Customer Reviews

Crimson Sea 2

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When Koei switched systems for the sequel to its Xbox-exclusive action-RPG Crimson Sea, many people were surprised. The company probably felt that the PS2's larger user base would give Crimson Sea 2 more exposure, but gamers were concerned that the game might change too much during the system switch.

Worries are unwarranted. Crimson Sea 2 is superior in all aspects to its predecessor. Unfortunately, despite these improvements, Koei's futuristic hack-and-slasher seems to have gotten LESS attention on Sony's machine than on Microsoft's.

Gamers who missed out on the Xbox original need not worry. There are no major plotlines that carry over to the sequel. However, if you are interested in learning about main character Sho's heroics during the Ekdahl Wars, you can find out all about it via in-game conversations. The original cinemas are included for your viewing pleasure.

Either way, the story of Crimson Sea is anime-level bizarre. Sho is a Vipa, a superhuman soldier who uses Neo-Psionics to destroy an invading alien Menace that's turning peaceful people into monsters by inserting plugs into them. Your job is to kill em all. There are twists and mysteries along the way that will keep your attention, but the story is secondary.

Much like the original, Crimson Sea 2 is all about combat. You'll progress through sixty-odd missions, most of which are populated with swarms of icky creatures just begging to be destroyed. Luckily, Sho is more than equipped for the task. He has upgradeable guns and melee weapons, and puts them to fantastic use. New for the sequel are gravity blade, overdrive attacks, and Time Extends. Gravity blade attacks add effects like stunning the enemy, throwing them backwards, or tossing them into midair, and can be applied to any of the four melee attacks. Overdrives are gun attacks that are combined with the gravity blade for even further carnage. Rack up a 30-hit combo and Sho enters Time Extend, in which enemy movements move to a crawl but Sho speeds up, gaining the ability to teleport faster than the eye can follow and land major damage on his foes. All of these moves are easy to execute, and beginners will be creating huge-combo dances of destruction with only a little practice. The additions to CS2's combat make the constant fighting much more enjoyable and less repetitive than before.

All this destruction is rendered with amazing visuals. Koei was somehow able to retain the one-against-a-million odds of the Xbox original on the PS2, while increasing the detail and combat effects. Add to that the best FMV this side of Square, and you've got quite a graphical feast.

Koei listened to criticisms of the original Crimson Sea and took extra care in improving the sequel. The equipment upgrade system is much more efficient. There is a second playable character, Feaney. There are multiplayer modes, which are fun to experiment with but not very deep. You can replay any mission at any time to try and get all "S" rankings, but you only gain a fraction of the experience.

Fans of the original should not hesitate to pick up Crimson Sea 2. It is an improvement in all aspects - longer, deeper, better-looking, and more enjoyable - while keeping the all the quirkiness from before. IAG Headquarters is the same, and much of the soundtrack will be familiar. Those new to the series should not feel daunted about not playing the first game - it's easy to get into but deep enough to replay.

Crimson Sea 2 doesn't reinvent the wheel, but provides a vastly fun, lengthy, and visceral experience that manages to stay fresh despite the one-track gameplay. In addition to its swarms of creatures, RPG elements, weirdo story, and beautiful graphics, Koei has crafted a game that feels different and unique, and will stay with you long after the credits roll.

I am surprised that this game hasnt gotten much coverage. It really is fun and challenging at the same time. Crimson Sea 2 comes to us from the makers of the Dynasty Warriors series and the new one, Samurai Warriors. Koei is known for having hundreds of enemies on screen at one time...giving the player an overwhelming sense of frenzied battle.
This game is set in the future with an alien race known only as the Menace threatening to overtake all mankind. All efforts to halt their advance have failed, and so one man, Sho is called in to save the day.
Sho progresses through the game being given various missions that he must accomplish. These missions range from simple seek and destroy, escort and even some retrieval missions thrown in.
Along the way, he can upgrade the power, range, and fire rate of his two guns...upgrade the gravity blade (sword) attacks and even upgrade his NeoPsionics (magic) abilities to become a one man army in all sense of the word.
The missions are short and not super-challenging at first. The player is given ample time to learn the controls with the addition of the training mode. Sho can target, strafe, slash, jump and teleport to amazing effectivness and ease of control. The button layout makes sense and feels effortless in its execution.
The only thing that is missing is the ability to guard against enemy attacks. While a seemingly petty thing to gripe about, in missions where you are graded on the amount of damage you have taken, it would make sense to have this feature included.
Other than that, this game is really fun. It is fast paced, woven into a awesome storyline and features many unlockables. All in all, its a good way to spend some time saving the universe from your living room.

This is going to be a sleeper hit for the action-RPG people. The flow and feel of the game is a lot like a really great single player version of Phantasy Star Online, except the fighting is more like Ninja Gaiden/Devil May Cry. You also have a magic meter that builds up as you fight and take damage. Unlike most action RPGs, you will often find yourself fighting up to 30+ enemies on the screen at once; the sound and feel of slashing through such a large horde is definitely gratifying. There are experience points and weapon upgrade points as well as special moves that you can do in battle. Controls and camera are spot on!

I never played Crimson Sea on the Xbox, but I heard it was really bad. Supposedly, this version cleaned up a lot of issues that people had with the Xbox version. You can also view all the cutscenes from the first game in this sequel. There are multiplayer modes in the game (co-op, competitive), but they do not intersect with the single player mode at all.

If you are looking for a level treadmill game that requires some dexterity to play, then this should definitely be on your list.

I'm a very picky gamer; I finish very few games. I often dislike games that the mainstream press gives great reviews. However, this game instantly had me glued to the screen and hasn't let go yet. I'm about 16 hours into it and I'm ready for what looks to be another 14 hours of sheer greatness.

The Graphics- are fantastic. Scores of aliens will be onscreen at a time, yet there is no slowdown, and all of your attacks look fantastic. I haven't gotten tired of all the different attacks yet- they just look so awesome.

The Gameplay- there are plenty of games that try to do what this game succeeds at, but most of them suck. You face off against hoards of aliens while slowly upgrading a very broad array of skills. The game is accessible both to advanced and beginning gamers- old levels can be replayed to get more experience to beat the new ones. The game has 60+ missions, and to get a perfect 100 percent, you will probably have to play them multiple times to get all-S ranks. I'm not usually the type of guy to go for 100 percent completion, but for this game I'm making an exception.

The Story- The really cool thing is that this game comes with all of the cinematics from the first game- some 30-40 minutes. I have yet to find out how the good the story is for this actual game (halfway through), but it is safe to say that the story is, at the very least, solid and stands up as more than just an excuse to kill literally thousands of aliens. The cinematics definitely look nice, too.

The Soundtrack- This is another one of those games where I could see listening to the soundtrack elsewhere. I really hope I can find an import or something.

This is the rare action game that doesn't feel old even after 16 hours of play. Pick it up and prepare to be sucked in.

I played the first one. Imagine Devil May Cry (cause you can buy multiple guns and swords and use them at any time) in third person view (meaning you can actually control the camera) with more story and cutscenes, more monsters, bigger environments, even less puzzles, more missions that you can choose the order of, NPCs, two playable characters (remember Im comparing this to the first DMC cause DMC2 just didnt have it), a two player mode, set in a futuristic world where you kill slime and bug creatures instead of puppets and ghost (not bashing the puppets and ghosts, infact I thought the puppets were an awesome idea, Im just saying youre fighting different things) and you get an idea of what Crimson is all about!

Sounds good?

If I wasnt hard up for cash right now Id buy it the day it came out!

Crimson Sea 2 packs a lot of insects... but you also are packing the fire power to deal with said insects. Featuring tons of different levels to play on, different difficulty levels, and a couple different modes of play, CS2 gives the player a lot of action to mess with. And if that is not enough, it also has all of the cinimatic scenes from the original CS packed into it if you never played the first one (which is a strong chance since the first CS was on the X-Box.)

The music in CS is a little on the weak side, which is strange since Koei is usualy pretty good about giving their games decent soundtracks (look no further than the Dynasty Warrior games). The graphics on the other hand are quite good, although a little grainey and reptetetive in places. That being said, they do capture the sci-fi massive slaughter feel the game has, and much to many's delight, the game does NOT slow down if the screen is covered in tons of enemies... which happens QUITE often.

The two different characters in the game are different in several respects, but for the most part you could play as either one and never use the other if you wished. You will probably have to master both of them in order to get a 100% completion rate for the game though, which is a hefty challange in itself.

Crimson Sea 2 is a highly recomended game for those seeking some heavy fire-powered monster/insect slaughtering fests. It is faster than Chaos Legion in many places, has a more highly structured combo system as well and has a more futuristic approach than Dynasty Warriors (and more power per character than any of the Dynasty Warriors).

It's a shame when a game developer is onto a great premise but they kill it off before it can spawn additional sequels. Crimson Sea saw all of 2 iterations. That's what you get for being "original" Crimson sea. Naughty, naughty!

Cheeky banter aside, Crimson sea 2 deserved to do much better than it did. The story isn't half bad and the gameplay (a mixture of guns blazing, hack n slashing, and supernatural powers fueled by harmonic sound) reminded me of a delightful blending of Metroid, Parasite eve, Phantasy Star, Dune, and Dynasty warriors layered together onto one delicious sandwich.

Apart of an intergalactic protectorate of elite Mercenaries, Sho is a young man with superhuman powers . He's charged with fighting "The Menace", a group of hostile aliens who can turn humans and animals into monsters by implanting them with parasitic embryos called plugs. Along the way he meets Feanay, a beautiful young girl with blue hair and skimpy attire who was specifically trained to fight the hordes of encroaching creatures as well.

In some ways Crimson Sea is akin to a more polished Earth Defense Force. You will constantly be swarmed by enemies of various shapes and sizes. Luckily, Sho and Feanay are not carbon copies of each other. Sho is slower but more powerful. Feanay is faster yet more susceptible to damage. Sho uses a laser spear whereas Feanay dual wields futuristic swords. Each of them have a more powerful rifle/shotgun hybrid for close range and a quick firing blaster that can hit foes from a greater distance away. However, Feanay can charge up one of her guns to fire out multiple homing projectiles. Each character "levels up" and can equip "origin gems" into their weapons to boost firing speed, combos, and damage. As Sho and Feanay "evolve" through the course of the game their differences become more apparent.

Missions break down into the categories of meeting objectives while being timed, rescuing colonists, escorting important delegates or scientists to safety, collecting data on specific enemy types, and repairing damaged equipment. Honestly, none of these are that original but you play Crimson Sea 2 for the fast and fluid combat anyway.

Crimson Sea 2 has a slight sprinkling of horror themes but the flamboyant fashions of the main characters, cheesy one liners, and sheer slutty sexiness of your commander in chief/ Dominatrix Live D prevents it from coming off as "serious" as Mass Effect or Dead Space. For better or worse Crimson Sea 2 has more in common with Buck Rogers, Last Star Fighter, and Masters Of The Universe than it does with Aliens, Event Horizon, and the modern remake of Battle-Star Galactica. You know what? I'm fine with that! Variety is the spice of life, aye?

Surprisingly the voice acting is decent and most of the techno soundtracks will totally get you psyched for combat. This is space opera epiceness at its' very best as far as the audio is concerned .

Koei even added the unexpected treat of being able to see all the cgi cut-scenes from the previous game! Definitely a nice touch for people with no knowledge of the events prior to CS2.

With 60 missions any appreciative gamer is sure to "plug" away at CS2 for quite awhile. Assuming you can handle a bit of repetition this game holds up well and gives you a lot of content for its' modest price!

For you if

1. You like the hack n slash genre with gun slinging and special super powers on the side!

2. You appreciate sci fi even at its' cheesiest.

3. You want a good story to go along with the wholesale slaughter of thousands of extraterrestrial monsters.

4. You like having both a male and a female protagonist to choose from

5. You're looking for a little co-op action with a friend, lover, or spouse to go along with an epic single player campaign.

6. You're a big fan of Metroid, Phantasy Star, Earth Defense Force, and Parasite Eve

7. You enjoy looking at hawt scantily clad women!

Not for you if

1. You prefer your sci fi with tormented bulky space marines and a lot of realistic gore.

2. You're looking for a few good spine tingling scares! (This ain't no Dead Space)

3. You find hack n slash games to be tedious

4. You want something you can blow through quickly. (Hey, parenthood and working 9 to 5 are full time responsibilities after all!)

5. You don't understand the appeal of anime or Japanese pop culture one bit.

6. You think I'm a dork for continuing to buy PS2 games. (Admittedly I am a tad "retro" at this point. Has the world moved on without me?!)

7. You like choosing where the story goes instead of it dictating events for you.

Bias opinion

If you've paid attention to my reviews you know I'm a Koei apologist and a huge fan of hack n slash games. Additionally I like the occasional wacky sci fi or funny horror movie that isn't afraid to break away from hyper realism and dour gruffness. This is why I enjoy stuff like Back To The Future,Monster squad,Krull,Last Star Fighter,and Critters.

Enjoying Crimson Sea 2 has much to do with how healthy your inner child is. Can you put yourself into the mindset of a geeky adolescent teenager with a love for comic books, manga, Star Wars, and Mystery Science Theater? If so this game is a home run!

Be that as it may, if you prefer what the media and masses deem as "sophisticated" and "mature" story telling and the best state of the art graphics that are only possible on the 360 and PS3 you're not missing out on much. Crimson Sea 2 is marginally better than Earth Defense Force but it's not on the same bar with Gears Of War 2.

Regardless, as a PS2 game Crimson Sea 2 is a total gem. It has something nostalgically unique about it I cannot put my finger on which no game has managed to emulate in the present.

Pretty cool game with solid frame-rate even when there's a lot of enemies around. Got some RPG elements to it, but the missions can be repetitive for some players. Voice acting is a bit awkward, but the shoot-fest makes up for it. When playing on a backward-compatible PS3, you may experience a freezing issue when trying to load up a game, but this happens once in a while. Just restart the game and it will be back to normal. Other than that, it's a pretty fun game!

The Menace resurge and threaten to overwhelm the galaxy when Sho comes back to blast them into oblivion with a little help. Not too much here, but the story does a fair job of holding together the game and the focus is gameplay instead of sitting back and watching narrative. You do get to snapshots of the previous game, and you get hints of things going on elsewhere in the galaxy, but the characters don't develop much and Feanay's crush seemed rather pointless to me.
Story: 5.5/10

While nothing mind-blowing, the maps could have easily stood to be grander, the textures and characters sharper, the visuals do a fair job of keeping up the game. A little drab, but sensible. If you're obsessed with photo-realism, then the PS2 is not your system anyway. If you're willing to take a game with less-than-stellar graphics then it can still be fun.
Graphics: 6/10

The sound I found fairly solid. Nothing jumped out as great, and some of the enemy and area sounds may have been a little repetitive, but neither was there anything bad. Being able to adjust volume leveling was nice, but there simply wasn't anything to shine.
Sound: 6.2/10

The opening song, while unusual, I found to be pretty good. Unfortunately, I thought the rest was pretty forgettable. Nothing bad, but nothing great.
Music: 6.7/10

Who says you can't make a good hack-and-slash in a sci-fi setting? This was definitely the game's highlight, and while it's nothing extremely deep, it's pretty good, simple fun. You've got several options and moves to attack or dodge enemies, and the ability to upgrade pretty much everything (and find nifty bonuses for doing well in missions) adds a surprising amount of replay for even the lighter completionists out there.
Gameplay: 8.4/10

While you can't exactly go back to the beginning of the story, every single mission can be repeated and if you missed mid/end-mission cinematics you can pick them back up on the repeat. You can level and shuffle inventory from item rewards on later missions to tackle earlier missions, so getting everything maxed is a lot less frustrating.
Replayability: 7/10

Some people won't like the game's simplicity, but some people will be able to appreciate it's good - almost arcadey - play. It's not likely to surprise you, but give it a chance and you'll find a surprisingly solid single-play experience. It has multiplayer and taunts you with co-op, but those are restricted to small segments of single-player maps in short matches.
Overall: 6.9/10

An older game for the PS2, but still a very awesome game. Found new and cheap, arrived on time and in excellent condition.