Few games have left me as strong a first impression as Xeno Crisis. In it's opening, and it's first few levels, there's just so much it absolutely nails. There's a very distinct vibe - probably deliberate - of this being an Aliens tie-in game for the mega drive lost to time. It's kind of awesome - the core gameplay of just blasting aliens in this twin stick shooter has a fantastic feel - animations are great, the muzzle flare is about the player character, spent shells and alien corpses literring the rooms. It's essentially smash TV, but grimey and alien.
And the soundtrack that accompanies it is so damn good. The YM2612 soundchip of the Mega Drive is partially notable for being able to produce a kind of synth that for lack of a better word is a bit "grimy", with strong bass and a bit of reverb (i am not good with music). If you've played something like MUSHA Aleste or especially Thunder Force IV - and Savaged Regime, the composer here, captures that synth and uses it to incredible effect. It works so well, and if nothing else, i heavily encourage checking out this game's soundtrack. The music, never, ever lets the side down.
Which unfortunately, I can't say for the gameplay. It's still good overall, don't get me wrong, but the cracks begin to show when the honeymoon period ends. Which is probably going to be at stage 3, which is awful. It's stupidly overlong with enemies that take an age to spawn, and it doesn't even have a boss. It's a weird drop in intensity which lets some of the frustrating features of Xeno Crisis set in - the pointless ammo system, the waiting for enemy spawns, the slight bit of inertia that your character has preventing accurate movement, the random map generation and upgrade system that feel rather pointless.
But the biggest issue of all is that the game is interminably long. 45 Minutes is short by most standards but for the lightning paced gameplay this is going for it's way over the mark. By the end of stage 4, the game feels ready to wrap itself up in the next stage.... but then stage 5 is another insane filler chapter and there's two stages after it! Maybe the sheer awesome catharsis of the game wears off a bit early for me, but I bet it would wear off for anyone by the time it decides to end, especially as the formula ane enemy variety never really gets interesting enough to make up for it.
But don't get me wrong, Xeno Crisis is quite good. If it could pace itself better and carry its remarkable opening feeling for it's entire runtime, it would be one of the best Mega Drive games. And it's soundtrack is outright amazing. And maybe the sad thing is that the game could be too, if it just knew when to stop.
And the soundtrack that accompanies it is so damn good. The YM2612 soundchip of the Mega Drive is partially notable for being able to produce a kind of synth that for lack of a better word is a bit "grimy", with strong bass and a bit of reverb (i am not good with music). If you've played something like MUSHA Aleste or especially Thunder Force IV - and Savaged Regime, the composer here, captures that synth and uses it to incredible effect. It works so well, and if nothing else, i heavily encourage checking out this game's soundtrack. The music, never, ever lets the side down.
Which unfortunately, I can't say for the gameplay. It's still good overall, don't get me wrong, but the cracks begin to show when the honeymoon period ends. Which is probably going to be at stage 3, which is awful. It's stupidly overlong with enemies that take an age to spawn, and it doesn't even have a boss. It's a weird drop in intensity which lets some of the frustrating features of Xeno Crisis set in - the pointless ammo system, the waiting for enemy spawns, the slight bit of inertia that your character has preventing accurate movement, the random map generation and upgrade system that feel rather pointless.
But the biggest issue of all is that the game is interminably long. 45 Minutes is short by most standards but for the lightning paced gameplay this is going for it's way over the mark. By the end of stage 4, the game feels ready to wrap itself up in the next stage.... but then stage 5 is another insane filler chapter and there's two stages after it! Maybe the sheer awesome catharsis of the game wears off a bit early for me, but I bet it would wear off for anyone by the time it decides to end, especially as the formula ane enemy variety never really gets interesting enough to make up for it.
But don't get me wrong, Xeno Crisis is quite good. If it could pace itself better and carry its remarkable opening feeling for it's entire runtime, it would be one of the best Mega Drive games. And it's soundtrack is outright amazing. And maybe the sad thing is that the game could be too, if it just knew when to stop.