'Silent Debuggers' has to rank as one of the greatest names ever for a videogame. The first few minutes might convince you that this is a great game too. The funky intro music really sets the scene with style along with some nicely drawn anime style scenes.
Welcome to the world of the debuggers, a duo of fearless bounty hunters tasked with the job of ridding a futuristic space cargo ship of all manner of gruesome beings.
Prepare yourself to meander aimlessly though endless almost identical looking tunnels taking down aliens as you come across them. You might be tempted to think of this game as a FPS but it isn’t really. The illusion of 3D is shattered by the jerky flicking between frames as you progress in the corridors.
As this game is undoubtedly inspired by the film 'Alien' your character's lack of freedom fits perfectly. The claustrophobic feel of the corridors and the feeling of helplessness against insidious foes from another world suit the style of game well.
When your motion detector starts beeping frantically you’ll know the fiends are nearby and you can take them out with your trusty pea-shooter. Watch out the alien scum don’t turn the lights out on you, it’s really annoying when they do that!
The space age setting is nice but there is no escaping from the fact this is just a dressed dungeon-crawler. During enemy encounters there is no real sense of interaction in the attacks, it’s a shame that more tactical elements like targeting key body parts for certain aliens was not implemented into the combat. Instead you reduced to an uninspiring static shoot-out.
You've got to fill up your recharge your energy and weapons from time to time but there isn’t much to the gameplay unless you think of constantly having to pop up the map screen to check on your progress as a game feature.
Silent Debuggers is a game which from the outset appears to have great potential but the lack of freedom and variety will get to even the most intrepid of bounty hunters. Think wisely before accepting the offer of bounty in this space age disappointment.
1. azykial
14 Jun 2007, 19:52 GMT
I totally remember this game from back in the day. It was easily one of the most played TG16 games along with blazing lazers. I remember being totally enthralled by this title for a long time.
2. Mendez
16 Jun 2007, 18:36 GMT
"Think 'Doom' but on a console that was not capable of doing 3D!
"
So.. does that mean it's good or bad?
It looks alright..
3. link64
20 Jun 2007, 21:55 GMT
wait this was released before doom wouldn't that make this the worlds first FPS.
4. Yoshi175
21 Jun 2007, 20:46 GMT
No there were ones before this according to wikipedia
5. azykial
25 Jun 2007, 21:16 GMT
It actually is not really an FPS per se...its more like a hybrid of an FPS as you know it and a dungeon crawler. It's been a long time since i played the game though so it's hard to remember the exact control scheme.
The idea is that you are trapped in a space station that is set to explode. There is a central block that houses the control center and a few other points of interest like a the light controls and sensor arrays, it also is an elevator that allows travel between floors. To stop the space station from exploding you have to clear 6 levels of outer blocks that are full of monsters. As you wonder monsters will sometimes enter the center block and try to destroy a subsystem (like the lights).
Very good overall atmosphere to the game and well worth trying out. Lots of good screen shots at http://screenmania.retrogames.com/pce/01/pce_022.html also.
6. link64
10 Jul 2007, 23:13 GMT
well it seems to have atmosphere.
7. michinmuri
16 Jul 2007, 13:21 GMT
2 stars? Maybe my memories of my childhood escape me. I rememeber this game being a difficult one, but not to the point it was a two star rating. For the graphics and attempt to make a unique game, I'd give it at least three stars, but before I do that, I'll cough up $6 and check it out on my own. Then I'll rate it
8. StarSoldier1
16 Jul 2007, 21:45 GMT
I hated this game too, just too many rooms that don't do anything.
9. CocoLopez
17 Jul 2007, 14:44 GMT
Had this back in the day and enjoyed it- but why anyone would buy this now when first person shooters aren't just still around but are practically the only genre around is beyond me. They've come a long way obviously.
10. HumanIce
29 Aug 2007, 01:57 GMT
ahhhhaha.. I have this game on my Wii.. please, get the game to your Wii.. it's a very scray, funny at some point game..
but it's the most creepy FPS I've ever played in my life, you walk in a dark dungeon after the lights turn off, and you see all kinds of scary creatures around.. and some of them try to escape from you when you've shot them, and it just.. a very hard game.. you won't beat it.. EVER. but I like this game on my Wii.. it's better than some sonic I got to Wii for a bad point.. getting sonic to VC is a mistake.. I hate sonic.. boring game..
11. mooseproduce
24 Sep 2007, 16:31 GMT
This is basically a very good game that doesn't explain itself very well (not surprising, given the translation), and leaves you to figure out how to play.
My first play-through involved mucking around aimlessly through repetitive hallways, not knowing where I was or where monsters were, and shooting them whenever they happened to pop up. When there was only one or two left in the level, it took me probably 10 minutes of wandering to find each monster. I almost cried from boredom.
Anyways, at some point you figure out how to use the flashing lights at the top of the screen, and it's like sinking into the next layer of gameplay - now you actually know how to hunt monsters actively, and suddenly the game is action-packed. This alone still wouldn't be a "good game" - more of a chocolate egg hunt at Easter, really - except for the addition of the items and the Core rooms. Deciding on which weapons and items to take out into storage with you is actually REALLY strategic; one of my favourite combinations is auto charger + mega beamer + jump unit, which allows you to conserve physical ammo and defend the Core rooms. Alternatively, if you've cleared the area of green monsters, maybe you want to go Sleep Launcher + pistol + auto charger + muzzle adaptor, which is great for hunting.
Anyways, buy this only if you want to treat it as a kind of puzzle: "how am I going to play this game"?.. and, once you solve the puzzle, you get to play through an enjoyable action game.
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