Crash Commando (PS3)

[aruljothi]

Release Date:
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending
Genre: Shooter
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: EPOS Game Studios

Before you start making assumptions based on screenshots, the PlayStation Network's Crash Commando -- brought to you by former DICE (Mirror's Edge, Battlefield series) co-founders -- isn't your typical dual-stick shooter. Fast-paced multiplayer action pits forever-feuding red and blue jetpack-equipped soldiers against each other, while dual-layered stages keep things interesting and innovative. Crash combines side-scrolling shooting, and class-specific weapons in what feels like a travel-sized 2D version of Team Fortress 2.

Crash gains a lot of high ground by miraculously sidestepping the Achilles' heel of PS3 online shooters -- you don't need a headset in order to dominate the competition. Instead of relying on verbal communication, in-game signage points players towards objectives. You can use a mic if you want, but even without voice chat, I found myself (and my team) at the top of several VIP lists at the end of each round. Each map also has two visible playing fields, in the foreground and background, which are clearly visible and quickly accessible via hallways. Stationary turrets allow you to shoot between the two layers -- perfect for nabbing a hacker escaping with your base's data in Espionage mode (Crash's capture-the-flag). But because the pacing is so fast and everyone's dying so quickly, you often respawn near the enemy, turning your teammates into disposable pawns, and, at times, giving the opposing side a seemingly unfair advantage.

The vehicles, unfortunately, don't add much to the game. Scaling the various stages on magnetic rollercoaster tracks (in either a jeep or a tank) is fun at first, but being saddled in big moving targets with weapons that aren't much more effective than your own is never as ideal as your always-handy jetpack (which even regenerates fuel when not in use -- including during midair freefalls!). But the line-of-sight shooting is handled gracefully: You have to weigh your weapon's strengths against its reload time, rate-of-fire, and bullet-arc. At first, I thought most online players would gravitate toward the one-shot-kill weapons (grenade, rocket launcher, or sniper rifle), but since they're skill-based and difficult-to-master, I faced a welcome variety of firearms in my bouts.

With only four modes, no unlockable incentives to encourage multiple deployments (besides trophies), and a cartoony art style, Crash doesn't sound exciting on paper. But when you zip around, wasp-like, through the levels -- perching on platforms while grabbing out-of-reach body armor and taking potshots at the opposition -- the Contra-meets-TF2 gameplay gels perfectly, keeping you from setting the controller down. And really, that's all an online shooter needs to do.