Crisis Zone | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Developer(s) | Namco Tose (PS2) |
Publisher(s) | Namco Sony Computer Entertainment (PS2, PAL/KOR) |
Producer(s) | Takashi Sano |
Series | Time Crisis |
Platform(s) | Arcade, PlayStation 2 |
Release | Arcade
|
Genre(s) | Light gun shooter, rail shooter |
Mode(s) | Single player |
Arcade system | Namco System 23 Evolution 2 |
Crisis Zone is a spin-off of the Time Crisis arcade shooters, released on 29 March 1999 in the arcades.
In 2004, the game was re-released on PlayStation 2 as a remake, complete with improved polygon textures and details, and an additional mission.
In 2000, Garland Electric launched a new complex known as "Garland Square" on the outskirts of London. Full of modern amenities, it is considered the future of urban living. Shortly after its grand opening, however, the entire complex is taken over by the URDA, a terrorist group. The terrorists have taken no hostages and made no demands upon takeover, causing a string of confusion among intelligence officials around the world. With an unknown threat, Scotland Yard and MI6 dispatch the Special Tactical Force's (STF) First Platoon Unit (led by Claude McGarren, spelled as Croad Macgalain in the arcade version) to suppress the URDA, and to ensure that the terrorists don't access their hidden agenda, whatever it may be.
Slowly but surely, the STF liberates the Drycreek Plaza shopping mall, Garland Park, and the Garland Technology Center, eliminating the URDA's twin lieutenants Tiger and Edge (Edgey in the arcade version) and wiping out their air force and tank defenses. After securing Garland Square, McGarren receives word from Vital Situation, Swift Elimination (VSSE) officials that Derrick Lynch, the terrorists' ringleader, is attempting to overload Geyser 1, an experimental nuclear reactor built by Garland Electric to power the complex (via an Eyes Only broadcast). Making their way down to the control room, five kilometres below the complex, McGarren and his men defeat Lynch's troops before taking out the ringleader himself. McGarren shuts down and secures the nuclear reactor seconds before it melts down. After the STF evacuate and enter a nearby lift, the control room explodes. The unit declares their mission a success.
Six months after the main story's events, Lynch's successor Jared Hunter launches another attack, seizing control of the newly opened Grassmarket District of Garland Square and holding STF Director Grant Kessler's daughter Melissa as a hostage. Hunter demands that the surviving URDA members be released from custody in return for Melissa's life.
McGarren and Squad 1 are deployed into Garland Square in response. Fighting their way through Grassmarket Street, they defeat an experimental defense droid called the A-0940. They then storm the Belforte Hotel, where Melissa is held on the rooftop swimming pool. There, they are confronted by Hunter and his airborne attack squad. Declaring his intent for revenge, Hunter engages and loses to Squad 1, forcing him to retreat on a modified, heavily armed speedboat, but is killed when the boat is destroyed by McGarren's chopper. McGarren and his men then take Melissa to safety, having ended the URDA's terror once and for all.
In Crisis Zone, the player controls the elite anti-terrorist Special Tactics Force (S.T.F.) leader, Claude McGarren. The game uses the same pedal system to reload and hide; however, the player uses a machine gun, a customized Heckler & Koch MP5K with a sight laser and a capacity of 40 rounds. Players take cover behind a portable ballistic shield that is strapped to the character's left arm. The "crisis flash" is replaced with a warning target icon to remind players to hide from a threatening shot, though it is possible to interrupt the enemy from shooting. Crisis Zone is the first Time Crisis game to date to allow the player to select between three levels to play in any order. Upon completion of all three of them, the player can then play the final level to beat the game.
A PlayStation 2 remake of the game was released in 2004 in North America, Europe and Korea. The North American and Korean versions of the game were released as Time Crisis: Crisis Zone. The PS2 version comes with more detailed polygons and textures, higher difficulty, re-recorded voice acting and an additional three-level mission taking place six months after the Crisis Zone Arcade mode. The PS2 version is compatible with the GunCon (G-Con 45 in Europe) and Guncon 2 lightguns, and is available with a special two-player cooperative gameplay mode named "Two-gun Mode" which allows two players to play simultaneously on a single screen without the use of split-screen. The weapon switching system is similar to Time Crisis 3 , allowing the player to switch between a fully automatic machine gun, a standard 8-round handgun and a 6-shell shotgun; unlike its predecessor, all weapons now have unlimited ammunition in Crisis Zone, though they all must be reloaded. As with the PS2 versions of Time Crisis II and Time Crisis 3 , the Crisis Mission exercise menu is unlocked through gradual play.
The PS2-exclusive story mode also features special weapons such as the flamethrower, the missile launcher, the laser rifle, the Gatling gun, and the grenade launcher. The downside to these weapons is that they can only be used once per area.
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | 66/100 [1] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
1Up.com | B− [2] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 7/10 [3] |
Eurogamer | 7/10 [4] |
Game Informer | 6.75/10 [5] |
GamePro | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
GameSpot | 6/10 [7] |
GameSpy | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
GameZone | 7/10 [9] |
IGN | 5/10 [10] |
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Sydney Morning Herald | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
In Japan, Game Machine listed Crisis Zone on their February 1, 2000 issue as being the third most-successful dedicated arcade game of the month. [13]
The 2004 remake received "average" reviews, due to being "Too much like Time Crisis 2", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [1]
Tekken Tag Tournament is the fourth installment in the Tekken fighting game series. Tekken Tag Tournament was released as an arcade game in 1999, before becoming a North American and European launch title for the PlayStation 2 in 2000. The arcade version ran on the same Namco System 12 board with a 32-bit engine as Tekken 3, while the ported home console version received upgraded graphics. A sequel, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, was released in 2011. A remastered version of the game titled Tekken Tag Tournament HD was released for the PlayStation 3 in November 2011, as part of Tekken Hybrid.
Tekken 5 (鉄拳5) is a fighting game developed and published by Namco for the arcades in 2004, and for the PlayStation 2 in 2005. It is the fifth main and sixth installment, in the Tekken series, marking the tenth anniversary of the series. The game is set shortly after the events of Tekken 4 featuring a new Antagonist named Jinpachi Mishima taking over the Mishima Zaibatsu while a sidestory focuses on the protagonist Jin Kazama as he faces several enemies from the G Corporation. The home version also contains a collector's edition of sorts, as it includes the arcade versions of Tekken, Tekken 2, Tekken 3, and StarBlade.
Time Crisis II is a 1997 light gun arcade video game developed and published by Namco. It is the second instalment in the Time Crisis series. The game incorporates the same mechanics of its predecessor, with some minor changes, but with the addition of co-operative two-player gaming. The game's story focuses on the efforts of two secret agents, Keith Martin and Robert Baxter, as they attempt to thwart the efforts of an industry mogul's plan for world dominance.
TimeSplitters 2 is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Free Radical Design, published by Eidos Interactive, and released in October 2002 for PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. The game's story focuses on the efforts of a space marine who seeks to recover powerful time crystals from a race of alien mutants called TimeSplitters, which leads them to taking on the form of an individual dealing with their own problems across different time periods between the 19th and 25th century. The developers focused on expanding the story element following 2000's TimeSplitters, and features influences from various film genres, including horror, action and science fiction.
Time Crisis 3 is a rail shooter released for arcades in 2002, and is the third instalment of the Time Crisis series. Like its predecessor, Time Crisis II, it allows for two players to cooperate in a link play environment and has the Time Crisis signature pedal system for hiding and advancing and the first in the series to change or select weapons. It was later ported to the PlayStation 2.
Silent Scope is an arcade game created in 1999 by Konami. The game puts the player in the shoes of a sniper during a series of terrorist incidents. It is the first in the Silent Scope series.
Need for Speed: Underground is a 2003 racing video game and the seventh installment in the Need for Speed series. It was developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. Three different versions of the game were produced: one for consoles and Microsoft Windows, and another for the Game Boy Advance. An arcade version was additionally developed by Global VR and published by Konami with assistance from Electronic Arts.
Dead or Alive 2 is a 1999 fighting game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo. It debuted in Arcades in 1999 and was later ported for the Dreamcast and the PlayStation 2 in 2000. It is the second main entry in the Dead or Alive fighting series. Several enhanced editions of the game were released, including the updates Dead or Alive 2 Millennium and Dead or Alive 2 Hardcore.
Time Crisis is a first-person on-rails light gun shooter series of arcade video games by Namco, introduced in 1995. It is focused on the exploits of a fictional international intelligence agency who assigns its best agents to deal with a major threat by a hostile organisation, which has ranged from criminals, terrorists and hostile military outfits, and mostly take place within fictional locations across the world. The arcade series differed from other light gun shooters of its time by incorporating unique mechanics, including the ability to duck into cover to dodge attacks and reload the player's weapon, and forcing players to complete battles in each level within an allotted amount of time.
Time Crisis 4 is a rail shooter and the fourth installment in the main series. It was released as an arcade game in 2006, and was ported with the GunCon 3 light gun peripheral for PlayStation 3 in 2007. It features a new first-person shooter mode. It was later re-released as part of Time Crisis: Razing Storm with support for the PlayStation Move controller, without the first-person shooter mode.
SpyHunter is a vehicular combat game. It is a remake and sequel of the 1983 arcade game of the same name first released for PlayStation 2 in 2001. It has since been ported to GameCube, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Windows, Mac OS X, and Tapwave Zodiac. In the game, the player drives the G-6155 Interceptor, an advanced, weaponized spy vehicle. Unlike the original's top-down view, the remake is played with a chase camera, similar to a racing game.
Top Gun: Combat Zones is a combat flight simulation game named after the 1986 film Top Gun. It was developed by British studio Digital Integration and published by Titus Interactive. It was originally released for the PlayStation 2 in 2001, followed by a GameCube version in 2002. Versions were also released for the Game Boy Advance and Microsoft Windows.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon is a 2001 arcade video game based on the anime television series Mobile Suit Gundam. An upgraded compilation of the game, called Kidō Senshi Gundam: Renpō vs. Zeon & DX, includes 360-degree, zero-G space battlefields. Both versions were later ported to the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 game consoles.
Corvette is a 2003 racing video game developed by Steel Monkeys and published by TDK Mediactive for Windows, Xbox, and Game Boy Advance, and by Global Star Software for PlayStation 2. The GBA version was developed by Visual Impact. The game is based on the Chevrolet Corvette sports car in celebration of the line's 50th anniversary, and lets players race in all five generations of Corvette that existed at the time.
Time Crisis: Razing Storm, known in Japan as Big 3 Gun Shooting, is a compilation of light gun rail shooter video games by Namco for the PlayStation 3. Featuring full compatibility with both the GunCon 3 light gun and the PlayStation Move motion control system, the compilation consists of ports of various arcade games. Developed by Nex Entertainment and published by Namco Bandai Games, the compilation was released in 2010 in North America on October 19, and in Japan on October 21, which is the launch date of the PlayStation Move in Japan. It was released as part of a bundle with the PlayStation Move, PlayStation Eye and the Shooting attachment for the PlayStation Move in Japan and other Asian countries.
Agassi Tennis Generation is a tennis sports game developed by Aqua Pacific and published by DreamCatcher Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance. The game features former tennis player Andre Agassi.
Stunt GP is a radio-controlled car racing video game developed by the UK-based studio Team17, released in 2001. It was published by Eon Digital Entertainment for Windows and Dreamcast, and by Titus Software for PlayStation 2. Stunt GP uses the RenderWare engine. It has both single-player and offline multiplayer game modes using the split-screen method, and various game controllers are supported.
Resident Evil Survivor 2 – Code: Veronica is a light gun shooter video game developed and published by Capcom as part of the Resident Evil series. The arcade version was developed in conjunction with Namco for the arcade machines. The game was released for Sega NAOMI and PlayStation 2. It was released on the PlayStation 2 on November 8, 2001 in Japan and in Europe on March 22, 2002. Whilst the Playstation 2 release is a light gun shooter, the NAOMI arcade release features no lightgun technology whatsoever, instead deferring control of each player entirely to a three-axis joystick in the shape of a gun. The game is the second instalment in the Gun Survivor series and the sequel to Resident Evil Survivor. The game is adapted from Resident Evil – Code: Veronica and features enemies and characters from that game, and enemies from Resident Evil 2 and 3. It was followed by Dino Stalker which is a spin-off of Dino Crisis, and has no ties to Resident Evil.
MotoGP 3 is a Grand Prix motorcycle racing video game developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation 2. Released in 2003, it is the third game in the Namco series, which coincided with the THQ series for a number of years.