We are still waiting on a suitable Amiga AGA emulator with robust recording features before tackling such games.Deep Fear
Deep Fear on the Saturn developed by Sega AM7 R&D Division and released in 1998
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Player's Review
"Deep beneath the ocean reports are coming through that an unidentified object is entering the earth's atmosphere, heading straight for the Pacific ocean. The Naval submarine Seafox is dispatched immediately to investigate. Upon arriving at the refueling facility it crashes unexpectedly ....further investigation is required immediately. The general feeling is one of fear.....Deep Fear! A story of drama, suspense and a large dose of action. Expect the unexpected, just don't expect to survive!"
The game is thought to be the last Saturn game to be released in Europe before Sega concentrated specifically on the Japanese market. The PAL version is being played here as it didn't see a US release and It was beneficial to have English audio dub. It should be noted that there is no subtitles option in the game. Unfortunately, the speech has a very low recording quality and lower volume than the sfx so it can be hard to make it out at times as its a bit muffled.
The game comes on two cd's and makes very good use of them with high quality cinematics throughout. The story plays out like one of the made for tv sci-fi action films and I do wonder if there is some influence of Metal Gear solid in the production of this game with maybe a hint of 'In Cold Blood' but not nearly as well done as all backdrops are static here. Not to take anything away from the game though as the backdrops are all of high quality and look great as you run through the corridors and you'll see them a lot as the gameplay heavily involved backtracking between areas. The sfx adds a lot to the atmosphere of the game as well as some epic music pieces that really sell the scene.
Of course before you can see these epic scenes, you have to play through the more mundane part of the game that involves running back and forth between rooms and whole areas to collect needed items to progress. This is similar to the aforementioned metal gear solid and resident evil although thankfully there is not much inventory management involved. The games enemy creatures are varied and very well detailed. Combat plays like resident evil in that once you have the weapon drawn, your movement is limited. There are a number of weapons and there is some strategy required to find which gun works best on a particular enemy. Ammo can run out quick if using the wrong weapon but there are plenty of storage lockers in the game to reload your weapons. However, you can only choose one special (high powered) weapon to take with you at a time. Grenades can be found mainly in the first half of the game. It's a good idea to only use when really really needed and these are not refreshed in the weapon lockers. Health is plentiful at least in the first half of the game but there are some spots with what seem like infinite small health pickups although you can only hold a certain amount.
Ill just note that in order to conserve health, I do exploit the fact that you cant be hurt when the draw, holster and throw animations are playing. When executed at the right moment you can avoid taking a hit and get a quick shot in. Sometimes holstering and running away can help as when you draw, you will instantly snap to the enemy and can land a perfect hit. Another aspect to the game is limited air. In certain areas and rooms you may encounter little to no air but you can use an air grenade to fill it with air that will last a little while. When air runs out, you will resort to your respirator which will need charging at air stations. It should be noted that combat can use up air quickly. At certain points you will be able to use an air station to replenish the air supply in the whole area. These stations also serve as your save points.
Throughout the game, you can skip most enemy infested areas if you wish just by running past em and going through the next door. You can not pickup any objects in an area until cleared though. Throughout the longplay I may drag out certain areas in order to show and collectable items in the area or conversations even if they are not needed to progress. This included some documents that give a little background to the games story.
Overall, I think it a good well presented game even if a little repetitive with all the running around. The loading screens are annoying and probably take up an hour of this video. I don't think there is much replicability once the game is completed however as there is nothing in the game that tallies up your performance and collectables found. Thankfully no S-Rank nonsense blocking story content which is unusual given the game is from Sega. Again, some great cinematics to be found especially near the end of the game.
00:00:00 CD1
02:54:40 CD2
The game is thought to be the last Saturn game to be released in Europe before Sega concentrated specifically on the Japanese market. The PAL version is being played here as it didn't see a US release and It was beneficial to have English audio dub. It should be noted that there is no subtitles option in the game. Unfortunately, the speech has a very low recording quality and lower volume than the sfx so it can be hard to make it out at times as its a bit muffled.
The game comes on two cd's and makes very good use of them with high quality cinematics throughout. The story plays out like one of the made for tv sci-fi action films and I do wonder if there is some influence of Metal Gear solid in the production of this game with maybe a hint of 'In Cold Blood' but not nearly as well done as all backdrops are static here. Not to take anything away from the game though as the backdrops are all of high quality and look great as you run through the corridors and you'll see them a lot as the gameplay heavily involved backtracking between areas. The sfx adds a lot to the atmosphere of the game as well as some epic music pieces that really sell the scene.
Of course before you can see these epic scenes, you have to play through the more mundane part of the game that involves running back and forth between rooms and whole areas to collect needed items to progress. This is similar to the aforementioned metal gear solid and resident evil although thankfully there is not much inventory management involved. The games enemy creatures are varied and very well detailed. Combat plays like resident evil in that once you have the weapon drawn, your movement is limited. There are a number of weapons and there is some strategy required to find which gun works best on a particular enemy. Ammo can run out quick if using the wrong weapon but there are plenty of storage lockers in the game to reload your weapons. However, you can only choose one special (high powered) weapon to take with you at a time. Grenades can be found mainly in the first half of the game. It's a good idea to only use when really really needed and these are not refreshed in the weapon lockers. Health is plentiful at least in the first half of the game but there are some spots with what seem like infinite small health pickups although you can only hold a certain amount.
Ill just note that in order to conserve health, I do exploit the fact that you cant be hurt when the draw, holster and throw animations are playing. When executed at the right moment you can avoid taking a hit and get a quick shot in. Sometimes holstering and running away can help as when you draw, you will instantly snap to the enemy and can land a perfect hit. Another aspect to the game is limited air. In certain areas and rooms you may encounter little to no air but you can use an air grenade to fill it with air that will last a little while. When air runs out, you will resort to your respirator which will need charging at air stations. It should be noted that combat can use up air quickly. At certain points you will be able to use an air station to replenish the air supply in the whole area. These stations also serve as your save points.
Throughout the game, you can skip most enemy infested areas if you wish just by running past em and going through the next door. You can not pickup any objects in an area until cleared though. Throughout the longplay I may drag out certain areas in order to show and collectable items in the area or conversations even if they are not needed to progress. This included some documents that give a little background to the games story.
Overall, I think it a good well presented game even if a little repetitive with all the running around. The loading screens are annoying and probably take up an hour of this video. I don't think there is much replicability once the game is completed however as there is nothing in the game that tallies up your performance and collectables found. Thankfully no S-Rank nonsense blocking story content which is unusual given the game is from Sega. Again, some great cinematics to be found especially near the end of the game.
00:00:00 CD1
02:54:40 CD2
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