It was 1999. I'll never forget it. A lot of friends were getting their dreamcast. I was looking on in envy. I was also a freshman in high school. Rather than a Dreamcast, I had just recently bought a Sega Saturn off of my friend Salim, who I had math class with. Salim was a cool and laid back dude. There's actually a funny story surrounding the whole thing. I had biology with a dude who used to go back and forth with me with wise cracks during class. At times, it got heated, but he was a guy who loved to be the life of the class. At a point, it got to where he was pretty upset, but I didn't really realize it was serious at the time. On the day I got my Saturn, I was itching with excitement. I followed Salim home, hoping that the system would work, and that he wasn't going to change his mind. He said he didn't play it, and that he would sell it to me for a price I can't remember.
We got to his apartment, which wasn't too far from the middle of town. The place smelled like I expected. You see, he was a weed smoker extraordinaire. I think he used to light up on the high school courtyard as well. Although, I have no idea how he got away with it. I used to hang with him and other courtyard pot heads on occasion, just to play hackensack. Anyway, I had to hold my breath while he got the system, because it was so strong of a smell. I also began to wonder if the thing still worked. He told me I could return it if it didn't, but I just didn't want the hassle. So I paid him and sped out of there. As I approached the middle of town, there was the dude from my class, standing there with a couple of friends. If you know me, you know I'm not capable of fearing human beings. In fact, I figured he was just chilling. Then he comes up and starts talking to me about the issue he had from class, and asking if I wanted to square off right there. In my mind, I was laughing, because I really didn't think he was serious. But then he kept insisting. The thing about me, is that I've always been worried about what I would do if my switch flipped. That's one of the things that kept me from enjoying altercations at school. Every fight I got into in high school was off of school grounds, and I tried to squash it as quickly as I could, because I knew deep down what I was capable off, and wanted to avoid that. Frankly, I've been studying martial arts and combat since the age of 9, and it's never been an issue for me to put a dude to sleep. I often gave another impression, because I respected the teaching that you should avoid conflict. I looked down at my huge bag with the Saturn, and down at the large trench coat I was wearing, and I was partly annoyed that he was picking that time to ask for a fight.
He threatened a couple of times under his breath, that he felt like doing something anyway. If he was sincere about that, I wouldn't have objected, as I've never been built to refuse a fight, but he didn't. One of his buddies tapped the back of my head as I was talking to him, and jumped back as I turned around. It was actually a kid I knew since kindergarten, which was funny. I thought a couple of times, and then he asked if we could squash out beef, which I didn't know existed. I told him that we were cool, and he took his leave. I only tell that story, because it happened to be on the day I got my Saturn. The whole time, I was petrified of the idea of getting into a melee and looking up to see my Saturn gone, because that happened to be before. I don't think he ever knew that I was a kid who could fight, but I didn't really care. There are a lot of kids in school that fortunately never saw that side of me. I did see him years later at the gym, as we had a mutual friend, and all was forgotten, since it was a such a small thing anyway. His friend who was there that day, I saw as well. I was rolling with a crew on the main street one day, and he ducked into a store, scared stiff that I was going to jump him. The fact is that if it was that important to me, I would have fought that very day, but I didn't because I was excited to have my Sega Saturn.
After we parted ways, I went to the local video store and got NHL 98', and Crusader No Remorse. I played the crap out of the hockey game, as I was a huge fan back then, and followed the Philadelphia Flyers. When I got into Crusader, I immediately recognized it as the type of espionage action game that was right up the alley of my best friend at the time- Kenton. As soon as I got a chance, I rushed over to his house to show it to him, and he was equally impressed. I think we played most of the game at his house. And I eventually beat it there as well.
I have to start with the fact that nostalgia really drove me to get this again. I had fond memories, and it was a game I remember being worth a replay. However, the game has a small number of flaws, albeit major in their scope. First I'll give a synopsis. You are a rebel soldier- Silencer, who has defected from the Consortium regimen. Tell me that title isn't cool. The Consortium is a global conglomerate of national leaders that oversee and regulate the world, in a Star Wars Empire type of manner. They even regulate and control water consumption. They treat the citizens of the planet like chattel, and even experiment on them with cloning and nuclear weapon strikes. It's never clearly explained, why you defected, but oddly enough, in the opening movie, you and a few comrades are assaulted by one of the Consortium's drones, and you alone survive. After that, you turn on them and join the rebel force. It's hard not to sound like I'm talking about Star Wars, but I'm not. The story is tied together well, with many different cutscenes with horrible acting, yet effective dialogue. If you remember this era, you remember all of the awkward acting that was done back in the 90's era of espionage games. Soviet Strike was another prime example. When I say horrible, I don't mean off-putting. They do put in some effort, and it is very memorable, just cheesy.
The political and technical jargon used throughout the game is very accurate, believable and engaging. Partners of the Consortium begin to have doubts as to some of the investments that are going wrong, and corrupt individuals weave their way into the Senate. All of this happens behind the scenes, while you experience the fallout of it all. There is a nice hub world, that I totally forgot about, where you restock on ammo, and check your emails. This adds life to the game, as it is the hub of the Resistance. I actually like the email function, because much like Assassin's Creed, it follows the arc of events and fills in gaps in the story. There is also some very funny emails that add life to the game, like the warnings about bringing guns into the base's bar, and an ongoing joke about an old lady buying meat from a butcher. The email runs for just about the whole game, and it was very funny. The game doesn't do a great job at all of explaining the inventory. There are several items that you can use on missions like EMP devices and stuff. None of these devices have descriptions at all, and cost an arm and a leg. Where you get all of that money is beyond me still. You can't replay missions and forage either. This is a straight ride of a game. I ended up sticking to the same basic weapons and running into many ammo issues, almost nailing me in a corner at the end of the game.
The game runs in an isometric view. Right there, I will get into the most mind numbing issue. The screen is not controllable. And it does not scroll until you are at the edges of the screen. There are mechs and tanks that can kill you in one shot, that you won't see until you are literally in front of them, due to the shape of the iso view screen. This resulted in innumerable cheap deaths. Save often. Some of the levels are actually quite huge and long. There is some ability to back track. There are also some secret areas which can really help with the scant supply issue sometimes. One secret area played a trick on me. I fount it through a hidden switch, only to get locked into training course for Consortium troops, that was deathly difficult. I had to complete the course to continue the game. But I did get much needed items at the end. There are a lot of key card, and code switch activations in this game. You must go through the dozens of office rooms, looking through computers for the access codes and to take down shields and blockades. Sometimes this web can be so hidden and convoluted, you can spend half an hour looking for a switch that will open keypad that will get you an access card to get through the door. Often, that was okay for a break in combat, as gun fight situations can be annoying at times. The way your character moves is like the Resident Evil engine. You have tank controls- press the sides to turn, and forward and back to advance or retreat. Fortunately, you can roll and duck behind crates. Be warned- this game has an insane amount of explosives. This can help take out rooms of troops, but can also mess you up, and destroy much needed supply boxes. I can literally say, I had a blast.
The aesthetics of the game are adequate. When in the hub, between missions, you see your captain for instructions before heading out. It's in a movie format, where they sit at a desk and tell you what needs to be done and to consult your data link for further information. Some of the dialogue annoyed me. Near the end of the game, I was told that I was the only one who could carry out an intel job in the factory where they manufactured the clones. Before saying that, they told me that the other agent wasn't up to it and was at the base. Then, they said it would be heavily reinforced, and that they wish they could spare a troop to assist me. This is after just telling me that my counter-part was going to be chilling at the base! You take your orders from Commander Ely in this game, until he is kidnapped by the Consortium. This happens after a scientist you went to retrieve is killed while being transported back. There is a traitor in the base, and it winds up being the person who supposedly found the traitor. There are some interesting plot twists.
It was about as long as I remember, and a bit more difficult, since I was playing on my PSP with much more uncomfortable controls. I never realized the loose ends that were left until now. You never find out what became of Commander Ely. Wizard, the tech head who gave you information during missions, and provided extraction, was killed, and the base is completely destroyed. In fact, you have to carry out the last couple of missions without being able to stock up with the merchant, which was insane to say the least. It doesn't really feel like a true victory. You manage to shut down and destroy the Vigilance Platform, a nuclear weapon launching base, used as a leverage tool by Consortium to take controll of the Senate. But the leader is unharmed, and assures you that he has already done damage control for his Senate hearings, and will regroup to find you. The last boss you kill is the traitor from your base, but they are no more than one of the leader's flunkies. There is a lot of loss, for a little gain. I expected an epilogue, and most definitely a sequel, but we got neither, as far as I know. There was a nominal sequel- Crudader: No Regret released on PC only in 1996, but it doesn't tie up these events, and is only an expansion pack. Rest assured the game is solid and involved enough that after playing through, you will be as invested as I am to see the conclusion to a pretty interesting story.
Worthy of 7.5/10- Thank you for being a friend. Traveled down the road and back again. Your heart is true. You're a pal and a......... okay, I'll stop there
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