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B.L.U.E. - LEGEND OF WATER
SLPS 01459
Copyright © 1998 Hudson Soft
Platform, 1 Player
3D Adventure
Available in Japan
¥5,800
—by Geir Friestad
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Traditionally, computer games have favored adrenaline-inducing experiences
over more cerebral and relaxed ones like exploration. The reasons for this
are many, but it's probably safe to assume that an experience based on
instant gratification is easier to sell to the public than a slower
evolving one, even though the latter may ultimately turn out to be the more
rewarding of the two. And until recently the visuals available simply
weren't powerful enough to support a game based on the wonders of exploration.
But those days are numbered, and true exploration games have begun to
appear on the market. Developer Core and publisher Eidos easily set the
standard a few years ago when they let their pony-tailed Indiana Jones
wannabe, Lara Croft, loose on an unsuspecting world of gamers. And with the
success of TOMB RAIDER, the door to the gaming world has been opened just a
little bit more, allowing other exploration games to go beyond just the
concept stage of production.
B.L.U.E. - LEGEND OF WATER is an attempt by the wild "bombermen" at Hudson
Soft to ride the TOMB RAIDER wave. Here we have another cute girl as a the
main character and an even cuter sidekick (a dolphin) thrown in for good
measure. Add to this lots of ancient ruins and artifacts to discover and
explore in an aquatic environment. However, having played the game for a
while it becomes apparent that the Hudson crew should have spent some more
time practicing before catching the big wave...
The concept is good. The main character is a seventeen year old girl called
Maya, whose adventure starts off with a helicopter trip to the marine
research station where her father, Halbert, is working. Maya is fond of the
ocean, and soon spends her days swimming around with her pet and trusty
sidekick, a dolphin called Luka. Eventually, she stumbles across ancient
ruins on the ocean floor, and she's drawn into a whole new world of
underwater exploration and mystery...
Obviously, the game puts you in the role of Maya. You swim around with
Luka, trying to solve the various puzzles and figuring out the mystery of
the submerged ruins. In an attempt to add depth to the gameplay, Hudson has
made Luka vital to solving many of the puzzles by making him obey simple
commands such as push, stay, or swim away.
So far so good. So where did the bombermen lose their grip? What caused
them to wipe out on the big wave? A single answer is not easy to pin down,
but in the end it's probably a lack of either experience or time. No matter
what the reason is, the end result is the same; a game that looks, sounds,
and feels rushed and unfinished.
The graphics are immediately the first thing one notices, and in this case
that's not a good sign. B.L.U.E.'s graphics are rather crude looking, with
lots of polygon breakup and heavy use of fogging doing absolutely nothing
to remedy the average looking textures and models. The animation quality
also leaves a lot to be desired.
On the audio side things aren't quite so bad, but this game is set
underwater, after all, and the range and style of sound effects and music
used are rather restricted. For the most part they consist of lots of
bubbly noises and shimmering synthesizer sounds, and fortunately they do
their job as atmosphere providers reasonably well.
But the most crucial point is the gameplay, and this is, to an extent,
B.L.U.E.'s saving grace. For while B.L.U.E.'s visuals admittedly fail to
ignite the imagination, the sense of wonder and mystery is there. It may be
buried deep within the core of the game and require a bit of work to get
at, but it's there. Fans of the original TOMB RAIDER and Gainax' TV series
FUSHIGI NO UMI NO NADIA (THE SECRET OF BLUE WATER) will most likely find
something to love in this game, as long as they don't expect it to sweep
them off their feet with impressive visuals. If nothing else it'll help
pass the time while we're waiting for Konami's DOLPHIN DREAM to
come out. 
Rating: ** 1/2 out of 4 |
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