City Crisis
Score: 53% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Take Two Interactive Developer: Syscom Entertainment Media: CD/1 Players: 1 Genre: Action/ Miscellaneous
Graphics & Sound: To put it bluntly, the graphics in City Crisis are at launch title quality. After seeing the kind of power the PS2 is capable of in games like Gran Turismo 3, Devil May Cry, and Final Fantasy X, I just have a hard time forgiving games that still look like high resolution PSOne games. The first noticeable thing is the flicker and jaggies, which run rampant throughout the game. While they do smooth out some while your helicopter is in motion, they just jump out at you while you're still and at times make it hard to look at the game. The city is also very plain and boring. The textures and layout of the buildings are very drab and blocky (sometimes leading you to question if it's even worth saving) and just don't stand out the way they should. The helicopters, however, look a little better and have some nice touches on them, but still don't stack up to what we've seen done with the PS2. The sounds are on about the same level of the graphics, which really disappointed me considering what they could have done. As I played through the missions, I kept wanting to hear some radio chatter from other rescue workers or home base, but instead all I got was 'Accident' or 'Danger'. Things just get old after awhile and considering the amount of time you'll spend on some of these missions, it's not a good thing. I will have to give credit for the voice that says 'Select Arbitrary Options' in the main screen, just because I found it funny. As for music, it's decent but like the other sounds, it gets annoyingly repetitive.
Gameplay: If City Crisis gets any credit at all; it's for originality. As a rescue pilot, your mission is to take control of five different helicopters (two must be unlocked) and help restore sanity to a city that is, well...in crisis. You are given the choice of four different modes of play (two of these must also be unlocked): Rescue, Chase, Disaster and Final Rescue. The modes are pretty straightforward in their objectives, which usually involve assisting in a high-speed car chase or saving people from a burning building. City Crisis takes a very arcade approach, and while this does make the game easier to pick up and play, it still has many problems that need to be worked out. All of the missions aren't open at the beginning of the game; instead, you are given one rescue mission and one chase mission. In order to continue to the next level, you are required to obtain at least an A rating on the current level. I not only found this extremely annoying because I never felt I was getting anywhere, but there are many factors in the scoring that you have almost no control over, so you start to feel cheated out of going to the next level.
Difficulty: The difficulty level can be attributed to many things. First, this is one of those games where graphics actually have a direct effect on the gameplay. It is very difficult is to judge your height and distance from buildings, which will result in many unnecessary collisions, and since you lose points each time you do, most of your points will be nickel and dimed away from you- usually resulting in you having to repeat the mission. It would have been easy to fix this with a better camera system, but sadly that is not the case. All of the missions are timed and even with your turbo, you will always feel that you're wasting time flying across the city. Also, since your water cannon takes awhile to recharge, it just feels like there is way to much going against you.
Game Mechanics: Like just about everything else, the controls could use some work. You use both of the analog sticks to control your helicopter. With some practice, you can get used to the controls, but they seem to lack a certain tightness and you will always find yourself turning or lowering yourself just a little more than you intended. The right stick controls your turning and height control, while the left stick moves you. I found this scheme to be very cumbersome and not natural, which added to the difficulty. Just like the height problem, the controls will also result in many crashes and an overall lower score. During fire/rescue missions, the O button lowers your winch and R1 and R2 control your water missiles and nozzle (both of which are in limited supply). There are a few different control layouts offered in the Options menu, but it seemed that one button was always in a very awkward place. The game would have benefited greatly from a fully customizable control option. When I first saw this game, I was excited. I grew up on TV shows and movies like Rescue and The Towering Inferno, so seeing a fire rescue game looked like it would be right up my alley. However, after playing through City Crisis, I felt disappointed, not because it's a bad game, but because I just saw so much potential for a great game. Things like radio chatter and teamwork between other rescue workers could have added so much depth, but instead I got this rather shallow, watered down arcade game. Sadly,City Crisis really isn't a must purchase game in any respects, especially considering some of the other games coming out over the next year. However, if you want something different and original, at least give this one a rent before buying it.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
CART Fury Contra: Shattered Soldier