Crimson Tears

Reviewed by Victor Araujo
June 2005

Developer: Spike/Dream Factory Website: Click Here Publisher: Capcom Platform(s): PS2 Players: 1 ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Crimson Tears offers a mix of old fashion beat-em ups and Dungeon Hack RPGs, but without the complexity of either. The story revolves around three bioengineered super humans fighting against those who created them. While the game does offer a little more scenery, like the rest of the game it's more flash then substance.

The game progresses through a series of randomly generated dungeons. Each time you enter a dungeon, the layout, enemies, and equipment found will change. While the room types change between each dungeon, those used in any one given dungeon type aren't so varied. You end up seeing the same room several times, making a randomly generated dungeon feel no different from the last one. Even the enemy types tend to just get color swapped in the later dungeons, and dealing with the majority of them means pummeling then before they pummels you.

Each of the three characters varies in power, speed, and what weapons they can wield. As each character defeats enemies, he or she will increase in level, earning more health and developing longer combos. Weapons may also rise in attack by combining them with items found through out the dungeons or just by simply using them. You'll have to keep a watchful eye on your character; stronger weapons may cause your character to overheat. Doing so will give your fighter a momentary boost in power, but leaving them at a near fatal stat afterwards. Weapons also tend to wear down if overused, so mixing up your selection of gear is a must. Even with such a selection of armaments and characters, combat comes down to how much damage you deal and how fast is it dealt. Stringing combo attacks just means flailing away at the attack buttons. There's no need memorize each button press for any attack pattern; the end result is always the same. Leveling up attack strings just raises the change that your flurry of blows will continue. Very few enemies force you to do more than swing blindly in their direction, with the exception of the bosses. At the end of each dungeon, you'll encounter a boss that'll force you to do more then just bash buttons. Between clearing out the bad guys in dungeons, you can buy better equipment from various shops or gain bonus missions from the few residents near your hideout.

What Crimson Tears lacks in complexity it makes up for with its visual flare. The art style used for the characters is unique, and they have some nice attack animations that are just fun to watch. The game's bland story unfolds using some beautiful cel-shaded cut scenes. Add that to the art design, and you're really given a sense that you're watching a Japanese anime. It's all really pretty to watch, but lacks and real depth. For whatever reason I did find myself wanting to play more. Crimson Tear's style and simplicity made it an easy game to just drop into my system and pick up and play. However without any real depth and game play style that screams for a two-player mode, it's hard to pass it off as anything more then a weekend rental. For the casual action gamer, there are already a number similar games better then Crimson Tears. Even the die-hard beat 'em up fans will be better off waiting for a price drop, or only picking it up once they've played everything else.