Only writing this so I'll stop getting the prompt from Galaxy. It's a good game.
I'm rating based on the game, and 1999 when it was made. Comparing this game to Cyberpunk, or the like, will immediately get it a 1-star. It would be like comparing Windows 3.1 to 11. I first played Omikron on Dreamcast back when it was new. I rented it from a video store and couldn't finish before I had to return it. A few months later I bought it for real and played it all the way through. I was already a gaming nerd to begin with, but this game was like steroids for that. It was so unique for its time. I gushed about this game to anyone that would listen. THE ACTUAL REVIEW (spoilers) -------------------------------------- This is a game that breaks the 4th wall in a huge way. You aren't just a character in a story. It's you, your very soul, inhabiting the body on screen. That's the arch this story takes, and it grabs your attention. It starts out being a standard adventure game, then the freaking DEMONS start talking to you through the screen (I'm not kidding) telling you what's what. Back in 1999, that 4th wall crashing down hard made this the most immersive game I'd ever played. The graphics are awful by today's standards, average by 1999's. But what made Omikron ahead of the game is the sheer size of it. The city is big and there's cars and NPCs moving around and existing without your input. Gives it the feeling of a real, open-world city that you are a part of. A city that exists whether you're there or not. The game has 3 playing "modes". Adventure (the bulk of the game), FPS, and fighter. Fighting demons is mostly in the fighter perspective. There's combos and stuff you can use, and I vaguely remember having to learn fighting moves on your own (like Shenmue) but I may be wrong about that. It's been a very long time. The FPS perspective was the most fun. I do remember at the beginning, when you're still a cop and before the demons drop that bomb on you, there's a mission to resolve a robbery at a grocery store. That mission is FPS.
I will be comparing this game to Jydge a lot in this review because they are very similar. I played Jydge before this and noticed a lot of reviews on it mentioned Neon Chrome. Since I was so disappointed by Jydge, I decided to try this... and, my god, is it better! It's just like Jydge but without all of the forced grinding that makes that game unbearably annoying after the second act. No going back to perform "stupid tricks" (Complete without being seen! Complete in 5 seconds! Complete whilst standing on one leg!) in order to unlock the next level. You just stay alive and kill things. That's enough to progress the story, as it should be. Background music is very important in a game like this and, though not as hard-hitting as the music in Jydge, it's perfect for Neon Chrome and really sets the mood. That, mixed with the nonstop action and mayhem, makes for one great experience.
Cons first, to explain the 3-star rating: I really loved this game at first, but it got very annoying after Act 1. Completing the main objective in a mission is not enough to advance the story. It forces you to go back and perform stupid little tricks like "complete in 20 seconds" and "avoid all damage" in order to gain medals. The medals are what allows you to advance the story. Sometimes you just want to play a game casually and see what happens next. Once you finish the story, that's when you go back and play again to see if you can do all of that extra stuff. I'm fine with having to earn medals to unlock new equipment, but completing the main objective should be enough to progress to the next level. Otherwise the game becomes needlessly grindy and that will turn players off. Pros: Great music and action! VERY exciting! I found it hard to play with a gamepad, but keyboard & mouse is just fine. If it weren't for being forced to jump through irrelevant hoops in order to play the rest of the game, I would have given it 5 stars.
