Sometime in the future, humanity is living underwater in the depths of the oceans. Unfortunately, the civilization humans have forged below the ocean is being threatened by various enemies, including mother nature itself. A devastating tectonic event may soon destroy the underwater colonies and it falls on you to save the colonies.
You are Moray 2, a pilot just out of the academy who is given various missions of defence and exploration to ultimately help build a giant Mothership that will transport civilization to safety. To complete your various missions, you have to select from five different minisubs: Avenger, Spitfire, Tornado, Iguana, and Wraith. You can also use “Bob,” a remotely operated vehicle to assist. Each sub has characteristics that are needed to do any given job. Your missions involve anything from dealing with Shadowkin pirates to defeating giant Sea Spiders or even nasty jellyfish! What’s cool about this game is that the missions ease you into them, starting with easier tasks and steadily becoming more complex. The game has beautiful visuals with some impressive effects (e.g., the rippling effect with sunlight) and it also makes use of video for cutscenes. These can be campy but they are part of the fun. The frame rate is good in the animations and the visuals of the game, though some of the enemies may be lacking in detail. The sound effects and music are really good as well with a score that sounds like it belongs in a movie. Though the game isn’t fast-paced, the variety of missions and the immersive visuals will keep you interested. I should mention that control does take some getting used to, something that hurts the game some. Deep Fighter is certainly a good title for the Dreamcast, despite some weaknesses.
