"Machinegun Frenzy."

Continuing on with the Crisis series, you have a game like Crisis Zone that gives you plenty of things to shoot at with a slightly different format than the original game. In this version, you have a machine gun that allows you to fire off forty rounds before you have to go into the reload crouch and start all over again. One of the main problems with this game however, is that the challenge is extremely easy and you’ll find that getting through the stages of the game aren’t all that hard.

The Game Play

Much like the rest of the Time Crisis series, it’s a run and gun type of game in which you control a character that has a machine gun. This is pretty fun in the respect that the machine gun allows you to fire off more rounds at a quicker rate at several different enemies all at once. Reloading the machine gun is simple enough to do, considering that all you have to do is crouch down and then pop back up in order to continue your assault. Boss fights are easy enough to take care of and you’ll only have to worry about getting your score up to a high number.

Control really isn’t a problem and anyone who is familiar with the series will know how to use the crouch pedal in order to get through the game. At certain points, you’ll be able to duck and avoid different incoming damage, though you may find that you’re sniped cheaply from different areas if you’re not careful. With only three selectable stages in all, you’ll be able to run to the final stage with a one on forty showdown with the main boss, but after that, there is nothing resulting in a short game.

The Visuals

The visuals that you find here are pretty good in the Time Crisis way. You have several different enemies in very well detailed locations that range around an office building, a shopping center and a huge courtyard. One of the best things about the visuals that I found was that the backgrounds you’re shooting at take damage as well as the enemies you face off against. With the different objects exploding and crumbling as well as enemies that react depending on where you shoot them, it’s hard to find too much wrong here!

The Audio

From what I could hear amongst the other sounds in the arcade, the music that you find here is your typical shooting game music with plenty of highs and lows. The sound effects on the other hand are nothing too spectacular except in the boss battles, so be ready to hear little to nothing that you’ll remember after you’ve hung up the gun control. All in all, the audio that you hear is your normal shooting game music with a couple of interesting voice points put in from time to time to help with the action that’s going on.

Why you might not like this game:

Well, it’s just like the rest of the Time Crisis series in the respect that you go through set paths in order to get to the end. Once you’ve played through the game a couple of times, the surprise jumping enemies are more a matter of point and shoot rather than putting you at a surprise hesitation. The stages, while selectable, really have nothing else going for them other than the impact damage and you’ll find that the fact that there are only three selectable with the shortened length is something that can come at a disappointment!

The Verdict

Crisis Zone is a game that really isn’t all that challenging once you’ve gotten the basics down to a science. With the three selectable stages, you’ll only be able to go through them at a slow pace which is directed from the start of the game. The visuals are neat to watch the first couple of times through, but much like the rest of the series, there is little new here to really show a difference or set this title apart from the first two Time Crisis games. If you’re into shooting games, make it a part of your resume, but if you’re only a casual gamer, head off to something a little more random like a fighting game!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/26/02, Updated 05/26/02