Sewer Shark
| Industry | Video game development |
|---|---|
| Founder | Rob Fulop, Kenneth Melville, Charlie Kelner |
Key people | Tom Zito (president) |
| Products | Sewer Shark, Night Trap, Make My Video series, Prize Fighter |
Sewer Shark is a 1992 interactive movie rail shooter title created by Digital Pictures and released by Sony Imagesoft for the Sega CD. It stands as one of the earliest home console games to feature full motion video (FMV) as the central gameplay element.
Initially developed alongside Night Trap for the abandoned Control-Vision system, which relied on VHS tapes, Digital Pictures repurposed Sewer Shark for the Sega CD following Hasbro's termination of Control-Vision in 1989. The game emerged as one of the Sega CD's first and most popular releases, leading Sega to include it as a pack-in title with the console. Reported sales surpassed 750,000 units. In 1994, it was also adapted for the 3DO platform.
The title received positive recognition from reviewers, particularly for its pioneering use of FMV technology.
Plot
Set in a dystopian future where environmental devastation has forced humanity underground, players take on the role of an inexperienced "sewer jockey" pilot charged with eliminating mutated creatures to safeguard the sewer systems beneath "Solar City," a luxurious island governed by the nefarious Commissioner Stenchler (Robert Costanzo). The player's co-pilot, Ghost (David Underwood), offers performance evaluations, while a robotic assistant named Catfish (voiced by Robert Weaver) provides navigational support. Later in the story, Falco (Kari G. Peyton), a female jockey searching for a hidden surface passage, joins the mission before being captured by Stenchler. Ultimately, the player and Ghost work together to foil his schemes.
Gameplay
Players must pilot their craft from base to Solar City without crashing or running out of energy, all while maintaining performance levels assessed by Ghost and Commissioner Stenchler. As a rail shooter, the vehicle moves along a predetermined path; players concentrate on shooting hostile mutants such as ratigators, bats, scorpions, and mechanical moles. Navigation is assisted by Catfish; incorrect turns result in dead ends and crashes. Later stages replace Catfish with a visual navigation aid.
Energy diminishes steadily during flight and weapon use; failure to destroy scorpions causes additional energy loss. Players can restore energy at recharge stations scattered throughout. Detonating hydrogen pockets using Catfish is necessary to progress safely.
Feedback from Ghost and Stenchler occurs intermittently—strong performance earns promotions accompanied by new call signs, whereas poor results lead to game termination.
Often categorized as an interactive movie, Sewer Shark integrates FMV with gameplay reminiscent of Dragon's Lair, where correctly navigating turns is essential for advancement.
Production
The project began on the cancelled VHS-based Control-Vision gaming console. The video content was divided into four interwoven tracks, with hardware switching between them to display different outcomes such as choosing or bypassing a turn. When transitioning to the Sega CD platform, Digital Pictures maintained this approach by reading all four tracks in a continuous stream to minimize CD seek times. Developers engineered a proprietary video codec to achieve high compression suitable for real-time playback on the console. This codec was also utilized in Night Trap, the Make My Video series, and an enhanced version appeared in Prize Fighter. A version for the Super NES CD-ROM was planned but never realized due to that system’s cancellation.
Digital Pictures president Tom Zito credits Rob Fulop, Kenneth Melville, and Charlie Kelner as primary creative contributors behind Sewer Shark. Visual effects artist John Dykstra directed the video sequences. According to Zito, production expenses reached $3 million.
Reception
Sewer Shark ranks among the top-selling titles for the Sega CD, having sold over 100,000 copies prior to its inclusion in system bundles. When packaged with the console, it reached sales exceeding 500,000 units, while individual retail sales contributed approximately in revenue. Altogether, the game surpassed 750,000 copies sold.
The title secured a spot on the Associated Press list of the ten best video games of 1993, earning acclaim as "bizarre and wildly entertaining" and deemed a must-have for Sega CD users. Retrospective analyses emphasize the largely favorable feedback from leading gaming publications at the time of release. GamePro praised it as "an impressive fusion of intense shoot-em-up gameplay and cutting-edge CD visuals," although Electronic Gaming Monthly pointed out its somewhat limited gameplay mechanics.
Entertainment Weekly recognized it as one of the pioneering titles to incorporate live-action full-motion video, demonstrating the CD-ROM format's capability to deliver cinematic-quality graphics and audio. With an 82% rating, Mega Action highlighted its impressive visuals and stereo sound design. On the other hand, Power Unlimited gave it a 78% score, describing it as a brief and dull interactive movie characterized by subpar graphics but commendable voice performances—reflecting certain critiques regarding the constraints of the Sega CD hardware.
External links
- IMDb entry
- MobyGames profile