Phantom Crash Preview

Developers' minds work in mysterious ways. Playing the hundreds of games I did, I visited the most incredible and peculiar places imagination can devise, and still I don't think I saw the last of it. These creations are sometimes bizarre, sometimes funny, and sometimes simply unusual. The world of Phantom Crash is one of the unusual ones.

Your Mech is basking in the sun.

The Three Mechateers.

Japan is one of the most developed countries in the world and has therefore the most advanced technology and robotics. Genki, the well known Japanese developer (they did the Tokyo Extreme Racer for Dreamcast) in cooperation with Phantagram (Kingdom Under Fire, Shinning Lore, Duality, Strident etc.) decided to create a game which is focused on combat between these wondrous mechanical creatures. Phantom Crash is a 3D action shooter set in near future. It will be developed for the X-box and PC, and should appear on the market in Q3 this year.

The story takes us to near future... the year is 2025, Tokyo has a problem with surplus population (it has that problem even today, for that matter). Another huge problem is the pollution which simply got out of control. The Japanese government moved all institutions to the new capital - Neo Tokyo City, a shelter city built on an artificial island. The parts of the old town, Shinjuku and Shibuya have been completely shut down becoming prohibited zones for the civilians (the buildings are in terrible shape and may collapse and kill a few), and the entire deserted area has been named "Trash Area." (Not the most original of names - ed.)

The game then takes you to year 2031. The Trash Area is now used as an arena for "Rumbling", extremely popular robot fights, which are broadcasted live. The players will assume the roles of pilots who control the robots. There are three types of robots or Scoobees - Holy, Aeron and Photon. Holy is the smallest and Photon is the largest type, and each type has several models with different weapons and maneuverability. The developers said that they might include several more types of robots, in order to provide more versatile fun to the players.

For the time being, there are eight characters who will lead their robots into battle: Pepper, Screw, DJ Joker, Milch, Lunch, Kanb, Greek and Atsurou. Most interesting thing abut them is the fact that some of the characters are underage kids (Milch is 12 and Screw is 13), and some other are quite old (Greek is 53). The very idea of having a kid fight a grownup in the robot arena is very interesting. I am sure that many kids would simply love to control a huge robot and wreak havoc all around... and to think that we used to play cowboys and Indians when I was a kid... whatever, this is probably not the final list of characters to appear in game.

Due to urban surroundings, maneuverability will be crucial for success. Your robots will not only have legs... they will also have wheels and caterpillars, and they will be able to jump, run and even fly, which should give you enough ways to avoid enemy fire and deliver that critical blow. You will have to react quickly as these robots can move fast, even up to 60mph, in spite of their weight. The robots will be adequately armed, and you can expect to see a whole lot of nice explosions in this game. Depending on your choice of Scoobee, you will be in the position to use: Beam Bazooka, Bomb Pod, Glide Cannon, Drill, Missile Launcher, Heat Saber, Smoke Discharger etc.

The aftermath of the Tokyo rush hour.

Destroying the environment.

Your robot will also wear a lot of armor to protect him from enemy ammo. And in a critical situation, your Scoobee can temporarily become invisible. Yes, just like the Predator, the robots can become invisible for your eyes, but not for your radar. Invisible robots will still leave marks on the ground and cast a shadow. This fantastic feature is called Optical Camouflage and it looks very nice. The developers were prudent enough to make it powerful, but not too powerful, which promises good gameplay balance. You will be able to upgrade your robots, and modify them according to your own affinities.

From what we had a chance to see in the two exclusive gameplay movies Phantagram sent us, the graphics are very good (just like in any other X-box title) and crammed with detail and special effects. One of the best effects is used when your robot becomes stealth. It will really take you some time to see a stealth robot. The dynamic gameplay with a lot of running and jumping will be a real treat for anyone who would be in the mood to give his pals a good bashing and knock down a building or two while he's at it.

The developers are currently discussing only the single-player game, and it is not yet known whether they will decide to introduce the multiplayer mode. There is still enough time for the developers to make up their minds and introduce this important feature. The game will appear in Japan and Europe in Q3 2002, and it is still unknown when it hits the stores in the US.