It is saddening to me that when I look at the gaming community today, I don't see much more than a bunch of "Halo"-addicted drones. A huge part of the video-gamer demographic refuses to play games outside the mainstream: Unless the title is hyped up before the public even sees the first screen shots, these gamers won't consider trying it out.
Allow me to introduce a few games that don't get talked about but could win over gamers' hearts with their unique charms, if only they were given a chance.
Long ago in the era of Sega Dreamcast, there was a little-known title called "Space Channel 5." Merely a graphically pleasing, more musically beautiful version of Simon Says, "Space Channel 5" featured simplistic gameplay that could really keep a beat. Players assumed the role of Space Reporter Ulala (pronounced Ooo-La-Lah), who is investigating the appearance of aliens at a spaceport on Earth in the year 2499. The object of the game is to follow the onscreen commands to rescue hostages being forced to dance and in doing so to gain high ratings for Ulala's show and just maybe uncover a sinister plot involving mind control.
I remember falling in love with this game years ago when I actually played my Dreamcast. The music had an infectious beat that made me want to play more and more until I had perfect ratings and could battle the toughest aliens with ease.
The game is unfortunately short — it honestly takes less than two hours to complete. However, there are some fun alternate gameplay modes that players can access by successfully completing segments of the game without making any mistakes. For instance, players can rescue Michael Jackson ("Space Michael" in the game) and then be treated to watching the character sprites do the dance from his "Beat It" video in cartoon fashion. Jacko actually did his own voice-overs, but the extent of that is "Thank you Ulala." Fortunately, there is a second installment to "SC5" that was released in the United States as "Space Channel 5: Special Edition," a two-disk set of parts one and two. These days, you can pick it up for less than $15, money that will indeed be well-spent.
Moving on in our tour from dancing intergalactic journalists traversing the recesses of space, we are now going to assume the role of a tiny, tiny mosquito. Straight out of Japan, "Mister Mosquito" (PS2) puts players behind the eyes of a blood-sucking pest, who seeks to fill his blood quota by torturing the small Yamada family of three as they go about their daily business. His motivation for collecting: survive the cold winter ahead.
"Mister Mosquito" is one of those titles that speaks to an audience unafraid to play something that doesn't involve blazing machine guns and cruise missiles. Torturing the Yamada family on its summer vacations is really an entertaining experience. While the concept of the game is obscenely ludicrous, it does have a certain sense of realism. For instance, you only have so long to collect your sample before the characters will catch on to your antics and attempt to swat you away like the little fly that you almost are. So of course, our little mosquito pal is forced to fly away as fast as his little wings can carry him and avoid being squashed.
Again, this is a value title, hovering around the $15 price range. Much like "Space Channel 5," it will only take a couple of hours to chug through, and replay for unlockables is really not worth it. I mean, unless it is important to you that you can change the color of a flying friend or change the humans' pants from leopard print to zebra, there's no reason to waste the time and energy.
Another title from Sega that is sure to peak open minds is "Rez," also for PS2. "Rez" is a scrolling shooter with simple visuals that can only be described as a psychedelic acid trip.
The story of the game is pretty out there. You play as a computer hacker who enters cyberspace to destroy all the viruses that plague the system. By doing this, you reawaken Eden, the mainframe in charge of the cyber world. Really, the story is of no importance but just serves as a precursor to musical madness.
The main draw of "Rez" is the trance music that plays through the whole game. Levels start out with simple beats that get progressively more complex as you go on. When you defeat enemies, for instance, they will release sounds that contribute to the track. When shooting down foes, the game will respond to your shots by only taking them out in time with the music, so you can never play off the beat.
An interesting aspect of "Rez" is the optional accessory that can enhance the gameplay, I guess. Enter ASCII's Trance Vibrator. The name says it all, as when you plug in the USB device to your console, it reacts to the music's beat by, well, vibrating. This is one accessory that makes it into the realm of being only for the hardcore crowd, as it's one hell of an acquired taste. Rumble features on the controller are quite enough for me, thank you.
"Rez" is the most expensive of the three titles here, still going for around $30 on eBay or $40 used from some game stores. Brand new, the Trance Vibrator usually sells for more than $50.
Through these brief descriptions and mini reviews, I hope I have given you a glimpse into the world of gaming that goes beyond big names like Mario and Master Chief.
Sticking to the hyped launch titles and what everyone else is playing is a safe bet, but I find it all-together boring.
So do yourself a favor, and the next time you are in the market looking for something you can just pick up and enjoy, go with one of these titles or something else you might find just as eccentric. As you can see, it really won't break the bank, and who knows, you just might like it.
Justin Voss is a sophomore majoring in Japanese. Are you ready to put down "Halo" and try something new? E-mail Tanuki Voss for sage advice at [email protected].
