As long as a game has lots of bullets and plenty of objects blowing up, who needs an in-depth story, right? Capcom has followed this trend for years and they haven't decided to stop now. It is 20XX, the economy bites, and terrorism has been taken up as a hobby by half of the world. It's up to an elite group of commandos that include Cammy and Charlie from the Street Fighter series, Arthur from Ghosts and Goblins, a French cyber-ninja, and a world famous skateboarding champion to make things right. They may not have an original story but the variety of characters almost makes up for it.

Just as each character varies in background, they all have unique attacks and overall play style. Your controls consist of a regular weak attack, a heavy shot, an up-close attack, and a powerful special attack. Some characters heavy shot is long distance, others are a close burst. The same goes for the special attack in which you have to collect a particular icon to obtain. The power scale goes up and down on all of the different attacks each player can unleash. Ultimately, your choice of fighters will rely on your particular style of play.

The basic setup of Cannon Spike is arena based. Each stage is a new arena; usually a simple rectangle with a few objects (lamp posts, boxes) scattered about. The arenas are small and force you to take out the 10-15 small enemies you have to defeat quickly before you take on the mini-boss. The real shame about Cannon Spike is that it didn't challenge a player's skill by using the shooter element more. Instead, the smaller enemies pose no real threat, while most of the mini-bosses are only slightly annoying. The only time you will have to dodge bullets is on the final boss of each stage. Even then, you won't have to rely on skill since most of the final bosses spray bullets in every direction at high speeds making it almost impossible to dodge them.

The final problem that really kills the title is its length and lack of replay value. There are only 10 stages plus the final boss which only take you about 40 minutes to plow through. And once you've beaten it you are treated to the classic Capcom 2-D art endings that only consist of 2-3 slides. The endings alone make you want to pack it up and hurry back to the gaming store. The only real bonus you can earn is a small picture gallery since the "secret" characters (B.B. Hood and Mega Man) are selectable from the start of the game.

I'm usually impressed with Capcom's ingenuity and Psikyo's great gameplay, but Cannon Spike does not go that extra mile it desperately needed to become a grade A title. The graphics may be smooth with no polygonal seams in sight, but we need more than the pretty colors almost any company can create with the power of the Dreamcast.. With longer and non-claustrophobic gameplay, Cannon Spike could have been a winner. I can definitely recommend it as a rental, but you should leave it on the shelf at your local game store.