Fur Fighters
| Fur Fighters | |
|---|---|
| File:Furfightersbox.jpg | |
| Developer(s) | Bizarre Creations |
| Publisher(s) | Acclaim |
| Platform(s) | Dreamcast, PC |
| Release | July 14, 2000 |
| Genre(s) | Third-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
Fur Fighters was a video game developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Acclaim for the Sega Dreamcast in 2000, then later for the PC.
The game was designed very much as a standard third person shooter, but used a world populated by cute little animals as its setting. As a result, the game's depiction of violence could be very cartoon-like without losing any of its intensity.
Gameplay summary
In Fur Fighters, the player's job was to rescue the tiny animals babies that had been stolen from their parents by the central villain, General Viggo. Viggo scattered these babies all over the world, requiring the animal parents to explore, confront Viggo's henchmen, and rescue all of them. The gameplay featured many unique aspects for a third-person shooter of the time, most notably making each level an extremely large, expansive area that require sometimes hours of involved exploration to locate the babies and get rid of the enemies. (Examples include a giant construction site and an entire section of a large city, complete with explorable buildings including a complete museum of modern art.) Maneuvering through these levels often required careful observation of the environment so as not to get lost, as well as solving puzzles to figure out where some babies might be hidden or how to gain access to more of the level. Unlike most action games of this type, Fur Fighters distinguished itself by featuring a system where the player could, at many intervals on a level, switch between one of many animal parents. Each parent had their own advantages and disadvantages, with many having special abilities allowing them to do certain things easier. This switching-out system also made it easier for players who were low on hit points or ammunition to switch to more playable character.
Critical reaction
While Fur Fighters was not a tremendous financial success and went almost unnoticed by the majority of gamers at the time, critically the game was almost universally praised for its size, scope, sense of humor, and attention to detail. The fact that mindless violence was not the sole gameplay element impressed many, and the game went on to become a sort of cult classic. In an attempt to take the series further with a larger audience, a new version of the game entitled Fur Fighters: Viggo's Revenge was released in 2001 on the PlayStation 2. It met with mixed success as it was simply an update of the original game with a few minor features included (such as cel shading and real voices for the characters). Notably, the first level of the game is the "World Quack Centre", a play on New York's World Trade Center. Some people wondered if the level would be removed from future copies of the game after the events of 9/11, though that never happened. This may be to do with the fact that the game's storyline relies on each and every level to make sense.
Voice Cast
- Tim Wallers as General Viggo.
- Johnathan Booth as General Bristol.
- Corinne Kempa as Juliette.
- Scott McMurrey as Roofus.
- Guy Taylor as Bungalow.
- Alan Turner as Rico
- Daniel York as Chang and Tweek
Levels and Worlds
Fur Fighter Village
The main hub, with pathways leading of to various different worlds.
- The Undermill
New Quack City
A bustling avian metropolis, General Viggo invades this world to steal the priceless Roquefort Diamonds.
- The World Quack Centre
- Lower East Quack
- Quackenheim Museum
- Quackerfeller Plaza, Boss: Gwyneth
Beaver Power
Filled with giant machines, General Viggo takes over the construction of the Beaver Dam in order to further his aims. There may also be a passage to another world in the deep rock.
- Furry Forest
- Compound Factions
- God Machine Valley
- Beaver Dam
- Water Tank, Boss: Juanita
James Bond References
- The character General Viggo and his pet Fifi are based on Ernst Stavro Blofeld and his cat, although the roles are reversed.
- Parts of the Cape Canardo world are based on Moonraker.
- The final level has many character references as well as a Goldfinger style tune.They include...
- The device Seargent Sternhauser is strapped to is similar to the laser from Goldfinger.
- Odebah Bear is two characters from Live and Let Die, Baron Samedi and Tee Hee.
- The Unfluffables are Bambi and Thumper from Diamonds Are Forever.
- The crater in which you fight Fifi is from You Only Live Twice.
- Mr. Grr and Mr. Arg's fun house is a reference to The Man with the Golden Gun/perhaps a parody on Diamonds Are Forever Henchmen Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd
External links
See also .