Description The year is 2025. The Japanese government, in order to cope with the massive air pollution and endless economic loss of Tokyo, transfers the capital to
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Rating Reviewed by: Gary(Unregistered User)
(85)
Review Date May 21, 2006
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Value Rating 0 of 5
Review NaN of 12
Price Paid:
$35.00
from Gamestop
Summary: Great mech game for the price. Just as good as any mech game ive ever played (i.e. Mechassault, Battletech, etc.)
Pros
+Like infinity customizations with tuning
+Addicting like Halo 2 on live
+Good graphics especially the explosions
+Good variety of weapons and nice effects on those weapons
+no switchin weapons so u can use several guns at once
cons
-Lots of talk before matches and I would reomend readin the manual it tells how to skip
-If u dont like japanese games
-I wish it could let u play ur own music
Summary: First off, please note that this game was DESIGNED from INCEPTION as a game by and for the Japanese market. Anyway, two days before I bought Phantom Crash, I had bought my reserved copy of Ninja Gaiden.....however much I may love the exploits of Ryu Hayabusa, his newest game is way to hard for no practical reason (No, I AM a hardcore gamer thank you, and yes.....I put it on the "Hard" setting). Yet, it is still an awesome game. At any rate, this review is not about NG, but PC, so.... I bought this game on a whim yesterday. I saw it at Sam's Club on sunday, and thought, "Only 20 bones....", (I also thought Marakumo:Renegade Mech pursuit cost the same and it SUCKS!!!!!!!!!! Even if the designs are coool, it still sucks.) so I decided not to buy it, expecting another Marakumo. Then, I was on the net Monday, and happened to find a bunch of reviews, as well as some "cheats", if you can call them that. So, I rode my Honda over to Sam's again between classes, and I partook. I already own MechAssault, Robotech, GunMetal, and Marukumo so I love my mechs. I am also a big anime fan. I opened it up at home, put it in my XBOX, and the opening was very cool. So cool was this game, after my final class yesterday, I came home at 7:45 pm, and played until 3:58 am!!! I love this game. Yes, there is a lot of text, and the "love triangles' get annoying, and also, during battle, the other opponents say the same things over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over........
In spite of this, perhaps even because of it all...I love this game. I heard somewhere there will be a sequel coming soon, so I will buy that the moment it is able to be pre-ordered.
Summary: I bought this game early last year. I played it quite a bit, gave it a good review and then traded it in for something newer.
It gets under your skin with its cute japenese fluff, fast paced combat and highly customizable mechs.. I didn't realize it at first but it got under my skin. The other day I picked up Gladius, another game offering loads of customization and with almost as much fluff.. this time with a turn based combat scheme at its core.
I like Gladius, but playing it just made me pine for Phantom Crash so badly I'm back off to the store to buy it back!
For those of you out there (you know who you are) who have looked at the cover of this game in a store and shrugged it off as one of those “weird” Japanese games that you probably won’t understand, shame on you. By dismissing this game, you are denying yourself one of the most unique and original gaming experiences on the XBox, one that will blow away your expectations with its smart interface, deep customization options, and nimble gameplay.
Whew. Now that I’ve completely put this game up on a pedestal, I’d better back up my big-talk. Thankfully, the surprisingly high quality of this game will make it a breeze; this game, by my standards of mech games, is truly incredible. Japan-based developer Genki (Tokyo Extreme Racer 1 & 2), simply put, has brought a genre-standout to the United States. The mechs in this game are the true stars, because unlike other mech games that feature slow and lumbering gray hunks of metal, these mechs are quick, nimble, and flashy. Every aspect of your mech can be customized (arm weapons, backpack weapons, legs, body, etc.). You can build your mech to be heavily armed with lots of armor, or you can install a long-duration optic camouflage generator and sneak around. It’s your choice, and that’s what makes this game so beautiful.
If you’ve ever played a first person shooter on the XBox, navigation will be a breeze. One joystick is used for looking, the other for moving and strafing. Like most mech games, you can have a third-person view behind your mech or an in-cockpit view (which I found was the better of the two), both displaying health, ammo, and the state of your optic camouflage generator. The optic camo (which looks strikingly similar to the stealth camo in Halo) is quite an innovative feature (especially for a mech game), and it will make you think about when to fight and when to lay low, providing some unique tactical opportunities. When activated, your cloak will allow you to evade missile lock-ons, and even enable the ability for - get this - stealth kills. That’s right, stealth kills; all three mech models have at least one close-range melee weapon, ranging from drills to giant knives to chainsaws. Needless to say, the ability to cloak and perform close-range attacks adds a stealth dimension to the game that sets it apart from other games in this genre. The three base mech models (called Scoobees) in Phantom Crash are pretty much what you’d expect. One is a heavily-armored tank, another is a model built for speed and jumping, and the third model meets the heavy and light models in the middle, for a balanced mech. However, after you buy your stripped-down model, you can really begin to make the mech your own. There are so many weapons and parts that you can buy that I won’t even try to list them all; the game is that deep. You can even choose from a wide variety of paint jobs to give your Scoobee a unique look. This game makes you think as well; you can’t just slap any old weapons you want onto your mech. You have to make sure that you don’t overload your ride with too much weight, or you’ll find yourself piloting a slug through the heat of battle. To make the game even deeper, you can customize each individual component. Want to make your gatling gun lighter so it won’t weigh down your ride? That’s fine, but you’ll sacrifice power by making it lighter. Or maybe you’d rather just beef up your mech’s legs so they can handle the pressure. Go ahead, but remember that the heavier they are, the slower they’ll go. The one part I found myself wishing for was a jet pack; hovering around over battling mechs to rain down a devastating payload would make the battling even better. The customization in this game doesn’t go just as far as the physical aspects of your mech; you can also choose from a huge selection of tunes to listen to during a match. Essentially, battles (called rumbles) go on for as long as you want them to (you can leave the arena at any time), provided you’re not destroyed before you can reach an exit gate. Some of the my most frustrating moments with Phantom came from trying to leave the arena; if you aren’t cloaked when you make a run for it, chances are nearby mechs will take it upon themselves to send some missiles up your tailpipe. You’ll pay for it too; crashing will result in a big hit to your wallet. The arenas themselves are littered with large pieces of junk and crates to hide behind, and many offer perches that provide places to watch from afar while your mech recharges its OC generator. Although the arenas are indeed fairly creative and diverse, there simply aren’t enough of them; this game’s main downfall is its lack of arena variety. Thankfully, the deep customization options more than make up for this. Phantom’s gameplay, to say the least, is deep and at the same vastly entertaining. On a lesser note, there is a story here, but poorly-localized dialogue and senseless conversations will probably confuse you more than grab your interest. You can’t skip these conversations, so all you can do when a text box appears is frantically tap the A button. Unfortunately, you will find yourself doing lots of button-tapping.
Although the game is very involving while playing solo, the multiplayer sadly does not accomplish the same level of immersion. Phantom allows you and three friends (or enemies) to rumble, but a number of issues prevent the multiplay from achieving its full potential. First, the game only offers one mode, deathmatch. The developers could have packed this game with multiplayer modes; checkpoint races, king of the hill, bomb-tag, capture the flag, or even a simple collect-a-thon would have made multiplayer incredible. Not only would it have been incredible because of the great control, but also because multiplayer allows you to load your own custom Scoobees and rumble with them. Add the lack of modes to the lack of any online options and you have a game that simply doesn’t live up to its huge multiplayer potential. Granted, what is here is fun, but I can’t help but think that there could have been so much more. On a final but minor note, the game doesn’t allow you to use the cockpit view (the best view) while in splitscreen. Why?
On the upside, Phantom’s audio and visuals are excellent. Aesthetically, this game is at the top of the XBox pack. The visuals are terrific, with a sort of gritty blur that gives everything in the environment a surprisingly realistic edge. The Scoobees themselves move pretty much like you’d think they would in real life, with smooth and fairly realistic animations. They look good too, and you can clearly see small details such as shoulder-mounted rocket launchers and even the decals on the back. Although some of the arenas look mildly bland (lots of grey pavement streets), the textures look good and serve their purpose. Explosions from rockets, while not outstanding, also look good. All of this graphical sheen comes at a price, however; the frame rate tends to dip below 30 fps once in a while, especially when there are many enemies in one area. Although this slight choppiness can get annoying, it never gets to the point of affecting the fast gameplay.
The audio presentation in this game is top-notch as well. Supporting Dolby Surround Sound, every aspect of the audio in this game is top-notch. Sound effects like explosions, gunfire, and lock-on alerts inside the cockpit all sound great, and the music is crisp and clear as a bell. As mentioned earlier, many of the music selections in this game can only be described as odd (just wait until you hear a song by a recorder quartet start up in the middle of a firefight), but it gives the game a hip and almost funky edge. Phantom lets you save your own custom playlists, so if you don’t like recorders, you can always listen to the many techno tracks that Phantom offers. You might like quirky music, and you might not. Either way, Phantom caters to a wide variety of musical tastes.
Final Note
Playing Phantom Crash is a treat. It allows you so much freedom to customize your mech that it becomes addictive in no time at all; I found myself staying up late just to earn enough money to buy the next weapon for my Scoobee. The story is pretty much throwaway, but you don’t play this game for the story. You play this game for the deep options and fast gameplay. Accompanying the amazing play mechanics is an incredible aesthetic quality; graphics are realistic, sound effects are believable, and the music is fresh and hip. Buy this game if you’re a fan of mech games (or a fan of unique games, for that matter). Open-minded gamers, please don’t look at this game and judge it by its cover. Pick it up.
Scores (each category judged on a scale from 1 to 10)
1 = Don’t waste your money or time 5 = Average 10 = An Experience
Gameplay - 9 (This game allows you so much freedom to customize your mech that it may seem intimidating at first, but it will become addictive)
Control - 8 (Navigation is a breeze, but the aiming in the third-person perspective can be a bit jumpy)
Sound - 9 (Realistic sound effects and original music will give you a reason to crank up your home theater system)
Graphics - 9 (In a word, immersive; everything blurs realistically, and the mech models and animations are fast and believable)
Lasting Value - 9 (Playing through the one-player mode will keep you hooked for quite some time, although the underwhelming multiplayer aspect might disappoint most people)
Summary: Does Phantom Crash have the latest wow-wee graphics? No, not really. Amazing sound effects? Err nope. Engaging story based campaign then? Look elsewhere. Well, how about tonnes of multiplayer modes and Xbox live support? err...
The more astute amongst you will have noticed by now that I've awarded this game a 4 star rating. Actually you can consider that a 5 star rating if you manage to pick this game up cheaply. The shortcomings listed above are the main reasons it only gets 4.
The reason for all this umming and arring is that Phantom Crash is unspeakably odd. In the current climate of all too similar X-box games, the sheer oddness of this title makes it feel like a breath of fresh air. There is a real dirth of games like this for the X-box. Its both hugely compelling and quirkily annoying at the same time, which reminds me a lot of Jet Set Radio Future.
A good illustration can be given by way of a comparison between Phantom Crash and its main Mech-Game rival; Mech-Assault. MA is a typical Xbox game: slick graphics and sound, cool gameplay features, nothing to get in the way of the action, story driven campaign, loads of broody BattleMech athmosphere and about as shallow as a puddle on a hot day. Nothing wrong with that though. MA is Unreal Championship with mechs.. on steroids. Whereas Phantom crash is.. umm.. more like Unreal Tournament on hallucinogens.
The negative reviews of this game tend to focus on what its lacking (namely a few more arenas, different play-modes and some way of playing the campaign game in 2 player mode) rather than focusing on whats already there. Ture, these features would have made Phantom Crash one of the most fun games around, but it still deserves credit for such a darn good near-miss.
5 of 5
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4 of 5
