OK, here's my 2nd review ever and I can tell you it's not going to be nice on CD:SS. My first review was for Bug Village and it was purely to serve as a warning to others who were thinking about picking it up. This is similar, a warning, for a game that is actually decent but completely ruined by mercenary tactics to get you to part from your cash if you are a completionist. I played this on a Nokia Lumia 800.
Overview
The basic story is that a dragon is causing some trouble so you must use your dragon to hunt it down. Simple enough and not particularly engaging.
Gameplay
It is a side scrolling shoot 'em up reminiscent of the good ol' days. There are 5 story missions with bosses and around 20-25 missions unlocked after which are harder and more varied. There are different abilities (around 170) you can unlock and use depending on your preferred playing style. Some are for shooting, some healing, etc It is good fun however the enemies always appear in the same order and it can get very repetive when grinding out the achievements - more on that later.
(3/5)
Graphics
The graphics are really good. The character, enemies, backgrounds and menus are all crisp and well done. The highlight of the game.
(5/5)
Touch Controls
Works well although sometimes you will find your finger moving slightly from the control pad and accidentally firing your tertiary weapon located next to it.
(4/5)
Sound
Average. I usually play with no sound as I'm commuting so I can't say whether it gets repetitive. However just put your own music on!
(3/5)
**EDIT: As a number of people are down-voting this review because I gave a lot of weighting to the achievements section, I thought I would add a break here. If you don't care about achievements or completion then you can see that this is a solid game I rate 4/5 based on the above. If you want to see my final conclusion after being screwed over by the game then read below.
Achievements
OK, this is where the game is absolutely terrible since the latest patch. I will focus on 1 achievement and that is White Reaver Unleashed! where you must unlock all 170 skills. The in-game currency for unlocking these is called jewels. Now, you used to be able to get 15 jewels for completing level 5 of story mode - this is no longer the case. To finish the game you will need to grind about 3,000 jewels after completing the game. Jewels are awarded for every 30km travelled (Limited to around 600 Jewels) when checking in with the GPS, you can grind playing for about 20 jewels an hour
(EDIT no longer an option). So, let's put that into perspective, grinding it will take you 150 hours, over 50% longer than Seriously. An hour a day for 5 months - you could be proficient in an instrument or a foreign language with that dedication!
(EDIT no longer an option), which I'm guessing most people will resort to doing if they want to finish this game. But wait, it gets worse. I was up to about 2,500 jewels as I had started pre-patch and I'm fortunate to holiday around Europe a fair bit, clocking up the GPS. But last week my game just erased all of my saved data for no reason. Gone forever. The same would be true if you broke or lost your phone. It's just not worth even starting this game if you want to finish it. A real shame as apart from this one thing it's a decent game. What really pisses me off is that they put this in AFTER people had already paid for it purely to get more money out of them.
(0/0)
Glitches
Can randomly wipe your save and cost you hours of your life.
Conclusion
If you don't care about completion and want some fun for $1/£0.79 then pick this good game up and fill your boots. If you like to complete your games then avoid this like the plague. It'll take you longer to complete than Gears of War or Far Cry 2
(EDIT no longer an option)
Positives - Good graphics and gameplay, cheap to buy (initially)
Negatives - Will take you forever to complete
. Don't be fooled by the $1 price tag. Applying this patch AFTER people have already paid for the game in the first place is disgusting
Overall
(1.5/5)
Edit: Pre patch would've been 4/5
1.5
Thanks for your comments.I've never played Panzer Dragon so why would I include that? And why would I mention the upcoming XBLA game?
Sorry you don't like the review but when there is something that is a complete game breaker I will focus on it. Imagine if you bought a new game and a few weeks later the developers said, actually, thanks for your money but we've changed the game and now you have to pay us to finish it. That's what has happened here and it sucks balls
Posted by DeviSlator on 14 Mar 13 at 17:18
It's usually a good idea to be well educated on the game before posting a review. I read that stuff elsewhere on the interwebz and thought it was interesting.
Anyways, as a person who enjoys the game, your review rubbed me the wrong way I guess. I agree that the achievements are brutal, and I probably won't complete it, but it's not worth trashing the actual content of the game. If you have a problem with an achievement, then post in the game forum, or on the achievement solution, don't write a review.
I know you were just trying to get a warning out there, but trust me: 7.0+ TA ratios are a good enough warning that they are a pain! ;)
Posted by Madtown B on 15 Mar 13 at 06:50
Fair enough. I really enjoyed the game before the update and thought the achievements were fair. It would've been 4/5 in my eyes. But I guess having my save wiped and then being told I'd effectively have to pay $30 to complete the game really rubbed me up the wrong way.
Posted by DeviSlator on 15 Mar 13 at 13:06
Good review Devi, definitely a good idea as a warning to others.
I did already know about the ridiculous grind/cost achievement. But I guess I'm a sap lol and paid over the cash.
More so because I was scared my save file was going to corrupt after I'd finished all the challenges.
Also yes you may have missed out stuff about Panzer Dragoon ... Which it is only vaguely like it due to the lock on. Nothing else really.
So again I support you posting this warning review for others to see.
Posted by Ferocious Swan on 01 Apr 13 at 16:46
I started it again and a month later the save wiped again. Stupid game
Posted by DeviSlator on 03 Apr 13 at 16:42
How can you give the controles 4/5 because your finger would come of the digital joy stick. Its your finger not the game! Hand to eye is what you need practice with!!
Posted by DjDooksy on 18 May 13 at 17:00
Because you are looking at the right of the screen at what you are shooting and never at your left thumb controlling
Posted by DeviSlator on 18 May 13 at 23:39
please stop reviewing games... this review was a joke.
crimson dragon is an awesome game with very good grafix, beautiful soundtrack and really good playability.
its like my beloved panzer dragoon games on the sega saturn and the orta part on the original xbox. but this time with 2D gameplay and 3D grafix. this game is a jewel and the price... its almost free for 0,99€. the game is perfect for people who love horizontal shmups 2 go.
Posted by SoulKatana on 16 Jun 13 at 13:26
I agree that achievement is a major downside for completionists like myself, but marking it down 3 stars bc of bad achievements is way too critical. This is one of the best games I've played on my windows phone and although I'm prob not going to 100% it, I still would give it 4 out of 5 stars easily.
Posted by FeralKnight on 30 Jun 13 at 16:09
I gave you a thumbs up because you gave me the information I wanted to know. I will not buy it because it is damn near impossible to complete. Yes achievements affect my purchasing decisions and I think the people hating on your review don't understand that. My money, my decision, and I choose not to support companies that have absurd achievements and/or mechanics like this, because money talks and that's that.
Posted by Breadly Weapon on 16 Dec 14 at 00:59