Platform: PlayStation 2

Genre: Adventure
Number of Players: 1

Known in Japan as: Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 2: Itetsuita Kiokutachi

Survival horror brought something new to the world of video games, taking the action genre in a much different direction, where life and death had a new meaning. Some companies however have seen that survival can be done without the essence of horror. In 2003 American gamers got a taste of a different kind of survival game with Disaster Report. It wasn’t zombies or any other form of undead that stood in your way but instead the elements themselves, and it looks like Mother Nature is ready for another assault.

Raw Danger is the follow-up to Disaster Report. Set in the not too distant year to 2010, you will begin the game as Joshua Harwell, a 22-year-old college student working as a waiter at an upscale convention center in Geo City. Mayor Goldstein is hosting a huge event with guests and the media, and you’re simply on duty to make sure that everyone is content, but then tragedy strikes. A nearby levy has broken due to heavy rains and the convention center is beginning to flood. The next item of business is to get the guests to the main hall, at least until you end up cut off from everyone else. Now you must use your wits to survive as well as help others that you find along the way, starting with one of the waitresses, Stephanie McMurrough, and she’s merely the first of the survivors that he will encounter.

What you’ll find with Raw Danger is a good premise for a game, but also an idea that is poorly executed. The downfall of the game begins almost from the beginning as the introductory cut scenes presents us with some rather unimpressive graphics, quite contrary to the packages promise of “epic visuals,” coupled with some bland voice over work that is muffled out by the overbearing audio.

Raw Danger though does get points for trying, and much of the game is set up in a very standard survivalist fashion that many have dealt with in other games. You can collect items that will be used later in the game or may give you information concerning the area, the people, and quite possibly clues to stay alive. Much of the movement is basic, but the game really doesn’t need too much to go on. This isn’t about shooting or killing, but running, jumping, and crawling are all the key points as is the option to go into first person mode for a better look at your surroundings as well as the damage that has occurred.

There are quite a few things that can result in bodily harm or even kill you. Keep this in mind; it’s December, you’re in an environment filling with water, and electricity has been knocked out in parts of the Geo City. Unless you missed it somewhere in life, the combination of water and cold temperatures aren’t good, but there’s a solution. At various points you will find what is known as survival points. These look like heaters, and that’s exactly what they are. You can use them to dry off your clothing and even cook food to help bring your health back up. Being wet and cold may not be too bad at first, but prolonged exposure to the elements will cause your health to decline, you movement will slow and even your vision will begin to get fuzzy until you collapse and meet an untimely fate. The survival points also allow you to save your game.

There are many ways to keep yourself alive, and one of the more useful abilities is the cling option. If you’re caught in a raging torrent, you can cling to objects and try and ride everything out. What might help more however is the ability to combine objects to make new ones or in some cases disassemble what’s in your inventory in hopes of creating something more useful. This can be handy when trying to make the right item to get past the next obstacle or even creating things to keep yourself warm with. Characters also have special abilities. Joshua has the hug ability which is used to warm up other characters, but he’s just the first character that you will play. Once his scenario is finished, other survivors will become playable and you can tackle their adventures. You will also find that the weight of items plays a crucial role in the grand scheme of your survival, but if you get over burdened, there are ways around it. You can simply drop items or store them either via a garbage can or another character who is roaming the streets; Jasper.

Overall, many of the ideas behind Raw Danger sound like terrific ideas, and there really aren’t many games on the market that focus on surviving the elements. Usually Mother Nature plays a very limited role when it comes to video games and the focus really is on aliens, zombies, giant robots, or any other combination of monstrosity. It isn’t the idea that makes Raw Danger a less than stellar title to play, again it comes down to one thing; execution. The game could have been fantastic, but it has so much working against it. The controls are horrific, and while they are quite easy to get a grip on, the movements and animation of the characters are stiff and incredibly generic. The “epic visuals” mentioned earlier are more in line with what you might see on the original PlayStation and definitely not the type of thing that you’d find on the PS2. The voice acting is terrible and doesn’t lend well to the concern, worry, or fear that should be associated with a disaster such as this. Instead, the voice actors sound more like what you would hear in a really, really, really bad B-film, or maybe even a high school play. The only saving grace is that you don’t have the “master of unlocking” in the game. The camera also isn’t intuitive, so you find yourself having to take time out and readjust your camera position. I’m all for free looking games and full 3D, but I’m also onboard with the ability of the game itself simply knowing where you should be looking.

One of the biggest flaws of Raw Danger however is that the game has a tendency to give you instructions without much in the way of real direction. In the beginning of the game for example, you are working a banquet and at one point, just told to make sure everyone in the room is taken care of. Eventually, if you talk with the right person, you may learn that the mayor is really the biggest priority and meeting him finally moves you into the next portion of the game. It is all too common to run into this same scenario where you need to talk with someone, go to a certain location, or perform an action to advance the story, but the in-game compass does little to really direct you. It just points north while you run in circles, losing valuable time as the water continues to flow.

Raw Danger really could have been an outstanding game, but a great deal more time needed to be focused on the gameplay and visuals. This isn’t really the type of game I expect to see from a company such as Irem, the same name behind the legendary shooter R-Type. It seems as though the company has fallen from grace however. If you were one of the few how did in fact get a change to play Disaster Report and enjoyed it, you might want to take a look at this follow-up otherwise, the only disaster to be found in Raw Danger is unfortunately the game itself.
 

-mike-