PlanetDreamcast | Games | Reviews | Fur Fighters

Fur Fighters Page 2/2 Fast, fur-ious fun - Review By Mr. Domino The fun doesn't stop with the main game, though! No sir (or ma'am)! There are lots of little neat bonus games to enjoy, both during the main adventure and elsewhere. Most notably is the game's Fluff Match, a four player deathmatch set in any of six arenas of plush death. Although these arenas won't exactly make anyone forget about Perfect Dark's multiplayer environments, they are a nice bonus and enjoyable just the same. FPS fanatics will be happy to know that you can switch to a first-person view in this mode, a welcome addition since your character tends to eat up most of the view when your screen is cut in half (or fourths). Surprisingly, the framerate is consistent in this mode as well, although I wonder how much the smallish size of the arenas has to do with that. Don't expect too much strategy or sniping -- fluff match is out and out war, and good fun. The Bad Finally, a DC game with impressive water effects. Bad... hmm... Well, the game does start off to a roaring snore. An action gamer buys an action game to get some action gaming fun, and Fur Fighters taunts and bores such people with a mandatory training level. Even worse is that there is not a single enemy in this training stage; all of the time is spent introducing the player to the individual characters' specialty skills, and learning the rather obvious controls. Wee. The puzzles are very well done, but there is one thing which nearly kills all of the work which went into creating them -- General Bristol. The ghost of the former Fur Fighters leader is always on hand just a few feet away from a puzzle, ready to supply a blatant hint. Talk to him again, and he more or less gives the answer away. Sometimes it's almost impossible not to talk to him in close quarters, and triggering his many far too obvious help screens can get annoying quick. It is best to avoid him altogether for maximum enjoyment. His too-frequent appearances make me wonder if Bizarre Creations had any idea who the target audience for this game was to be. Bristol and the cuddly look suggests a child's game, but the challenge and controls would prove too complex for a youngun. Not to mention the over-the-top violence... While it's great that the environments are as enormous as they are, it's very annoying to get lost. In particular, I think the first level is a poor choice for a starting level. The theme -- a city in a snowy night -- is far too dark and repetitive to make a good introductory stage. Since enemies stay dead after being killed, getting lost can mean many lonely, boring walks across great distances until you find out what it is exactly you need to do. Thankfully, the level design really picks up soon afterward, but this lackluster first level is an annoyance I could have lived without. Ah, slippery ice. The old standby of platform games. In the miscellaneous department, I do wish the game looked just a bit nicer. Sometimes what looks like a button isn't a button, what appears to be a tunnel is just a wall, and so on. The music is also pretty nondescript, although it is neat how it changes depending on the character selected. I could also cite the story for being hokey, but I didn't have a problem with that since it gave me a good enough excuse to do what I was required to do. Still, I have to commend Bizarre Creations for changing all of the dialogue to suit the individual characters. They really do bring their personality across, and I enjoy that kind of attention to detail. It's a shame I have to talk to Bristol to see it, though. Finally, while not everyone will have this problem, I actually got physically sick many times from having to run through the game's long, twisting passages. Seriously... I was nauseous. While I've never had this problem with any other 3D game, the near constant radical perspective shifts the game occasionally forced me to endure became quite nauseating. The game also has some weird texture-ripple effect (sometimes textures seem to jump a pixel high or low from its position as you move closer) which hurt my eyes a bit. I suppose it's not healthy to play games for several hours at a time, but I found myself having to leave Fur Fighters more from stomach aches than anything else. Kinda annoying when the game is as fun and involved as Fur Fighters is, but c'est la vie. The Final Word Bizarre Creations have given Dreamcast gamers a treat with Fur Fighters, a great game whose worst flaw is that it's dumbed down just a bit too much for its own good. Even though you can check your brain at the door, Fur Fighters just does too many things right, so don't pass this one up. Developer: Bizarre Creations Publisher: Acclaim Genre: Action Highs: Huge quest, massive environments, lots of action, amazing detail. Lows: Slow to start, too many hints ruin puzzles, lack of difficulty. Other: 1-4 players, VMU Compatible (Save takes 51 blocks), VGA Box Compatible, Jump Pack Compatible. Media: Intro (MPEG) - The intro is fairly cheesy. [Big (13.1M)] - [Med (7.1M)] - [Small (1.5M)] Gameplay 1 (MPEG) - Storming through a snowy park to the World Quack Centre. [Big (13.2M)] - [Med (6.5M)] - [Small (1.4M)] Gameplay 2 (MPEG) - These bears are no match for a shotgun. [Big (14.6M)] - [Med (7.9M)] - [Small (1.7M)] Final Score: (out of a possible 10) Visit this Game's Dreamcast Database Entry Previous Reviews Comments on this review? Mail Feedback.