Time Crisis (PS1) | grapeswriting

Time Crisis - Review

(Namco, PlayStation Game, 1997)

Alan returns to the light-gun classic

I don’t believe in magic, at least not in the traditional sense. The likes of ‘find the lady’, ‘sawing an assistant in half’ and even making an elephant disappear, might all be impressive demonstrations of the skill of the illusionist, but of course I am aware that a successful magic trick is always based on misdirection, optical illusion or sleight of hand.

However, there is an exception. For me, some technology verges on real magic. Mobile phones, wireless internet and satellite navigation might in reality all be commonplace tech driven by clever physics, but they make my brain ache when I try and comprehend how they can even be possible. Magic is a much easier explanation. Light-gun games fall into this category too. Extreme unexplainable cleverness but in this case executed purely in the pursuit of fun.

Emperor’s new clothes…

Although this is a review of a game dating from the 1990s, the genre wasn’t new. Both the SNES and Sega Mega Drive had their share of light-gun games and even the NES had Duck Hunt so, although impressive, this is old technology.

In fact I remember playing an arcade game called Wild Gunman (at Butlin’s Holiday Camp, in Minehead, UK, since you asked) as long ago as the late 1970s, in which the player would watch a pre-set video sequence of a cowboy played on what I recall being a huge screen, and when his eyes flashed you had to draw your gun and shoot. If you were fast and accurate enough you would be rewarded with a video of your assailant doubling up in agony and falling down some stairs or off a roof (with a dramatic flair that would please Clint Eastwood), you would register a kill and move on to the next opponent. But if you were too slow, your opponent would blow the smoke from his gun, continue with his day and you would take the short and unwanted journey to Boot Hill.

If it ain’t broke…

However, old tech or not, I always enjoyed this alternative method of gaming and the Time Crisis arcade game, although released by Namco in 1995 (more than twenty years later than Wild Gunman) kept to a strikingly similar formula. It was still the player facing off against a series of bad guys, with just a gun, your memory and your razor-sharp reactions standing between you and certain death (or at least the dreaded “Game-Over” graphic, which at £1.00 a go in the 1990s was nearly as bad). I played it a great deal in the arcades and although I never beat it I did manage to make it deep into the game.

New tech

Time Crisis was ported and released for the PlayStation in 1997 and made full use of the new GunCon (later to be known G-Con) light-gun and, along with other notable titles of the time such as the Point Blank series, Resident Evil Survivor and (a third of) Die Hard Trilogy, it breathed new life into the genre.

You play as a veteran (although graphically you appear to be about 20!) agent, Richard Miller, who is tasked with rescuing Rachel Macpherson, the President’s daughter who has been kidnapped. There is a lot more plot than that but frankly I don’t care and neither will you, since it makes not one jot of difference to the gameplay. This is essentially an on-rails shooter that sees you travel through a series of three-dimensional levels in the first person perspective, picking off the enemies one-by-one as you go.

There are just two controls, using the gun to shoot and you can release the A or B button on the gun barrel to hide. Since the game is played against the clock and the available time isn’t generous, the hiding - while an essential element to progression - needs to be done as sparingly as possible. Killing certain bad guys awards a time bonus as does finishing some sections of the game.

Just like the arcade (almost)

You start with four lives and taking a direct hit results in the loss of one. Lose them all, or run out of time and it’s game-over. The various types of enemy exhibit different levels of accuracy so you quickly learn which to dispatch first (those dressed in red or yellow if you haven’t played before).

The port is a pretty accurate version of the arcade game, retaining the feel of the original exactly, the only discernible difference being that the arcade machine utilised a foot-pedal to hide your character. The PlayStation version benefits from a story mode; with your route through the game being determined by how quickly you clear a section or level.

The graphics are solid but at times appear a bit pixelated or blocky. For the most part the background is exactly that, but there are occasional interactive parts, some requiring you to avoid things such as hanging crane hooks or cars being driven at you, and others where there are objects that explode when shot, enabling you to kill multiple targets simultaneously, so there are some limited options to vary your play. There is good sound with tense music, thumping explosions and some decent voice samples all adding to the atmosphere.

Mindless violence

The gameplay is the tour de force though. This is a really fun game to play and the satisfaction of dispatching a series of bad guys with single-shot perfection is palpable. There is no subtlety required; the nearest comparison I can offer are the films Taken, or John Wick. If an enemy pops up (and they do, repeatedly) you don’t stop and think, you just shoot them between the eyes and move on.

However (and this has to be listed as a negative in the interests of a fair review), as you replay the game, the enemies will pop up in exactly the same place and at the same time, so the longer you play, it becomes less of a test of your reactions and skill as a shooter, and more a test of memory, and there is definitely more edge when playing an area for the first time.

While this criticism can be levelled at a lot of games of that era, the on rails, same every time feel of the game will inevitably provide a limited lifespan. You may well tire of it once you have mastered it, though there is always the challenge of replaying and trying to clear the various sections in record time.

Nonetheless this is a really enjoyable game to play. It is great fun holding what passes for a gun instead of a controller, and blowing away bad guys one after another. It is quite challenging but perseverance will see you progressing further as your accuracy improves and you learn where the most dangerous enemies are. It is a very different gaming experience to most and since a G-Con can still be picked up for less than £20.00 it is one that I would thoroughly recommend.

And let’s face it, if you want real magic in your lounge that’s a whole lot cheaper than hiring David Blaine or Dynamo for the evening…

Graphics - 82%

Nice 3D environments but some backgrounds and bad guys are a bit blocky.

Sounds - 91%

Great music, nice speech samples throughout and really meaty gunshots and explosions all contribute to the excellent atmosphere.

Grab-factor - 95%

Very easy to pick up and play and instantly rewarding.

Playability - 91%

Great fun and long enough to ensure that it won’t be mastered in a weekend!

Verdict - 90%

AG June 2024

Featured in Pixel Addict magazine issue 22