This was a title that used to interest me, but I didn't know much about it. It seemed like a cool concept. Looks like it's probably good I didn't spend much time with it, from what you have to say.
Body Harvest
Who keeps their machine gun ammo inside a barrel of water?
An ambitious game for its time, Body Harvest is more than just another "blast the evil aliens" shooter. When giant alien bugs come to Earth to gather humans for... some purpose... it's up to a nameless man in an orange suit of supposedly high-tech battle armour to save the day. The intrepid hero will travel around the world -- and through time -- using a variety of vehicles to blast bugs, carry supplies, or simply cover long distances quickly. Unfortunately, the game contains too many gameplay issues to be playable.
The main gimmick of the game is that you can commandeer any vehicle you happen to come across. Each vehicle has both a fuel gauge and health bar; if the former is emptied the vehicle can no longer move, and if the latter is depleted then it will explode. It is possible to find fuel canisters which can be used to gas up a vehicle, but these are uncommon and should be used only when necessary. There are over thirty different types in all, ranging from old pickup trucks to gyrocopters to tugboats.
After booting up the game and passing the title screen, I took note that there are two difficulty settings, Easy and Hero. I guess you're either a warrior or a wimp by this game's standards. The little orange man ran out of his spacecraft, ready to rock. I took a few steps forward, and a small wave of alien bugs beamed down in front of me. Engaging the enemy, I stood there shooting away with the wimpiest-sounding pea shooter I've ever heard. After disposing of them, I entered a nearby house to find the controls for a drawbridge, and lowered it to cross the river.
Once there, I came across a builder blocking a mountain road. Searching nearby homes, I found some dynamite, placed it in front of the giant rock, and hopped in my car to watch. Boy, was it explosive! It ended up destroying my wheels, but fortunately, destruction of my vehicle didn't harm me. On the other side, another harvester wave beamed down in the little village there. I drove around and blasted them all, but the people were still in danger, as the houses were on fire! A timer appears onscreen, and before the three minutes are up, I rush back, grab a firetruck from the station, hurry back, and drench the blaze. Satisfied all was well, I continued onward and confronted the Alien Processor, the "boss" of this area. It was a giant ugly beast, but it was stationary, and fired slow-moving energy balls which were easy to dodge. I blast away with my pea shooter, and after a minute of firing, it explodes. As my points are being tallied and the save beacon is on its way, I think, "That's it?"
The sparse save points are one of the game's bigger issues. It can take an hour or more to reach the next one, and backtracking to the previous one is usually not a desirable option. This also means getting killed often has a huge consequence, especially if it is at or near the area boss, and the entire hour-long section must be replayed. Making matters worse, our hero can barely swim, and water is basically an instant-death trap. Water usually separates most land areas; there are times when fighting in close quarters where one misstep could lead to a plunge in the river.
Graphically, the game is bare and uninteresting. Environments are blocky and bland, with simple textures stretched across surfaces, and a thick layer of fog cover. The character models are low polygon, and are animated poorly. Everything chugs along at a slow framerate, which at least remains steady when the action picks up. The only redeeming quality is that there are some nice lighting effects from gunfire and explosions.
Control is the area where the game suffers the most. When on foot, the only form of movement you can perform whilst shooting is a horribly delayed dodging roll, executable by pressing C-Left or C-Right. The only way to move whilst firing a weapon is when inside of a vehicle, which makes having one pretty much a necessity. It isn't like your little man has much health, so it feels like an artificial restriction to add difficulty. There is auto-aim present, which mostly aims up/down when necessary, though it will also follow humans. Switching weapons is done with the D-Pad, so you have to move your hand from the center prong to the left prong every time you want to swap weapons. Vehicle steering is far too touchy. Even light left or right movement of the stick results in sharp turns, making fine-tune steering difficult.
Body Harvest had a ton of potential, but unfortunately, it simply doesn't live up. Potential doesn't make a game enjoyable, and this one just has too many problems holding it back. Anyone curious enough to make it to the later stages will need a lot of tolerance of the game's flaws, but most people likely won't play to the first save point.
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