Sub Rebellion

by Fennec Fox
October 16, 2002 00:00 AM PST

Join the hot new sub-culture! Pound your enemies into sub-mission! And more bad puns that disguise exactly how great this game is!

You don't happen to remember a game called In The Hunt, do you? It's a hard-to-find PlayStation game based on an even more obscure arcade title released by Irem over six years ago. Simply put, In The Hunt's a 2D side-scrolling shooter with a twist�instead of a plane, you control a personal mini-submarine that's only capable of navigating in watery areas.

This tiny detail brought a whole new element of strategy into the tired shooter genre. The game was divided evenly between land- and sea-based enemies, meaning you had to alternate between firing surface missiles at airplanes and diving down to deal with enemy subs. Your sub is kind of pokey, too, so diving's the only way to avoid getting hit in many areas. And so forth. Sure, it was never that popular, but In The Hunt was a blast to play and (in my opinion) really ought to show up in more "best shooter ever" lists. Or "best Irem shooter ever" lists, at least.

Why am I bringing all this up? Because six years and one bankruptcy later, Irem has returned to America with Sub Rebellion, a straight 3D interpretation of In The Hunt that's almost exhilaratingly fun if you're the sort of gamer I am. Hopefully you are.

Tom Clancy Knows Nothing About Subs
The world of Sub Rebellion is one of chaos�a series of earthquakes has altered Earth's landscape, leaving most modern cities completely underwater. The Meluguis Empire, where they came from I've no idea, has taken over most of this new world, and you, in the style of every 16-bit shooter ever, are the rebels' only hope of destroying it. You'll tackle this mission with the Chronos, a prototype battle sub that comes standard with a machine gun, four torpedo bays, and a cache of surface-to-air missiles�all with infinite ammunition, of course.

Disaster, in the form of an enemy torpedo, narrowly averted. In Sub Rebellion, mastering the controls is everything

Each of the game's two dozen or so missions takes place in a set patch of ocean, complete with fish, coral, islands, and assorted manmade ruins. Visibility isn't too wonderful underwater, so you'll need to hit the X button often to ping your sonar and get a grip on the local surroundings. Once you find an enemy, you'll generally try to target it with your torpedoes from as far away as possible to avoid detection; if you're discovered, you'll usually have to pull off some quick maneuvers to avoid incoming fire. Every stage has a certain objective, and most of them end with some kind of boss�imperial warships in the beginning and assorted weird creatures later on.

In between each mission you'll have a chance to buy upgrades for every type of weapon (not to mention new paint jobs for the Chronos). The only way to afford new stuff is by finding ancient treasures buried under rocks and in walls; you discover them by pinging your sonar everywhere possible. The first few stages are easily completed with your standard sub, but pulling out an unmodified Chronos in later missions is pure suicide, so most gamers will likely need to replay the earlier levels to scare up the dough for the gear they'll need later on.

In The Future, Everyone Will Own A Personal Sub
Sub Rebellion's controls will likely be the chief sticking point for most casual gamers. Hopefully your Dual Shock's shoulder buttons are in working order�this game uses every last one of them for basic sub movement, saving the left thumbstick for targeting and delicate positioning. This means that you'll be moving the Chronos up when you meant to move it down for the first half-hour or so of gameplay no matter what�I don't care how dexterous you think you are; it's impossible to avoid. After that, though, control becomes second nature, and you'll soon be gliding your sub past enemy torpedoes with almost ballet-like poise.

Part of what makes this game so magical to long-time gamers like me is the style Irem used for the audiovisuals. The environments and enemies are all lovingly designed; it's impossible to notice the typical PS2 texture blur unless you butt right up against a sheer wall. If forced to complain about something, I would bring up the subdued tone the game keeps throughout; there's nothing particularly dazzling at all about the graphics. The charm's in the little details�the water distortion, the way your sub rocks violently after getting hit, that sort of thing. "Mind-blowing" isn't quite the right word; something like "well-crafted" is closer.

The soundtrack is especially worth noting�nothing belies Sub Rebellion's 16-bit roots more than its musical score. Nearly every possible genre you can think of, from trippy techno to something resembling new age, makes an appearance in at least one mission. All of it, though, is contagiously catchy and you'll be humming it for ages afterward. Don't expect any movies or cutscenes, though�voices are limited to some guy (the producer of the game, according to the manual) telling you when there's a torpedo coming and such.

A Fantastic Sub-Conscious Journey For All
I can easily understand if you try Sub Rebellion and it's not your cup of tea. Although it's a shooter, the underwater setting makes it slower-paced than you'd expect, and�let's face it�there aren't as many pure shooter fans as there were a few years back. Sniff.

Still, it would break my poor little heart if you didn't at least give this game a shot. It's rare to find a title that follows all the rules of good game design so well, after all. Sub Rebellion, you see, basically takes In The Hunt and fabulously succeeds in making it a 3D shooter for the ages. Hardcore gamers will be talking about this one for years to come, trust me.