Screenshot
No.1
Screenshot No.2
Screenshot No.3
SCENE
GENRE
GRAPHICS
SOUND
PLAYABILITY
VALUE
OPINION
REVIEW
INDEX |
Setting
the Scene |
Light
gun games are a bit of a novelty. The experience of firing a few
rounds in the arcades is one thing but purchasing the equipment
needed to play these type of games at home is another. Then there's
the lack of light gun compatible games leading to a further problem
that some games will only work using a certain type of gun.
Namcos light gun is a splendid piece of hardware and excels when
playing Time Crisis and Judge Dredd. However if you were unfortunate
enough to purchase Konami's Hyperblaster then there are few games
around that are compatible with this peripheral. Die Hard Trilogy is
one such game while Crypt Killers is another.
|
Genre |
In
the arcades this archaeologist shooter allowed three players to play
at once using pump action shot guns, but alas the PSX version is
only for one or two players and must be played by using a hand gun
or standard joypad.
|
Graphics |
As soon as the opening scenes hit your screen you know that this is
a game that will remain in your darkest nightmares for all the wrong
reasons. Even the intro suffers from horrendous pixilation. The
background graphics in Crypt Killers are fairly smooth but suffer
from constant clipping while sections of the scenery suddenly pop
into view as you advance through the level.
The sprite enemies are a real mess. The badly drawn bitmapped
creatures are poorly animated and the way that they jerk their way
towards would be laughable had you not wasted your hard earned cash
on this garbage. Rather than creep up on you they appear from
nowhere and are thrown towards you from every angle. Allowing them
to move closer reveals even more deadly sins as they become either a
blurred unidentifiable mess or break up into chunky sections where
you can see right through every joint.
|
Sounds
and Effects |
The
music is not too bad actually with each world backed by a selection
of suitable themed tunes. The sound effects are very average as
monsters roar and skeletons scream to announce their appearance. You
are constantly warned to 'watch your back' or 'turn around' which
seems a little silly because the camera has already panned around to
the direction the attack is coming from.
|
Playability |
The
object of the game is to retrieve the six eyes of guidance by
completing each level in any order you wish. The player has no
control over the direction you travel as you move in a set route
through various terrains and ruins. It is now only a matter of
aiming the cross hair and shooting until your finger goes limp as
droves of enemies are tossed towards you. They appear in various
forms such as rats, mummies, bats, birds, demons and skeletons.
Occasionally the floor will collapse dropping you into a pit of
beasts, which can be quite frightening due to the standard of
graphics. I must stress that this makes you cringe with
embarrassment rather than shudder in fear.
Guiding you through each stage is a bog eyed floating head who
mumbles words of advice which may have been quite helpful if you
could only understand what he was saying. Nevertheless you will
eventually reach two chained up doors and by shooting your way
through the chains you effectively decide which route to take. You
can choose your path twice in each level meaning that you can play
each level four times. God forbid, once is enough. Eventually all
roads lead to the level Boss who appears in many guises such as the
snake like Medusa or a giant creature made entirely out of rock.
You begin the game with a shotgun, which only has six shots before
it must be reloaded, and three smart bombs that destroy almost
everything on the screen with one huge blast.
|
Value
for Money |
That's
about it, really. The gameplay is dull and repetitive while the
graphics are an insult to the Playstations capabilities. The
original arcade version was poor, so why it was ever converted beats
the hell out of me.
|
Opinion |
MARTIN |
|
|
|
|
GRAPHICS: |
4/20 |
The
cat crept into the crypt and crapped.... Yeah, that's the word I was
looking for CRAP. Avoid this title like the plague |
SOUND: |
4/10 |
PLAYABILITY: |
20/50 |
VALUE: |
5/20 |
OVERALL
|
33% |
|