A worthy sequel to a classic series.
This is where Blasting Again comes in. It is essentially Blaster Master 3, taking the series into the realm of 3D for the PS1. What this game does, however, is avoid the mistakes made by Blaster Master 2. It returns to the gameplay roots seen in the very first Blaster Master for the NES. Basically, you are driving and shooting, but you're doing ti in 3D.
The game tries at a storyline. While this story is not terribly impressive or all that influential on the game, it's noteworthy that the developers tried. The story starts off with series protagonist Jason, dead. His offspring, Roddy and Elfie have taken up his cause of defending Earth from whatever mutants or aliens threaten it with the tank Sophia the Third (or Sophia J-7 as it is now known). On a recon mission, the siblings discover that there is indeed a force of old enemies' lackeys (Plutonium Boss and Lightning Beings, Blaster Master 1 & 2 respectively) being gathered for an unknown assault, and that the person in charge may be more connected to them than they imagined. I'll give the developers props for keeping continuity and involving a plot twist that may change the outlook on previous Blaster Master history.
Gameplay is of course the most important aspect. Like I said, it returns to the roots of the first Blaster Master and takes it into the realm of 3D. Surprisingly, not all that much has changed. Sophia is easy to handle once you've learned the controls. It drives and jumps fine; the L1 and R1 buttons are used for quick evasive movements. You also get access to classic BM special weapons, which slightly changes Sophia's appearance and can be upgraded for new permanent results. Beating bosses will gain you new abilities much like the older games. The tank will gain abilities such as Boost, which will give it a quick burst of speed, or the classic Hover ability that allows it to fly for a short amount of time.
Of course, the gameplay isn't just Sophia-centric. Keeping traditions, there is also a "Roddy Mode" in which you exit the vehicle and run around on foot. There are special areas that will require you to exit Sophia and enter structures as Roddy, bringing nostalgia with it. Roddy has an upgradable gun much like Jason did in BM1, grenades, and a new attack where he dashes around like a maniac. These buildings tend to have you running around through similar looking rooms, killing enemies, avoiding obstacles, and setting off switches until you eventually reach your objective, which is most likely a boss.
Unlike the previous games, bosses aren't just fought on foot. You will fight some bosses in Sophia (finally). There are also certain instances where gameplay will momentarily change, such as a boss fight near the end of the game where Sophia will get a indefinite Hover boost and fight a boss in a style similar to a Starfox game.
The graphics in the game aren't that amazing, though I thought Roddy was well done (except for his running animation, which looks like it prematurely loops). Bosses are large, explosions are prone to go off left and right, and some areas have an artificial "PS1 look" too them. if you're looking for impressive locations, you won't find them here. The game also recycles areas by reusing them as having a "second half" to them that you return to later as part of the backtracking seen in the first Blaster Master title. But at least the developers didn't try to pass them off as entirely new locations, unlike Blaster Master 2 which gave up by the 6th Area and simply recolored the levels from the start.
The music in the game is remarkably good. While the soundtrack isn't as classic as the original Blaster Master, it's still pretty damn close. I found the majority of tracks catchy and memorable, including the remix of the Area 1 theme from the original Blaster Master. There are so many songs in the game that I enjoyed that it would be a hassle to list them all (though the theme in Area 1's Roddy-centric building gets a nice mention).
This game is not innovative, long, deep, or cutting-edge in the least. But it's still a damn good game. If you're looking for some simple, old-school fun, are a fan of the series, or are just looking for anything to pop into the console and have fun with, give this game a try. It's pretty cheap too.