Genre: Third-Person Shooter
Developer: Climax Graphics
Publisher: Activision

Blue Stinger, as a Dreamcast launch title, is maybe the first game people will play on the platform. The texture quality is nice, the player models are very detailed, and some of the animation is excellent. Other bits of animation are simply awful, and the game features considerable slowdown at times. Each area in the game has its own, distinctive theme, and the general impression the game leaves is that it is an adequate representation of the Dreamcast's capabilities.

The music in the game is very well done. Most of the tunes are suspense-laden orchestra tracks. Others are most memorable, especially the unforgettable holiday theme that plays during one of the longer game sequences. The sound effects are likewise of high quality. It's the voice acting that hurts- Blue Stinger has some of the worst voice acting ever heard in a video game. It's simply perplexing that they couldn't find better voice acters, especially since heading out onto the street and asking the first few people you see would yield better results. In summation, the sound is a mixed bag, with excellent music, and unbelievably poor voice acting.

Blue Stinger's gameplay mechanics, level, baddie, and weapon designs are all rock-solid. Blue Stinger plays like a traditional side-scrolling, platforming arcade shooter, except in 3d. It's loaded with unrealistic elements, such as buying new guns from vending machines, and enemies that spit out dozens of gold coins when killed, but then again, most great shooters contain esoteric elements. Blue Stinger is not a marquee, triple-A caliber title, nor was it created to be; it is a solid, old-school style shooter, and at that, the gameplay succeeds very well.

Reviewers unjustifiably made fun of this game to no end upon the Dreamcast's release, but it's apparent that they were not understanding the intent of the title; this is not a survival-horror game- it is a shooter! Expecting Resident Evil-type mechanics will leave the player disappointed, as they are looking at the wrong game in the first place. For what it's worth however, Blue Stinger is a solid, fun, blast-from-the-past shooter with solid design through and through.