Crime Killer

A cop's main task is to protect and serve, and if you believe what most movies, games and books have told us, in the future that'll be done by any means necessary. One of the aforementioned vehicles of entertainment gives us that portrayal all over again: Crime Killer from Interplay (developed by U.K.-based Pixel Logic) for the PlayStation.

In Crime Killer you're the police going up against band of criminals hellbent on making the city their own turf. But that'll be easier said than done for one reason: you. That may be making it a bit dramatic, but there's no doubt that the action will end up being intense. Mind you. the preview version we've played here is far from completion (around 20 percent or 30 percent), but it still looks very promising.

Right now, the game is running at an Incredi bly fast 60 frames per second. Interplay hopes the same rate will be intact come production time. The rate does drop to 30 fps during the Two-player Mode, but that's to be expected since there's twice the polygons on screen at once.

The One-player Mode will have at least 20 levels, which vary from racing against (and destroying) some 30 odd bad guys while on your futuristic motorcycle, to protecting a van with an important executive inside--the trick here is not to blow up the van while destroying the circling hoodlums.

So far, the game reminds us somewhat of a cross between Tunnel B-i and G Police, but since it's so early there's plenty of time for that to change. Already, you're able to control a souped-up police car, a bike that looks like something out of Akira and a flying wing (which wasn't available in this version of the game). Each of the vehicles is mission specific, but are fully selectable in the Deathmatch Mode.

On top of the different vehicles, each level may change depending on what part of the futuristic city it takes place in. The wealthier areas are safer, whereas the slums are more or less a fitthrowing hellride (i.e., less enemies in the rich areas opposed to tons of ene-mies in the bad parts of town).

No matter what side of town you may venture to in Crime Killer, the vehicles you commander have a large array of weapons to blast your enemies with. The car, bike and flying wing each has a standard weapon (like machine guns), but they also feature upgraded weapons in later levels that come in the form of power-ups found on the streets. Keep an eye for information as this one comes closer to completion.

Bad boys of the future, what you gonna do when Crime Killer comes for you? Well, you surely won't run away because, according to Interplay, Killer's three futuristic cop vehicles--the car, the bike, and the airborne wing--will clock in at a blistering 60 frames per second. The preview version of this intense vehicle-combat game surely felt that fast, too! Killer's mean crime-fighting machines whip in, out, and around the streets of a futuristic city, blasting gangsta cars through 10 levels. However, the blazing game speed of the prelim sometimes overwhelmed the controls, causing police vehicles to blast past the A.I.-controlled bad guys or crash into buildings and civilian cars. Just the same, if the controls can be tweaked to tame Killer's vehement velocity, it has the potential to shape up into a fast and fun high-tech crime spree.

Rev up your engines for Interplay's Crime Killer, a highly challenging, futuristic action/racer with goth RoboCop-ish values that let you rule with a high-caliber fist.

In Crime Killer, it's the year 2115 and you're a rookie cop taking to the streets to dish out some heavy-handed I aw enforcement (how does capital punishment for illegal parking sound?). You'll use a high-tech car, a speedy bike, or a hovering vying to hunt down the bad guys, disabling them with a sonic destabilizer...or blowing them to particles with a cannon or a pick-up weapon.

Crime Killer's fluid, fast-paced visuals are highlighted by moody lighting effects and vehicles that reflect their damage. However, the controls struggle a bit trying to keep up with the breakneck turning and spinning--if you don't have an analog controller, Crime Killer's D.O.A. As for sounds, weaponry and siren screams reverberate throughout the crisp soundtrack.

Crime Killer has a steep learning curve: You'll spend so much nme looking at the radar (due south on the screen) that you'll crash arid bash everything in sight, causing damage to your shields. If you can overlook these frustrations, how ever, this is a murderously fun game. The two-player option alone, which provides two modes of split screen action (holotag and death-match), makes it worth a look.