Crimson Sea

"This game reminds me of a can of mixed nuts"

With a mixed can of nuts you get some types of nuts you like (Peanuts and almonds) and some you despise (cashews and those white ones that look funny). You can't just get all of the flavors you like without getting the ones you hate with it. This is basically how Crimson Sea went for me. About half of this game kicked ass, and the other half made you want to head off to LA and drink the fruit punch that your new cult buddies gave to you. I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here. Lets start with the basics.

The basic story of the game is that you are Sho, a 'special' guy. You have 'special' powers. You also should belong to the 'special' ed classes in school. That, however is my personal opinion of the guy. As Sho, you have to kill bugs, water, sentiant statues and more bugs. The thing that keeps this from getting boring is that you have to kill hundreds upon hundreds at once. This is where the fun comes in. With that being said, on to explaining this mediocre score.

Gameplay 4/10 Style Points

The controls, while not evil creations of Lucifer, aren't a godsent either. They seem to be a purgatorial middleground. A bit of a curve to get them down, but I just don't like them to begin with. The targeting system is what I don't like the most. In a game where the only thing that lasts longer than 1 hit are bosses, and you can't even keep locked on to that for long, you begin to wonder why it was put in. The Auto-targeting makes up for it somewhat, though. Begining to see what I mean about mixed nuts?

Then you have fun with playing the levels themselves. About 1/3 of them are mass hysteria. Another 1/3 is for levels that are not insane, but aren't going to put tyou to sleep faster than any of Micheal Bolton's music will. The other 1/3 lean towards being slow, boring and tedious. Finding invisible enemies, hidden ones and so on just isn't exciting. Think about doing you taxes. Now, drain the fun from that and you have the enjoyment level of thse stages. Like I said, a mixed bag.

Story 3/10 Style Points

Life is like a box of chocolates. You have beautiful eyes. Never count you chickens before they're hatched. All of those cliche lines (and any you can think up in you entire lifetime) combined cannot equate to how cliche and utterly trite this game's story is. The only reaon it got ANY style points is because the basic idea of it is mildly stylish. Since I can't give away spoilers then I'll tell you this. Dialouge for Live-D is horrid. The love story seems more tacked on that part of the plot. In fact, it seems there just to be cliche. I really don't know why they put in a love story and advanced it that fast... but they did. I really hate this game's story.

Graphics 8/10 Style Points

The game looks good, I'll give it that. The weapon designs and effects are sweet. Up close, your characters look damn nice. When you get a bit farther out they seem a tad blocky. Hit detection is terrible. You'll see what I mean when you get to the last boss. The levels look beautiful too. I don't appreciate all the T&A shots they threw at you in the georgeous cutscenes. You may not think like me, but my thought process goes like this. ''Good, you are female and we see your breasts. Now, please take them out of the camera's way so we can see what is going on.''

Sound 7/10 Style Points

Sound is above average. While it won't blow you out of the seat of your pants like some games can do, its still quite nice. Of course, good sound does not make a good game.

Replayability 5/10 Style Points

Okay, this one is a wild card. This game doesn't really give you much to shoot for in terms of unlocking stuff. Your only real drive is to outdo your own score. Some people feel the urge to do that and some jsut don't care. I, personally, like to top myself if the game is fun enough to attempt such a feat. In certain stages, I felt this urge. Stage 3, for instance. Then I realized that I'd have to eventually go through the ones where I have to play hide and seek with the invisible man or find a needle in a stack of needles. Thus, out of my sheer confusion, it gets only 5 style points.

Overall

Like I said... mixed nuts. While I love some of the stages and guns in this game (maybe even want to bear their children), other parts fill me with the urge to drive spikes through my chest while walking barefoot on borken glass and chewing razor blades... you know, to feel less pain. That, and I think the game might have been better with no story whatsoever. But that is just my opinon. If anything, at least rent this game. I mean, that's why you buy cans of mixed nuts, for the ones you like, then, return the can to the store for a refund when you have eaten the ones you like. Trust me on this. Rent it first before you even think of throwing down $50 for Crimson Sea.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 01/20/03, Updated 01/20/03