Originally released in 2006 for the Gameboy Advance and developed by Orbital Media, Scurge: Hive was one of those games that flew under the radar but was appreciated by fans. Interestingly, Scurge: Hive also received a DS port at the same time because it was released during that window when Nintendo didn’t know if they were going to continue with the Gameboy brand or go all in with the DS. Orbital Media only released a few games for the GBA but each one easily demonstrates some of the best visuals on the system. The pixel art is simply outstanding.
(I actually interviewed the Orbital Media staff shortly after Scurge: Hive was released in 2006 but sadly my article was lost during the many MyGamer server transitions. Sad face.)
Before continuing, I need to highlight Ratalaika Games and Shinyuden. Over the last few years, Ratalaika has become one of my favorite publishers especially with their joint work with Shinyuden. Not only do they publish low-cost sleeper hit hidden gems like Cosmos Bit and Gunman Tales (seriously, these two games are awesome, go play them right now), they are one of the few publishers going out of their way to revive forgotten, but important, titles. I am constantly impressed with their library of retro work: Psycho Dream, Final Zone, all the Cyber Citizen Shockman games, Justice Ninja Casey, the Aero the Acrobat games with the Zero spin-off, Avenging Spirit, Greylancer, Moto Roader and many more. Sure, many of these games are simply playing a rom on an emulator with a custom UI (Scurge runs on mGBA), and some are more fun than others, but this publisher is doing important, amazing work and I feel like they are not getting the credit they deserve. If it wasn’t for their efforts, American audiences wouldn’t have easy access to many of these neglected titles. Their efforts in game preservation should be acknowledged. Look, if you are reading this, I strongly encourage you to check out Ratalaika’s website, follow their socials, and enjoy their games. No, I am not being paid or anything to write these words. I am just a long time fan and want more people to enjoy their dedicated work. Why? So they can continue to release overlooked games of the past. (Please re-release Dungeon Explorer II! Please re-release Dungeon Explorer II!)
Simply put Scurge: Hive is another game that is added to this “wow, I can’t believe they acquired the rights and re-released this abandoned game” list. Regardless how you feel about the game’s quality, this is important game preservation work and want to see more like this continue well into the future.
Ok, so how does Scurge hold up today? Personally, I remember playing this on GBA when it launched and enjoyed it. Today, however, it is easier to see the flaws especially when viewed on the big screen.
Taking obvious inspiration from Nintendo’s Metroid Fusion, you play as a female warrior, in a power suit, that can shoot an arm cannon, that is infected with a virus, on a space station, conversing with an AI, needing to navigate a maze-like structure, while fighting a bunch of little enemies and giant bosses along the way. So yeah, it sounds like Metroid Fusion on paper but has one big gameplay difference – the isometric view.
While the perspective shift gives the developers an excuse to show off their visual fidelity, it actually puts a hinder on gameplay. Platforming is a pain especially when it comes to moving platforms and makes combat mostly one-dimensional. The problem comes from lining up your tiny shots with the tiny enemies that annoyingly respawn when you leave the screen. Other than mindlessly mashing the shoot button, there isn’t too much to combat. Common enemies constantly litter the screen and are just there to be annoying. The camera also swings wildly when changing direction, causing disorientation. Also, when playing on the smaller GBA screen, the game looked better. On the big screen, the fog effect just gets in the way and makes the game look unnecessarily worse.
Thankfully, Scurge’s biggest issue has been alleviated with this console re-release. In the original game, Jenosa’s infection meter was constantly draining. Once depleted, heath drops quickly. The only way to keep the infection at bay is to run from save point to save point, restarting the countdown timer. Not only does this gameplay mechanic cause never ending stress, but it also puts a damper on exploration, making it hard to enjoy the scenery when you need to constantly move forward. And I hate to say it, but the sound effects are awful. When the infection meter hits 60%, the incessant beeping is maddening, only out done by the low health warning.
With this re-release, Shinyuden implemented a cheat-overlay which is accessible from the main menu. Here, the player can activate invincibility, turn off the infection meter, and basically activate God Mode. While this was obviously not the original developer’s intensions, it actually makes the game much more entertaining to play in the modern day. By removing the pressure of the draining infection meter, and not having hear the annoying low-health beep, this is easily the best way to play this action adventure. Combine this with the newly added fast forward and rewind, most of the original frustrations are drastically reduced.
Also happy to report that box art and instruction manual scans are also included, albeit, they weren’t exactly scanned with the highest quality, but these types are features give the game the respect it deserves. The UI overlay isn’t anything special but it gets the job done. My complaint comes from the inability to remap buttons. By default, the game wants you to use the A and B buttons to most closely mimic playing on a GBA. However, it would be more comfortable use to X and A instead. Having a slider to reduce the volume levels would also be helpful especially for streamers. Also, while I understand why it wasn’t included, it would have been cool to also include the DS version so players can experience the difference in one package.
When it first came out, Scurge: Hive was about a 6 or 7 out-of-ten game. Today, if playing the vanilla version, it has not aged as well. Thankfully, playing with pertinent cheats activated makes the experience more enjoyable. While Scurge: Hive isn’t exactly a must play game, it is one of those titles to at least put on your wishlist even if remotely curious. I think the most exciting part is having the potential for more Orbital Media re-releases. The anticipation for a Racing Gears Advance and Juka re-release is an exciting thought.
SCORE: 6/10
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
X/Twitter: @ZackGaz
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