swim and is faster, while Dogs can take more punishment. That's quite ahead of its time. Dog and Eliot move around like they plunged waist deep in cement and are in a perpetual state of halfway drying out. Blue Stinger's overly sluggish movement is greatly hampered by the wire camera that swivels around wherever it wants, trying to get behind the player in the third person. This change was made for the Western owners, as in Japan, Blue Stinger's camera angle resembled Resident Evil. It can be felt, as maneuvering around feels incredibly crippled.

I've played Blue Stinger several times over the decades, and it's not one that really gets any better. Certainly a product of the era, this is the kind of game that realistically can be described as completely AVERAGE. There is an adequate balance between cheese, quality, and the ambition the team was going for that puts it right in the middle of the road. The music is neat, but the voice acting cuts it off at the heels. There's a decent amount of extras to indulge, like costumes and such, but the game moves at a snail's pace. Not bad. Not good. Blue Stinger...merely exists.