This should be called Game Over. It's just that bad.

I never really thought about it before, but light-gun games are apparently hard to make. They always seemed pretty easy to me. You don't really need a story, but there's always a high drama action storyline (i.e. somebody did something bad and you have to stop them, oh and the world is at stake), and there is a gaggle of hooligans running around shooting at you. The Virtua Cop, Time Crisis and even the Area 51 series all showed interesting variations of this formula, and each was good, "light" fun.

Endgame, however, does not fall into the same tier as these games, as it looks, feels, and plays contrived and utterly forgettable. Endgame made me realize that there are all sorts of little tricks in making a light-gun title, consisting of timing, respectable synchronization, and originality, which it regrettably lacks.

Gamplay, Graphics, and Sound
The core game follows the story of Jade Cornell and her friend Tyler. Tyler knows too much about a secret VR technology that's suspect but potentially a multimillion dollar making product. The top security team from EuroDream has discovered his knowledge and within the first 30 seconds of the game, he's kidnappad.

Next up is Jade Cornell, a Milla Jovovich lookalike with squirrelly eyes, boxy boobs, and a knack for having an endless supply of bullets. As Jade, you plow through five different levels, in which she shoots, ducks, and continues to shoot her incessantly evil enemies, all of whom are part of some big plot to keep the product's real purpose secret. Ahhhh, conspiracy and murder.

But see, the plot doesn't really matter. Even with this moderately boring storyline, the game is far from holding its own. Cunning Development's game feels stale and uninteresting, like something that was created to appear in the used game bin from the start. It's kind of like already chewed gum, Hydrox, Twizzlers, or Dr, Skipper (a Dr. Pepper rip-off). Even more sad than that is Endgame is a complete Time Crisis rip-off, a wholesale theft of Namco's popular light-gun series in just about every way, except the little bit about originality and innovation. It's unapologetic in its thievery, making me want to go play Time Crisis 2 instead, which is just fine.

Yes, it's a functional light-gun game, you shoot at stuff, and you pass through levels to get to the end, but every single iota of its design feels old, borrowed, and second rate. You duck and reload at the same time, special colored bullets appear from enemy guns which actually do major damage, and there are even enemies with bullet proof shields, just like in Time Crisis. Naturally, Namco's light-gun game and every other game use ideas from previous games, but at least those developers tried to put their own spin on the gameplay, whereas here, 99% of the gameplay is a poor-man's copy of Time Crisis.

The parts that hurt Endgame, aside from the lack of originality and passion, are the little things. The game is sloppily made. The cutscenes appear to be cut off in the middle of their sequences. The game lasts a few seconds after the last guy died in several places. No matter how many times I synchronized my gun, it was slightly off center, whether I used the GunCon 1 or GunCon 2. I couldn't even get the GunCon 2 to work in the top USB slot, which is weird, since the two ports should work identically (it does work in the secondary slot), but it should work in either.

The CG work is poor and the character's eyes move about like they're all on some kind of insane amphetamine. The whole Mighty Joe Jupiter set of mini-games failed to make me laugh or smile, but in stead made me cringe, and its very concept felt like a poor-man's Time Crisis copy. The menu system (like finding synchronization) and the manual (figuring out the story) are poorly organized. And the two-player mode is difficult to locate. If you take a second to look at most of the levels, you'll notice the graphics are pretty poor, even through Cunning used Renderware. There is flickering, textures tearing, and even a little bit of slowdown.

There are few upsides to the game, which I am obliged to mention. There are some neat little graphic effects, such as bullet holes left in walls, smoky clouds appear from locations you've shot, and tons of breakable objects. You can shoot enemies more than once, and then watch them recoil after your shot. The enemy AI reacts decently: Enemies that grab their limbs in the area they were shot, and they duck and hide, often running from place to place in the environment. And the box art is attractive: A Milla Jovovich redhead in a shiny leather jacket will attract 16-year-old guys real quick. It looks good to me.

But, aside from that those details, which you could find in any light-gun game from the last four years, Endgame is a weak effort in every facet of its creation, and I strongly recommend staying away from it.


What do I think? Forgettabbbouitttt. Endgame is a budget game that's far too pricey at its MSRP of $49.99, and even at $29.99 (which I suspect it will rapidly jump to) I wouldn't touch it.

Honestly, there is nothing here that you couldn't find in Time Crisis 2, or for that matter, Time Crisis Project Titan on PS one, only in those games, you'll actually have a good time.

In This Article



Plug in your light gun and get set for a high-stakes round of hide-and-go-seek. Utilizing a cadre of high-tech weaponry, you’ll try to knock off opponents throughout 20 massive levels of play. The game’s locales are amazingly varied and realistic each with plenty of hiding spots for you and your enemies. ENDGAME boasts extraordinary AI, allowing your opponents to adjust to your strategies and keep you guessing. Originally available only available as a European import, this U.S. release is even better than the original.
Genres:Action, Shooter
Platforms:PC, PlayStation 2
Developers:Empire Interactive, Cunning Developments
Publishers:ACE (2), Empire Interactive, Good Better Best
Features:Number Of Players, Memory Card, Vibration, DualShock, Memory Blocks, Dolby Digital, 16:9
Release Date:June 4, 2002

What did you think?