Deep Fear is Sega's newest answer to the popularity of the Resident Evil series by Capcom. As you know, RE 1 is already out for Saturn and Capcom is working on an enhanced version of RE2 for the Saturn which will use the 4MB RAM cartridge. Also, RE IV will be a Dreamcast exclusive.

The setting is a deep sea naval base which has been infested by alien beings. Of course, John Mayor (your character) doesn't know that and must traverse the area in an effort to find out what's causing all the problems. John quickly runs into mutating humans and must defend himself with whatever weapons he can acquire...

The game's Main screen, Menus and Game screen are presented in English. The two things Keeping this game from a 100% importability rating are the Japanese descriptions of menu items and people/things you interact with during the game. At any rate, I found the game highly playable nonetheless...

GRAPHICS:

There must be varying qualities of True Motion video because the CG intros and cut-scenes in Deep Fear are as good as they get on any console. You can interact with the beautifully detailed, pre rendered 3D backdrops while viewing the action from varying 3rd person perspectives.

The action is smooth and the load times are decent. I really like the way the game switches between action and cut-scenes to tell the story. Overall, an excellent effort by Sega and I dare say it looks better than Resident Evil...

CONTROL:

You control fire/action, run, map, inventory, air bomb and arm weapon in the game. The action is responsive and easy to learn. Beginners will need some practice while aiming the weapons, but veteran Resident Evil players will find it a breeze.

SOUND:

Thanks to Kenji Kawai, you can expect to hear wonderful orchestral music while the story unfolds with the CG cut-scenes. During the action portions you'll hear appropriate sound effects in the background like generators and water. The rest of the sound effects are excellent and include guns, doors, elevators and English speech!!!

FUN:

I really found myself getting into Deep Fear's story quite easily. The whole idea of being in an advanced Navy deep sea base is intriguing. The graphics, music and gameplay come together to produce a very enjoyable title for your Saturn...

BOTTOM LINE:

If you liked Resident Evil, you'll surely like Deep Fear. If you didn't, Deep Fear may just convince you that this type of game is worthy. High quality graphics, gameplay, music and fun combine to make an excellent Saturn exclusive...

Overall: 9.5 | Graphics: 9.8 | Control: 9.5 | Sound: 9.8 | Fun: 8.9