Bio F.R.E.A.K.S.

Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. is a 3D fighting video game released by Midway in 1998. It was originally planned for arcades.[2] 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 Microsoft Windows.

Bio F.R.E.A.K.S.
North American Nintendo 64 cover art
Developer(s)Midway Studios San Diego
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)PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Windows
Release
Windows
  • NA: August 1998
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

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 an incredible rate, and forced an industrial competition of corporate espionage. The government tried to keep control of the country by a single thread, but the effect of the giant corporations' white collar wars drove the economy into a tailspin. Neo-Amerika rises as the result of the government bankruptcy and technological companies' 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.

Gameplay

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.

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

The Nintendo and PlayStation versions received mixed or average reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[3][4]

Notes
  1. Four critics of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the PlayStation version each a score of 5.5/10, 3/10, 5/10, and 4/10.
  2. Three critics of GameFan gave the Nintendo 64 version each a score of 70, 78, and 69.
  3. Three critics of GameFan gave the PlayStation version each a score of 56, 54, and 49.
  4. GamePro gave the Nintendo 64 version two 4/5 scores for graphics and overall fun factor, 4.5/5 for sound, and 3.5/5 for control.
  5. GamePro gave the PlayStation version all four 3.5/5 scores for graphics, sound, control, and overall fun factor.

References
  1. GameSpot staff (May 12, 1998). "Freaks for Rent [date mislabeled as "April 28, 2000"]". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on February 2, 1999. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  2. EGM staff (June 1997). "Last-Minute Update". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 95. Ziff Davis. p. 94.
  3. "Bio FREAKS for Nintendo 64". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  4. "Bio FREAKS for PlayStation". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 27, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  5. Smith, Nick. "Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. (PC) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  6. Jones Jr., Fredrick Lewis. "Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. (PS) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  7. Smith, Shawn; Davison, John; Hsu, Dan; Williams, Ken "Sushi-X" (August 1998). "Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. (PS)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 109. Ziff Davis. p. 135.
  8. McNamara, Andy; Anderson, Paul; Reiner, Andrew (July 1998). "Bio FREAKS - Nintendo 64". Game Informer. No. 63. FuncoLand. Archived from the original on September 9, 1999. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  9. "Bio FREAKS - PlayStation". Game Informer. No. 63. FuncoLand. July 1998. Archived from the original on September 14, 1999. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  10. Chau, Anthony "Dangohead"; Justice, Brandon "Big Bubba"; Higgins, Geoff "El Nino" (August 1998). "BioFreaks [sic] (N64)". GameFan. Vol. 6 no. 8. Metropolis Media. p. 17. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  11. Mylonas, Eric "ECM"; Chau, Anthony "Dangohead"; Ngo, George "Eggo" (June 1998). "Bio-Freaks [sic] (PS)". GameFan. Vol. 6 no. 6. Metropolis Media. p. 20. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  12. Major Mike (July 1998). "Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. (N64)". GamePro. No. 118. IDG Entertainment. p. 60. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  13. The Rookie (July 1998). "Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. (PS)". GamePro. No. 118. IDG Entertainment. p. 68. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  14. Cooke, Mark (June 1998). "Bio FREAKS - Nintendo 64 Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on January 28, 1999. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  15. Cooke, Mark (June 4, 1998). "Bio Freaks [sic] Review (PS)". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on May 8, 1999. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  16. MacDonald, Ryan (June 4, 1998). "Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. Review (N64)". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 27, 2005. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  17. MacDonald, Ryan (May 14, 1998). "Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. Review (PS) [date mislabeled as "April 28, 2000"]". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 29, 2005. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  18. Fish, Eliot (August 1998). "BioFREAKS [sic] (N64)". Hyper. No. 58. Next Media Pty Ltd. p. 79. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  19. Cheung, Kevin (July 1998). "BioFREAKS [sic] (PS)". Hyper. No. 57. Next Media Pty Ltd. p. 72. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  20. Casamassina, Matt (May 20, 1998). "Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. (N64)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  21. Harris, Craig (August 13, 1998). "Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. (PC)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  22. Perry, Douglass C. (May 21, 1998). "Bio Freaks [sic] (PS)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  23. Price, James (August 1998). "Bio Freaks [sic] (Import)". N64 Magazine. No. 18. Future Publishing. pp. 84–87.
  24. Ashton, James (October 1998). "Bio Freaks [sic]". N64 Magazine. No. 20. Future Publishing. p. 60. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  25. "Bio Freaks [sic]". Nintendo Power. Vol. 109. Nintendo of America. June 1998. p. 95. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  26. "Bio F.R.E.A.K.S.". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Vol. 1 no. 10. Ziff Davis. July 1998.
  27. Williamson, Colin (October 1998). "Bio Freaks [sic]". PC Gamer. Vol. 5 no. 10. Imagine Media. p. 209a. Archived from the original on March 7, 2000. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
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