Time Crisis: Razing Storm review

If you’re good in a crisis and have a steady aim then you probably already know the joys of a good light gun shooter. But that doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily enjoy Razing Storm. The game’s story mode introduces free roaming (you use the control stick to move while the wand is used to aim). However, it’s a bit of a mess. The sensitivity of the motion controls is too inconsistent meaning that turning is painfully slow and the crosshair is irritatingly skittish. As if spookily aware of the limitations of the control system, enemies in Razing Storm’s story mode will often shoot at the sky and move in for a melee attack. Not so much bad AI as sheer stupidity.

Luckily, there are another three games here, all of which tread the path of the traditional light gun shooter, while each adds something a bit different. Razing Storm’s Arcade mode swaps the series’ duck and cover mechanic for all-out destruction; Time Crisis 4 keeps the cover and adds ridiculous hairstyles; while Deadstorm Pirates adds motion- controlled pirate ships. Yes, really. This mode revels in throwing massive bosses at you. They combine dodging with the motion controls and precision aiming.

All three on-rails modes are utterly ridiculous and riddled with the usual on-rail flaw of overly scripted action – but they’re also incredibly addictive. Pirates in particular impresses with large scale boss fights and over-the-top power ups. The trouble is that every successive game over-gifts you with an extra continue. As a result you don’t need to get better to win; you just need to keep dying. Odd. Razing Storm can also be played online with up to eight players. We couldn’t play it at the time of writing but those sluggish controls could be a problem. There are also online leaderboards adding replay value.

As an attempt to transform the series into a motion-controlled first-person shooter this is a misfire. But as a gung ho party package it’s bang on target.

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Oct 25, 2010