hey all, i feel like a preacher in a nearly empty church sending an
email to this List but i know that the DC/Saturn still mean something
to some of you so, even though the piews are empty, the message
continues.
years ago, i started this little overlooked/underrated dc game series
to let some of you know about something you may have been missing. i
stopped as i got really busy and then started writing for the now
defunkt swirlvision.com and then what with grad school, things got
really busy and then i finally moved to japan which proved to be a
great move for many reasons.
in addition to my great job and getting engaged a few months ago, i've
also had the all important time to finsih / play some games. the next
game on this list is one that i only played for about 5 minutes several
years ago and recently picked up...Underrated DC game #4- Omikron: The
Nomad Soul.
wow, this game, combines some of the best elements of shenmue (free
roaming, huge environments) with headhunter (action sequences) and
combines them with awesome music and a very cool concept and world that
is absolutely engrossing. i feel like even though i turn the game off
that that universe somehow continues to exist. of course, i am not
saying that this game is better than shenmue or headhunter but man it
has been dissed.
positives:
1. mix of genre. this game has 1st person shooting, 3d fighting,
and shenmue F.R.E.E. style engines all rolled into one. there are so
many different types of games in this. and all of the engines perform
well. it goes from one mode to the other with relatively little loading
and usually there is no way to know what is next. 2. the music absolutely kicks butt. i am not david bowie's
biggest fan but the guy has earned the respect he's gotten over the
years for his creativity. he really did a great job on this game. 3. the concept is not all that dissimilar to maken x but it takes
it a step further in that you can live out other people's lives in a
way and have a completely new perpective in the universe in which the
game takes place. 4. the voice acting is great. similar to dragonriders, i'm not
sure how things like that get overlooked (probably because people never
get far enough in them to appreciate them). 5. the environment is alive. you feel the city pulsing around
you. it has a kind of burn cycle (cd-i) meets deSpiria(another great
underrated DC game) meets mdk2 atmosphere except things are in motion.
the colors are what you might believe of a post modern world and the
layout of the cities is fantastic and easy to nvigate. 6. the control, while not perfect, is as good as it needs to be.
it would have been nice to have had more analog use but the d-pad does
well. perhaps shenmue 2 spoiled me. 7. length and replay value: how many endings does this game have?
how many different playable characters are these? i have no idea. but
i am eager to find out. if the original price of this game was $50
then i would bet that you get fifty cents for every hour of full
gameplay. there is also lots of stuff to explore and find out about
that is not even necessary to finish the game.
negatives:
-1. the graphics aren't completely sharp but the positives so out
weigh this and any other negatives that it doesn't matter (just like in
burning rangers, for example). -2. the ring system needs special care. you need rings to save
the game so use them sparingly. man, it sucks to need to save and not
have any! -3. though i quickly got used to it, the load time is about 1 to 2
seconds for most big environments changes. but the loads are really
nothing imo. not like the huge ones in soldier of fortune or
dragonriders.
that's about it . given the current price of this game these days
and the recently announced sequel, i HIGHLY recommend you all take this
game off your shelves or buy it and pop it in to the still kicking
dreamcasts. it looks and plays a little better than the pc version imo
which i only tried out once , in fairness. it's a solid dreamcast game
with LOTS to offer.
that brings our underrated/overlooked list to 4 games:
Dragonriders: The Chronicles of Pern
Metropolis Street Racer
Silver
Omikron: The Nomad Soul
cheers, george