The visuals in the game are fantastic. Explosions are satisfying, particle and lighting effects look great, and the ship designs are quite impressive as well. The only time the game takes a hit is when the action gets really intense and slows down for a few seconds. This usually happens during one of the many (awesome) boss fights. Other than that though, you should expect a game that’s easy on the eyes. Fans of mech anime will probably want to check it out for the ship designs alone. They really are quite nice.

Aurally, the tracks in RayCrisis are easily forgettable and serve as nothing more than background noise. The final boss theme and end credits song are the exceptions to this rule, each of them being decently composed. Again though, it’s nothing that’s going to make you run out and buy the soundtrack. Sound effects are also fairly decent, but are somewhat muffled. I think I realized that the sound wasn’t too special when my sister walked into the room and told me to “shut that annoying crap off.”

So what about the gameplay? After all, that’s the most important part of any game, especially in this genre. With 5 difficulty settings, 3 different ships, and 2 modes of play you’d think that this game would keep you busy for quite a while. Well, that depends on how much you like playing the same (literally) 15-20 minute game over and over. Yes, the game is short but can be lengthened depending on how you perform in the levels.

There’s an encroachment meter on the top right corner of the screen that slowly counts up to 100% depending on how consistent you are in destroying everything in your path. Basically, you want to keep your encroachment level as low as possible. This is achieved by destroying every single ship that comes up on screen. Succeed in keeping it below 20% (good luck) and you can open up more enemies and mini-bosses during the various stages. If your encroachment level is high, then the level is shortened and so is your game. This is a pretty innovative feature, but still doesn’t hide the fact that the game is very easy on the first 3 difficulty settings and you can never get enough enemies on screen at once to actually keep your encroachment level low. Of course, play the game on “maniac” and things start to heat up fast. It does become an all-out blast fest if you perform well. Kudos to Taito for this interesting feature, and I hope that we’ll be seeing it implemented in future titles.

Like I said, there are 2 different modes of play. In Original Mode, you can basically choose which levels you want to play and in what order. In total, there are 5 different maps but only 3 can be selected at one time. This does add some variety to the game, and you can even play the same level 3 times in a row if you want. After those 3 levels, there are 2 more “final boss” encounters that you must go through for a total of 7 maps in the game. In special mode, you have zero continues and play through all 7 stages one by one. Don’t fear though, since extra lives pop up frequently to even out the odds. You’re really only stocking up the extra lives for boss encounters, since the actual levels aren’t all that difficult as I mentioned above. I prefer the special mode since it actually does add a bit of challenge to the game, while not keeping it from being overly frustrating due to the lack of continues.

In the end, RayCrisis comes off as a title that would make a nice weekend rental. It’s high on presentation and style, but the short time it takes to beat it doesn’t warrant a purchase. Shooter fans will definitely dig it for a while, but will probably end up feeling the same way I did: it’s only fun in small doses. Plus, the lack of a 2-player mode may turn off a few people who love blasting everything sky high with a friend. Check it out if you’re looking for a quick shooter fix, but don’t expect to be entertained for too long.