When Resident Evil introduced the world to modern survival horror many developers tried their hands at the fledgling genre. While some offered unique takes on the established ideas others were perfectly happy following the formula. Most of these titles never hit it big, but there are a few noteworthy releases that fall under this category. The topic today just so happens to be one of these forgotten games. Deep Fear can be called Sega’s answer to the craze. Developed exclusively for the Sega Saturn console it was released in 1998 to lukewarm reception and is barely remembered today.
While the game was obviously geared toward the West (all versions feature English voice overs) Sega decided ultimately to not release it in North America. The system was on its way out the door in this part of the world so in the end I can’t blame them too much for this move. Deep Fear is pretty much a Resident Evil clone, but it’s a pretty darn good one. Some things are quite different though and today we’re going to take a look at this super interesting Sega game.
In this story you play as an ex-Navy Marines SEAL named John Mayor. Our blonde haired protagonist has since joined up with an organization called the Emergency Rescue Services, and has been stationed in an underwater facility miles below the ocean’s surface called the Big Plate. In the introduction sequence we’re shown a mysterious vessel falling from outer space, and it just so happens to land in the very section of the deep blue sea where our character and his colleagues are working.
Soon thereafter a nuclear submarine operated by the Navy crashes into a nearby research facility that’s a part of the Big Plate, and it’s John’s job to investigate. Unfortunately he finds it overrun with the former staff members who have mutated into monstrous beasts. Soon thereafter the infection spreads to the rest of the Big Plate, and John along with several other survivors must fight their way out all the while investigating the cause. The story is typical B-movie fare, and the characters aren’t particularly likable but Deep Fear does have some interesting twists. What sets this one apart is the claustrophobic atmosphere which is quite daunting and very well done.
Deep Fear plays and looks very similar to your old school Resident Evil title. Characters are rendered in 3D with polygons, but all of the environments are pre-rendered with an un-moving camera view. When you walk off screen the background changes, and you move John through each area using the classic tank controls. To pull out your equipped weapon you simply press the R button, and fire with B. This is where the first major difference comes in to play. John is a little more agile than the old Resident Evil protagonists because he can actually move around with his weapon drawn, and can fire mid-sprint. He can also back away from an enemy and still shoot which is by far one of the most useful abilities in the entire game.
What evens out the odds is that most of the environments in this game are more confined than in your standard survival horror title. It fits considering the fact that the setting is an underwater facility, but it can be frustrating because this makes enemies tough to avoid. What’s also really cool is the fact that this game makes use of almost every button on the controller by allowing the X button to be a shortcut to your map, and you can set a secondary item (which include weapons like grenades or recovery items) to the Z. This saves precious time and makes combat less cumbersome. Unfortunately any keys you have find don’t automatically open doors, and you have to manually select them from the menu which is annoying.
While most survival horror titles are based around ammunition preservation this game takes a different approach. Strewn throughout many areas in the Big Plate are ammunition lockers, and you can use these to replenish your supplies infinitely for each weapon you have. You’re allowed to take only a specific number of bullets for each gun, and can only increase this by finding bigger clips which are pretty rare. What’s more is that there aren’t many different weapons in this adventure. You get a glock handgun, an rapid fire uzi, and a shotgun. There’s only one other gun, but it can only be used while underwater. That’s a pretty limited line-up even including the different types of grenades, and I was left a little disappointed. Sega could have, and should have, beefed up the arsenal here.
Healing items are replenished much in the same way as ammunition; you’ll find first aid boxes and lockers full of them, but many of these have only limited quantities and types. So as to even the odds the enemies respawn after a certain amount of time. This means that there’s often little point in clearing rooms, and it makes the experience less strategic overall. It diminishes the feeling of impending doom and also gives less of a report on the progress you’ve made. This aspect holds Deep Fear back a bit in my opinion because it’s something I’ve always loved in the Resident Evil series.
Deep Fear does have an ace up its sleeve that almost makes up for the lack of typical ‘survival’ elements. Because the game takes place on the bottom of the sea in a facility left in shambles you have to manage the oxygen level in most rooms here. An number indicator on the top right corner of the screen displays how much air is left in the room, and it begins dwindling when you enter it. Each time you fire a gun the oxygen is drained faster. This might sound limiting, but it’s actually a very interesting feature. This also requires you to be more intelligent when it comes to combat. It definitely captures a certain air of claustrophobia that few other survival horror games have.
Some rooms are completely underwater, and others have no air in them by default. This is when your respirator comes in handy. This has its own separate air indicator which is a meter located above your life bar, and when a room runs out of oxygen John puts this on. When it’s depleted and there’s nothing to breathe your HP begins falling rapidly. In many of these rooms you’ll find a red box on the wall called the air system, and generally it’s used to recharge the oxygen in the room, refill your respirator, and even save your game.
You’ll find that some of these only have limited functionality offering only certain options. It’s still a really interesting system. Many rooms lack these entirely, and you can only refill the room’s oxygen by throwing an air grenade. This is a must for the boss encounters because they generally take a long time and require a lot of weapon use. Managing air content in the environments might sound mundane, but it’s actually one of the most interesting features I’ve seen in a survival horror game and it’s quite unique.
Graphically this game is on par with the first Resident Evil. That’s not necessarily a bad thing because both games have aged decently thanks to the pre-rendered backgrounds, but I think the developers could have done a little better. The character models are particularly what bother me here. They’re polygonal, and look fine while stationary, but their animations are awful. When John runs he leans forward at an unnatural angle like he’s moving against wind. It’s off-putting, and doesn’t match the speed in which he moves. The backgrounds are decent, but they tend to look too similar to one another which can make navigation confusing.
The monsters are the real highlight here. They fit the nautical theme really well, and often retain parts from their human forms like heads and faces. It’s genuinely creepy, and everything was designed by someone with a great imagination. The music is generally a little subtle, but when it kicks in it’s extremely memorable and well done. Several tracks play on the creepy underwater theme, and it helps establish the atmosphere. Unfortunately the voice acting is among the very worst I’ve ever heard. It’s far worse than Resident Evil in this regard, and it’s almost hard to take the story sequences seriously because of it.
Some consider Deep Fear to be simply an underwater Resident Evil. It appears that way at first, but looks are deceiving. The focus away from supply management will no doubt be a turn off for most fans of the genre, but in my opinion the game makes up for it with its unique features. In the end I’m really disappointed that this one was never released on North American shores because I know I would have loved it back then. Unfortunately the European version is very expensive in auction. The Japanese edition can be had for pretty cheap. Thankfully even this release features a lot of English even beyond just the voice overs. It’s highly playable and due to the lower price it’s the version I recommend. I recommend picking it up if you’re a fan of survival horror games.
