The Guinea Pigs: 3DO Games on the Saturn
J.M. Vargas
sjvargas@concentric.netJuly 30th, 1997 represents the day when the burial and complete disposal of the legacy that 3DO brought to next-gen. console gaming will be complete. It's the day Acclaim will release "BattleSport", from Studio 3DO, on Saturn. And since the other "big" 3DO title that was expected to ship with "BattleSport", the first-person shooter "Killing Time" has vanished from all release dates, the release of "BattleSport" puts an end to the trickle of 3DO's finest that made the trip over to the competing CD-based platforms, Sega's Saturn and Sony's PSX.
Why should any of you care? You don't have to, but I ask that your simpathy be with me as I theorize how & why 3DO titles were used as American-developed guinea pigs by their developers during the launch and early establishment of the 32-bit gaming scene, and how some of those games still rate today. This editorial will kick-off a week-long series of reviews that yours truly will start posting (Dave Z.'s approval pending, of course :) this Wednesday, July 30th, of games that were developed EXCLUSIVELY for the 3DO, that eventually were ported to Saturn by their developers or publishers. I'll compare the Saturn and 3DO version's differences (if any), and will point their place in recent gaming history. Should you happen to be a Saturn owner with time to spare and a passion for the 3DO (anybody?), I encourage you to join this site with either reviews or opinions about the relation between the 3DO and the Saturn. After all, as much as I hate to say it, these are the two 32-bit machines that have become the early casualties of the next-gen. slaughterfest (Virtual Boy and the Atari Jaguar are more colateral damage than casualties of war... but I digress!).
I'll be honest: the reason for my fondness for 3DO rests on the fact that it was the first console gaming machine that I wholeheartedly supported since the Atari 2600. I had friends who owned the NES, Sega Genesis, and all other platforms (I'll admit that I sunk a pile of dough on the Atari Lynx based on tech. specs and a salesperson's recommendation; kids, JUST DON'T DO IT!). Although I really didn't follow the industry with the passion I do now, I was aware of what was hot and what sucked from friendly recommendations. 3DO and Jaguar were the future of gaming back in 1993/1994, and any gamer can't deny that, if they could have afforded the initial $700 price-tag for 3DO or the $249 for Jaguar, they would have done it just so they could claim to have experienced the future of gaming first (ain't hindsight a beautiful thing?).
Since the hand-held Lynx burned me, I decided that I didn't need another Atari product next to my closeted 2600; out with the Jaguar (although the hype of magazines like "DieHard Gamefan" proved quite tempting). 3DO only called my attention in September 1994, when the machine dropped to $400 and Electronic Arts' "Road Rash" was released; this was the brief period when you were really "in the game" with your 3DO machine: games were emphasized (as opposed to the initial multimedia push of titles like "Putt Putt Joins the Parade"...agghh!), prices were dropping and Time magazine named the 3DO "best new product of the year".
But the games that pushed the 3DO technology were also being used by their developers as the guinea pigs for their new Saturn and PSX development tools. Electronic Arts and Crystal Dynamics were the primary suppliers of the best games 3DO ever saw, and their games were used as the blue print for the bigger and better things that these companies, among others, would release on Saturn (and PSX): "Gex", "FIFA Soccer", "Off-World Interceptor Extreme", "Shockwave Assault", "The Horde", "Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels", "Slam & Jam", "Need for Speed", "Road Rash" and "Sword & Sorcery" (Microcabin's Saturn port of the 3DO game known as "Lucienne's Quest"). Ironically, Studio 3DO (arguably the finest developers of their own machine) developed for Saturn/PSX/PC when their own machine went under, and "BattleSport" will join "Starfighter" as 3DO-native software available on Saturn.
(SPECIAL NOTE: all of the above titles will be reviewed by yours-truly, Dave Z.'s approval pending, starting July 30th. If you can remember any 3DO original titles that were released for the Saturn not included in the above list, please e-mail me at sjvargas@conentric.net and let me know so I can include in the upcoming 3DO review-fest. Please note that in the list of 3DO-to-Saturn titles I didn't include games like "D" (already reviewed), "John Madden Football" -because the version that reached the Saturn in 1996 was too advanced and reprogrammed to be considered a "descendent" of the 1993 3DO original -although the contribution of the 3DO in Electronic Arts' dip into CD technology can't be ignored-. Also not included are PSX exclusives like "Total Eclipse Turbo" -although Saturn got the almost-exact sequel, "Solar Eclipse", as an exclusive-.)
What characterizes these 3DO-native titles on the Saturn? Unfortunately, in all honestly they pale in comparison to what other game companies were able to achieve in 32-bit gaming. But keep in mind that back in late 1995/1st.half 1996, the games that were truly ground-breaking and phenomenal were very few and nowhere near a regular sight as today. I din't purchase my Saturn until the December 1995 triple-punch of "V.F.2", "S.Rally" and "V.Cop" made me realize this sucker was for real! "Resident Evil" made me buy a PSX just to play it! And to its credit, it only took a sight of "Super Mario 64" to make me a N64 owner. 3DO games were a regular sight on the Saturn for the machine's first year, and their good points were acceptable for first-generation titles. But tiles like "Gex" were easily matched (and some would argue surpassed) by first-gen. flash from Sega titles like "Astal" or "Bug" (first party), or "Rayman" (from third-party UBI Software). 3DO titles pushed their machine visually, but on Saturn they consistently failed to impress spoiled eyes.
Another factor that characterizes this titles is their definitely B-quality in the area of gameplay. Sure, "Gex" is a funny and well-designed side-scroller...but we've seen a million of them on Saturn, some much better ("Guardian Heroes", "Skeleton Warriors") and some horrendous ("Bug Too"). "FIFA Soccer 1995" for 3DO broke gameplay and technological barriers (it's the only 3DO original title to make it into "Next Generation" magazine's 100 best games of all time, at number eighty-...something!), but on the Saturn it was just another soccer game sharing space with the likes of "Worldwide Soccer" & "Striker 96", among others. See the pattern? 3DO originals on other platforms also share the infamous distinction of being the most readily available for rent at video stores (seriously! Check your local Blockbuster on a weekend and tell me what Saturn games are still there unrented. Chances are a 3DO title like "Space Hulk" or "Shockwave Assault" is there in their Saturn incarnation...PSX too!).
Doesn't sound like the best games in the world? They sure are not. There isn't a single AAA title of the magnitude of "NiGHTS", "Sega Rally" or "Turok" on 3DO that screams "buy this machine now". That was the single reason behind the demise of the Opera system (another term for the system). I have a list of bad games for 3DO that makes the PSX library (the most mediocre of the current three big consoles) look heavenly for comparison. I'll briefly summarize the 3DO library with three games: Art Data's "Doom", Digital Pictures' "Supreme Warrior" and Crystal Dynamics' "Slam & Jam" (any 3DO owner will recognize the mix: a s+%@ game, a PC port and the rare good game). But the reason I love to talk about this games and to make a week-long tribute to the ones that made their way to Saturn is because nostalgia is a bitch from which very few of us can escape. And since 3DO was my entry into console gaming in the 90's, these games were at some point the highlight of my adult gaming life. Saturn currently holds my attention of the big three consoles: I can't get enough from AM2-developed games, and Lobotomy's "PowerSlave" still makes for some pleasant blasting (can't wait for the "Duke"). But those 3DO titles of yesterday stay with me.
Bargain hunters beware: 3DO tiles on Saturn are among the most affordable and easy to find at the "used" racks (another infamous distinction!), and my reviews (along with hopefully the opinions of others who will contribute) will emphasize which games may still merit a Saturn owner's attention and dollars. Just because I fondly remember 3DO doesn't mean my nostalgia will make me recommend my fellow Sega supporters a gaming equivalent of a lemon. If a game sucks rocks, you'll read it!
I really dig the Saturn reviews of "The Dark Falcon" on this site. This guy (gal?) is either a nostalgia-filled gamer from way back when, or an incredible simulation; read his reviews of the Saturn versions of the Williams and Atari "Classic Collection" compilations. Retrogaming is truly a genre into itself: the upcoming "Sega Ages" series (we have to convince SOA to at least consider the "Phantasy Star" compilation coming from Japan...we just have to!), the popular series of "Namco Museum Classics" on the PSX, etc. I just ask you to consider this 3DO-meets-Saturn editorial, and the Saturn reviews of 3DO games coming later this week (again, Dave Z.'s approval pending), as a small gamer's tribute to the good memories a handful of games attached to a previous system have provided for him and some of his buddies. When Sega's next-generation system makes the Saturn share console-gaming heaven with the Colecovision, Atari 2600, Game Gear and 3DO, the die-hard Saturn supporter will experience the nostalgia that will overcome my gaming feelings. This Wednesday, July 30th. When "BattleSport" gets released on Saturn by Acclaim. The end of an era. The death of the 3DO legacy!
See you on Wednesday with my first two reviews (Dave Z. approval?): Crystal Dynamics' "Off World Interceptor Extreme" and MicroCabin's import RPG "Sword & Sorcery" ("Lucienne's Quest" on the 3DO).