by Jay "THE FLEA" Wade
Does any one remember the cult classic "D" on the 3DO, PSX and Sega Saturn?
The original "D" was a first person view cinema horror that was slow but full of puzzles.
If was a fun game to go though once but after that it really had no replay value.
Then 3DO was going to have D2 as a launch title for the M2. (3DO's next system)
But it was a lost cause and was never released, 3DO sold the game to Sega and they where going to release it on Saturn......but the Saturn died a few months later.
D2 finally sees the light of day on the Dreamcast.
The story is you play as Laura who during a plane trip a terrorist attack makes the plane crash in the mountains in Canada and Laura and a few others are the only ones to survive. Laura wakes up days later and can't remember any thing about herself or the crash. She finds all the others on board have mutated into horrible creatures. she tries to find a way out of the mountains before she is killed by the mutants.
It plays nothing like the now outdated "D" and it has features of almost every format of video games. The only part that plays like the original "D" is the exploration inside buildings and she still has that compact. The rest is a third person view exploration in the snow covered mountains with random battles and you kill enemies in first person mode.
You even have to hunt for food in D2, you'll have a sniper rifle with a scope and must shoot Rabbits, Moose & Peasants for food to heal health problems.
The graphics are solid and the story graphics are fun to watch. The only problem with the FMV is the characters have a porcelain doll look to them. And most of the mutants are dull compared with Resident Evil and Parasite Eve.
Most all the story videos are fully voice acted and done pretty well, But just like the original "D" Laura never speaks a single word. (she must mute or just extremely shy)
D2 is the largest Dreamcast title to date, it spans onto four discs. Mostly due to the large amount of FMV.
D2 while not the best survival horror is still a worthy contender. If you've already played Resident Evil Code Veronica to death and are looking for the next best thing, I'd suggest making D2 your next choice.
PUBLISHER: SEGA / WARP
GRAPHICS: 8.5 SOUND & CONTROL: 8 CONTROL: 7
SECRETS: 7 ORIGINALITY: 8 FUN & REPLAY: 7.5
OVERALL: 7