Crisis Beat - PlayStation

Crisis Beat is a scrolling 3D Beat-em-up in the ilk of the excellent Dynamite Cop. You can play as one of three characters (Eiji, Julia, Keneth, and Feisu) on board the sea-jacked ocean liner Princess of the Fearless. As you would expect, you can team up with a friend for two player team action as you take on the evil terrorist gang.

There are seven fighting techniques to master as you progress through the game. Combination attacks, dashing or running attacks, jumping attacks, throwing attacks, ARB attacks (stands for all range burst which takes out all opponents near by), Item use – usually knives, using objects like tables or benches, and lock on counter which involves performing a combo on your enemy and finishing them off with a powerful blow, sending them flying into a table or bench.

As you progress through the game the enemies become more varied and grow noticeably in size. Sometimes it looks a tad ridiculous when you are playing as Julia and three jabs floor a trained killer who must weigh three times your weight. All part of the fun!

Crisis Beat is a button basher’s delight with the emphasis on endurance rather than skill. The real skill elements of the game come into play later when you are faced with more than three opponents at once. Then the focus of play switches to timing as you try to fend off attacks from all sides. This is when the multiplayer mode comes into its own demanding close co-operation from players.
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