Otaku World

Criticom

Vic Tokai

Platform ReviewedSony Playstation
Genre3D Fighting Game
Number of Players1-2
Multiplayer ValueMinimum
LengthShort
DifficultyVariable
Skills RequiredHand-Eye Coordination
Interface DevicesPlaystation Joypad
Interface DesignGood
ProgrammingAdequate
Game Design and PlayabilityStandard for the Genre, yet curiously tired.
Type Of FunBeat-Em -Up
Replay ValueHigh
Overall ValueModerate
QualityModerate
The BestInteresting characters, several women fighters, Elaborate cinemas, Science Fiction motif, upgradable fighters.
The WorstPolygon flicker in close up shots, tired rework of Battle Arena Toshinden.
How much would I be willing to pay for this 25 Bucks

Description:

Criticom is yet another 3D polygon one-on-one fighting game set on a platform you dare not fall off of.

Story:

A gaggle of bruisers have gotten it into their heads that it might be nice to beat up on each other for awhile. Oh yeah, there is some garbage about a magic crystal as a prize or something. You know the drill.

Review:

If you can buy Criticom for 25 bucks or under it might be worth your time; there are a few nice touches like upgradable characters, interesting cinemas, and a plethora of female fighters. But flickering polygons are inexcusable in my book, and basically this is a tired rip-off of Battle Arena Toshinden.

What the world really needs is more vacuous, identical polygon fighting games. If you don't agree, pass on this mediocre peasant among the fighting elite. At least until budget price time.

Very adequate.

Reviewed by Jennifer Diane Reitz, Dec. 30 1995

Jennifer Diane Reitz is a Game Designer and Computer Artist, and one of the founders of Happy Puppy. She is the creator of numerous games and software products, including Boppin' , Shark Chums, Elsewhere, and many others. She has worked for such companies as Activision, Sculptured Software, Epyx, SRI, and Electronic Arts, and founded Accursed Toys. She has been active in the computer gaming industry since it's earliest days. She considers games to be works of artistic merit and achievement, and views computer entertainment as the most important media of our era.