Slave Zero offers more then it delivers.

It if ever there was a game that had success written all over it, it was Slave Zero. As far as third-person action/shooter games go, the Dreamcast is a bit thin on the ground, and is a niche that is just begging to be filled. This coupled with the fact that it incorporated robots with giant guns blowing the crap out of each other was sure to make it top of everyone's ''To Buy'' list. However, after several hours play, your opinion will have changed dramatically.<br> <br>The game is set 500 years in the future in Megacity S1-9, a futuristic city built atop the ruins of Beijing. It's ruled by an evil dictator who's using a mysterious energy source to control the population. The city is built on multiple 'decks': the lower ones are where most of the population lives in squalor; then there's the military sector, where the dictator's army lives; there's also a sewer network and a lab sector. You get to see 'em all in the process of playing the game. Where do you fit into all of this? You're part of the rebellion force, fighting to unseat the dreaded dictator and restore peace to the land. <br> <br>The gameplay itself revolves around having to explore and secure the various levels of the city (of which there are 15) for the rebellion, with the ultimate aim being to wrest control of the city from the tyranny of Sovkhan and restore autonomy to the inhabitants. Each level has three missions to complete before you can progress, but expect some fierce resistance from the enemy Sentinels that will hunt you down and attempt to stop you - only then does the hunter become the hunted as you step up and let off a few rounds plus the odd rocket in their direction, stopping them dead in their tracks. <br> <br>People play action games because they want some excitement, some intensity. No, check that. They don't want "some" action, they want a lot of it, and they don't expect it to let up until the final boss has a rocket up his tailpipe and a bad case of lead poisoning. Slave Zero's first and most evident gameplay pitfal would have to be its utter disregard for this primary principle of gaming logic. A good 50% of the game, you're just sort of walking around, shooting enemies who act as if they aren't too sure of what you intend to do with that fancy shcmancy rail gun of yours, and because of this, the experience just feels empty. <br>To make matters worse, there is the occasional mission, such as the escorting of the convoy deep inside the sewers, that makes you know that someone on the design team knows what he's doing. Enemies come at you from nearly every conceivable angle, and between taking them out and keeping up with your boat-bound buddies, you really get the sense of urgency, and are kept on the edge of your seat. The sad thing is, however, that this sort of action is anything but a regular occurrence, and the lifeless gameplay gaps that connect these killer sequences only serve to threaten your interest, as opposed to your character's life...which is what makes things interesting in the end, is it not? <br><br>The expanse of the levels and lack of variety in them does mean, that by the time you reach the higher levels your task becomes rather repetitive despite some attempt to instil some sense of variety in the missions. Maybe if a bit more thought had been put into this and if some of the levels actually stretched the cranium just a little then perhaps Slave Zero might have held more appeal than it actually does. Unfortunately, it's easy enough just to switch to auto-pilot and lose interest quickly.<br><br>Despite the game's flaws - which we'll get to in a minute - it's noticeable that Infogrammes have worked hard on the overall presentation. The radio instructions are a novel touch, doing away with the need for a boring page of briefing at the start of each mission. Although it's generally clear where you should be going next, the radio crackles into life to help out whenever you might be in any doubt - and occasionally it even squawks at you to stop heading in the wrong direction! There's also the odd cut-scene interspersed into the action to help things along. <br><br>Often it ties in with the radio messages. For example, towards the end of the second mission, your controller warns you that there's 'a massive hostile heading your way'. A few streets later, you jump down into an exposed area, and a cut-scene pops up showing the boss landing in front of you. Then you fight it. It's all very atmospheric. The scale of the game has been well-judged too. You really do feel like you're a giant robot, particularly when you're crushing cars underfoot and hurling petrified humans against the walls. <br><br>It's not essential to the gameplay at all, but it is good fun. In terms of its looks, Slave Zero is average. It doesn't look like a next-gen Dreamcast title, with textures that wouldn't look out of place on an average N64 game. You could say the graphics are purely functional, but then Dreamcast owners expect more. Its nearest DC comparison is probably Fighting Force 2-- and that's hardly a recommendation.<br><br>The environments throughout the game are impressively awe-inspiring as edifices reach for the sky and the dwindling stars, casting everything else in shadow, thereby creating an atmosphere suitably eerie for such a game. The robots themselves are well rendered, moving smoothly enough and the explosions, for the most part, really do look like explosions. But this impressive backdrop is severely let down by some sloppy frame rates and slow-down which can only be diagnosed as being chronic. The situation is under control when it's just your character on the screen, but as soon as a group of Sentinels come screaming at you, guns blazing, things start to get a little nasty as the 'Ecstasy Engine' tries, in vain, to keep up with the action, and ultimately you're dead before you know it.<br><br><br>But where Slave Zero really loses out is in the audio department. The hard work that is done by the dark and mysterious visuals in creating a futuristic and sinister atmosphere is let down by a complete lack of musical accompaniment, making playing the game less of an experience than it should be. In contrast, though, the actual sound effects are remarkably good with guns and rockets exploding with a suitable bang, although the metallic clanging does become a headache inducing experience after a while. <br><br>It's just too bad. There was a lot to like here, but after all is said and done, action fans will be well served to hold back their hard-earned bucks for the likes of Soul Reaver or MDK2 than put down the dough for this one. It isn't visually stunning, the controls are fiddly, and it was too bloody difficult. It's just one of those games that seems to offer a lot more than it actually delivers, which is a shame, as if a little more time had been spent on the finer points it could have been a much better game.<br><br></P>