Disaster Report Review

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            Disaster Report

Review by TogerApril 2003

I live in California. This means I make jokes about the sort of people who live here (cereal bowl of America: flakes, fruits and nuts) and enjoy some fairly decent year-round weather (you like fog, don’t you?). Oh yes, almost forgot … this is also earthquake country. Nothing like living on the edge of a tectonic plate to let you know that contrary to the song, mountains do crumble. So it was with a high degree of anticipation—7.0 on the Richter scale—that I awaited Agetec’s latest game, Disaster Report, which involves surviving and escaping the aftermath of a quake.

Disaster Report opens with your character, Keith Helm, on his way to a new job as a reporter for the Town Crier on Stiver Island. The island is touted as a revolutionary marvel of architecture and construction—it’s a completely manmade, state-of-the-art metropolis rivaling the pyramids of Egypt. As Keith travels across the bridge to Capital City, a devastating earthquake occurs.

Gameplay consists of negotiating your way over, under and sometimes through various locations as you make your way to where the rescue operations are taking place. To accomplish that goal you’ll walk, run, climb, swim, shout, cling, hide and possibly employ alternative means of transport. If needed, Keith can also jump, automatically I might add, when you come to a ledge. (Well, it’s automatic with a running start.) During the ever-popular aftershocks, you’ll be able to brace Keith in order to avoid falling over and sustaining damage. Or just run. Knowing when to brace or run is crucial.

Along the way, you’ll meet up with several other characters where you’ll have the opportunity to either help them with some problem, such as finding their dog or brother, or adopt the every-man-for-himself method and go your own way. In some cases, one or more of the characters will choose to accompany you as you make your way across the island.

There are a number of places during the game where you can take an alternate path in the story. Disaster Report’s endings are based on the decisions you’ve made during the course of the game, paving the way for several replays.

Let me take a small detour here … In a pointed attempt to get that 18-24 male demographic, Agetec added a couple of titillating factors to the game—one of the female characters, Kelly, wears the shortest shorts I’ve ever seen on a human. And Karen doesn’t wear … well, let’s just say that she makes it a point to have Keith go up ladders ahead of her. I nearly fell out my chair laughing after that conversation!

Now back to our regularly scheduled review …

One nasty problem for me: I was stuck for several days in one section because I needed to make a very precise jump. Up to that point, jumping hadn’t been a problem. This jump was from one end of a narrow beam to another. Lining up the jump so that Keith would grab onto the teeny-tiny, itty-bitty, minuscule, so-small-as-to-be-impossible-to-see-without-a-microscope pixel on the opposite beam became my … Own. Personal. Nightmare.  Of the 37 times I got a “game over” (yes, the game kept track!) at least 20 of those were because of that freaking beam!  (Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, I can get on with my life.)

Disaster Report is presented in the classic third-person, camera-over-the-shoulder view. At any time during the game, you can switch to first-person view in order to get a better “lay of the land.” Trust me when I say that you’ll use that first-person view quite a bit because, once again, the camera controls stink.  With the default view, you can rotate the camera 360 degrees as you walk, but you can’t look up or down. In first-person view, you’ll be able to add up and down to the field of view, but you won’t be able to walk.

The camera will reset itself directly behind Keith automatically if you wait long enough or you can square up the view with the L2 button; however, once inside an enclosed space you cannot rotate the camera. Ever. You’re stuck with whatever view the game gives in that space—if the camera is facing Keith, it will stay that way until you leave the room. In order to check out the room for inventory items you’ll have to switch to the first-person view, scan the room and then switch back to third person in order to pick up the item. Lots of zany bumping into objects ensues.

Speaking of inventory, you’ll find a plethora of objects to pick up and use—water bottles, first aid kits, bandages, various hats and more. You’ll carry your inventory in a backpack. Unlike the majority of adventure games, your backpack is not an infinite time-and-space-folding marvel. It’s just a backpack and it can only hold so much—multiples of the same item will take up space! Once your backpack is full, you’ll get the dreaded “no more space” message and you’ll be forced to discard something or leave the object behind. Discarding inventory items means they disappear forever, never to be seen again. So discard with care.  You can also make space by combining items, such as putting the water filter inside the purifier.

Disaster Report also employs a rather unique method of what-happens-if-I-discard-the-wrong-item problem. Instead of having to reload from a previous save or starting over (ick) there are items that you can assemble from the objects you have on hand.  Need to shed some light on the room but want to keep your hands free? You might have the items required to make a miner’s hat!

Saving the game is almost, but not quite, save anywhere. You can save the game at any of the water fountains, spigots, water trucks or sinks sprinkled liberally throughout the game. I can hear you thinking, “Save at a water fountain? Why?”  Thirst is an important part of Disaster Report. After all, you’re trudging all over a destroyed island in the hot sun. Keeping an eye on the thirst meter is far more important than watching Keith’s health points, as health points will gradually replenish themselves. Thirst will not. Certain actions and speed will deplete the thirst meter at different rates.

Graphically, Disaster Report wasn’t anything earth-shattering (pun intended). The colors were a tad washed out and the models were pretty standard; where the game really stood out was in the clipping. (Clipping is where part of your character’s body disappears into part of the scenery …) In this game, clipping became an art form! If Keith was standing next to a wall during an aftershock and you braced for it, the entire top half of his body would melt into the wall. Want another example? One of the items I toted around was an umbrella, attached to the outside of my backpack.  During one scene, it was necessary for Keith to hide under a desk.  Guess what poked up through the desk? The tip of the umbrella!  Do you have any idea how funny it is to see a floating umbrella tip?

On the other hand, as time progressed and Keith spent more time trudging through water or mud and climbing over and under things, his clothes became more tattered and dirty, just as they would in real life.

Shall we discuss Disaster Report’s frame rates? Let’s.  Keith is a slow walker on the best of days. The man just rambles like he’s got all the time in the world. If it became necessary to draw numerous distant objects—that would be almost all the time—Keith s-l-o-w-e-d to a crawl. Even running felt like he was moving through molasses.

Oddly enough, there really isn’t any music in Disaster Report.  (On a side note: a game store clerk and I were discussing this and decided that in the event of an actual quake, you wouldn’t really hear background music as you made your escape … unless you’re a schizophrenic off your meds, but I digress.) It was actually rather creepy to wander Capital City and not hear any music. You only heard your own footsteps or those of your companion, and the rumble of aftershocks with the appropriate crashing and crumbling of buildings and overpasses.

There’s some pretty dramatic music during the end game as you’re …  (no spoilers!) that really ratchets up the tension.

As with most console games, there isn’t an overabundance of voice work in Disaster Report, but what there was, alas, needs some serious help. I wonder if the Red Cross has a kit for that?  Most of the voice-overs sounded tired and lifeless. I’m fairly sure that one guy gave his performance from bed! The only voice that seemed to have gotten into the spirit of the game was one of the men associated with Christophe Construction. If he’d been on screen, he would have chewed the scenery!

Hmm, I seem to have spent the majority of this review on the things that I didn’t like; however, after all is said and done, I really did like this game! I thought the premise truly unique.  The story progressed from a simple survival tale into a full-blown mystery to uncover the true secrets of Stiver Island.

Some things could have been better—like the camera controls and the graphics—but it’s amazing what you can get used to … like the fact that the spit of land you live on is moving north and the rest of the continent is moving south. Oh wait, that’s real life.

Disaster Report won’t require you to kill mutant animals, monsters or legions of zombies that have been unleashed on the unsuspecting public as a result of this horrific disaster. (I think I’ve seen one too many movie trailers.) What it will do is make you use your brain in order to survive and escape from the wrecked and sinking city. For that, Disaster Report gets a thumb up! The End

The Verdict

The Lowdown

Developer: Irem Publisher: Agetec Release Date: November 2002

Available for: PlayStation 2

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14 Responses to Fear Factor

  • Fear Factor | Tap-Repeatedly.com | Reality Topics Blog

    […] nobody@flickr.com (graftedno1) wrote a very interesting post today.   Here’s a quick excerpt:My greatest fear is to be trapped alone in a confined space with a blind human, in total darkness. They have a heightened sense of smell and hearing, and. […]

  • Matt "Steerpike" Sakey

    Lewis, you made me think of the scariest moments I’ve experienced in gaming, and we’re very similar people.

    Bioshock had two moments – the dentist and the flooded room filled with mannequins.

    Thief had Return to the Cathedral, which was terrifying to me. Thief 3 had Shalebridge Cradle, which is so scary it ought to be fined.

    System Shock 2 kept me on the edge of my seat, but it was more lonely panic than true fear.

    Korsakovia was so scary that I uninstalled it.

    And STALKER. Oh, god, the haunted labs in STALKER. The latter two games don’t have scares like that. Few games do.

    It’s especially rare for a game to have more than mere “moments” – for a game to be scary from beginning to end, that’s a triumph.

    Wonderful article. As if Gregg’s review wasn’t enough to convince me that Penumbra is not something I have the courage to play!

  • DPenn

    I’m with you Lewis … I’m a bit of a puss. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of dread as entertainment.

    Still, I’m drawn to dark stories when they have something interesting to say, whether it’s a game like Thief or a film like, say, Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible. So I’ll push through, sometimes peering through my fingers.

    The trouble with games, though, is that if you look through your fingers, you’re probably just going to have to play through the scenario again. :~)

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    I wanted to play this game. I downloaded the demo but the controls were just too wonky for me to get my head around. I liked the atmospheric vibe a lot. I think I’m a bit desensitized from an overdose of horror movies in my youth so I don’t so much get the dread thing from these games as a nice creepy vibration. If only the controls were better…

  • Lewis B

    @ Mike, what’s wrong with the controls bud? As someone who despises poor control schemes, Penumbra’s is just like any other FPS, except to examine things you right click on them.  To use things you left click.  I’m not sure that can be considered difficult 🙂

  • Gregg B

    @Steerpike: Yeah my greatest shit-scared moments were with those games too. A few spoilers below people, so beware.

    Bioshock – Haha, I remember the dentist. I didn’t really find the game that scary overall but the bit where you go into the wine cellar and notice a mannequin facing the wall and after upgrading your weapon it’s stood directly behind you motionless and quiet just for a moment before attacking you. I shat a brick. I also missed that bit originally until Lew told me about it.

    System Shock 2 – same as you really, more unremitting tension all the way through rather than specific terrifying moments. Oh actually, theres a bit where you call a lift and it breaks then you realise a service droid is coming to fix it… I do remember having sleep issues after my first encounter with the cyborg ninjas though.

    Thief: The Dark Project – The Sword and Return to the Cathedral and Down in the Bonehoard and well, loads of them. The Sword made me break out into goosebumps though because there was a bit where you could hear this creepy giggling which seemed like it was following me about then it suddenly changed to this horrible throaty noise. What made matters worse was that the EAX (bless you Creative) made my foot steps sound like somebody else was there with me. That level was incredible, a bit too incredible as it seems I missed great chunks of it because I was so eager to leave.

    Thief II: The Metal Age – Trail of Blood where you end up in that opening with those damn tree beasts. God the first time I saw one of those hurtling towards me I actually died shortly afterward. Do you remember that Mechanist child walking around on one of the levels? That was a little creepy.

    Then there’s Penumbra: Overture – quite a few bits but I’m not mentioning them here.

    Oh and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – The brain scorcher lab just because it was so damn quiet. My imagination seriously got the better of me there. Those stuffed animals and heads I’d seen in various buildings led me to believe that those creatures were lurking somewhere in the Zone, specifically that lab.

    @Mike: My control setup was perfect after some tweaking (as well as the simple weapon swing fix). If you ever fancy giving it another go, give me a shout and I’ll let you know my setup.

  • Lewis B

    I’m not sure why guys, but one of my starting paragraphs had gone missing, even though I copied it straight from the original source, and It was fine earlier. 

    Incase you missed it due to some technical issue you might want to re-read just after “Well no she wouldn’t in truth, but in Penumbra: Overture you don’t want to move anyway.” at the very start for those who’ve already read the article. Apologies 🙂

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    Lewis, it was the weapon swing. It had this terrible, unresponsive feel to it, like trying to hit through molasses. I couldn’t stand using it. I tried the .ini fix as mentioned in the review but it didn’t seem to help. Of course this was the demo…but that shouldn’t have made any difference. I might try the second game instead as I guess they did away with the weapons thing.

    I’m see your first paragraph just fine. It’s the dialogue, right?

  • jdeuel

    I like the argument that weapons can remove fear, but even loaded to the teeth with ammo in AVP’99 the Marine missions were frightful because the enemy was anywhere at any time.

    As for Penumbra Overture, if the controls are anything like the original Penumbra they need to hack in some Wii-Remote 3d controls. I did not like using my mouse for 3d movements.

  • Gregg B

    @Mike: I’ve read that many people avoided conflict altogether in Overture which incidentally is something forced upon you in Black Plague. As somebody who has been renovating a house over the last 6 months with no DIY experience I can safely say that swinging a hammer is significantly easier in real life than it is in Overture without the fix. The fix balanced that for me.

    I’d highly recommend completing the first Penumbra because it’s one big build up to Black Plague which spoils the ending to Overture in the intro. And it’s a great ending too. Just so you know!

  • Lewis B

    @ Steerpike, those moments you mention are all my worst too!!  Do you remember the Robot labs in SS2? Absolutely terrifying, waiting for robots to burst out on you! 🙁 oh and have you ever player Condemned?

    @ Mike, The use of weapons in Penumbra is different to say HL2, where the player is physically holding the weapon, as in Penumbra it floats slightly infront of you.  However, if you change the control method to normal weapon swing, it’s no different!  Speak to Greggi and he’ll tell you what to do 🙂

    @ jdeuel, AVP the original and its sequal were scary however what type of fear do you think it is? I don’t think it’s anything more than sheer tension.  Having a Smart Gun makes you feel incredibly powerful.  I can honestly say in Penumbra the fear is sheer unrivalled terror, where you actually have to force yourself to play on.  It genuinly is that scary! 🙂

  • Jason Dobry

    It’s so true, an arsenal of weapons and ammo rapidly deflates any sense of horror or uneasiness in any game for reasons you already mentioned. Sakey, I thought Bioshock was more “lonely panic,” while I was pretty much always terrified in System Shock 2. I really, really, REALLY did not want to enter The Many’s nursery, and my weapons were so unreliable and ammo so scarce that I never felt safe.

    Silent Hill was terrifying for the same reasons. Ammo was rare and I frequently had to rely on my pipe for self-defense.  Even when I had ammo, the game mechanics prevented my character from being anything other than marginal with any firearm.

    Fear had one moment for me: I was climbing up a ladder, and as I reached the upper platform, my guy briefly looked down as he climbed off. As my perspective looked up again, that Ring-esque little girl was RIGHT THERE, reaching for me. I screamed and she was gone.

    What else…the original Aliens vs. Predator sent me into a locker room and I could only hear the facehuggers scurrying about somewhere within. I had to go in there. I advanced about three steps before the damn thing screamed and filled up my screen with its repulsive underside as it implanted me with its spawn. My roommate made fun of me for weeks for screaming like a girl child.

    Korsakovia–meh.  I was too annoyed and frustrated by the box rearrangement/jumping puzzles to be scared. I uninstalled it after an hour of play, I think. Maybe the scary parts were later, but I doubt it.

    As for Penumbra, I did play through about half of it before other games distracted me. I remember unease and creepiness, but no sweaty fear. I think I’m to blame here, or, more precisely, my daughter, who was still an infant at the time and generally allowed me only to play during the day for 45 minutes at a time. I was denied total immersion and the fear effect suffered. Maybe I should give it another go after I finish Call of Pripyat since she sleeps through the night now. With any luck, Penumbra will keep me from doing the same.

  • Gregg B

    I played the demo of F.E.A.R. but that ladder scare is the only bit I remember. Christ, that made me jump. I’m not too good with cat scares.

    Also I felt exactly the same about Korsakovia. It was creepy at first but then it began to irritate me far too much and it just soured the experience. I stopped playing as a result. Not to mention, when I realised I could bash those smoke-things with my crowbar they didn’t bother me nearly as much.

  • Online Up

    Great article. I look forward to reading more in the future.

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