Krazy Ivan

Krazy Ivan (stylised KГAZЧ IVAИ) is a mecha first-person shooter released for PC, Sega Saturn and PlayStation in 1996 by Psygnosis.

For the Cold War term, see Crazy Ivan.
Krazy Ivan
Publisher(s)Psygnosis
Composer(s)Tim Wright
Platform(s)PlayStation, PC, Sega Saturn
ReleasePlayStation[1]
  • EU: January 1996
  • NA: 15 February 1996
  • JP: 4 October 1996
Windows[2]
  • NA: 31 December 1996
Sega Saturn
Genre(s)First-person shooter

The player takes the role of Ivan Popovich, a Russian soldier controlling a giant mechanical suit, defending the Earth from robotic aliens. The game consists of five zones: Russia, Saudi Arabia, France, USA and Japan. The game has an interface at the end of each zone allowing the player to spend the game's form of experience points (power cores) on upgrades and weapons.

The game uses full motion video for its intro movie and a cut-scene between each level. The in-game soundtrack was written and produced by Mike Clarke and Tim Wright.

Development

The live action cutscenes were all filmed using the blue screen technique.[5]

Release

Despite being demonstrated at a Sega of America games exhibition in 1996[6] and reviewed in the major North American gaming magazines of the time, the Saturn version of Krazy Ivan was never released in North America. The North American reviews for the Saturn version ranged from middling to outright negative.[7][8][9] SoftBank planned to release the Sega Saturn version of the game in the US, along with Wipeout, Destruction Derby, and Assault Rigs, however only Wipeout was released.[10][11][12][13]

Reception

Krazy Ivan received generally mixed reviews. Air Hendrix gave the PlayStation version a mixed review in GamePro, saying the gameplay is repetitive and requires little strategy but demands fast reflexes, the controls are tight but conspicuously lack the ability to jump, and the graphics are detailed but suffer from slowdown. He concluded that "Krazy Ivan has some problems, but it stands tall above its Saturn counterpart, Ghen War."[18] Electronic Gaming Monthly called it the first great mech game for the console and praised the graphics, the cinematics, the controls, and the close guidance through mission objectives. However, they criticized the lack of replay value.[14] A Next Generation critic praised the animation, heavy use of distance fog, PlayStation Link Cable support, and FMV sequences which "range from painless to humorous." However, he criticized that the levels, despite being set all around the world, all look the same, and that the game can be beaten in just a few hours.[16] Maximum summarized that Krazy Ivan "is far too limited and, in all honesty, suffers from the perennial problem of presentation over playability." They specifically found that the game offers no motivation for the player to not simply head straight to the boss of each stage and defeat it using the simple strategy of firing while strafing.[17]

Next Generation reviewed the Saturn version of the game and stated that "The gameplay [...] is still as sharp as ever, making this a respectable but unexciting game for the Saturn library."[9] Paul Glancey of Sega Saturn Magazine praised the graphics and premise, but criticized the gameplay as being shallow and overly easy, with the simple strategy of sidestepping and firing working in most situations.[3]

Reviewing the PC version, GameSpot echoed Sega Saturn Magazine by praising the graphics and premise but ultimately dismissing the game for going no deeper than a sidestep-and-fire strategy.[15]

References
  1. "Krazy Ivan Release Information for PlayStation". GameFAQs. 2015-08-21. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  2. "Krazy Ivan Release Information for PC". GameFAQs. 1996-12-31. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  3. Glancey, Paul (January 1997). "Review: Krazy Ivan". Sega Saturn Magazine. Emap International Limited (15): 82–83.
  4. "Krazy Ivan Release Information for Saturn". GameFAQs. 2015-08-21. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  5. "You've Got to Be Krazy Ivan". Maximum: the Video Game Magazine. Emap International Limited (2): 111. November 1995.
  6. "Sega Gamers' Day". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 87. Ziff Davis. October 1996. p. 112.
  7. "Review Crew: Krazy Ivan". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 88. Ziff Davis. November 1996. p. 74.
  8. "ProReview: Krazy Ivan". GamePro. No. 99. IDG. December 1996. p. 142.
  9. "Krazy Ivan". Next Generation. No. 24. Imagine Media. December 1996. pp. 262, 266.
  10. "Cover art for the Sega Saturn release of Wipeout".
  11. "Prototype cover art for the cancelled Sega Saturn release of Destruction Derby".
  12. "Prototype cover art for the cancelled Sega Saturn release".
  13. "Ultra Gameplayers Volume 100" (PDF).
  14. "Krazy Ivan Review". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 81. Ziff Davis. April 1996. p. 34.
  15. Kujawa, Kraig (February 4, 1997). "Krazy Ivan Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  16. "Krazy Ivan". Next Generation. No. 17. Imagine Media. May 1996. p. 91.
  17. "Maximum Reviews: Krazy Ivan". Maximum: The Video Game Magazine. No. 4. Emap International Limited. March 1996. p. 148.
  18. "ProReview: Krazy Ivan". GamePro. No. 90. IDG. March 1996. p. 50.
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