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CRYPT KILLERS
S.SHOT
Developer Konami Options
Distributer Konami 1-2 Player
Game Type Shoot-em-up Light Gun
Review Date March 1998 Standard Joypad
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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%

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