Dan Geeks Out: Video Game Review #393: Dynamite Cop

Dynamite Cop

Sega Dreamcast

Nostalgia Factor:

The Dreamcast has a sequel to Die Hard Arcade, and it is called Dynamite Cop. Until just a few weeks ago, I had never known this game existed. While none of the characters from Die Hard Arcade make it into this game, its combat and its format are nearly identical to that of its predecessor.

I reviewed Die Hard Arcade back in my 338th video game review. I liked the game overall, but I considered it a short and shallow experience, devoid of replay value. Yet I still gave it a C+.

What would I think of its Dreamcast sequel? Let's find out!

Story:

Terrorists have taken over a cruise ship in an attempt to capture the President's daughter. You have to board the ship and defeat the terrorists.

As you can see, there is not much to the story of this game. Short and to the point.

Gameplay:

If you've played Die Hard Arcade, you'll feel right at home here. I could probably copy and paste the gameplay section from my Die Hard Arcade review in this spot, verbatim, and save myself some work. But I am not gonna do that.

This is a 3D beat 'em up. Think TMNT or Streets of Rage, and you are sort of on the right track. Those games have levels that you progress through. This game is comprised of a series of one-room areas where you have to defeat all of the enemies in the area. Once you clear the area out, the screen fades to black and you move onto the next part of the ship. You fight more enemies, the screen fades to black, you move onto the next room. There is no level progression and no exploration to be found in this title.

Every once in a while you'll encounter a quick time event in between combat zones. Simply press the corresponding button and you can avoid an enemy encounter. Fail to press the button in time, or press the wrong button like my dumb ass did all the time, and you have to fight through an area that you normally wouldn't have to otherwise.

You can punch and kick enemies. You can jump. What makes Dynamite Cop (and its predecessor Die Hard Arcade) special is the fact that you can use so many things in your environment as weapons. This game even amps up the ridiculousness - especially in the dining room area. I was laughing my ass off as I beat up my opponents with French baguettes, giant fish, and big pieces of meat.

The ridiculousness of the weapons is on full display once again. You can pick things up like rocket launchers and bazookas, and fire them at your enemies that are like two feet away from you. The action is fast and it is constant. It's fun while it lasts.

But that's the problem. This is an absurdly short game. When you first start it up, you see three different scenarios - kind of like old light gun arcade games where you could pick the order in which you'd play the easy, medium, and hard levels. But no. These aren't different levels. They are simply different starting locations from where you board the hijacked cruise ship. You might see a few different rooms depending on which scenario you select, but on the whole all of these scenarios are nearly identical.

The only real difference is the difficulty. The first scenario gives you an unlimited amount of continues and no time limit. The second scenario limits your continues. The third one limits your continues and imposes a time limit. Being the completionist I am, I did indeed play through all three scenarios. Even this didn't take me much more than an hour.

Doing so unlocked three new scenarios - but again you are just rehashing the same levels you've already played over and over again, this time with absurd restrictions placed upon you. One of the scenarios demands that you beat the entire game without taking a single hit of damage. Um, no. I didn't even bother with this second group of scenarios when I saw that. I'm all for adding replay value to a short game, but come on. Let's be realistic here. Absolutely no one is completing a beat 'em up without taking any damage, unless you are otherworldly skilled or just flat out obsessed with this game. I am neither.

Graphics:

This game looks okay, I guess. I always say I'm not a graphics snob, but I kind of expected better from the Dreamcast. This easily looks like it could have been a PS1 game.

Sound:

Nothing stood out to me about this game's music or sound effects. Nothing.

In fact, the only thing I can remember as far as sound goes is the voice acting - which is absolutely atrocious. Normally I can appreciate fun, campy dialogue - but this is just stupid. Die Hard Arcade did this already, and did it much better. Why not try something else?

Overall:

Die Hard Arcade was a fun novelty, but honestly the series should have ended right then and there. Dynamite Cop does absolutely nothing we haven't seen before. It's easy, it's short, and it offers very little in the way of replay value. The extra scenarios that add nothing to the game are a slap in the face to the people who spent 50 or 60 bucks on this when it was first released. I am glad I am not one of those people.

This is still a relatively amusing game, for the hour or so that I played it. It's just SUCH a shallow experience. I can't see myself coming back to it anytime soon, if ever - especially with so many quality beat 'em ups out there.

If you decide to skip over this one, you aren't missing much.

THE GRADE:

D+

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