Crusader: No Remorse

Origin Systems

Action

System Requirements:

• Computers:MS-DOS 5.0 or compatible, Intel 486/66+ MHz, Pentium or 100% compatible system with 2X CD-ROM
• Sound Devices for Music:Sound Blaster
• Sound Devices for Speech:Sound Blaster or 100% Compatible
• Graphics Supported:256-color SVGA (VESA compliant)
• RAM and HD Storage Requirements:8 megs RAM; 20 megs hard drive space

Quintin Stone

This game hooked me. Kudos to Origin for this well-done game with some mind-numbingly good graphics and sound effects along with 'em.

To those who have yet to see Crusader, here's a short sum-up: you are a new member of a resistance movement, having recently defected from the ranks of the corrupt and evil World Economic Consortium. While not all of your teammates completely trust your motives, you are given mission after mission to prove yourself. The actual game play is conducted in an isometric bird's-eye-view, and the control of the game is done through the keyboard (which I've always been rather fond of).

As you progress through the game, you gain new armaments of mass-destruction. But be sure to place your shots well, as ammo is limited, and not all opponents carry replacement clips. You can also only carry five weapons at once, so weaker ones must be dropped in order to pick up more powerful ordnance.

The well-detailed enemy bases that you must make your way through are not always as harmless as they seem. Not only do you have to worry about enemy troopers that hunger for your death, but extreme caution must be taken to avoid falling prey to roving androids, hidden mine fields, and panels on the walls that fire lasers and even quite lethal rockets.

Good points:

Incredible graphics. High-resolution, full-color graphics with details that'll blow you away. Desks have pencil holders, cups and PC monitors on them, while behind them rest comfy swivel chairs. See that shelf? It's got individual books on it, not to mention some other technical gadgets. In the more technical bases, you'll find a vast array of electronic equipment, too numerous to keep track of. I mean, the level of detail put into this game is astounding. Some of the scenes I swear were taken right out of my office at work. It's that realistic looking.

Everything goes! Not only are the rooms filled with all kinds of little details, such as stereos and PC towers, but you can shoot almost all of them! Watch monitors explode as you fill them with hot lead. Step back from that power generator, because it erupts in a blaze of blinding light and flames. I mean, nearly everything can be shot, and it will show it throughout the rest of that mission. For those of us that crave needless and wanton destruction, this game really hits the spot.

Nifty guns. You start out with a simple pistol, but you can build up your arsenal to include all kinds of spiffy new weapons. Next comes an auto-pistol firing three-round bursts. Following that comes shotguns (pump and automatic), rifles (semi-auto and full-auto), as well as a number of energy-based weapons. One of these, an ultraviolet laser, has a rather unpleasant reaction to live targets. I mean, even I (desensitized to violence) found the results of the UV laser sometimes hard to stomach. Not only does it literally dissolve the flesh from the victim, leaving only bloody bones behind, but they scream all the while. This is not a gun for the faint of heart. You might want to just stick to the rifle. Or the AR-7 triple rocket launcher.

Cool moves. Impress your friends by using the sidewards roll to dodge lethal rockets, out of harm's way and firing as the deadly attack streaks by your face. These rolls were my favorite methods of transportation. If they'd also programmed a forward roll, I never would again walk erect.

Cut scenes. Origin used a system of video digitizing I don't believe I've ever seen before. While the shots were small, the quality of the images was simply superb. Even video with the stablest of cameras experiences some kind of background movement. But the backgrounds in these shots didn't move a single pixel, and yet, the characters cast normal, three-dimensional shadows on the them. If it was normal digitized video, such as MPEG, they did an extraordinary job of it, and my hat is off to them.

Bad points:

Height and falling. Anyone who's played the later Ultima games may have noticed a slight problem with its movement engine. When you jump, sometimes you don't land where you think you should, or you suddenly fall off what should have been a stable edge, or you do some really wacky and bizarre bouncing off of surfaces. Like I did in Ultima: Pagan, I found it hard to jump correctly in Crusader. Weird bouncing and fallings would occur. While the rest of the movement engine is well-done, the folks at Origin might want to overhaul this little detail before using it again.

Targetting. Aiming your gun takes some getting used to. When you pull out a weapon, a small red circle appears in front of your character. While normal movement can only be in any of the 8 normal directions, you can finely aim the crosshairs for accuracy in shooting. But it is sometimes hard to tell exactly what that little circle is telling you. When standing, draw an imaginary line from your character's head through the circle. When crouching, remember that his head is lower, and aim accordingly.

Conclusion:

This is a very fun game, akin to Doom, but not from a first-person perspective, which allows for certain features that a Doom-clone could never pull off. If you like to shoot things (and I mean everything) then get this game. I seriously doubt that you'll be disappointed.