When GT Interactive bought the rights to the services of
PSX developer Singletrac (makers of the "Twisted Metal" and
"Jet Moto" series, plus "Warhawk"), they thought they were
in for the big bucks that seem to follow every game that
these Utah-based company makes. But a funny thing happened
on the way to the Christmas '97 buying season: "Critical
Depth", the first Sigletrac game under the GT Interactive
label, didn't receive the critical acclaim and brisk sales
of the previous games in the company's history (not a good
thing to have your debut product for the new bosses losing
money). Now "CD" can be purchased for $19.95; does the
game belong with the many other PSX dogs available for
little money ("Tiger Shark", "Red Asphalt", "Dare Devil
Derby", etc.), or is it an underrated classic waiting to be
discovered? The answer depends heavily on your liking or
disliking of the Singletrac vehicular combat genre, and how
much emphasis you put on graphic beauty.
Underwater explorer Douglas McKragen discovers five alien
pods thousands of leagues (??!!) beneath the surface of the
Ocean, but before retrieving them he vanished without a
trace. That's the cue for more than 12 renegade warriors
to show up, trying to get the alien pods for their own
unique and peculiar causes; will the alien pods end up on
display at a museum (Professor Armstrong), hidden in a
bunker on Area 51 (the CIA) or the destruction of humanity
for the sake of a new "superior" human race (Dr. A.
Pocalypse, German no doubt :-P)? Each of the game's
characters features an underwater sub that features flaws
and advantages, which in the end balance each other out,
that are unique to the personalities of their drivers. And
this being a Singletrac game, you know that the roster of
characters will be dripping with creative "Mad Max"
stereotypes (remember "Dakota" from "Jet Moto"?).
GAMEPLAY / FUN FACTOR: B-
What we have in "Critical Depth" is third-generation
gameplay improvements in a genre that Singletrac developed
into an artform that Activision perfected (and matched with
better-looking graphics that "CD" lacks) for "Vigilante
8". The subtle improvements are everywhere: the tuned
artificial intelligence which attacks you hardest when you
carry more alien pods (a true bitch of challenge), the need
to look up/down and left/right because the game's setting
demands true 3D 'go anywhere' visualization, the radar that
indicates both distance and altitude (and confuses the hell
out of you), the cool shield that absorbs and/or deflects
the enemy fire right back at them, the extremely tight and
well-tuned digital control that makes moving underwater
less of a chore than it should be (although analog control
would have been better), the split-screen for multiplayer
gaming with another "Twisted Metal" fan, the cool artwork
and character design of the roster of many psychos in the
game (check out those bios), the need to keep your sub
going up and down the Ocean surface to prevent the Ocean
depth from imploding your craft (didn't you see
"Titanic"?), etc. If you loved the way any of the previous
Singletarc games played, you'll find yourself right at home
with "CD" control scheme and gameplay options.
There are three different gameplay options in "CD".
Mission Mode has you (or two players in a co-operative
mode, yes!) gathering five alien pods for each of the
game's eleven levels. Battle Mode puts a player against
five selectable CPU-controlled opponents in a level, trying
to gather five alien pods and escaping through a
"Threshold" exit door. Death Mode is a simple last-ship
standing slugfest. Three modes are too little IMHO to keep
fans of the genre satisfied, and the fact that the game's
setting is underwater affects tremendously the frame-rate
and speed of your craft, and therefore the way the game
plays. Intentionally or not, the game feels sluggish and
not as frenetic and fast-paced as "Twisted Metal", "Jet
Moto" or 1997's other underwater action game, Namco's
"Treasures of the Deep" (a much better-looking and playing
game developed by Black Ops, currently making MGM's
upcoming James Bond PSX game "Tomorrow Never Dies").
GRAPHICS / VISUALS: C-
First-generation visuals make "CD" look more dated than its
1997 release date, especially when compared to the visual
fireworks of "Vigilante 8"; the low-resolution, blocky and
pixelated textures, clipping bugs galore and blue tint
prevalent throughout the game's graphics (it's miles
underwater, I know, but that doesn't make it look any
better) make this the ugliest and most dithered-looking
game Singletrac ever developed for the PSX (no small feat
when you consider the unattractiveness of "Jet Moto" and
"Twisted Metal", regardless of how well they played).
There are more attempts of multi-colored explosions and
light-sourcing in this game than in any other Singletrac
game to date (will see what "Rogue Trip" has up its graphic
sleeve), but the engine seems to be barely able to keep up
with the many tasks at hand an slows down frequently (like
with Sega's "Burning Rangers" for the Saturn).
Two-player games are the worst, since the screen is so
cluttered and the frame-rate so low that its hard just to
keep up with your surroundings, let alone the incoming fire
from an enemy you can't see (the radar's complexity isn't
of any help). The attempts to give the crafts of the
warriors personalities come through with unique designs
(some look like an underwater mantis, others look like they
came straight out of Batman's cave or a Jules Verne novel,
etc.), but like with the first "Need for Speed" game these
crafts are one sad-looking collection of low-res colored
blobs. The menu/option screens with the bios of the
warriors aren't done in medium or high-res, which is rare
considering many PSX games try to jazz-up these screens for
the sake of appearances; they do however display the degree
of creative lunacy that that cast of characters in "CD"
personifies (shame their presence is never seen during the
actual game). Overall, the graphics in "CD" are barely a
step above the undewater levels of "Starfox 64" (and those
of us wealthy enough to own both systems know how crappy
that N64 game's level looked and played).
MUSIC / SOUND EFFECTS: C
The sound effects are pretty lackluster, with weapons and
firepower that comes across as recorded on low-resolution
and through a cassette recorder taken to a movie theatre
playing "Armageddon". Music is no better, with lousy
guitar-wannabe rock'n'roll tunes filling in the H2O (not
the air, because it is set underwater) with an individual
tune for every one of the game's eleven levels; you might
find a good tune or two among the bunch, but you better not
be waiting for the "CD" soundtrack compilation anytime
soon. The audio and visuals haven't been the strongest
priorities of previous Singletrac games, but they sure
could go out of their way to give those elements more
priority during future projects.
OVERALL: C
"Critical Depth" just doesn't sound or look like a second
or third-generation PSX game, although it could be argued
that the subtle perfections to the combat system make for a
better playing experience than "Twisted Metal 2" (good luck
selling that Brooklyn Bridge to an Omaha tourist). If you
don't care about graphic beauty or can't afford a new copy
of "Vigilante 8" (the current leader of the genre until
"Rogue Trip" and "Twisted Metal 3" prove their worth), then
"CD" might be worth your $20 if you overlook the truckload
of small flaws that keep this puppy (excuse the pun) under
water. Besides, we've all wasted more than $20 in crappy
games before and went on living, right? Only "Twisted
Metal" fans need apply for this Jules Verne-inspired trip
to the bottom of the Ocean.
