Developer: Core Design Publisher: Core Design Released: 1995 Genre: Action
There is something to be said about managing expectations. Whenever we look forward to a new video game the mind races at the possibilities. I read an absolutely glowing review of Skeleton Krew in Gamefan and expected to be blown away. After all this was from Core Design, longtime supporters of Sega who had released many cool titles that consistently pushed technical boundaries. How could it not be great? Somewhere along the way what I expected and what I received were two different things. Skeleton Krew isn’t necessarily a bad game but it could have used some gameplay adjustments to make it better.
I’ll say this: Skeleton Krew proudly wears its heavy metal theme. The edgy story sees a mortician named Moribund Kadaver take over a cryogenics plant and use its resources to create an infinite supply of mutants to take over Monstro City. The Military Ascertainment Department hires the mercenary Skeleton Krew to hunt down Kadaver and end his plans for world domination. Outside of its intro the story plays little role in the game. But that’s okay, it is not what you came for.
The Skeleton Krew are a deranged bunch and all neatly fit into established character tropes. Team leader Spine is a jack of all trades. Good at everything but exceptional at none. Lone female Rib is, you won’t believe it, the fast but weak one. Walking tank Joint is a monster, physically the strongest but slow and a large moving target. Outside of these superficial differences all three characters play identically. Each has a primary weapon and can switch to grenades at any time. The grenades are practically useless however. The delay before they explode makes them worthless in most situations. Unfortunately there are no weapons of any kind in Skeleton Krew which is pretty damning as they are desperately needed. But more on that in a bit.
The controls for the most part work but they do come with some quirks. Strafing is possible but moving and shooting is not possible. Both the A and C buttons rotate your character but it is unwieldy. With the game’s pace the slow turn just does not cut it. There are a number of button setups in the options menu to at least accommodate players with some even using the six button controller. But even with I found the various button arrangements downright stupid. If you could freely map the buttons the controls would be infinitely better.
In time the controls do become intuitive if limited. But the primary problem with Skeleton Krew is its level design. The environments are gorgeous but there is next to no interactivity within them. Each level has a goal, which is mostly to reach the exit. The few that have other objectives do not mention it, leaving you to intuit them on your own. Granted, it is pretty obvious that the giant, bright blue generators in the lava level need to be destroyed. But it can feel aimless as you wander about. While the stages look nice they are overly long and repetitive, especially level two’s multi elevator ride. With no new weapons it becomes boring as you kill the same generic and infinite supply of mutants in every level.
Adding to the boredom is the game’s extremely high difficulty. There are no power-ups whatsoever; no health, special weapons, nothing. It wouldn’t be so bad if your weapons were not so weak but unfortunately you are drastically under powered. The game throws a lot in your path and it isn’t uncommon to see the screen pretty crowded. This starts from the second level and gets worse as you progress. You do not receive any direction and there is no map leading to aimless wandering and inevitably wasting continues. You only get three lives and credits and they go fast. If Skeleton Krew were even slightly more balanced it would have been solid.
It is a damn shame the game is not more interesting as it is visually fantastic. Skeleton Krew’s art direction looks ripped straight from Heavy Metal magazine. It goes hard on the skulls and death and does it spectacularly. Each planet is visually distinct which keeps the death theme from growing old. The bosses are massive monstrosities that looks like flesh beasts slapped together from random parts. Add to that the game only slows down during the most extreme moments in coop and you have an unexpected technical achievement on the system. I was not a fan of the soundtrack sadly; you get generic rock rather than the appropriate death metal and it doesn’t stand out.
In Closing
I am of two minds with Skeleton Krew. It has its flaws and is enjoyable in short bursts. But the bad outweighs the good. Excellent art direction cannot save it. There are better overhead shooters you can enjoy without excusing their mistakes. The good ideas are let down by bad execution sadly.
