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CITY CRISIS

City Crisis
© 2001 Take Two Interactive

CITY CRISIS is Take 2 Interactive's newest Playstation 2 title, a game that puts you in the role of an emergency helicopter pilot. You have to fly between skyscrapers putting out fires, rescuing survivors and sometimes even chasing criminals through the streets.

My favorite aspect of the game is that it is so original. I don't remember playing a helicopter rescue game in quite some time and CITY CRISIS is a good one. The game features a large cityscape with several objectives to complete in each mission. These objectives include saving children from a burning school or chasing a hijacked bus. But there are also free form rescues such as saving an amusement park mascot from the top of a ride. Rescuing people helps you obtain more points and thus a better grade, while also granting you a limited number of missiles that can be used to help put out fires.

I had a lot of fun flying around the city, putting out fires, and pulling people off of buildings. The controls weren't too hard to master, and once you learn to rely on your radar (rather than the camera angle provided) you'll be whizzing around the city like a pro.

Rescues can be somewhat subjective due to the awkward camera angle provided for them. However, when your man touches the surface, the controller slightly vibrates. This is a very well thought out feature that makes rescues that much easier.

The graphics aren't that pretty, but they are adequate. There is some weird draw/fade in that bothered me a bit, but it's easy to ignore. The sound is also decent enough with forgettable music, some cool sound effects and a few lame voice-overs.

My other complaint is that the environments aren't very interactive. There is a giant amusement park that you can't really do too much to. I'd love to fly through the loop of a roller coaster. Unfortunately, many of these areas just bump your helicopter backwards and inflict damage.

While there are a few camera angle issues, and the graphics aren't spectacular, CITY CRISIS has one serious flaw: the game is far too short. You can pick this one up in an afternoon and be done with it. Of course, Take 2 attempted to add some replay-ability with the grading system and un-lockable helicopters but those additions don't do that much to add to the game's lifespan.