Critically well-received, No Remorse was followed by the PC-only sequel Crusader: No Regret in 1996.
Gameplay
The Silencer is shooting a non-combatant with two guards and a robot present.
Crusader is divided into missions, each with their own locations and objectives. Settings vary from factories to military bases to offices to space stations, and contain a variety of enemy soldiers and servomechs, traps, puzzles and non-combatants (who can be killed with no penalty and their bodies can be looted for credits). All locations have alarm systems which are triggered by walking into view of security cameras or destroying a secured door, and can be deactivated by using an alarm box. So long as the alarm is active, either a new enemy soldier will teleport into the area every few seconds or a confined servomech will be released, depending on where the player is. In addition, the player cannot use keycard slots or door switches while an alarm is active. In the PC version, the Silencer can carry no more than five firearms at once.
The game featured an unprecedented level of setting interaction. Most of the environment can be destroyed by weapons fire and some traps or defenses can be manipulated for use against the enemy. The geography of the setting encourages the use of tactics and combinations of moves in order to hit the targets effectively with the minimum possible loss of resources.[4]No Regret added a handful of new maneuvers to the original game, including the ability to dive forward, and to sidestep while crouching. Weapons, ammunition, credits (money), healing facilities, and other equipment are scattered through the levels, allowing the player to upgrade their arsenal.
Plot
Due to economic downfalls, the nations of the planet Earth began gradually to organize themselves into huge economic super-conglomerates. Eventually, these continental organizations merged into the World Economic Consortium. The WEC is a tyrannical entity, on paper an economic allegiance, but in practice a type of "New World Order" dictatorship. While the world is made to look peaceful and prosperous, the reality is that most liberties are suspended, taxes are well over 90%, military force is used mercilessly against those who dare oppose the WEC, and freedom is barely even remembered. Only an elite upper class of WEC executives have true power and wealth; among these are WEC President Gauthier and Chairman Nathaniel Draygan. The WEC is being fought by an organization calling itself the Resistance, led by former WEC colonel Quentin Maxis, promoted to general when risen to command of the group. The Resistance is a severely outnumbered and outgunned ragtag mix of disparate people: ex-WEC soldiers and employees rub elbows with political dissidents and criminals searching for pardon.
As No Remorse opens, a team of three Silencers—enigmatic super-soldiers—are returning from a botched mission in which they disobeyed an order to fire upon civilians who were (mistakenly) believed to be rebels. They are ambushed by a WEC mech and two of the Silencers are killed. The remaining one, a nameless captain (the player character), was able to disable the mech with a grenade. Reconsidering his options, the Silencer joins the Resistance, where, as a significant symbol of the WEC's military power and political philosophy, he is met with resentment, distrust and outright hatred. As the game progresses, the Silencer uncomplainingly undertakes dangerous missions, often with substandard equipment, and his continued success gradually earns the respect of his fellow Resistance members.
The Silencer eventually uncovers secret plans for a WEC space station, the Vigilance Platform, which can attack any location on Earth from space, meaning cities with a known Resistance presence can simply be annihilated at the leisure of the WEC. All such cities are threatened with orbital bombardment unless they surrender. Concurrently, the player's Resistance cell is betrayed from within, and almost all the non-player characters are killed. Despite these setbacks, the Silencer infiltrates the Vigilance Platform and destroys it. The traitor is also on the station, guarding the lifepods, and challenges the Silencer to a duel over the access card for the last pod. As the Vigilance Platform is exploding, the Silencer is contacted by Chairman Draygan, who swears vengeance against him.
Development
Crusader: No Remorse was developed by Loose Cannon Productions, a division of Origin Systems.[5] It was directed by Tony Zurovec, whose chief inspiration for the game was Castle Wolfenstein.[6] The game uses an advanced version of the Ultima VIII: Paganisometric view engine featuring full SVGA graphics. The game's audio uses a specially made engine, called Asylum Sound System, which employs MOD files rather than General MIDI, in order to provide good quality without relying on expensive hardware. Each mission and intermission level has its own track. The soundtracks for both games were composed by Andrew Sega and Dan Grandpre of the now-defunct Straylight Productions.
The game is single player only, though a cooperative multiplayer mode supporting up to four players was being included in the game up until just before its release.[5]
The Crusader games feature full motion video (FMV) sequences with live actors; FMVs are used in cutscenes to further the story, generally through interaction with other characters. These conversations are generally one-sided, as the player character never speaks. Like many Origin games, No Remorse shipped with significant in-universe back-story material, including a fold-out propaganda poster, newspaper and guides from the WEC and the Resistance.
Crusader contains several references to Origin's Wing Commander series and is also referenced by other games. The introduction of the game shows a dating system as used in Wing Commander (a year number, followed by a decimal signifying a day). According to Wing Commander backstory, the Terran Confederation is a government that replaced the WEC[7] and the Wing Commander Arena manual "Star*Soldier" has an advertisement for an in-game movie titled No Regret, which is portrayed in the manual as based on true events. Furthermore, an article in the newspaper added to the No Remorse box mentions SHODAN and the Citadel space station in a reference to System Shock, and the blood-soaked operating tables seen throughout certain levels are of the same model used in Bioforge, on which its main character LEX was created on. According to the game's lead designer Tony Zurovec these references are solely easter eggs and Crusader is not sharing a universe with any other game series.[8]
Because Crusader: No Remorse was written in C++ and assembly language, a straight port to gaming consoles was not possible, meaning the code had to be rewritten from scratch for the PlayStation and Saturn versions.[9] Since both the consoles have only 2 MB of RAM each, some aspects had to be scaled back for the conversion; the resolution was cut from 640x480 to 320x240, and the color palette was reduced.[9] In turn, the unique features of each console were utilized to improve on the PC version in places; new music was added to use the music overlays, and the Saturn's second processor was used for background calculations.[9] The forward roll from Crusader: No Regret was added to both console versions.[9]
Jorg Newman, producer of both the PlayStation and Saturn versions, remarked that despite the changes, "overall I'd call this a very conservative, very direct port."[9]
Release
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2013)
In June 2011 the game and its sequel was re-released by the digital distributorGOG.com with compatibility for Windows XP/7/8 and Mac OS X (10.8.6 or newer).[10]
Crusader: No Remorse was a commercial success. According to Denis Murphy of Retro Gamer, "Tony had hoped that Crusader would sell at least 100,000 copies, yet it eventually sold well over a quarter of a million and generated a higher return on investment than any other standalone product in Origin's history."[6]
Crusader: No Remorse was enthusiastically received by critics. GameSpot's Ron Dullin called it "so viscerally exciting that its shortcomings can be overlooked." He elaborated that while the story and full motion video cutscenes are cheesy and the controls "can send your character jumping across the screen without warning", the graphics make the "amoral" pleasures of killing innocent people and destroying harmless pieces of scenery gratifying enough for the game to feel like pure fun.[16] A reviewer for Next Generation made the same criticisms of the cutscenes and controls, and likewise felt the game to be outstanding in spite of these flaws. He summarized that it "has all the elements it takes to be an outstanding title: an original interface, killer graphics, spectacular sound ..."[20] Rod White of Computer Games Magazine disputed GameSpot and Next Generation's characterization of Crusader: No Remorse as a mindless "shoot everything in sight" game, pointing out that shooting certain people prevents the player from receiving helpful advice, and in some cases even makes it impossible to complete the mission. While he agreed that blowing things up in the game is satisfying, he described the game as an exciting yet thoughtful shooter with controls akin to Fade to Black, effective cinematic elements, a "deep" and "believable" storyline, and some relevant satirizing of the news media.[23]
Crusader: No Remorse was named the best action game of 1995 by Computer Gaming World and Computer Games Strategy Plus,[27][28] and was a nominee for PC Gamer US's award in this category and its overall "Game of the Year" prize.[29] In 1996, Computer Gaming World ranked it as the 38th best PC game of all time,[30] also listing the game's UV-9 ultraviolet rifle among the 15 "best worst ways to die in computer gaming".[31] The game won a "Golden Triad" award from Computer Game Review, and the editors wrote, "From the ashes of Ultima VIII, Origin pulls out a winner."[26]
Most critics felt that the console ports were successful at bringing over the elements that had made the game appealing on PC,[17][18][21][32][33] but could have been better. In particular, the controls were considered unnecessarily complicated[14][21] and the animations were considered jerky and awkward.[14][18][25][32][33] The ability to destroy virtually anything in the game, and the accompanying audio and visual effects of the explosions, were widely applauded.[14][17][18][21][32][33] However, reviews for the console versions showed a wider range of opinions on how overall fun the game was. The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly all felt that while the essential gameplay is intelligent and deep, the issues with the controls and animations completely ruin the experience.[14] By contrast, GamePro maintained that "Crusader: No Remorse's top-notch gameplay overcomes its other imperfections, delivering blistering combat and challenges that test your brains and reflexes."[32]Next Generation was also pleased with both the conversion and how the game "uses the carnage as a pleasing supplement to the gameplay, as opposed to making it the focal point."[21] Trent Ward and Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot both gave more mixed reviews, but concluded that with patience the game's shortcomings can be overcome, earning an ultimately enjoyable experience.[17][18] Paul Glancey gave Crusader: No Remorse one of its few completely negative reviews in Sega Saturn Magazine, insisting that the puzzle elements are mindless, the action lacks excitement, and the explosions are "unspectacular", adding up to "a combination of unimpressive blasting interspersed with very simple door-opening tests."[25]
Andy Butcher reviewed Crusader: No Remorse for Arcane magazine, rating it a 7 out of 10 overall.[24] Butcher comments that "Crusader is one of those rare games that gives you a real sense of satisfaction and achievement. It's not particularly deep, and neither is it going to change the face of computer roleplaying. But it is great fun, and makes a welcome change from dull dungeon bashes."[24]
A third game in the series (with several working titles such as Crusader 3: No Escape, Crusader II and Crusader: No Mercy) was never released.[34] Tony Zurovec of the Crusader team left Origin and joined Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts at his new company Digital Anvil and Origin refocused its efforts on Ultima Online. Preliminary storyline ideas included boarding a shuttle and making a daring assault to get back to Earth.
Rumors emerged on the film website Dark Horizons in 2001 that a Crusader film was in development. Eurogamer speculated this had something to do with Tony Zurovec's move to Digital Anvil, whose founder Chris Roberts also worked at Origin Systems and was interested in filmmaking.[35]
In 2006, Slovakian company Outsider Development tried to convince EA on porting Crusader: No Remorse to the PlayStation Portable, but their Crusader: No Pity project (which included a working prototype) was rejected despite the support from Andrew Sega.[36]
The game also had a big influence on the Fallout development team.[37]
Related Research Articles
Hexen: Beyond Heretic is a fantasy first-person shooter video game developed by Raven Software and published by id Software distributed through GT Interactive on October 30, 1995. It is the indirect sequel to 1994's Heretic, and the second game in Raven Software's "Serpent Riders" trilogy, which culminated with Hexen II. The title comes from the German noun Hexen, which means "witches", and/or the verb hexen, which means "to cast a spell". Game producer John Romero stated that a third, unreleased game in this series was to be called Hecatomb.
Area 51 is a light gun arcade game released by Atari Games in 1995. It takes its name from the military facility. The plot of the game involves the player taking part in a Strategic Tactical Advanced Alien Response (STAAR) military incursion to prevent aliens, known as the Kronn, and alien-created zombies from taking over the Area 51 military facility.
The fifth generation era refers to computer and video games, video game consoles, and handheld gaming consoles dating from approximately October 4, 1993, to March 23, 2006. The best-selling home console was the Sony PlayStation, followed by the Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn. The PlayStation also had a redesigned version, the PSone, which was launched on July 7, 2000.
Theme Park is a construction and management simulation video game developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts in 1994. The player designs and operates an amusement park, with the goal of making money and creating theme parks worldwide. The game is the first instalment in Bullfrog's Theme series and their Designer Series.
Street Fighter Alpha 2, known as Street Fighter Zero 2 in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 1996 fighting game originally released for the CPS II arcade hardware by Capcom. The game is a remake to the previous year's Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams. The game features a number of improvements over the original, such as new attacks, stages, endings, and gameplay features. It was followed by Street Fighter Alpha 3.
Wipeout 2097 is a racing video game developed and published by Psygnosis. It is the second installment released in the Wipeout series and the direct sequel of the original game released the previous year. It was originally released in 1996 for the PlayStation, and in 1997 for Microsoft Windows and the Sega Saturn. It was later ported by Digital Images to the Amiga in 1999 and by Coderus to Mac OS in 2002.
Magic Carpet is a 3D flying video game developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts in 1994 for MS-DOS, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn platforms. Its graphics and gameplay were considered innovative and technically impressive at the time of its release.
Destruction Derby is a vehicular combat racing video game developed by Reflections Interactive and published by Psygnosis. Based on the sport of demolition derby, the game tasks the player with racing and destroying cars to score points. The developers implemented simulated physics to make the results of collisions easier to predict, and they kept the game's tracks small to increase the number of wrecks. Versions of Destruction Derby were released for MS-DOS, PlayStation and Sega Saturn. Critics found Destruction Derby enjoyable and they praised its graphics and car damage system, but the Sega Saturn releases received mixed reviews. The game started the Destruction Derby franchise, beginning with its 1996 sequel, Destruction Derby 2.
PowerSlave, known as Exhumed in Europe and 1999 AD: Resurrection of the Pharaoh in Japan, is a first-person shooter video game developed by Lobotomy Software and published by Playmates Interactive Entertainment in North America, and BMG Interactive in Europe and Japan. It was released in North America, Europe and Japan, for the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and MS-DOS over the course of a year from late 1996 to late 1997. On May 24, 2015, Powerslave EX, an unofficial remake of the PlayStation version appeared on GitHub. The MS-DOS version of PowerSlave was added to the GOG store on November 19, 2020.
Puzzle Bobble 2 is a tile-matching video game by Taito. The first sequel to Puzzle Bobble, it is also known in Europe and North America as Bust-A-Move Again for arcades and Bust-A-Move 2: Arcade Edition for home consoles. Released into the arcades in 1995, home conversions followed for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64, and Windows platforms. The game was included in Taito Legends 2, but the US arcade version was included in the US PS2 version instead. Further ports for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One were released by City Connection alongside Puzzle Bobble 3 in February 2023.
Crusader: No Regret is an isometric action game developed by Origin Systems and published by Electronic Arts in 1996. Nominally a sequel to 1995's Crusader: No Remorse, it is considered both by critics and by the game director more akin to a stand-alone expansion pack. Mechanically similar to No Remorse, it features new levels, enemies and weapons.
MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat is a vehicle simulation game developed and published by Activision, released in 1995 as part of the MechWarrior series of video games in the BattleTech franchise. The game is set in 3057, and is played as a tactical simulation that incorporates aspects of real-time first-person combat and the physical simulation of the player's mech. It is a game recreation of the "Refusal War." The player can join one of the clans, Clan Jade Falcon or Clan Wolf while engaging in up to 32 missions.
The Need for Speed is a 1994 racing game developed by EA Canada, originally known as Pioneer Productions, and published by Electronic Arts for 3DO in 1994. It allows driving eight licensed sports cars in three point-to-point tracks either with or without a computer opponent. Checkpoints, traffic vehicles, and police pursuits appear in the races.
Formula 1 is a racing video game developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Psygnosis for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. It is the first installment in Sony's Formula One series.
Worms is a 2D artillery tactical video game developed by Team17 and released in 1995. It is the first game in the Worms series of video games. It is a turn based game where a player controls a team of worms against other teams of worms that are controlled by a computer or human opponent. The aim is to use various weapons to kill the worms on the other teams and have the last surviving worm(s).
Madden NFL 97 is a football video game released in 1996. It was the first multiplatform Madden game released for the 32-bit consoles, being released on both the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. 16-bit versions were also made for the established Super NES and Genesis platforms, as well as a portable version for the Game Boy.
NBA Live 97 is the third installment of the NBA Live video games series. The cover features Mitch Richmond of the Sacramento Kings. The game was developed by EA Sports and released in 1996. The MS-DOS, Sega Saturn and PlayStation versions featured polygonal models for the on-court players, thus marking it as the first 3D EA Sports Basketball sequel for the series. It was also the first NBA Live released for the Sega Saturn. The game received mostly positive reviews for its advanced graphics and wide array of available moves and plays, though the Saturn conversion was reviled for numerous technical deficiencies. NBA Live 97 is followed by NBA Live 98.
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness is a fantasy real-time strategy computer game developed by Blizzard Entertainment and released for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows in 1995 and Mac OS in 1996 by Blizzard's parent, Davidson & Associates. A sequel to Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, the game was met with positive reviews and won most of the major PC gaming awards in 1996. In 1996, Blizzard released an expansion pack, Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, for DOS and Mac OS, and a compilation, Warcraft II: The Dark Saga, for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. The Battle.net edition, released in 1999, included Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, provided Blizzard's online gaming service, and replaced the MS-DOS version with a Windows one.
Shellshock is a video game developed by Core Design and published by U.S. Gold for Sega Saturn, PlayStation and MS-DOS, first released in 1996.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
