crisis city is most easily comparable to shock troopers. like shock troopers, there's a bevy of characters to embody who must each traverse linear environments with aplomb, dodging their way through the tumult of gunfire and shrapnel. the difference lies predominantly in perspective and framing. unlike shock troopers, which concerned itself with jungles and mountainous ranges and military structures, in crisis city the characters must dash through littered city streets, highways, grungy parking garages, and opulent edifices with nothing but their wits and 30 or so grenades. in addition to this, shock troopers is an isometric 2D run n' gun; crisis city, by contrast, is 3D, using fixed camera angles to convey its hectic action.

i dont think i can classify it as a hidden gem; rather than succeeding mechanically it is primarily exhilirating aesthetically. i wish so bad i could tell you what's going on here. before the game begins in earnest, there are three separate text scrawls: one you may skip that goes on for three minutes, a second introducing the character you have chosen, and a third outlining the first level (although each stage is introduced in this manner). on top of that, you fight the rest of the games playable cast as bosses in each stage, and ramiel is here, unexpectedly. there's clearly some kind of madcap narrative unfolding in the midst of the chaos onscreen, usually involving no less than twenty explosions per boss battle lighting up the screen in rhythmic tempo. so believe me when i say that when the game looks like an electrifying canvas, it usually kind of does!

unfortunately, there are a few too many issues with the game to really consider it anything more than a middle-of-the-pack run and gun, if that. the fixed camera angles are sometimes obstructive despite their visual intrigue; you can dodge roll to avoid enemy bullet patterns, but you can also crouch which seems to beat out almost everything; and the enemy design, as well as the difficulty curve, seem borderline nonexistent. a lot of this title is just kind of barren despite the adrenaline coursing through its veins.

my brief foray into research seems to suggest there's some contention over whether or not this game is kusoge. i'm not too sure about this. it's hard to deny the heart and soul of this kind of jank. it's picturesque, in a way; there are brief moments where it really does succeed in pulling you in and bewitching you. and at the end of the day it's pure unadulterated and unpredictable mania. clearly the developers agreed to an extent, otherwise there wouldn't be a versus mode nor would there be a time attack mode to fool around in. but i do worry sometimes that we don't have the language to really dissect or scrutinize any of these more obscure titles, with our constant urge to reframe, recontextualize, reassess. these games have value simply by virtue of their existence. i didnt go into crisis city expecting a new favourite - i came in because i was interested and i wanted it to show me a good time. and it did. and now i want to play shock troopers.

also it seems to sample the house of the dead 2 boss theme? well, it's more likely both share the same sample but it's so weird that i heard it, instantly paused, and thought 'wait a minute...'