Crusty Demons
Score: 60% ESRB: Mature Publisher: Southpeak Interactive Developer: Evolved Games Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Sports (Extreme)
Graphics & Sound: Crusty Demons tries to be a BMX budget version of a Tony Hawk game, and for the most part it succeeds. Graphically, Crusty Demons isn't great, but it isn't bad either. Locations appear large, only to find out that they are fairly restricted when you try to ride down the street and a wall of fire blocks you. Characters and vehicles seem to be really good. Granted I'm not an expert on the Crusty Demons gang, so I can't say how close the artists got to the actual people, but for the most part, the bikes looked fairly solid even though there weren't any name brands. Sound is okay. The motorbike engines are high-pitched and whiny just like most dirt bikes and the voice acting seems about par for the game. Unfortunately, there isn't any indication in the instruction manual as to whether or not the voices of the Crusty Demons were actually done by the gang members.
Gameplay: Crusty Demons has an initial setup that gives the game a lot of promise, but in the end the story gets lost in the endless missions. That story has the crew of the Crusty Demons getting killed in an insane stunt, and when they are sent to Hell, Satan makes a deal with them -- their eternal souls for immortality. When the deal is struck and the Demons return to Earth, they quickly find that they can still feel pain and get hurt. So now the Demons go from city to city performing their mad tricks for ... um... some reason, I could've sworn it was explained, maybe not ... So it seems like they just go from location to location accepting missions from various people on the streets because they can. Anyway, missions aren't just done on dirt-bikes. Various jobs require you to jump on mini-vehicles like an Ice Cream Van, beach buggy or lawn mower. During your travels you will gain nitro by performing various tricks and you will gain points by the amount of injury you incur when you crash (and you will crash ... in fact you will spend more time crashing then riding at times). At first, the crashing mechanics seem cool, but because of the game's hard-to-handle controls, you will go flying off your bike at the slowest speeds when you hit a small bump.
Difficulty: Crusty Demons is a mixed bag when it comes to difficulty. All missions seem easy, but it isn't until you actually get into the task that its true difficulty comes through. Most jobs are simple, complete a check-point race, but then there are the missions that require you to do some complex trick like throwing your rider through a couple of windows in order to scare some people or hunting down various objectives. So, in short, there are really easy missions, and really frustrating ones -- but nothing in between.
Game Mechanics: Crusty Demons's controls are simple in concept, but for some reason lose something when you try to use them. A and B accelerate and brake, while the right trigger is your nitro and the white button is your super nitro (uses up your whole tank at one time for some extreme speed and air) and combinations of the Y and X buttons while on the ground start various tricks. The ground tricks include things like standing on your bike or holding yourself over the handlebars. While performing a trick, you must keep your balance by using the left analog stick. If you are in the air and you use the stick, then you will perform various rolls and tumbles. The problem with the controls is that they just aren't responsive enough. Some of the most frequent tasks, like the simpler tricks, are tough to land and without extensive time in the game's training level are hard to figure out. Like I said above, Crusty Demons definitely takes more than a few cues from the Tony Hawk series, so if you are a fan of the x-videogames, then this one might be a good purchase. If you don't necessarily fit into that group -- then rent it before you decide.
-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications AKA Chris Meyer
Ant Bully Warpath