Escape from Bug Island

Early in a new system’s lifecycle, there are almost always games released that have no real draw except for being the first title of a certain genre available for the system (Eternal Ring, anyone?). Despite typically being low-budget releases and riddled with problems, they usually sell fairly well, bought by fans of the genre desperate for a fix on their new system. Escape From Bug Island (known as Necro-Nesia, whatever that means, outside the US) is the first original survival-horror title available for Wii, and is, in fact, a low-budget release riddled with problems.

Players control Ray, a college freshmen and one of the most poorly-designed game characters of all time (between his oversized vest, cutoff jeans, sandals, soul patch, bracelets, and fanny pack, it’s evident that Ray was designed by Japanese artists whose experience with American college students was limited, to say the least). Along with bug nut/love interest Michelle and gun nut/supposed friend Michael (whose chief character trait is an inclination to pump his shotgun at the drop of a hat), Ray travels to Bug Island for reasons that are never adequately explained. After being awkwardly hit on by Michael, Michelle runs off into the night, with Michael close behind. When they both fail to return, Ray begins searching for his friends, ostensibly so they can (ahem) escape from Bug Island. Beyond the opening cinematic, the game’s story is handled in a slipshod, erratic manner, with new characters introduced and then either killed or forgotten for the remainder of the game. While the game is obviously trying to emulate cheesy B-horror films, the story is largely nonsensical; still, it does provide some entertainment in the form of unintentionally hilarious dialogue.

From a gameplay standpoint, the game is firmly stuck in the late 90’s. Remember the legions of Resident Evil knockoffs that populated the PS1 and Dreamcast, circa 1997-99? I’m talking about games like T.R.A.G., Countdown: Vampires, Carrier, and Blue Stinger. Escape From Bug Island would have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with these titles, and honestly isn’t really that much worse than any of them. Unfortunately, time marches on, and what was passably generic by 1999 standards is ridiculously dated and primitive by today’s. These games’ structure, best described as key-hunts interrupted by infrequent boss fights, was obnoxious when it first appeared in games 10 years ago.

Even graphically, the game is stuck in this era; there’s nothing here that wouldn’t have been possible or looked out of place on the Dreamcast. In addition to simply looking dated, the game contains frequent graphical glitches, collision errors, and a fog effect covering the entire game that prevents the player from seeing more than 10 feet in front of Ray. About the only neat graphical trick the game’s got up its sleeve is the flashlight, which throws light on the environment in a relatively realistic manner. Still, this is far from impressive, as it’s been done in countless other games just as well, and in many others better.

Problems exist in this game everywhere you look. Controls are stiff and unresponsive, in addition to being needlessly complex. For instance, attacking requires holding down at least one button (more if you’re attacking with a ranged weapon) and swinging the controller. Succeeding in combat is nearly impossible, since attacking also stops Ray dead in his tracks, which gives his quick, agile enemies ample opportunity to swarm, surround, and kill him. Even simply walking through the environment poses problems, since Ray controls in the tank-style manner that’s been hated since the original Resident Evil. The Wii’s motion controls feel tacked-on and unnecessary at best, actively obstructive to controlling the character at worst. For instance, I found it nearly impossible to consistently perform the “strong swing” attack, supposedly activated by a wide swipe with the Wii remote; even by increasing the size of my movement to the absolute limits my body is capable of, I successfully launched the strong attack less than 50% of the time.

Despite its myriad, pervasive problems, the game did contain a handful of entertaining elements. Some monster designs, specifically the lizard-women and giant tarantula, were satisfyingly creepy and visually interesting. And while it was consistently irritating, navigating the game’s environments from event to event was, at least, relatively straightforward, as the game makes use of a Grand Theft Auto-style radar system that effectively eliminates much of the fruitless wandering which characterizes so many similar titles. As I mentioned earlier, the game’s storyline bits are a frequent source of inappropriate humor, as are the comments Ray sometimes makes when he picks up items. (A personal favorite: “I hope this doesn’t kill me”, said in a dead monotone. The item’s a can of spinach, which actually heals Ray completely.)

While it’s refreshing to see original, single-player games being made for Wii, this game would be a detriment to any system it appeared on. Luckily, it isn’t the only option for survival-horror on the system, as it was released within days of the release of Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, an exponentially better game.

Gameplay: 3.9
Maneuver Ray clumsily from one boring area to the next, looking for items and trying your best to fight giant bugs despite crippling control problems. No one’s definition of “fun” is generous enough to encompass these activities.

Graphics: 4.2
Between the PS1-caliber environments and the Dreamcast-caliber character models, the graphics are criminally dated. Frequent glitches don’t help, nor does the all-encompassing fog.

Sound: 4.5
Hilariously bad voice acting is accompanied by stunningly repetitive music (most of the game’s score consists of the same three piano notes, over and over again, seriously). Assorted buggy noises and other sound effects aren’t quite as bad, but don’t do much to uplift the whole.

Difficulty: Medium
The game’s difficulty comes more from a total inability to accurately control your character, rather than any sort of genuine challenge.

Concept: 5.7
There could be a cool game made from characters exploring an island infested with gigantic insects, especially with a B-movie vibe. Guess what? This isn’t it.

Overall: 4.1
Escape From Bug Island could very easily be a long-lost Dreamcast title, with hastily-added motion controls. Were that the case, I think I’d rather it had stayed lost; I can’t even imagine anyone enjoying this.