Turning The Spigot - Year 2: Week 3 - Sub Culture

Spigot · 06-07-2009, 03:17 PM

According to many scientists, there are large portions of the world's oceans that have turned into giant garbage dumps. One upside of this phenomenon is that these watery trash heaps make fantastic settings for videogames, as seen in this week's selection for Turning The Spigot.

Sub Culture

Year: 1997
Platform: PC
Rating: Eco Friendly
# of Players: 1

Sub Culture is one of Criterion's first games. Yes, THAT Criterion. It helped to push the limits of a nascent 3D graphics industry in ways that hadn't been seen before. It also happened to be an incredibly fun game that didn't get nearly the recognition it deserved.

In Sub Culture, you play as a submarine captain who is tasked with salvaging trash from the ocean depths, fighting off pirates and other hostile factions and trading goods with anyone who doesn't blow you out of the water first.

Oh, I forgot to mention one other thing. You are only a few inches tall, with your sub dwarfed by such everyday items as cigarette butts and bottle caps. In fact, these are the very items you will be collecting as salvage and trade goods. As you scour the ocean depths, you'll really get a sense of scale as you bump into the detritus tossed down from the surface world and dodge giant fish intent on gobbling you whole. One of my favourite aspects of the game is how it manages the physics of having a giant bottlecap hanging off the magnet on the bottom of your sub. It just feels right.

The game evokes a lot of the same feelings of exploration, trade and combat that is usually reserved for space sims like Elite and Freelancer. There is a greater story that unfolds during the course of your adventures and you have the option of playing for either side of the underwater conflict or working for both sides against the pirate menace. The story won't win any awards but it does keep the game moving when you're not trying to play the virtual stock market and keep yourself alive.

Sub Culture isn't going to be terribly easy to find from legitimate sources these days. A quick check at the usual spots for older games (Good Old Games in particular) yielded nothing although the game does appear on a number of abandonware sites. There was a sequel, of sorts, for the Dreamcast called Deep Fighter. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about it one way or another. Sub Culture, on the other hand, remains one of the first games I install whenever I upgrade my system and really holds up well despite its age.

Purple Santa · 06-08-2009, 06:47 AM

This game recco reminds me of when you showed Crush. I don't know why. Just the really odd vibe yet "oooh" feeling that I would really like to see that in play. Put this on the "Spigot list" I have going.

agentgray · 06-08-2009, 12:15 PM

I thought it was a little sub par for the late 90s culture we lived in.

Seriously.

Spigot · 06-08-2009, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agentgray

I thought it was a little sub par for the late 90s culture we lived in.

Seriously.

Wasn't EXTREEEEEEME enough for you, eh?

Curse you, agentgray the platypus. Curse you...

MagGnome · 06-09-2009, 04:30 PM

Maybe one day our descendants will look back on this game and say "Well they certainly knew that they were polluting too much, so why didn't they stop?"

I've never heard of this one before - good pick!

Spigot · 06-09-2009, 04:58 PM

From the lack of feedback for this week's column, I'd hazard a guess that not many other people heard of it either. It's a shame, because it's definately one of those PC games that gets automatically installed whenever I reformat/upgrade my PC and taken for a spin for old time's sake.

And it's made by Criterion. The Burnout guys. Yeah! Maybe they'll have subs when they release Big Surf Island.

MagGnome · 06-10-2009, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spigot

From the lack of feedback for this week's column, I'd hazard a guess that not many other people heard of it either. It's a shame, because it's definately one of those PC games that gets automatically installed whenever I reformat/upgrade my PC and taken for a spin for old time's sake.

And it's made by Criterion. The Burnout guys. Yeah! Maybe they'll have subs when they release Big Surf Island.

Next time just do another JRPG and you'll get more hits.

It's sad but true.

06-07-2009, 03:17 PM	#1
Spigot Turn Me Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Acton, Ontario Posts: 18,677 Blog Entries: 112	Turning The Spigot - Year 2: Week 3 - Sub Culture According to many scientists, there are large portions of the world's oceans that have turned into giant garbage dumps. One upside of this phenomenon is that these watery trash heaps make fantastic settings for videogames, as seen in this week's selection for Turning The Spigot. Sub Culture Year: 1997 Platform: PC Rating: Eco Friendly # of Players: 1 Sub Culture is one of Criterion's first games. Yes, THAT Criterion. It helped to push the limits of a nascent 3D graphics industry in ways that hadn't been seen before. It also happened to be an incredibly fun game that didn't get nearly the recognition it deserved. In Sub Culture, you play as a submarine captain who is tasked with salvaging trash from the ocean depths, fighting off pirates and other hostile factions and trading goods with anyone who doesn't blow you out of the water first. Oh, I forgot to mention one other thing. You are only a few inches tall, with your sub dwarfed by such everyday items as cigarette butts and bottle caps. In fact, these are the very items you will be collecting as salvage and trade goods. As you scour the ocean depths, you'll really get a sense of scale as you bump into the detritus tossed down from the surface world and dodge giant fish intent on gobbling you whole. One of my favourite aspects of the game is how it manages the physics of having a giant bottlecap hanging off the magnet on the bottom of your sub. It just feels right. The game evokes a lot of the same feelings of exploration, trade and combat that is usually reserved for space sims like Elite and Freelancer. There is a greater story that unfolds during the course of your adventures and you have the option of playing for either side of the underwater conflict or working for both sides against the pirate menace. The story won't win any awards but it does keep the game moving when you're not trying to play the virtual stock market and keep yourself alive. Sub Culture isn't going to be terribly easy to find from legitimate sources these days. A quick check at the usual spots for older games (Good Old Games in particular) yielded nothing although the game does appear on a number of abandonware sites. There was a sequel, of sorts, for the Dreamcast called Deep Fighter. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about it one way or another. Sub Culture, on the other hand, remains one of the first games I install whenever I upgrade my system and really holds up well despite its age.

06-08-2009, 06:47 AM	#2
Purple Santa The OTHER santa Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Mr. Gnome's Garden Posts: 18,572	This game recco reminds me of when you showed Crush. I don't know why. Just the really odd vibe yet "oooh" feeling that I would really like to see that in play. Put this on the "Spigot list" I have going. __________________ Gamertag/PSN/Steam ID: Purple Santa/PurpleSanta I should get achievements for watching this~ ADDGirl Rails? The DAY/END threads don't need no stinking rails, they just meander like a drunk looking for a bench to flop down on~ Gorvi Hell, 'derail'? This is like calling the surface of the sun 'warmish'. Somewhat lacking in appropriate magnitude~ Jpublic That's too applied for my tastes. Math makes the most sense to me when it's reality bending abstraction. Or when it's evil~ Frederec

06-08-2009, 12:15 PM	#3
agentgray Spigot's Nemesis Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Middle Coast Posts: 488 Blog Entries: 4	I thought it was a little sub par for the late 90s culture we lived in. Seriously. __________________ buttonmashing

06-09-2009, 04:58 PM	#6
Spigot Turn Me Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Acton, Ontario Posts: 18,677 Blog Entries: 112	From the lack of feedback for this week's column, I'd hazard a guess that not many other people heard of it either. It's a shame, because it's definately one of those PC games that gets automatically installed whenever I reformat/upgrade my PC and taken for a spin for old time's sake. And it's made by Criterion. The Burnout guys. Yeah! Maybe they'll have subs when they release Big Surf Island. __________________ Like obscure games? Check out Turning The Spigot for hidden gems!

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