Price: £9.99 eShop
Developer: Bitmap Bureau
Players: 1/2
I backed this Mega Drive original shooter on Kickstarter a few years back, and went for the Switch option as I guessed it would look best on the smaller screen. I just didn't know how good it would look, how smooth it would play, and how one-more-go fun and slick the action is.
To be honest, I'm not even sure how Xeno Crisis would work (well) on the Mega Drive as its a twin-stick shooter, with the Switch's shoulder buttons providing grenades, dodge and a melee attack. What it does deliver on any format though is awesome bursts of action that are both retro and impressively modern in their feel.
In true Colonial Marines style, Xeno Crisis starts off with a dropship landing one or two marines at the gates of an outpost where communications have been cut off. Instantly there's that classic Alien vibe in the battered chrome of the perimeter.
Sure, the first few rooms are just to get you warmed up, with almost polite lines of xenos queuing politely to be shot, but soon the pests are crawling out the walls, ceilings, floors and other places, screeching and lobbing alien death at you.
The marine's ammo is limited, with crates dropping as he/she nears empty, forcing players to keep on the move around each room. Dogtags can be collected to provide upgrades and power-ups between missions, so are well worth collecting, in a risk vs reward way, and there's the odd key-card needed to open a door or person to rescue.
As the nasties get tougher, so do the weapons that drop into the room at random points, shotguns, spread shots, BFGs, flame throwers and lasers all give you a key advantage for 20-odd seconds before they run out of juice or ammo.
At the end of each level impressive bosses take some serious firepower to bring down, and you'll be hoping for a well placed medical crate or ammo box at several points to try and crash through to the next mission. Background scenes change for each set of rooms, lovingly packed with detail and neat use of perspective.
In fairness, Xeno Crisis looks good on the big screen too, with the end-of-level bosses looking particularly menacing and throbbing. There are plenty of little details too, however you play, like clanking sounds if you try to push through a locked door, crackly (but high quality) voice samples encouraging you on, and the whole game is bristling with perky animation from ammo cases littering the floor to the neat exploding barrels.
The Savaged Regime soundtrack is particularly excellent (track 6 is my favourite) with relentless pace and thumping techno, all programmed to run on the Mega Drive sound chip, so honestly retro in the best possible way.
Is it churlish to complain that the static cut-scene art looks a little primitive compared to everything else? Otherwise my only moan is the lack of a high-score table, scores are listed when you complete a level but there's no table listing, or times for speed runs, kill counts and so on that would add a little extra incentive.
Another thing missing (I think) is secrets, alien shooters are the perfect type of game for a little bonus tunnel or secret weapon tucked away somewhere special. Perhaps there are, and I haven't found them yet. Finish the game and there's Boss Rush and Infinite mode to keep you entertained.
Anyway, Xeno Crisis is a top-tier shooter, perfectly honed with decent replay value and god-like production values, showing that retro doesn't have to mean quick or cheap.
Score 5/5
