Oooh, oooh, oooh! Upon seeing
Seaman at E3 in 1999, I was reduced to such a gutteral response. Yes, this game looks
amazingly cool, in fact, almost too cool to hit US shores. With over three times as many
games released in Japan as in the US, just in general across all platforms, it was
incredibly unlikely that such a quirky title like Seaman would make it here. Plus, last
year Seaman spoke Japanese, which created something of a barrier for me and my limited
vocabulary. Now, Seaman not only speaks English, but hes getting ready to make a big
splash in the States.
Seaman is a virtual creature. I would say "virtual pet"
but that isnt entirely accurate. Upon loading the game for the first time, you are
presented with an aquarium. You must get your light, temperature, and salt levels all set
just right, and then a little egg will release some spores. Tap on the glass, and the
spores will swim right to you. Lead them over to an innocent mollusk sharing the aquarium,
and hell eat them. At this point, you may think youve lost the game, but au
contraire, mon frere, youve just started the lifecycle of the Seaman. Within a short
time, the mollusk will begin convulsing because it is being eaten away from inside by the
little Seamen. Eventually several of the little buggers will burst forth, ready to start
their new lives.
Seaman
comes with a microphone peripheral that plugs into the Dreamcast controller. The goal of
the game is to raise the Seaman, hopefully getting him to evolve legs and take to land.
Along the way he will chat with you via the microphone, and how well, or how poorly, you
take care of him affects his development. With a vocabulary of over 10,000 words, Seaman
can really hold conversations with you, and will even remember important dates like your
mothers birthday.
If raising a talking fish/man/thing doesnt sound like a lot of fun, realize that
Seaman has been culturally located for the US by Jellyvision, that wacky house that brings
us the inimitable You Dont Know Jack series. Now, it wont be your virtual
gameshow putting you down and making you feel stupid; it will be your virtual
fish/man/thing making you wish you had a snappier comeback. The success of Seaman depends
on how entertaining he can be, and the news that Sega has gone to Jellyvision is strong
evidence that Seaman will be funny as hell. Plus, he sounds a lot like George Takai. Way
cool.
Keep an eye out for Seaman to hit US Shores, sputtering and wailing, this summer.
--Shawn Rider