Crime Fighters

"Extra points for the goofy marquee art."

Clean up the mean streets of dirtbags and rescue a bunch of hot chicks. While Crime Fighters doesn't exactly have the most ambitious plot, it does have its place in gaming history. It was one of the pioneers in the beat'em up genre and was the first of a great series of beat'em ups from Konami. However, that's about the only good things I can say about this game, as it's one of the worst beat'em ups I've played.

Crime Fighters uses the infamous ''Main Event'' graphics engine. Personally, I've seen a number of Main Event cabinets converted into Crime Fighter cabinets, complete with the old Main Event side panels and sometimes even controls - complete with the huge buttons! This means that the character graphics are small and undetailed and the animations are stiff and lifeless. The game's graphics simply cannot compare with Double Dragon, which was released around the same time. The sound features the usual kick/punch sounds and some decent music. The Crime Fighter theme from the first level is probably the soundtrack's highlight.

As mediocre as the graphics and sound were, the gameplay is really what brings this game down. Not only does the game look like Main Event, it plays like Main Event. Your character control is extremely stiff, and each of the four characters (who all control the same) move quite slowly. There is no jump button, just punch and kick buttons. To jump, you'll have to press punch and kick simultaneously and you'll perform a really useless jump kick. To the game's credit you can stomp on downed foes, an ability that most beat'em ups don't have.

But what makes the gameplay so frustrating is the lack of playability. The Main Event's gameplay was just mindless button-tapping, and Crime Fighters is about the same. The hit detection in Crime Fighters is extremely unforgiving, you have to be exactly lined up with the enemy for a punch to connect. Hit detection in most other beat'em ups is thankfully more liberal. And if you do manage connect with a combo, then you leave yourself open to attacks by other enemies and counterattacks. Bosses are frustratingly hard to beat, as they frequently counterattack. Mindless button tapping is usually the best strategy.

Crime Fighters may be a trailblazer, but it is by no means a must-play. Playing it may make you appreciate Konami classics that came later though, such as TMNT, TMNT2 and X-men.

A much better ''sequel'' to this was Vendetta.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 02/17/01, Updated 02/17/01