Customer Reviews

Crimson Tears

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

 

 

First, before buying this game just think to yourself, "Did I like Phantasy Star Online or did I hate it?" If you liked PSO, buy this game now, if not, then avoid this game.

For anyone that cannot make a judgement on just that or never played PSo, here's a rundown...

The game consist of being able to pick from 3 characters...

Amber- A wicked fast fighter that is decently strong in hand-to-hand combat. But what her strength & defense lacks in, she makes up for in speed (and that fact that she can wield 2 swords at once, uber fun).

Kadie- Slower than Amber and not able to use any double weapons, but is also stronger in melee combat than the others. Her weapons are mostly close range with little reach, but her strength makes up for it.

Tokio- Not the best in close range, but he can use two guns at once, making him the best for ranged attacks. He's also the biggest character and lacks in speed from this.

In the game, you go around maze like levels fighting enemies until you reach the boss and beat that level. There are also side quest that help to lengthen the game.

It is a cel shaded game and the shading is done better than I have ever seen and that includes Viewtiful Joe's shading.

But if the game interest you from this review give it a try. The game is not easy, but it will challenge you, which is what you should want in a game.

I bought this game as a bargain-bin type find at the local Fry's. And now that I've taken it home, geez, it makes me wonder why we even need PS3 when so much good PS2 content can be had for a few bucks.

This game is fantastic. I generally don't like Action RPGs as much as turn-based RPGs. However, the great BGM combined with quick, satisfying game play won me over. It also features random regenerating levels. There is so much replay value here, I played the first stage like 10 times before even going to stage 2.

Very fun game, thrashing bad guys in a familiar neo-Tokyo setting. Who needs a plot?

This game has beautiful cel shaded anime cut scenes, decent voice acting and cool character designs.
If you enjoy dungeon crawlers, leveling up, and anime; then you will love this game.

After I finished playing P.N.03, I started looking for something similar. There didn't seem to be anything. But Crimson Tears seems to be the closest thing there is. They are both Capcom side projects, have randomly generated levels, and require massive levelling.

In Crimson Tears, you don't turn like a tank, so don't fear that. Weapons level just like you do, but weapons get damaged and can break. Also, I swear my +50 Freeze Blades make my gal overheat.

Oh, that's another thing. These guys are bots, so they can overheat, so you have to watch that as well as your hp. Half of your carried inventory will be cures for all the junk that gets thrown at you. And once you get to the fourth level, beware the dreaded Blue Item Stealing Dog. Just keep a gun handy, really.

I like the game. I do. But I'm thinking of quitting at this point, around 20 hrs into it, because I'm sick of constantly going through the levels that will give me the items I'll need for the future fights.

I highly recommend reading the single gamefaq on this before playing. It's cheap here, so if you like a good hack n' slash, I would recommend this. I find randomly generated levels to be kind of zen.

Also, if you are able, pick up P.N.O3. Another game that gets panned as taking only a few hours. Which, really, there is no way.

Also in CT, the character modeling is amazing. Too bad they only get near the camera when running into the wall in the saving room.

Crimson tears over-view

Crimson tears is a strange little game. It waxes metaphorically about us finding our place in the world. Each of the three protagonists were given life in a hot lab and after they discover their creator had regrets about piecing them together in the first place they have to find a reason for existing beyond being loved by their daddy in a white lab coat.

The big problem is the experimental facility these three androids called "home" freed a bunch of bio-monsters after it went nova and it began warping reality into random dangerous labyrinths.

Your task it two fold. The first is to raid various dungeons for loot, weapons, beneficial items, and experience points. The second is to build up the ramshackle ghetto around you by putting in donations to improve the surroundings. When not fighting you'll talk to towns folk, upgrade merchant booths with charitable contributions, and accept quests which require you back track through earlier levels.

Assuming you enjoy brightly colored anime with a slightly oppressive urban cyber punk atmosphere you'll like Crimson Tears a lot. However, I do have to warn you about some potential snags in the jolly good time.

First and foremost though this game plays like a beat em up you will not get anywhere without leveling up. Aka there's a role-playing engine underneath the sleek and sexy exterior so don't be lead astray by first impressions! Crimson Tears is likewise a grind intensive journey so expect to revisit previous zones. Once you look around you'll realize Kadie, Tokio, and Amber all have a HUGE plethora of skills to upgrade. Though they have specialties to start with you can improve their fire arms, hand to hand combat, giant sword proficiency, and kitana dual wielding "blender of death" attributes at your leisure. Combos start simple but as you improve certain areas they become much more complex and rewarding.

Another hit or miss is the dungeons. They will constantly change in lay out but the tile sets and environs stay flat and unimpressive. At the very least each zone makes you stay sharp in order to avoid hazards such as falling clunks of ceiling, poison leaks, and an assortment of other obstacles. This game will mercilessly punish you for not familiarizing yourself with the surroundings. Strategy and precision are prerequisites for survival. Another words CT isn't a completely brainless button masher.

Bosses will vary in pattern and attacking them directly is not always the best option. With the second behemoth I actually had to destroy its' healing assistant serve-bots to take it out. For awhile I didn't realize this so the fight was prolonged a great deal. As you might expect the "villains" go from a minor inconvenience to unfair mega-cheap skates that will ignite even the most patient paragon's deeply suppressed primal rage. Before breaking a controller it's best to remember "experience farming" is a cheaper alternative!

Despite a serviceable story, voice acting that's simply okay, catchy tunes, and the occasional cut scenes the big appeal of Crimson tears is it's rogue-alike premise and pretty cel shaded style. Aka dungeons will be somewhat unique every time you play and lotsa loot coupled with a weapon fusion system, character improvement grid, and neat costumes that can be gotten on your second playthrough will keep you addicted for hours if you're into this sort of scantily clad cyber fantasy romp.

Lovers

The core audience for Crimson Tears are fans of science fiction, role playing games, rogue a-likes, beat em ups, and anime. If you've enjoyed offerings such as Ghost in the shell, Mega man Legends, Boroque, God Eater, and Phantasy Star Online consider this a great purchase and an absolute steal for the 19.99 price point on amazon!

Haters

For gamers not big on level grinding and who are unimpressed with unrealistic cel shaded visuals they may feel alienated with Crimson Tears. This is also not for those caught up in their passionate affair with uncanny valley (ultra realism) and bloated main stream releases hosting triple A budgets. (Though surprisingly enough it does come to us from Capcom,heh.)

Pros

+Gameplay is simple and fun

+"Items" don't have weird names so you know what everything is used for right away.

+Weapons can be combined to make more powerful variants

+Each protagonist has many ways to be improved upon as you level up and collect upgrade parts.

+Enemies range in diversity and include riot gear adorned thugs, scary mutant dogs, zombies, robots, and rushing mecha.

+The town around you can be improved with donations. Merchants will get more stuff the more you contribute to them.

+Fallen allies can be "rescued" by beating the timer. If you succeed you save them and their collected stash but if you fail you lose the goods!

+Story is reminiscent of all time greats such as Ghost in the shell and Armitage the 3rd.

+Cel shaded anime style

+Rewards given for replaying

+Music reminded me a bit of Mega Man and Metal Gear

Cons

-Beat em up game play can become repetitive

-Later boss fights are cumbersome

-Game has no mercy for those of us whom don't like farming and grinding.

-Dungeon tile sets are bland and unremarkable

-Would have been a great "co-op split screen party game" yet limits its' fun to the solo player.

-If you are a moral-rightist offended by scantily clad young females and fan service just forget it!

-Movements can be stiff at times and "guns" have no realistic kick or recoil.

Personal bias rating

For me this is the Japanese equivalent of Borderlands. I enjoy character customization, quirky sci-fi plots, sexy androids, and pillaging subterranean hovels of all their valuables so Crimson Tears gets 4 bodkins out of 5!

I like action games. So when I play an action game and don't have a fun time, I know something is seriously wrong.

First of all, let's talk about the reason the game is getting at least SOME good points. The graphics in the cutscenes are amazing. I love watching them. People who love anime will definitely love the cutscenes.

The game is pretty boring because walking through castles and dungeons all the time gets pretty old. It's not like Zelda or something, where that kind of setting is REALLY fun. This is just ordinary, predictable action. If I remember correctly, the computer puts you in the dungeon of their choice.

There's plenty of enemies to fight throughout the game but really, most of them feel exactly the same and that's why the game loses points for me. You have to make an action game fun until the very end and this game doesn't do it, unfortunately.

One of the first thing you'll notice when you first play this game is the female characters. Then again that's the only reason to buy this game at all. The story is pretty basic so I won't bore you with the details. All I'll say is it involves two hot woman running around in tight fitting underwear to fight robots with a fully clothed male character. Why have a male character? Maybe so when you bring over your girlfriend she'll have something to watch too. The graphics are actually pretty decent. They sort of make you feel like you're watching an anime film. Unfortunately you won't want to watch the cut scenes because then you'd have to sit through the horrible voice overs. Not to mention the painful writing. Of course there is gameplay too. At first you'll manage to have some fun. Then you'll realize that the fight system is rather poor to say the least. Your enemies are complete idiots and are rather easy to dispatch. The developers seemed to try and make up for this by having the enviorment attack you. This is just plain cheap. And then there's the camera. Is it too much to ask to see your character fight? Throw in some painfully long load times and you have a peice of crap. It's hard to recoomend this game to anyone except an extremely lonely guy with a PS2.

well, i know it hasn't come out yet but herez wut ive found out bout this game

Set in Tokyo in the year 2049, Crimson Tears puts you in the role of one of three biological war weapons with a common mission--to investigate the cause of a mysterious disaster that has left the city incapacitated. Your various objectives take you into battle against hordes of enemies and into mazelike environments. Use your martial arts training and weapons to fight your way to the core of A.R.M.A. (the weapons manufacturer that created you), where the answers to the mysteries lie.

so, i kinda want it to come out
check out wut it is
it looks pretty cool