Crypt Killer, Yes it's mostly 2D but it's fun.

Crypt Killer (Not to be confused with Corpse Killer that's a different game) was a Konami arcade game that got released on the Playstation and Saturn in 1997.

Let me be straight with you. This game has 2D enemies. It looks horrible compared to Saturn Shooters like House of the Dead.

But for some reason I had fun time playing it.

Perhaps it's the nostalgia of playing the arcade version during those awkward years when I hadn't gotten my drivers license yet. The arcade version had huge plastic shotguns which were pretty cool looking.

Perhaps the real reason I like this game is that I have recently come into possession of a Sega Stunner Saturn lightgun. I was quite lucky to get it since Saturn hardware seems to be increasing in price online. The lightgun is great. Two buttons. Simple design.

Maybe that's what makes the game so appealing to me. It's just simple, mindless blasting of 2D targets. No need to worry about shooting an innocent like in House of the Dead. There are none in this game. Just shoot shoot shoot and shoot some more. It doesn't make the game all that exciting for marathon gaming but it's fun none the less.

Lets run down the major points:

PROS

-Your main weapon is a shotgun and you can choose in the settings how close you have to come to shooting something for it to count as a hit. Which is nice.

-Cool little items pickups like gatling guns and super shotguns.

-Nice little effects that break up the action. For example at one time your character falls down and rolls. The first person camera does a complete roll which is pretty cool.

-Choose your own path by shooting either of two doors. Sort of makes the on rails aspect of the game more bearable.

-Cheesy Monster sound effects actually work well in this game. In fact a lot of things in the game are quite amusing.

CONS

-The game looks horrible. At least there is a variety of 2D enemies though.

-The main character sometimes yells out stuff that during the 1990s *might* have been cool but now are really lame.

-Somewhat shoddy hit detection on some of the enemies when they first appear. For example you have to wait until a zombie fully rises out of the ground before you are able to shoot him.

-The story is stupid and there seems to be no reason for the giant floating head that tells you nonsense things throughout the game.

If you can look past the 2D enemies like I did this game is actually fun.

The PS version of the game got some horrible reviews. However, there are almost no reviews for the Saturn version. I don't know if the Saturn version is really that much better or not. I know that a lot of people complained that lightguns were pretty inaccurate for the PS version which does not seem to be the case for the Saturn version at all. In any case...

I would spend $5 bucks for a CD of this game. I would spend $8 for a complete set.