Yes, it is cheaper than usual on DC, yet no matter how much you pay for the game itself, there is little value in it.
Slave Zero is a game you'll try so desperately hard to enjoy. The combat plays good, the controls are mapped very nicely for a Dreamcast game and the weapons will make an action fan smile in joy at the whole chaos this game can create in terms of playability. Yet the frame rate just leaves your hands numb, your mouth sour and your eyes trickle in an last ditch effort to concentrate on the game still.
This game really does fail. If only the developers just spent a little more time actually optimising the game for Dreamcast, perhaps the impression we're given about the game would be alot more positive. So lets get to the point of this review. Slave Zero is technically unplayable. When left alone, the game can be on a boarderline playable frame-rate yet just a little bit of action slows down the game incredibly.
The frame rate trickles down to somewhere around 10-15 frames per second, a very unacceptable rate for an action game like this one, nevermind console games in general. Nintendo 64 games were infamous for awful frame rates, yet this is the limit to just how bad a game can be programmed for any console, and this isn't even Nintendo 64.
It is clear that Slave Zero plays like an unfinished game. The presenation is drastic, the game lacks very little visual glam to really help convince you that you're playing an good game. There are no FMV sequences, dozens of image still, with little or no animation and obsoloutely no music.
Thats right, no music. The game really suffers because of this, even if it is just presentation that is being explained here as the game feels genuinely dead without it. The action never has any pull without the music, the story is never made to be as engaging without the music and just the whole atmosphere Slave Zero tries to present to all those unfortunate gamers playing the game, never really works the way it could've just because of this minor flaw.
Imagine Chrono Trigger without the Nobuo Uematsu qualities it had, the game simply would've never worked in giving out the atmosphere and tension in the game. Would Lavos really be one of the fiercest villains in gaming history if the terror of the music was never played? See, Slave Zero could've benefited straight away by just having music, even if it was bad.
Now moving on, the game itself. Slave Zero's gameplay is pretty standard for a third person action game that it is, but that isn't the bad thing. The gameplay is actually quite fun, or in theory should be fun if the issues didn't impact the game as much as described.
However, thanks to the issues present already, it isn't. But also, there are a few glitches and bugs that stop the game being completely enjoyable anyone. For example, the hit detection is weak, with enemies that should die from just a few hits, taking almost half the ammo from one gun.
And speaking of guns, the weapons are very lackluster in design. You are only allowed 3 weapons in Slave Zero, rather than 9 or 10 typical of an action game. Also, the weapon consumption rate and ammo pick-ups are broken.
just one shot with a gun will take 10 bullets for one weapon. Some weapons fire unbelievably slow for the type of gun it is supposed to represent. And of course, one of the guns is really over-powered, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but this kills the challenge simply because of how vast the qunatities of ammo for this gun are.
On a lighter note, Slave Zero has OK voice acting, yet the actual dialogue is poor and the weapon effects sound fake and unreal. The game is actually quite long for an action title, taking up around 20 hours. it is also surprisingly difficult even on easy mode.
The game also has mulitplayer modes, yet these are just as abysmal as the single player thanks to the the unusual design and layout of the multiplayer itself. The game also could've done with more settings, better VMU support and keyboard and mouse support for those who are more acquittanced to it.
So as you've probably guessed from the begining, there really is no point in buying Slave Zero. Yes, it is cheaper than usual for a Dreamcast game yet no matter how much you pay for the game itself, there is little value in it. This game is one of worst games on Dreamcast, and like I said at the begining, it is very sad to admit this, as it could've been one of the best.