DYNAMITE COP
Original Release: Sega, 1998, Arcade
Other Releases: Dreamcast (1999)
The Dynamite Deka / Die Hard Arcade sequel sticks very closely to the original's formula, though the source material is more Under Siege this time
Dynamite Cop (Dreamcast, Sega, 1999)
Where to Buy: Amazon
How to Emulate: coming soon!
Review by: C. M0use
Sega's sequel to Die Hard Arcade / Dynamite Deka came out just two years after the original, and is kinda the same product (just without the Die Hard license in all markets). It's another splashy-for-the-time arcade spectacle game that's gloriously over-the-top and goofy, but also very short and lacking in replay value.
So this first hit arcades in summer 1998, with the Dreamcast port coming about a year later. Running on pretty much the same PS1-caliber engine that the prequel did, the game's polygonal action was looking pretty dated by that point (consider Shenmue was about to come out in a month). So the graphical "wow factor" was gone at least.
It's not that the Deka games aren't fun, it's just that they're very short and linear (and a bit graphically tired as of this one). This outing sees the weird old Tekken refugee villain from the first game return with like coral-based cyborg implants or something, he's also now leading a very colorful and diverse gang of Caribbean pirates made up of 80s punks, Che Guevara clones, witch doctors and guys who actually dress up like Age of Sail pirates. For reasons the game doesn't really bother explaining this involves taking over a cruise ship, which you spend the bulk of the game fighting through ... there's also another kidnapped little girl ludicrously hiding like five feet from the villain, though amusingly she tries to turn the tables on them with a submachine gun eventually. Anyway, it's mostly brawling through the ship (this time possibly a loose take-off of Under Siege?) before a short finale at the hidden pirate island base.
As mentioned this was originally an arcade release, and the Dreamcast port adds some fluff but not really any substantial new gameplay content. This outing does have a tad more replay value as the means of boarding the ship you select at the outset determines the "route" through the game, effectively a few different rooms in different places, but they all lead to the same bosses eventually. New to the Dreamcast version are unlockable illustrations found by hitting random background spots in the levels, an increased difficulty mode unlocked after finishing the game once (turned out to really not be substantially more difficult though), unlockable extra costumes for the characters, and upscaled video cutscenes. Oh, and as with the Sega Saturn port of the prequel, a gratuitous forgotten old early 80s Sega arcade game is tossed in: this time Tranquilizer Gun, which really isn't much more fun than Deep Scan.
I guess the Dreamcast port is the superior version, but you really don't lose much of substance by just emulating the arcade original.
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