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There is certain perverted pleasure in killing and shooting - from the earliest ventures with social behaviour (in kindergarten) we play cowboys and indians and war-games, we recreate the sounds of mortargranades (KAbrouww), machineguns (Takatakataka) and the screams of agony when we 'get hit' or 'die'. Well - it's quite fun as long it isn't real.
Computergames mimicking this goes back to the earliest days of electronic entertainment. But it gets more and more advanced, graphically brilliant, with convincing sounds, and FMV to get the storyline going etc. In late 1994 Origin released a game called CRUSADER: NO REMORSE. It was based on the engine developed for ULTIMA 8/Pagan. NO REMORSE won awards from several gaming magazines and was a noticable succes.
And now - in these times where every computergame company seems to suffer of sequelitis - comes the sequel with the ingeniously original title: CRUSADER: NO REGRET
1) Impressions and gameplay - 2) Improvements - 3) Weapons & items
In CRUSADER: NO REMORSE you were a renegade Silencer (elite corporate trooper) who has abandoned his life of brutal persuasion with the World Economic Consortium (WEC) and joined the resistance forces. In this new role as a heavily-armed saboteur, the CRUSADER infiltrates industrial complexes, star ships, space stations, penal colonies, and other compounds, destroying everything in his path, in an attempt to bring down the WEC's monopolistic empire. You played the role of the CRUSADER.
CRUSADER is a 3rd-person isometric view with 3D rendered gameplay art. This isometric view emphasizes strategic gameplay. As you can see from the pictures, you'll have to plan in advance how to make use of the room, the interior and the available weapons (sometimes you can use the environment as a weapon!)
This new chapter (there will yet another CRUSADERtitle, with multiplayer (deathmatch, cooperative and some single missions) for win95 platform - late 1997/early 1998) takes off 40 minutes after the NO REMORSE ended. You (as the Silencer) are rescued by one of the WEC starships - but the minute you are revitalized the killing starts again - action from point zero!
There are 10 multi-leveled missions (and they are fairly big). You will have different objectives (rescue this, shoot that, steal data etc.) and you will visit 5 different terrains (space freighter, mining base, corporate palace and more). In the rooms there will be furnitures, computer terminals, equipment, in other and shorter words: a lot of 3D rendered objects to interact with (read: shoot and destroy).
There are more than 15 enemy types, nine of these are servo mechs (including the new 'morphing mech' - it looks like a terminal or some furniture, and then... poof (but it's quite easy to kill)). ORIGIN boasts that the enemy AI have been improved, but to me it seems that the enemy can roll and dive like the Silencer, but they sometimes seems incredible stupid. There is a valve, right? In the other room there is a crack in a tube. If you activate the valve a huge flame appears from the crack in the tube. And what happens? You are very clever... ok?... you wait, a soldier is coming, but you active the valve too early !!! OOHHH no! But it doesn't matter, the soldier walks straight ahead into the flame and dies in great agony! Improved AI? Maybe AS would be more fitting: Articial Stupidity.
The puzzles and the traps are better in this game than the first. This has partly to do with some clever implementation of traps - there is the devious infrared beam alarm, and it is placed in the most unlikely places. This time, though, you have the VIR, so you can see the infrared beams (but it takes power from your shields, of course). Here and there the floors are unstable, sometimes you will fall down to a lower level and sometimes you'll hear a hairrising scream... The puzzles haven't improved a lot from the first chapter, it's the same: locked door, find keycard, another locked door, this time find computer terminal and get secret code. Mostly you'll find the important things in the same room. My favorite traps are the ones, where you have to destroy the power source before the wallmounted gun/servo mech can get disabled. But this game wasn't developed with adventurers in mind - it's an action game spiffed up with some elementary puzzles - and it's OK!
What I really like is the architecture and layout of the levels. Many times you'll find some secret ventilation-shafts behind boxes and stuff. These shafts gives access to room from another angle and sometimes to new rooms. (SPOILER: You'll have to blast the shaftgrates with your Detpac (bomb) or your SpiderMine). The atmosphere changes a lot - you enter on 1st floor, it's mining area, on 3rd floor you find some storerooms and 5th floor you'll find the executive area, glass tables, statues, big television sets - and everything can be destroyed!
Your character, the Silencer has 21 different moves including the standard run, jump, and duck moves. Add to this a selection of defensive moves like left and right rolls and a surprise move like forward dive.
Through the game you'll be presented with short FMV cut-scenes. They help to tie the story together. The storyline is like an average sci-fi-action-B-movie: it's done properly and isn't based on psycology or acting - to say it amiably. It's allright - but how many times haven't we seen some fleshy male person with a harsh voice say something like: 'We have been betrayed - you are the last hope - go and get me a sixpack!'.
You get the game in jewelcase box (I like that instead of the CD stucked into a piece of paper) with the manual stucked in. Manual-wise you don't need that much explanation anyway. There is also an install-guide with thorough details on installation concerns (vesa-drivers, sound card configurations etc).
Finally I must mention the deathscenes: not your own, but your enemies. They are truly spectacular! And in some sick horrid way far over the top. You'll see characters running around like a living torch screaming before they crumble in agony and pain, you'll see your enemies explode into something that looks like catfood, and with some of the heavier guns you can melt off the skin of your enemies!!! My favourite is the Freeze-death: the character stops in motion, standing like a statue (like the superrobot in TerminatorII), and if you give it a bullet, it shatters into hundreds of smaller pieces - like breaking glass. Never have deathscenes been more horrible, eerie - and fun.
There are 19 weapons for your disposal:
Projectile-weapons
The
graphics are truly impressive - the overall look of the levels are convincing,
every setting has its own features: in the mines you will find dumpcars
with radioactive ore, mining equipment, boxes etc - in the offices you'll
find fancy desks, statues, flowers, pictures on the walls, rugs on the
floor.
There have gone much work into the details - when the Silencer fires his weapons you'll see the fire reflected on his armor. And be very carefull to see the subtle indications of hidden rooms and grafts behind boxes. The explosions are BIG and looks different each time: when you blow something up it goes yellow and orange and reddish - but if you blow something radioactive up it's much more sickly greenish. Every thing that can go BOOM have two sets of art: in function and destroyed.
All in all this game has a lot to give - this is destruction made into entertainment (what a sick world!). On the downside is that sometimes the Silencer gets stuck on the corner of a table etc. And the Silencer can't jump anything higher than 5 inches.
The music in the game sounds good the first time you hear it. But normally I prefer to cut of the music after 15 seconds. The FX are very good and varied: there is a lot of different screams, the machinery makes noise, the weapons have distinguishable sounds (you allways know, when you are going to get a grenade! Solution? RUN!)
It is very diffidult to be peggy on the graphics and the sounds, because it is done so well.
To make the ultimate conclusion is always difficult - because how to compare? How to evaluate? But I introduced this review with remembering my days in kindergarten (something heavy falls from the roof into my head very soon), where we had such a good time (BUUUM) 'killing' each other.
One shouldn't rate an actiongame from an adventure-game perspective. Action is action is action. And CRUSADER: NO REGRET is pure action. It's fun. It's difficult without being impossible. It's appearance is of a very high quality. The interface is easy to use. It's almost bug-free as far as I can tell. The missions are varied - but not geniously original (are Quake?). When I came to the end of the game, I thought, I give it a try on the hardest difficulty-setting. Which for me is the same as quality - so if you like to have some happy killing, some easy puzzles, nice graphics and sounds (check the system requirements) this is a safe buy.
On the downside the game is maybe a little too short - I played it on the 2nd easiest level (from easiest to hardest: Mama's Boy, Weekend Warrior, Loose Canon and No Regret) and finished the game in about 20 hours. And I found a lot of the secret areas. I've tried No Regret and it's obviously harder, the enemies takes more shots, they move faster and they are a lot more aggressive (and they can see through walls!). I would have liked 5 more missions - but you know, it's like good food: your stomach gets enough before the eyes does.
PC Gamer (US-version), November 1996, p. 248-249: "Highs: Gamepad support, cool new graphics and weapons, and brutal new levels. Lows: Extremely violent. Too tough at times, sluggish response at times, and touchy controls. Bottom line: If action, adventure, and a little multimedia hamminess is up your alley, look no further than CRUSADER: NO REGRET" - Editors' Choice - 88%.
Online Gaming Review, 1. October 1996, Reviews: "Ultimately, Crusader: No Regret is an exciting and challenging sequel to Crusader: No Remorse. No Regret isn’t as revolutionary as its predecessor--it would have been nice to see a few more improvements and the gameplay feels a bit familiar--but it’s still worth it. After all, the Crusader games provide an adrenaline rush seldom matched in PC gaming, and they’re an action gamer’s alternative to the Duke 3D/Quake wars" - 8/10.
Computer
Games Strategy Plus, November 1996, Reviews: "Make no mistake,...Crusader:
No Regret is an amazingly good game, and - once again - leaves the player
wanting even more. I hope The Silencer has a long, glorious history ahead
of him" - CGSPs stamp of approval - 4 of 5 stars.
| Info:
Category: Isometric action Multiplayer: No Released: 16. September 1996 Demo: Yes - check the Origin demo homepage Contact: |
System
requirements:
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| FAQ - made by Origin: click picture |  |
| Do you need cheats? Click the logo: | |
| Worlds of Origin (fanclub): |  |
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Provided 25. November 1996 / revised: 4. December 1996
Send mail to the author: Thomas Howalt or to the webmaster Bryon Smith
