Gaming Target - Xbox: Phantom Crash

Written by Leigh Culpin on September 09, 2003

Full Review: The Gran Turismo of Mech GamesЕsort of.

Phantom Crash presents you with the greatest amount of customizability for your vehicle yet seen in perhaps any Xbox game released, however, sacrifices actual gameplay to achieve this. The game's full of text dialogue to build the characters and world around you, and actually plays a bit more like an RPG than your typical mech combat game.

The first thing you're going to notice when you start a new game Ц there is A LOT of text -- page after page in fact. And while this does all work towards creating an immersive world, cutscenes would have been favorable. Maybe even some voices for the characters. However, you aren't going to find much in the way of audio aside from a wide variety of music and your Scoobee (your combat vehicle) doing combat. The biggest problem the game has is that it just throws you in the midst of things with very little help Ц the manual is practically useless, and you're simply expected to make sense of everything that's going on Ц all the terms, characters and such Ц and it can be a bit overwhelming at first. Though, if you do manage to get through the bottomless pit that is this story, you'll find a decent game underneath.

Diehard fans of MechWarrior 2 may (or may not) like this game Ц the customizability that was lost as the series progressed is here and in fact is the mainstay of the game. Gran Turismo doesn't even have as many options, and here's the really cool thing Ц every modification you make to your Scoobee is accompanied by the appropriate visual component, so interchanging spider legs, rollers or hover feet will actually change the look and feel of your mech. The same goes for all four weapons Ц unfortunately, you are restricted to two shoulder (which are awkward to fire placed on the face buttons) and two arm weapons. The usual type of considerations come into play here Ц you can only put an arm weapon on an arm, weight restrictions, etc. However, a nice change is the option to play overweight Ц even if you load your Scoobee past it's factory weight maximum, you can still go into combat with your extra loadout at the price of speed, which is generally rather important in the actual gameplay.

The gameplay, conversely, almost feels like it's an excuse to advance the story rather than the typical other way around. You can fight in one of a small handful of arenas (as in 3) that do not change aside from night or day alterations. Day is generally the only way to play, as the cities are populated with tons of obstacles and debris. However, they do get somewhat tiresome after a while, and are generally surprisingly small. The object of the combat is obviously to win, which in turn translates into cash, which translates into you upgrading your Scoobee(s). There are various class-restricted battles and tournaments that take place, and let you rack up cash a bit faster than the regular free battles.

You're even given a schedule so you know who's fighting when, and most times prior to entering an arena you'll be treated (or not) to a rather lengthy bit of text that introduces characters or adds story to the ones you've already met. The menu options really are rather extensive, but are also the core of the game. Phantom Crash is really more of an RPG or strategy game than a fighter, since the time you spend in the arenas relative to the time you spend prepping for them is miniscule.

The time you do spend in the arena is usually done so in short-lived matches, in which character after character will be introduced into the environment. There is, however, never more than a few in any one arena at a time, so numbers generally aren't your worst enemy. Although, you will encounter problems with the controls Ц they simply feel УoffФ for some time early on, and getting used to firing your main weapons with face buttons while still using the right thumbstick to aim is a bit of a task. There is also generally a lot going on in your view, which is at a slightly odd angle, thus often deterring one to the cockpit view. This contains one of the coolest HUD's seen in ages, but isn't necessarily a lot easier to pilot with.

Phantom Crash's graphics are pretty sound, yet nothing extraordinary, and the same goes for the sound. Interestingly enough, the cloaking effect (the name Phantom Crash was derived from the ability to cloak in the midst of combat if your Scoobee is so equipped) isn't terribly astonishing as one would hope, and while it is cool, it doesn't seem to generally turn the tables as much as one might hope. To escort you through the menus and mindless battles, the soundtrack is composed of various and generally mixed genres of music, ranging from the abstract to techno, all being fairly fast-paced.

The game really is a decent single-player experience all around, but the biggest disappointment comes in the multiplayer form. You can save your Scoobee's from the single player campaign and battle them in versus mode, but there's no Live capability, which would have added a lot of replay to the game Ц more maps could have been added, and battling out your own mech creations against people all over the world would have been a blast. Sadly, however, no such luck, and we're left with the typical battle modes one would expect.