Phantom Crash Interview

Well, it's high time we head to the streets of Neo Tokyo and kick some Scoobee-butt. We've received the full-retail version of Phantagram's mech-shooter Phantom Crash, so we'll be posting our full impressions of the game in a little while. Until then we thought you might enjoy a petite pre-taste. Thus we decided to have a brief Q&A with Genki (the Phantom Crash development team) to give you a peek at some of the delicacies that await you throughout the game.

Action Trip: Where did the idea for another Mech-game come from? Why develop another mech-shooter?

The car in the backdrop is considered an antique in Neo Tokyo. It’s mine stay away from it!

It appears to be a malfunction of some sort...

Genki: It's true that in Japan there are many Mech-themed games, but these are usually very similar to each other - they all tend to offer standard and clichéd ideas. Plus, we're looking forward to making a game that truly manages to capture the swift and life-like movements like we see on TV. Why is it that we can only see such stuff on TV and never in a computer game? This became our main goal. Authenticity. So, we wanted to close the gap and take such an approach with Phantom Crash; a battle royal-style tournament that shows our intentions to create a truly unique action game.

AT: Some players dislike quasi-Mech games. Why have you decided to release a not-quite-Mech game?

G: When we think of a Mech game, we first think of "military taste," and we know there are countless such titles already released on the market. Therefore, we wanted to take a slightly different approach and we came up with actual mechs going around Tokyo and fighting. After that we thought of Tokyo in the future, and the idea of a fast and furious battle-royal was born.

AT: Obviously Phantom Crash is Anime-inspired. The story is driven by cool comic-style cut-scenes. To what extent will the outcome of a battle influence the story?

G: The player can proceed with the story as he/she wins through all the areas. Battling and fighting against the opponents will unfold the story as the player achieves higher status as a Wire Head.

AT: The game offers a commendable variety of parts and add-ons. There will be diverse robots, extra parts, weaponry, wheels, rocket-jumps, many other goodies. How much can the player modify his Scoobee?

G: There are 3 Scoobee classes: Holy, Photon, and Aeron (basically, 3 body-types). They each have 2/4/6 legs or 2/4/6 wheels and powerful side boosters and left/right shoulder and hands that are equipped with various weapons. Also, there are many types of patterns for a mech. In addition, you can get the following weapons: Machine gun, Rifle, Bazooka, Laser, Grenade Launcher, Missile Ford, and of course the Optic Camouflage; oh yeah, and an armor plate to boot. Next to all of that, it's extremely important to have an A.I. Chip, because if you don't, then your Scoobee won't be able to run.

Lights out pretty Scoobee-boy!

We’re flyin’ high!

AT: There will be three distinct ways to drive your Scoobee, Action, and Hardcore. Can you reveal a bit more about the Hardcore mode? Also tell us if players will be able to shoot in a certain direction, while facing the other way?

G: No not really. We decided to keep it simple. Also, you should know that the Japanese version of Phantom Crash has different control systems when compared to the English version (which we sent you guys). The English version has a system that most FPS players will quickly get used to. Then there's a completely customizable system, thanks to which you can change the essential controls on your joypad.

Plus, you can adjust the game's difficulty level if it gets too much for ya. Hardcore gamers will surely find the game challenging. Whereas, inexperienced players can always enter the Beginners Mode if they wish. Hence, the whole game is pretty much adapted to all sorts of players.

AT: Optical Camouflage looks stunning. Also, it gives gamers the tactical advantage. Obviously, it was inspired by "Ghost in the Shell." It seems that your development team focused on a multitude of weapons. Why couldn't you include some detection measures and counter measures like IR detectors, or sonar-jammers?

G: We wanted to create a game that would introduce people to the world of Phantom Crash and we felt including such options would be over-doing it. We wanted to make things quicker and easier, but at the same time we were striving towards more gameplay depth. However, for the next incarnation of Phantom Crash, we have a lot more things in mind. As for the Sonar, all Scoobees are equipped with a Sonar indicator - which is displayed on the screen in a very intuitive manner. So, you have no worries about that.

AT: We were allured with the spaces of Old Tokyo and we saw a great potential for open battle areas. Undeniably, we're talkin' about three virtual cities here, rather than 3 small battle maps. Instead, you chose to make smaller arenas. Why? Do you think it will improve the gameplay in any way?

G: Exactly. If the arena is too large, finding an enemy and rumbling may not be as speedy or intense like in the mid-sized or small-sized arenas. So, we're happy with the small-scale arenas. Still, who knows, we might go with bigger levels in the next version.

AT: From what we've tasted of the game so far, we can safely say it's a very addictive mech-shooter. For that reason, it would be a shame not to include any Net or LAN multiplayer modes.

G: The Xbox version of Phantom Crash still doesn't include any Net-play, though we are considering such things for the forthcoming PC version...