Crimson Sea 2 – Review

The Koei label has been around fo some time, with games such as Warriors: Orochi and the Genghis Khan series. Here they are this time with Crimson Sea 2. This title isn’t going to put Koei in an elite status with this genre. It’s more of a matter of taste really, and while it provides a lot of fun, it won’t be remembered in years to come, perhaps undeservedly so.

The entire concept of Crimson Sea 2 is set in space; on the planet Theophilus a couple of years after the events of the original game. The hero of the first game, Sho, makes a return in this sequel. The evil alien race in Crimson Sea 2 – an odd looking giant bug of some sort having an interesting way of replicating. They attach to the host (humans in this case) and then wait for the newly born to gestate inside the body, where it then implodes, creating yet another alien. The story and whole general concept seem pretty novel. The problem with some Koeii titles though has always been an overly advanced control system that sometimes appears too complex for its own good, something I found in Zone Of Enders for example. The quirky camera doesn’t help matters, either. Luckily, the combat system delivers an expansive game that will leave you playing for weeks to come.

Characters have the ability to use Neo-Psionics (NP), which basically means power-ups. When the NP gauge is filled, players can execute deadly attacks on hordes of enemies at one time. There are several different types of attacks possible with just the Neo-Psionics, so it’s a good idea to learn them and execute them flawlessly. A really welcome feature is the Time Extend, which slows down the rest of the world and leaves the enemies in a slower reality while you move at a rapid pace. The familiar hack ‘n slash game play does become monotonous though, as sometimes it seems as if you’re just fighting countless amounts of enemies. The lack of enemy variation doesn’t help matters either, but if you’re easily taken by this type of game play then Crimson Sea 2 will have you addicted for hours.

Other than the story-mode, there are a few multiplayer options. In one of these, you can allow a second player to join in the action & the two of you can tag-team an entire stage of enemies. In another you’re against your opponent in a death match-like environment. And then you can simply compete against each other in the Competition Mode.

Graphically, Crimson Sea 2 stands out among other PS2 games within this particular genre, which is pretty typical of Koei’s presentation & quality and love for these sorts of titles. You can certainly tell the anime-influence on the general character design and artistic flair, and the Sci-Fi setup really personifies the overall graphics engine. However, with a lack of enemies, there aren’t too many insanely looking creatures. Incredibly, though, Koei has managed to stabilize the frame rate to be consistent throughout the whole game, even with what seems like hundreds of monsters on screen at a time. The bullets flying, along with the Neo Psionic attacks and even the swords slashing through the air all create a vibe of a great looking game.

The mixture of aural aspects makes it all work well together. While the voice-acting and dialogue is less than impressive (always a familiar story), it is adequate enough and does gets the job done. What is unfortunate though is amongst all of the action, it’s easy to forget that there’s a great musical score in the game & plenty of tracks on offer so that one tune never gets repetitive. And to cap it all off, the sound effects of the guns blazing, swords swinging in the air, and the aliens groaning which are all wonderfully produced.

Female Perspective: Very appealing to the female player as you can play as Sho & Feanay as the female characters of the game which brings out a pretty ingenious storyline. It’s one of those few games that is very non-linear and extremely open ended, providing the player with whatever he/she wants to do.

In the end, Crimson Sea 2 is a very good game that could have been even better with slight improvements. As mentioned before, the major problem with Crimson Sea 2 is the camera. It’s hard to have a camera system that can keep up with the action, especially since you’re always moving, but I found myself constantly re-adjusting the camera in a battle. Loads of Third-person perspective action games have camera bugs, but there are a few games that do it well, making it almost in-excusable these days. Also, the tediousness of the never-ending supply of enemies will drive some people insane. But if you can deal with the camera & repetitiveness issues, you will definitely begin to love this game.

Review by Danny

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