Crisis Brigade 2: Reloaded takes its cues from Time Crisis and delivers a Quest 2 arcade outing that’s bathed in nostalgia.
Sure, if you’ve never played Namco’s 1995 shooter or its follow-ups, you might be wondering why Crisis Brigade 2: Reloaded won’t let you roam free. Why are you crouching behind skips and shooting signposts to move instead of running in, all guns blazing? But if you give it a chance, you’ll grasp why this VR cover-shooter is such a blast. And if you grew up playing Time Crisis and its ilk, you’ll be right at home.
The joy of Crisis Brigade 2: Reloaded is in how it lets you concentrate on shooting and ducking down. Taking you across multiple locations including alleyways, office buildings and more, you’ll be pitted against a wealth of human but heavily armed hoodlums. And all of them want your gun-toting police officer dead.
They shoot at you from windows, behind cover, sometimes inching closer when they get the chance. They don’t come from behind, but you certainly don’t want to stay out in the open for too long. Three hits is enough to retire you – or at least make you replay the stage.
You can play Crisis Brigade 2: Reloaded sitting down but to really get into things, standing and preferably roomscale play is the way to go. We resisted the urge to roll across the floor, but we got a real kick out of ducking down, then peeking out to take a few pot-shots.
We opted for auto reloading but if you really want a challenge, you can choose to manually reload each time. Throw in a handful of bosses and a co-op mode and you’ve got a game that will leave you grinning. Your foes aren’t smart, but they don’t need to be: they’re canon fodder for your trigger-happy protagonist. A keen eye and a quick trigger finger will stand you in good stead.
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It helps that Crisis Brigade 2: Reloaded is over-the-top in all the right ways. Huge explosions, out-of-control helicopters and more help lend it the feel of an early 90s late 80s action movie. Is it going to tax your brainpower? Probably not, but you’ll get such a rush out of blasting your foes that you wont care.
Is this a game that’s going to occupy you for twelve solid hours? No, because – like the lightgun shooters it draws inspiration from – you’ll play it for an hour or two at a time. You’ll keep coming back later though, for another adrenaline-delivering arcade jaunt.
And it’s all without visiting an arcade or fumbling around for light-gun accessory to plug into your console. Crisis Brigade 2: Reloaded is a fantastic trip down memory lane and even if you don’t yearn for the arcade shooters of old, you’d be well advised to give it a go.
Crisis Brigade 2: Reloaded is available now on Meta Quest.
