Reviewed: January 7, 2009
Reviewed by: Mark Smith

Publisher
Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer
EPOS Game Studios

Released: December 19, 2008
Genre: Shooter
Players: 1-12
Online: 2-12

8
8
8
8
8.8

Supported Features:

Throw out the script, assuming there ever was one. Crash Commando’s doesn’t bother with a story. This is pure shooting action for the sake of shooting the enemy with all sorts of creative weapons in all sorts of creative levels. Think of it as a primitive 2D version of Unreal Tournament where you can have up to 12 soldiers running (or driving) around the levels trying to kill everybody else as quickly and brutally as they can.

Honestly, for a Teen game I was surprised by the amount of blood, but it’s depicted in such a way that it borders on comical, which is probably how it slipped by the ESRB. Rest assured that when you shoot or run over somebody they will be ripped to shreds will copious amounts of red stuff and suitably squishy sound effects.

Crash Commando is designed with some pick-up and play controls that are easy to figure out, but the AI is brutal and figuring out how to beat the computer is going to take some experimentation, and don’t even get me started about what happens when you go online and start playing real people as devious as yourself.

As one of up to a dozen soldiers you can equip a variety of weapons like machines guns, shotguns, rocket launchers, ray guns, grenades, and more, or you can hop into the driver’s seat of a jeep or tank and leave a trail of road kill. The controls are simple with one stick controlling movement and the other controlling your aim, almost like Robotron. You have a rechargeable jetpack that allows you to jump and hover and even fly around, and you can even jump and hover vehicles to a lesser degree.

The levels are insanely cool with wonderful multi-layer graphics that would be welcome in future side-scrolling games, especially shooters. Please EPOS – make a space shooter using this engine! While not totally depicted in 3D, there is definitely a great depth to all the levels. In fact, each level has two sides (near and far) and not only can you mount special turrets to attack players on the other side of the map, there are usually a couple doors that you can walk or drive through to switch to the other side yourself, so essentially, each level is doubled in size using this flip technique. You can see what’s going on in the background even if you can’t take part until you share the same side as your enemies.

The carnage is perfectly created with audio as well as visuals ranging from a wide variety of weapons’ fire and explosions to vehicles noises and the squishy meaty chunks of fragged bodies and the painful cries of injured players. For a 2D game there is a nice level of seperation across all the channels in the surround mix.

The single player mode is definitely training for the online madness that will surely ensue once you get the hang of this game. There is a Duty Records Award system that will track player rankings on the online leaderboards and you can even earn Trophies to impress your friends. You have your standard DM and Team DM modes bu I did find the total lack of any single-system local multiplayer totally unforgivable. This would have been an awesome co-op experience for at least two players assuming they could always agree on when to switch from foreground to background. I really need somebody to watch my back when I’m lining up my sniper headshots. As it is, any local multiplayer will either have to be networked PS3’s or pass the controller and compare scores.

For a game that costs only $10 Crash Commando has a wealth of gameplay potential. I’ve played the solo game for 20+ hours and am still getting my butt kicked regularly online. There is also plenty of expansion opportunity with new levels or new weapons if the designers choose to update or offer some downloadable content in the future.

It’s always nice to get something original on the PS Store, and even though Crash Commando might not be new in concept, the game design is flawlessly executed and the sheer addictive nature of the gameplay and slick online access makes this a must-own PSN title. Grab it now and prepare to die!