Gamer’s would hardly leave their houses judging from the reaction from the world to Take Two and Syscom entertainment’s City Crisis for the Playstation 2.Known for the Action Bass on the Playstation, Syscom shifts its gaming focus from the sea to land with its first Playstation 2 Video game. You take the role of a helicopter pilot sent out to extinguish spontaneous fires, which are breaking out across the city, to rescue hapless victims caught in the blazes.

This game offers solid visuals and a steady frame rate; even there is a fair amount of PS2 shimmer on the display as well. The large levels showcase a very good amount of detail. You get a wide view of the city because of the cameras overhead angle. When the levels are set to day, you can make out almost everything from billboards to differences in the sidewalk and even some street fixtures. A variety of lighting and subtle detail can be had when the level is set to night, which works well in the game.

There is an assortment of modes, which comes standard in the game. A training mode offers three tutorials that cover the basics of flight, rescue, and fire fighting. A time- attack mode offers the challenge of racing through levels at the same time you will be trying to go through rings, which appears in front of them. Skillful players will eventually unlock a disaster level to play through.

Mission mode is the main game, in this mode you are expected to be the Good Samaritan. The levels are broken up into two types, rescue and chase. Rescue missions will have you fighting fires and saving everything from the elderly to house pets. Chase missions put you on the trail of shady folks who has broken the law and are trying to escape. You will follow a car with your spotlight on it until the police arrive. If you do well and manages to score high enough on your missions, you will be able to unlock the Final Rescue level, which raises the bar significantly.

The mission mode’s structure is very straightforward. You just have to select the type of helicopter you want and head out. Initially the are three helicopters, but it seems like more can be unlocked. To help you select the most suitable chopper, the game rates the various choppers by top speed, rotation, body, and capacity. The capacity translates into the maximum number of rescued victims a chopper can carry at anyone time.