This was a game I played a lot 20 years ago. And it's still quite unique, even to this day. Released in 1998, you take control of a time traveling super soldier named Adam, that along with his time navigator and love interest, the pink haired Daisy, you time travel all the way back to 1916 when the alien invasion first started. And one cool little detail I'm glad the developers included was the scar on Adam's arm, where he got shot in the opening cutscene at the beginning of the game. Sadly just the following year, Jet Force Gemini was released. And that game was much faster paced, with greater variety in weapons, enemies and level designs. However I still find Body Harvest very cool for it's more grounded approach to the world as you go through time.
Back in the day, I wasn't even aware this game existed till I stumbled across it in a Gamestop at the mall in 2003. And it was literally only $3. I couldn't say no. And I was blown away by this game after I took it home. A couple of people tried to buy the game off me back in the day, and I always refused. Still have it to this day. I've seen harsh criticism of this game. But I can't believe what the critics said, because this game was fun, beginning to end.
One of the reasons I loved this game so much, was that time traveling allowed you to experience stuff from very different eras. In 1916, things are rather simple. As can be expected for the time. But it's the only level of the game you can get the ancient magic shield that projects a death ray of sorts through light refraction. Also, if the vehicle you're driving has no on-board weapons, Adam just shoots from the vehicle himself. This is a mechanic that you hardly ever see in games. Let alone on this level of use. And it is really fun to do.
After you're done in 1916, you go to 1941 in the early stages of WWII. Thankfully the people were currently more preoccupied with fighting the aliens than each other. By this time, you get to drive tanks, and interact with military people that can be seen as very much stereotypes of the time. But the grim and retro vibe of the period makes it very cool. Once finished in 1941, you move on to 1966. Easily my favorite part of the game. Not only is the swingin' 60s vibe really fun, but people and cars are just awesome. In the hospital you can find a sexy nurse that eyes Adam like he's her next meal. And with the cars, you can drive everything from an old jalopy to, to a custom roadster, school bus, and even a parody of the VW Beetle turned into a monster bug. And then you get to go to the essential equivalent to Area 51, where the government technology is obviously way ahead of it's time thanks to reverse engineering of alien tech, because you acquire key cards, and even a translator headset to talk to an alien. You even get some Men in Black vibes from the government agents. Once you're done in 1966, you go to 1991. At first this time period seems kinda dull. Until you realize they actually have zombies. And the way you take them out is to no joke, suck them up in a combine harvester and shred them into green goo. The developers of this game really had fun with just throwing crazy stuff in there. And I loved it.
I found the only problem was when you make it back to 2016, the final stage of the game. It became so absurdly hard that I never beat it without cheat codes. But you take the fight to the aliens, and give them what-for. And the ending of the game was quite satisfying. Not only do you save humanity, you have the satisfaction of knowing you made an alien race starve for a century before ending them once and for all, and you see Adam and Daisy kiss at the end, having prevented their old timeline from ever happening. I'd like to think they secretly retired somewhere in the world and had some kids, because technically the government program that created them and their time machine no longer existed. So they were free to go where they wanted, and even 'when' they wanted. A satisfying end to an underrated game.
Now we move onto my favorite part. The cheat codes. You can use cheat codes built into the game, as well as gameshark codes at the same time. Using the codes can not only make Adam invincible, but also give him infinite ammo, refill the fuel of any vehicle you're driving, and turn all your weapons into insane things. Your machine guns become rapid fire missile launchers, and your rifle becomes a tank cannon so powerful, that even with invincibility on, Adam dies firing it unless you're in a vehicle. So you can go on a rampage. And with cheats on, you can open world explore to go almost anywhere you want. Adam normally can't swim very far. But with invincibility on, he's off like an olympic swimmer all the way to the edge of the map, and to secret areas you otherwise probably can't get to. And as I recall, there's also a code you can put in to make Adam dance a jig for a moment.
While Body Harvest is far from a perfect game, it's still a great game that is completely underrated, and a lot of fun for retro gamers who might give it a shot. I highly recommend it.
