Bio F.R.E.A.K.S.
| Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. | |
|---|---|
|
North American Nintendo 64 cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Saffire |
| Publisher(s) | Midway Games |
| Director(s) | Dave Simon |
| Producer(s) | Michael Gollieb |
| Designer(s) | Dave Simon |
| Programmer(s) | Dave Wagner |
| Composer(s) | Aubrey Hodges |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Microsoft Windows |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. is a 3D fighting video game released by Midway in 1998. It was originally planned for arcades. Prototypes of the game were tested at arcades, but the final arcade release was canceled (although a ROM image of the prototype was eventually dumped and works in MAME) and the game was later released for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and PC.
Characters
- Bullzeye, State represented: California. Freak classification: Synthoid
- Delta, State represented: Michigan/Indiana. Freak classification: Synthoid
- Minatek, State represented: Missouri. Freak classification: Dozer
- Psyclown, State represented: Illinois. Freak classification: Synthoid
- Purge, State represented: Utah. Freak classification: Retro
- Sabotage, State represented: Maryland. Freak classification: Bounty Hunter
- Ssapo, State represented: New Mexico. Freak classification: Retro
- ZipperHead, Freak classification: Retro
Boss Characters
- Clonus, State represented: Florida. Freak classification: Unknown
- Mutilator, State represented: Texas. Freak classification: Dozer
The Plot
In the not-too-distant future, The United States fell like all great empires throughout history. Fifty states were broken into private territories after the Techno-Industrial Civil Wars. Technology and bio-engineering accelerated at such an incredible rate, and forced an industrial competition of corporate espionage. The government tried to keep control of the country by a single thread, the effect of the giant corporations' white collar wars drove the economy into a tail spin. Neo-Amerika rises as the result of the government bankrupt and technological company takeover. To maintain order, The Secret Games Commission (SGC) is formed to organize tournaments deciding which organization gets to control all of Neo-Amerika, leading to the creation of Biological Flying Robotic Enhanced Armored Killing Synthoids (Bio F.R.E.A.K.S.) serving as the champions for each participating organization.
Overview
The game uses a fully polygonal fighting engine, with 8 different fighters, and 2 boss fighters.
Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. uses a mix of hand-to-hand and long range combat. Each character has an assortment of special attacks, both close and long range, as well as "finishing attacks". Much like the Fatalities of the Mortal Kombat games, these moves can execute the player's opponents while some, like in Time Killers, will remove limbs. Also damage from powerful attacks can add up causing a limb to be destroyed as well.
Gameplay
The game takes place in 3D fighting arenas. Emphasis was placed on mobility giving dashes a great range and in multiple directions.
The face buttons are assigned to specific limbs. The shoulder buttons are used for dodging, flying, and basic long range attacks.
Reception
Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. received poor reviews upon release. The PlayStation version currently has a rating of 60% on Gamerankings while the Nintendo 64 version has a rating of 68%.