Entertainmentopia - KISS: Psycho Circus Review

Coming off of my review of F.A.K.K. 2 by Ritual Entertainment, I had very high hopes for KISS Psycho Circus. Alas, in the end I was let down by the game, but not in just one area of the design, all pieces of the game let me down marginally and it all added up to a game that will be forgotten in a month.

Third Law has done a reputable job of creating your basic run of the mill First Person Shooter, but that is where the problem arises. The game is too run of the mill for my tastes. For those of you who know me personally or professionally, I crave games that bring something new to the table, and innovate something that will have developers in the future trying to mimic and copy. KISS: PC has little to none of these qualities, and those that it does possess don’t lend themselves to the “groundbreaking” end of the innovation spectrum.

The game begins with a rather lengthy install, in my opinion. After beginning the game the gamer is treated to a rather impressive introduction to the game, and the Nightmare Child threat, while flashing comic book images of the KISS stars and the narrator giving us the back story to this whole game. The thing is, the story is weak at best. Inside of a Psycho Circus there waits the Nightmare Child ready to erupt into this world and destroy all. Where have you seen this before? Or should I say where haven’t you seen this before?

The menus of this game scream Blood 2. They look exactly like those of Monolith’s opus. This could be attributed to Third Law’s use of the LithTech Engine, but that doesn’t mean the menus have to be the same does it? Overall, the similarity to Blood 2 isn’t a bad thing, but it just goes to show that this game doesn’t have originality running for it.

The LithTech Engine is used very well in this game, but I feel that more could be done with it. Looking at the over all textures, this game looks overly “Build Engine –ish”. The textures are horrible, they are drab, and have an overall N64 look to them. I expected playing the game in 1064x768 would lend itself to some dynamite textures, but again I was disappointed. The character models in the in-game cinemas are very detailed, and look, as the rest of the game should. The weapons’ and respawners’ particle effects are very well done, and really show what LithTech can do. Again, the graphics are not great, but they aren’t pixilated horror either.

Music is where this game falls flat into the mud, and where the designers should have delayed the game to improve. This game stars the band KISS correct? Well where is the KISS music? Believe me, I am no fan of the group, but I am a fan of great music, and I do believe that a band with the rock reputation like KISS’, this game should have some blasting tunes. Once again I have been disappointed. Only in selected portions of the levels you will actually hear music by them, jukeboxes and such, but over all we are tortured with some of the worst music since San Francisco Rush. Some people, myself included, love to have a heavy rock band jamming away in the background while we dismember evil. This, however, is not meant to be.

Weapons are adequate at best. Taking “inspiration” from other games in the genre, we get some very familiar weapons. You can see influence from the Quake and Turok games, to name a few. Generally, they are not as useless as Daikatana, and they are not as inspired as those in Turok 2.

The multiplayer aspect is totally forgettable. Without a built in match making service, meaning you have to know the IP of the server, and the lack of any dominating weapons in multiplayer, you will be sticking with Quake III: Arena or Unreal Tournament.

Some problems I had with this game are the respawning enemies that act like The Borg. One second you can slash your way through one in a single hit, and the next you have to blow it away with your ice cannon. And, they keep coming back. You will see respawning points around each level that will transport lower enemies into your path, but even when killing the enemies they still appear in random areas and times to throw you off. On the heads-up display while playing you have he option of keeping tally of how many enemies there are in the level, and how many you have killed. Every time I killed an enemy the number would go up. It started at 20, then to 34, then to 45. I know this accounts for the respawning action, but this was after the respawners had been destroyed. Console fans have known one thing for years, respawning enemies sucks.

Here is a little “features” list:
• Weapons – Turok and Quake
• Menu System – Blood 2
• Multiplayer – Daikatana (meaning useless and not fun)
• Enemies – Turok (the respawning, not appearance)
• Four Characters – Blood 2
• Engine – Blood 2

In conclusion Third Law has managed to create a game that needed more polishing time, and more risk-taking designers. The developers have managed to create the world’s perfect melting pot of games into one. The thing is the bits and pieces they have included have been beaten to death. The world’s most average game, No, but close. Maybe next time, but pick a better band than one the Pepsi Girl has befouled.