Dynamite Cop (Eddie Brown) Dreamcast Gameplay
1The game is played by one or two players, who choose their character from a trio of action heroes. Bruno Delinger returns from the first game. He’s the stereotypical 1990s tough guy who’s having a bad day (though his pet monkey does offer moral support). Jean Ivy is the classic 1990s action babe. And Eddie Brown is the fast-punching, hard-kicking third member of the squad.
The player chooses their approach to the cruise ship at the beginning of the game, and this choice dictates the path through which the player will progress through the game, as well as which enemies they will encounter and in which order. The game is made up of stages in which the player fights through waves of (often ridiculous) enemies, with bosses and Quick Time Events sprinkled generously throughout. The final showdown with the leader of the pirates, Wolf Hongo, takes place aboard the ship or at the pirates’ secret island lair, depending on the path the player has chosen.
The joy of Dynamite Cop, beyond the solid mechanics of the gameplay, is the outlandish presentation of enemies and the weapons we can use to dispatch them. The pirates are ridiculous - some are dressed as crabs, sharks, or turtles, while others are more like pirate caricatures. There are even a full kitchen’s worth of chef-based enemies - one is from France, another from China, and the sushi chef from Japan is a former sumo wrestler. Oh, and did I mention that one of the boss enemies is a Kraken?
To defeat these myriad enemies we naturally use our fists and feet. But, as the game’s instruction manual so nicely instructs, this is not a PR mission and any weapons found along the way should be used extensively. These include french baguettes (that’s “bread” to the uncultured among you), hairspray, a giant tuna fish, brooms, mops, a microphone stand, mannequins, a black pepper shaker, grenades, anti-ship missiles, a bushel of apples, a basket of coins, toilet plungers, urinals, a bow and arrow… the list goes on.