Disaster: Day of Crisis

If ever there was a game that was like playing an action movie - Disaster: Day of Crisis is it.

From the start things are non-stop. Load the game and you're given a movie trailer style intro. Start a new game and you're hit with an action filled cut scene. In fact cutscenes are one thing Disaster: Day of Crisis isn't short of - there are loads of them... However unlike many videogame cutscenes these ones are interesting (apart from one or two exceptions).

Something else Disaster: Day of Crisis isn't short of is gameplay modes. There are three main gameplay types - with about 20 smaller ones scattered around. The main modes are a slightly old fashioned platform game, where you have to rescue people; a rather challenging, and unforgiving, driving mode; and a time crisis style shooting section. Then there's the other modes which are generally used as different methods of saving people; washing and binding wounds, performing cpr, lifting heavy objects off of people, frantically running away from stuff... the list goes on and on.

Disaster: Day of Crisis really wants to be an early 90's action movie. The cut scenes and dialogue (including cheesy 1 liners) all remind me of the time when Stallone, Willis, and Schwarzenegger were the number 1 movie stars.

At the same time though it revels in the fact that it's a game. There are crates and barrels spread liberally around the world and within them you will often find crazy oversized burgers and water melons - used to boost the heroes health and stamina.

The story in Disaster: Day of Crisis is an insane combination of every disaster movie from the last 20 years. Straight away you're dropped into a rescue at a volcanic eruption, and later have to survive tsunamis (2 of them), earthquakes, and even an attack by a bear!

Visually speaking Disaster: Day of Crisis has is clearly not an XBox 360, or PS3 game - but at the same time it's no slouch. There are a lot of particle, fire, and water effects being thrown around and they all give exactly the right atmospheric feeling. On top of that there's clearly been a lot of care and attention lavished on the cut scenes, in my opinion they are some of the best I've seen in this sort of game - and some are even interactive.

As long as you can get past the first couple of slightly dodgy tutorial levels, and as long as you can take everything as a light hearted adventure then you will find that there's a lot to enjoy. I certainly enjoyed playing through it, and now I have to play it again to try and unlock some of the many many collectable items.