DESCRIPTION

Phantom Crash has players battling giant robots in a futuristic sporting event. The city of Tokyo has relocated to a manmade island due to the ravages of pollution and overcrowding. While the former location is no longer inhabitable by humans, it serves as the perfect battlefield for a sport called Rumbling. It quickly becomes a televised hit, and soon pilots of all abilities are sought to compete in this new form of mechanized combat.

Players can choose from a number of different pilots in Phantom Crash, each having his or her own type of armored assault robot or Scooter. Scooters can be further customized from cash earned in competition, allowing for different chassis, weapons, jump jets, and limb types. Combatants can lay siege in traditional bipedal models, or slink close to the ground in spider-like bodies and similar variants.

Each metallic monster is also outfitted with a special camouflage capability, allowing the unit to blend in with the environment to make surprise attacks, similar to the technique used by the Predator in the eponymous feature film. To combat this, players can rely on radar sensors to help pinpoint enemy threats. Camouflage can be disrupted by a direct hit or after running out of rechargeable battery power.

Phantom Crash supports up to four players using a split-screen viewpoint. Control makes use of both analog sticks, one to guide the legs, and the other to target. In this way, Scooters can aim independently of movement, allowing players to move in one direction while firing in another. The environment also plays a role in the game's strategy, as players can seek cover behind dilapidated buildings and structures. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide