Crisis Zone takes place in the recently opened Garland Square complex on the outskirts of London, after the heavily-armed terrorist group U.R.D.A has attacked and taken-over the area. Their motives have yet to be discovered, but, as elite S.T.F. (Special Tactics Force) counter-terrorism officer Claude McGarren, the player's mission is to help secure Garland Square and suppress the U.R.D.A terrorists by whatever means necessary.
Armed with a bullet-proof riot shield and a sub-machine gun, McGarren must eliminate any terrorist threats encountered through environments including a shopping mall, park and office building. All the weapons can be put to great effect in the fully-destructible environments; players are able to shoot up the locales by blasting goods from shelves. You can even burn racks of clothing with a flame-thrower, or wreak havoc with a rocket launcher.
One of the things that differentiates between Crisis Zone and Time Crisis is the new level of interactivity. Players can shoot CD’s and books off shelves, burn racks of clothing, break glass or slice through metal bars. This is great and a very welcome addition although it is long overdue.
Aside from the main “story” mode a challenge mode is also available. This mode comprises of challenges (such as hitting a certain amount of targets before the time runs out) and serves as a decent distraction. I think that this mode was only included so that the lifespan of the game wasn’t sp easily criticized. Still, it’s a good little addition, anything that adds to the lifespan is always appreciated. The lifespan is still very questionable though, for a game that retails like this one we really do expect it will last longer than one sitting.
Crisis Zone has immediate pick up and play appeal. Shoot, dodge, reload - master these controls are you’re pretty set. There isn’t too much depth to the game but that’s where the appeal truly lies. The story mode can be completed in about forty minutes which is really disappointing. It never really ever gets to complicated or hard to keep up with, so Time Crisis masters shouldn’t have a hard time breezing through the mode. For those of you who don’t have a G-Con you can also use the controller although it is nowhere near as enthralling or accurate.
The graphics have a very distinctive look to them that hasn’t evolved as much as it should have. The game still feels like Time Crisis and it even looks like Time Crisis, which isn’t good considering the game is quite old now. More effort needs to be taken to ensure the game starts looking like a current generation title. I thought the sound of bullets firing would never truly get boring - how wrong I was. After thirty long minutes of basically the same noise, things get very repetitive. The voiceovers are cheesy but I get the impression this was done on purpose. In that sense Namco have succeeded.
Don’t judge the score of this game as an indication to avoid it like the plague. Crisis Zone isn’t an overly poor game - it’s just not really different. The similarities between this title and Time Crisis 2/3 are really disappointing. I was really expecting some innovation in this title and all I got was an interactive environment, which has been implemented in just about every game these days. The lack of innovation in Crisis Zone is the real downfall of the title. Crisis Zone feels like it has been a rushed port from the arcade machine. It is time for Namco to rebuild the gaming engine and create a truly remarkable light gun game. The Eyetoy could have been remarkably handy in Crisis Zone. We would have loved to be able to duck or dodge bullets using the Eyetoy, it would have made the game that much more interactive and fun. Oh well, maybe next time.
Loading...
