Time Crisis Strike Review

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'Time Crisis Strike' is Just Alright

posted February 4th, 2009 4:03 AM EDT by arn in $5.99, iPhone games, iPod touch games, Reviews, Shooter, Simulation

Namco seems to be taking the iPhone platform seriously. They've just released another major title into the App Store: Time Crisis Strike [App Store, $5.99].

Time Crisis is a popular first person rail shooter that was first available in the arcades but has since made a move onto consoles as well as mobile devices. Wikipedia describes the gameplay well:

The franchise's signature feature is the presence of a foot pedal that controlled whether the player's character took cover (and was thus invulnerable but unable to shoot) or was commencing attack (and could thus attack but was vulnerable). A countdown clock, recharged by clearing an area of bad guys, forces the player to take risks and stay up and vulnerable most of the time, shooting quickly at any enemy on sight.

The arcade version of the game was a light-gun shooter which allows the player to actually take physical aim to shoot the enemies.

Obviously, on the iPhone, we are left without a gun or a foot pedal. Instead, ducking/reloading is performed by a tilt of the iPhone and shooting is naturally performed by tapping on the images of the enemies on the screen.

Namco has done a good job in providing a solid overall experience with the quality you might expect from a major franchise title. Gameplay is varied and surprisingly difficult, though there only appears to be 3 distinct stages in the Arcade mode of the game. Time Crisis Strike offers Arcade Mode (play through), One Stage Trial (try one of the stages individually), or Crisis Mission (special challenge modes). Most of the levels are locked and require completion of the earlier levels to move on.

But is it fun? I believe it may appeal to Time Crisis fans willing to overlook the lack of light-gun, as the game is well implemented and provides a reasonable challenge despite containing only 3 apparent stages. That said, the lack of a light-gun really reduces the gameplay to a rather simple mechanic (tapping on the screen) which didn't happen to hold my interest for long.

[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

Game Details
Name:	Time Crisis Strike (v1.0.0)	Price:	$5.99 [Buy]
Developer:	Namco Networks America Inc.	Size:	23.4 MB
Device:	Tested on iPhone 3G
	If you happen to love the Time Crisis franchise or are a fan of tap-to-target games, this game will likely satisfy your needs. For others, however, the gameplay is comprised of a very simple mechanic (tapping to shoot) that can lead to a somewhat unsatisfying experience.

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http://Appulo.us Albee

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s0mah

MGS will have the pinch/zoom mechanic, instead of cover. It will also have 1,000,000,000,000,000 x 1,000,000 screaming, apologetic, fanboys backing it as #1 game of all time.
s0mah

MGS will have the pinch/zoom mechanic, instead of cover. It will also have 1,000,000,000,000,000 x 1,000,000 screaming, apologetic, fanboys backing it as #1 game of all time.
Wes

The guy in the video isn't ever taking cover (and subsequently really sucks at the game). I'm wondering if this reviewer is unaware of the depth that is added when you pop in and out of cover and if the review as shallow and simple isn't tainted by this fact.

I mainly read this review to see how the cover mechanic is translated to the iPhone. There's clearly an icon at the bottom, but is it triggered by tilting the phone or by tapping it?
Wes

The guy in the video isn't ever taking cover (and subsequently really sucks at the game). I'm wondering if this reviewer is unaware of the depth that is added when you pop in and out of cover and if the review as shallow and simple isn't tainted by this fact.

I mainly read this review to see how the cover mechanic is translated to the iPhone. There's clearly an icon at the bottom, but is it triggered by tilting the phone or by tapping it?
1337brian

The cover mechanism is only implemented by tilting, tapping it does nothing, But it is so sensitive it really works well... There is almost Zero load time for anything, which I find quite amazing. All in all, if your a fan of the series I don't think you'll be let down, I'm not. But for everyone else, if an "on-rails" tap shooter's not quite your thing, I would maybe hold off on this one.
1337brian

The cover mechanism is only implemented by tilting, tapping it does nothing, But it is so sensitive it really works well... There is almost Zero load time for anything, which I find quite amazing. All in all, if your a fan of the series I don't think you'll be let down, I'm not. But for everyone else, if an "on-rails" tap shooter's not quite your thing, I would maybe hold off on this one.
arn

@wes: Yeah, the video was shot during one of the first plays ever. Ducking is performed by tilting (same as reloading). I subsequently made it through most of the game before the review was posted.

Like I said, it's an ok game. Certainly well implemented for what it is. But not one I'd really tell anyone they need to get.

There's a few other opinions in the forum thread:
http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?threadid=4680
arn

@wes: Yeah, the video was shot during one of the first plays ever. Ducking is performed by tilting (same as reloading). I subsequently made it through most of the game before the review was posted.

Like I said, it's an ok game. Certainly well implemented for what it is. But not one I'd really tell anyone they need to get.

There's a few other opinions in the forum thread:
http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?threadid=4680
Gerald

"1 HITS"?

FAIL.
Gerald

"1 HITS"?

FAIL.
Mike

man, i'll wait for the price drop
Mike

man, i'll wait for the price drop
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Man of Mystery

^oh my god they forgot to change it to hit, that just ruins the entire game huh

i just got this and it's fun, not great and not at all worth $6 but around 2-3 would be fine
Man of Mystery

^oh my god they forgot to change it to hit, that just ruins the entire game huh

i just got this and it's fun, not great and not at all worth $6 but around 2-3 would be fine
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Jon

After buying Katamari from the app store I'll never trust namco again. First of all the game was unplayable for weeks until they updated it. Second, the game is way too short, not worth more than three bucks.

Buggy games that get beat in less than an hour make for a very passionately non-repeat customer.
Jon

After buying Katamari from the app store I'll never trust namco again. First of all the game was unplayable for weeks until they updated it. Second, the game is way too short, not worth more than three bucks.

Buggy games that get beat in less than an hour make for a very passionately non-repeat customer.
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http://www.theiphoneappreview.com Shaun

It's a decent game, but not for $5.99. The graphics are average at best..and you can play through the thing in 20 minutes,
http://www.theiphoneappreview.com Shaun

It's a decent game, but not for $5.99. The graphics are average at best..and you can play through the thing in 20 minutes,
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