Time Crisis: Razing Storm Review




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Developer: Namco Bandai Publisher: Namco Bandai
Release Date: October 19, 2010 Available On: PS3

It seems like light gun shooters are a dime-a-dozen these days – not an easy feat when the genre only sees a handful of releases on consoles per year. Unfortunately, on-rails shooters are often characterized by their shallow gameplay and consistently low replay value. While those shooters can get away with those vices in their native arcade setting as long as they are fun, it becomes problematic in the console domain when modern shooters like Killzone and Call of Duty are widely perceived as superior in every way.

Enter Razing Storm: another entry in the long-running Time Crisis series which has been the epitome of the arcade shooting genre as well as its shortcomings. With some newfangled motion control technology and a current lack of competition for games that utilize it, Namco has taken this opportunity to release Time Crisis: Razing Storm for PlayStation Move. So is it the convention-breaking sequel that will eschew the stigma of light gun shooters on consoles? Not by any means, but Namco has made a brilliant move with this release.

While Razing Storm itself does not shed the shackles of traditionally shallow gameplay and poor replay value, Namco compensated by packing-in two additional games: Time Crisis 4 and Deadstorm Pirates. At $50, the combined package is a worthwhile purchase, provided that you are an established fan of the series or genre. At the very least, early PlayStation Move adopters finally have a good use for the remote beyond tossing a virtual bocce and petting a marsupial Teletubby.

As the title’s namesake, Time Crisis: Razing Storm is ironically the weakest inclusion in this release. It sports a handful of modes like the traditional on-rails Arcade mode, an amusing mini-game called Sentry mode (where you play as a watchtower sniper during a prison break), an online battle mode and a Story mode where you manually navigate the stages, FPS-style. Unfortunately, the latter mode isn’t as cool as it might sound. Instead, it’s hampered by inept AI and generic map designs. Combined with horrid Move controls where the camera doesn’t rotate with the aiming reticle (you have to point off to the left or right of the screen to turn) and a lack of sensitivity options, Razing Storm’s Story mode is borderline unplayable with the Move remote. Switching to the Dual Shock makes it reasonably tolerable.

Razing Storm’s Arcade mode can be summarized as substantially more chaotic and less polished than the other titles on the disc. It follows a team of hardened soldiers as they blast their way through urban desert areas, sticking to heavy machine guns and explosive weapons as they take down multitudes of terrorists. This mode is fun for a while but after three brief stages, the game is over.

Presentation-wise, Razing Storm’s visuals and sound are mediocre at best and are certainly not helped by the non-stop chatter you will have to endure along the way. Your fellow soldiers never shut up! On the plus side, the game does feature destructive environments and although that’s not an entirely compelling reason to play it, it is certainly a welcome novelty.



As the most challenging game in the collection, Time Crisis 4 contains a little more strategic depth in its gameplay. Depending on the types of enemies you are facing, the game encourages you to switch between different weapons (pistol, shotgun, machine gun and grenade launcher) to find the optimal firearm for each encounter. Time Crisis 4 also does a great job of diversifying stage locales. During its campaign, you will man the turret of a helicopter as it weaves through downtown streets, trudge through caves and forests on-foot and engage in some surprisingly competent boss battles. Unfortunately, Time Crisis 4 does not have a whole lot to go back to once you have completed it and visually, it looks as if it was ported to last generation hardware.

The final title included in the package is Deadstorm Pirates, which replaces terrorists with undead pirates. It is also by far the best shooter in the compilation — it’s goofy, vibrant and a whole lot of fun. Whether you are blasting batches of leaping piranhas, battling a giant serpent while riding in a high-speed mine cart, or using a deck-side cannon to down a fleet of undead pirate ships, there’s never a dull moment in Deadstorm. The game gets even better with a friend, where simultaneously shooting a target creates a stronger blast.

Visually, Deadstorm looks fantastic. The game sports crisp and colorful environments that look like they were borrowed from one of those big-budget Disney flicks. The main characters, as a hokey, rag-tag crew of pirates, do not yield particularly unique or well-crafted dialogue, but they do bring a fair amount of charm to an otherwise substandard storytelling experience. The game is also pretty brief. Its five stages are well-designed but they can all be completed in less than an hour. Fortunately, Deadstorm’s higher fun factor makes it naturally more replayable than most other light gun shooters.

All three games featured in Time Crisis: Razing Storm control quite well with the Move hardware. Once the remote is properly calibrated, the targeting reticule tracks precisely with your movement, making aiming feel as fluid and responsive as any arcade gun. For those who have not yet invested in Move, these games also allow players to use the Dual Shock 3 controller or Namco’s Guncon 3 peripheral, though the Dual Shock really is not recommended for use outside of Razing Storm’s Story mode.

Nothing about Razing Storm will revolutionize light gun shooters in any way, but if you haven’t completely sworn off the genre by now and you happen to own a Move remote and PlayStation Eye, you will find a lot to like here. While these titles may not completely satisfy individually, there is strength in numbers and as a three-game compilation, Razing Storm contains just enough gameplay to make it worth the asking price.

Graphics: 6
Sound: 5
Gameplay: 7.5
Creativity: 6.5
Replay Value/Game Length: 7.5
Final: 6.5 out of 10
Written by Brian Vines Write a User Review

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