Nintendo 64's Body Harvest Review
A Retrospective Look at a Hugely Under-Appreciated Video Game
When DMA released Body Harvest for the N64 in 1998, it flew under the radar of many folks. The truth, though, is that it was well ahead of its time.
October 20th 1998 was an important date for video games. It was a date that saw the release of a game which would pave the way for a transformation of one of the most successful franchises of all time. That same game is also one of the most under-appreciated titles ever released. That game is Body Harvest.
DMA Design Video Games 'Doesn't Mean Anything'
Having released the original Grand Theft Auto one year earlier to rave reviews and, albeit in a sea of controversy, great success, DMA (now renamed Rockstar North) went on to create Body Harvest. The game, released for the Nintendo 64, was a free-roaming action adventure title with a sci-fi theme and an overall design that was leaps and bounds ahead of its time.
The Body Harvest Storyline
The game takes place throughout 5 different time zones, and sees the protagonist - Adam Drake - battling with time-travelling aliens hell-bent on the desecration of earth. Every 25 years the alien invaders would travel to earth and imprison about four areas of earth within a force field for 24 hours. Adam is caught in a battle with with the invaders aboard Space Station Omega, and manages to escape in a time capsule. His job then is clear; stop these invaders at all costs...
Body Harvest's GTA-esque Design
The game itself is well-known to be a precursor to Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto III, with an overall design which is markedly similar. This is one reason that the game is so under-appreciated - if the GTA series can cause a wave of popularity so significant due to its 'original' fully 3D explorable world, why was Body Harvest so easily overlooked? Simply by playing the game it's easy to see the similarities - run around an open world, bound only by the limits of the land, shoot anything - drive anything. Sounding at all familiar?
The enemies in Body Harvest would appear in waves and following their destruction, coupled with some exploring ('find TNT, blow up huge rock which blocks the path' and the like), players would face a gigantic boss. With a total of 5 bosses, the game had no shortage of substance.
The Graphics, Sound and Game World
Visually, Body Harvest wasn't exactly stunning. Remember, though, that this is an N64 title - it was limited by the processing power of the platform itself, and so suffered from the well-known 'fuzzy' look that 64 games tend to have, along with some un-detailed textures and low polygon counts. For a game released in 1998, it really is amazing what Body Harvest offers; players would find a richly detailed and fully realized 3D world with its own occupants and vehicles - along with the opportunity to explore pretty much limitlessly.
The sound, again with this being a 64 title, was fairly low-fi. Explosions sounded good enough; however it lacked voice-acting, again due to the limitations of the console.
Is Body Harvest Still Playable Today?
Of course. In fact, anyone who even vaguely enjoys 3D free-roaming GTA-esque games should definitely consider catching up on where it all began. This game represents the start of an entire phenomenon in video gaming and it truly is a shame that it flew so far under nearly everyone's radar. This article only goes a small way in conveying the beauty of Body Harvest; however the first step is to raise awareness of this legendary video game, and if just one person takes a look after reading this, the world would be just that little bit better off for it.
Here's to Body Harvest, the grandfather of the 3D sandbox video game.
