Xbox Live Arcade has been littered with top-down shooters, and Crystal Quest is yet another game of that assortment. Entering the fray as a shiny remake of the original Macintosh hit of 1987, Crystal Quest is sure to be a hit for nostalgia lovers and Mac enthusiasts alike. For the modern-day gamer, or those indebted to popular Live Arcade shooters like Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, Crystal Quest is unlikely to spark much of a flame in their hearts.
Stainless Games have done a respectable job of recreating the original’s flair, though as it is, the gameplay on offer becomes a little too repetitive a little too quickly. The whole game consists of you collecting crystals in each of the sixty waves, with the difficulty increasing with each and every level. Unfortunately the difficulty takes a long while to step up to even mildly challenging when playing on normal or lower, and it’s only till about the thirtieth wave that you’ll need to be a bit more careful. However this isn’t as big a problem as it sounds, with hard difficulty suitably turning up the gameplay so that by the first few levels you are provided with a sure-fire challenge – and a generously higher score. Once you have collected all the crystals in an area a gate opens and you can fly through to the next wave. Of course enemies are there to stop you, and through the game you encounter all types of wacky creations that hold the inspired design of the original. Enemies can be eliminated via your gun or from one of your elusive smart bombs. These smart bombs become vital to your success in the later levels as enemies lay mines and the screen fills with all kinds of nasty beings. One click of a button and the whole screen is cleared, delivering a bout of relief until the next hoard of enemies appear. Smart bombs are found around the playing field, and the developers have negotiated a fine line between giving you too many and giving you too little.
The control scheme for the main game is identical to titles like Geometry Wars and Robotron 2084, and uses a twin-stick mechanic that works as well as you would expect, and shows why this control method is becoming the norm for these frantically paced games. You’re eased into this within seconds and it doesn’t take long for you to be flying through the levels, shooting foes with the best of them.
Arguably the main pull of the game stems from the online leaderboards and Achievements, and without these the game would seem a little pointless, with little incentive to play other than a brief spell of fun until repetitiveness kicks in. The higher scores to be achieved come from playing on the hardest difficulty, so it’s only natural that you would play on it (unless Achievements require otherwise). There are lots of opportunities for you to increase your score other than vanquishing enemies. Score bonuses are strewn around the field, and every so often a bonus crystal will appear that offers a substantial amount of points. Achievements are fairly inventive, and don’t succumb to simple score targets. Having to collect thirty bonus crystals in a game, or needing to avoid twenty mines up till wave twenty requires a different playing style and a new approach to the game, and this adds longevity to an otherwise fairly simple shooter. Downloadable content is available in the form of new sound packs, a harder difficulty and new backgrounds, which enhance your experience of the game - for a price.
Alongside the main game is a ‘classic mode’. The objective still remains that you collect all crystals, but the graphical style is noticeably different. The game retains its retro styling, and its control scheme, with the twin-stick mechanic omitted in place of a scheme that requires you to shoot in the direction your ship is moving in. It doesn’t work as well as the twin-stick variant; it loses a lot of pace and accessibility, but fans of the original will be pleased that the classic mode has remained untouched. The audio is still as memorable as the original, with some of the oddest yet ingenious sound effects to ever grace a video game.
The graphics for the main game are functional, but are essentially unremarkable with an uninspired background and little in the way of special effects. The enemy design is suitably strange, yet this is the only real praise to be had for, since everything else is unexciting. Unfortunately the sound walks a similar path, and pales in comparison to the classic mode’s. It is clear that the developers have tried to recreate the classic’s unique sounds, but in essence fall a little flat, with sounds such as bells and baby noises giving the first signs of charm, but hardly enough. The music is disappointing, too - there’s only one music track. It won’t be long until you turn it off before putting on one of your custom playlists.
Crystal Quest is a pleasant shooter, with no huge flaws, yet the gameplay lets it down. Compared to something as action-packed and addictive as Geometry Wars there isn’t much to keep you playing other than for an impressive high score to boast about. The graphics work but are otherwise dull and the sound is just average. There is a hint of that ‘one-more-go’ factor, but this only lasts a few goes until you decide to play a better shooter. As a game, Crystal Quest provides a fun if a little short-lived gaming experience, with arguably more staying power if you’re a huge fan of the Macintosh original. If you’re finished with games such as Smash TV or Robotron: 2084 and are aching for more, then Crystal Quest could be that next purchase, and for only 400 points, you’ve got little to lose in doing so.
Thunderbolt score: six out of ten
Players: 1
Online: Downloads, leaderboards
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