Crusader: No Remorse™

Had a really fun time with this one. The difficulty can be downright crushing at points, but I found that everything else more than makes up for it. The atmosphere, music, visuals, even the FMV cutscenes all create a memorable science-fiction world. The gameplay itself, despite some antiquated controls, feels genuinely satisfying. Punchy guns, destructible environments, and a deliberately methodical pace make you feel more like the Terminator instead of John Woo, if that makes sense. You're a hulking mass of crimson armor and high-powered weaponry, and the gameplay reflects that. Highly recommended for anyone that wants a grimy action game. Just be aware that it'll put you through the wringer more than a handful of times before you can really start dishing out pain.

This game features great graphics, gameplay and an amazing soundtrack. For its time, it was leagues ahead of anything in its genre. Some parts of it aged poorly though. The acting is downright hillariously bad sometimes and the atmosphere breathes 90s in everything there is. Higher difficulty levels become really really difficult because the movement is a bit stiff for a game that expects instant reactions from its player. So if you're willing to overlook these two parts, you will have a great time. I recommend picking either the first or second difficulty for a first time. There are tons of alternate routes and secrets hidden throughout the levels, so you'll still be seeing new things a second or even third time around.

For 30-year old games, the Crusader series are still surprisingly playable. The environments and enemies are varied and highly interactive. Most stuff can be easily destroyed with the very impressive arsenal at your disposal, and overall the game mechanics and gameplay loop are very well designed. The controls and the camera are a bit clunky, but as soon as you stop using the mouse and try to adapt to and learn its control scheme, it mostly falls into place. But more than everything, it's FUN. Blowing up unsuspecting guards or setting them on fire by targeting a nearby pipe is fun. Spider bombs make you giggle as you loose them on unsuspecting enemies, and the sheer amount of destruction and mayhem on display would still be impressive in any game today. Well worth a try.

Crusader: No Remorse is a game about one thing and one thing only: Bringing out your inner sadist. Let me explain by starting from the top: On the surface, C:NR appears to be your average every day isometric view shooter. Every level consists of you trying to get from point A to point B. You probably have to find a keycard or two on the way, and you probably have to flip some switches, but mostly you'll just be killing chumps. To add some depth to the combat you can duck, jump, and roll to evade baddies and reposition yourself for a better shot. The controls for all of this are quite clunky, but given enough time anybody can be rolling around and shooting like they are Samus Aran (and in the very tough later levels, you really have to be that good). It is entirely possible to go through the game of C:NR and just take careful, considered shots at all of the baddies until the end. But if you do that, you are missing the point. The real point of Crusader is to dispatch your foes in the coolest ways possible. How? Like shooting the floor out from under their feet and watch as they fall screaming into a puddle of industrial acid waste. Or opening up a gas valve and igniting your foes, then sitting back and watching as they run around the screen screaming and flailing. Or taking command of a sentry robot and gunning them down. Or shooting them with a gun that strips all of the flesh from their bones. None of this is mandatory. In fact, a lot of the time it isn't even efficient - meaning you'll have to go out of your way to do it, perhaps even sacrificing some health and ammo. But just trust me, it is worth it. All of this is made possible in part by a truly innovative destructible environment system. Almost everything you see can be shot and blown up. The levels are littered with dozens of strategic possibilities, like the aforementioned gas valves and sentry guns, adding a bit of non-linearity to the way you choose to approach each mission. Other considerations: The graphics are decent. They consist entirely of pre-rendered sprites, which were all the rage at the time but they just don't age as well as cartoony or hand drawn art. Cutscenes are all done with live actors ala C&C or Wing Commander. Like early C&C and unlike Wing Commander, the acting is awful and the unintentional funny camp value is through the roof. The voice acting in general is pretty low value, but you're mostly just going to hear people scream anyways. Final analysis: Lots of pure fun. Unfortunately, the graphics and especially the controls do a lot to date the game, but if lighting someone on fire and then making them fall into a vat of acid, for no particular reason other than that you can, sounds like a good time for you then you'll enjoy what Crusader: No Remorse has to offer.

I could never get the demo for this game to work on my Win 95 PC. I knew I was missing out on something great and I was right! The game is a little rough to get into at first due to the odd control scheme but after a few rage quits and some practice they become pretty natural. Never perfect but good enough to get the job done. After you get past the rough start, the game is incredibly addictive and fun and has actually aged really well. I'll be waiting for Crusader: No Regret.