Disaster: Day of Crisis

Disaster: Day of Crisis (ディザスター デイ オブ クライシス, Dizasutā Dei obu Kuraishisu) is an action-adventure survival video game developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo. In it, the player must survive various natural disasters while also battling terrorists and rescuing civilians. According to Nintendo, the game features “cutting-edge physics and gripping visuals” to recreate the sheer terror of major catastrophes.[3]

Disaster: Day of Crisis
European box art
Developer(s)Monolith Soft
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Keiichi Ono
Azusa Tajima
Genki Yokota
Producer(s)Tadashi Nomura
Hitoshi Yamagami
Writer(s)Keiichi Ono
Composer(s)Yoshihiro Ike
EngineHavok
Platform(s)Wii
Release
  • JP: September 25, 2008[1]
  • EU: October 24, 2008[2]
  • AU: November 13, 2008
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Plot

Similar in style to Disaster Report, the game revolves around Raymond Bryce, a former US Marine and International Rescue Team member. When Ray and his partner Steve Hewitt were performing a routine rescue mission near the dormant volcano Mt. Aguilas, tragedy struck when the volcano unexpectedly erupted. During their escape, Steve died as he fell into the magma below, having let himself go from Ray's grasp as he knew only one of them would be able to escape to safety. During the eruption, Steve passed on an antique compass to Ray and made him promise to give it to his sister Lisa in case he didn't make it.

One year later, Ray has still not forgiven himself for Steve's death and lacks the courage to confront Lisa over the incident. Having quit the Rescue Team and become a public servant, Ray is summoned to meet with special agent Olson of the Blue Ridge City FBI division, who reveals that the former military organization SURGE has stolen several nuclear weapons and kidnapped seismologist Dr. Davis and his assistant Lisa Hewitt. SURGE has made demands upon the U.S government and are threatening to detonate the nukes if the White House does not comply within 24 hours. Hesitant at first, Ray decides to join the mission on the account of Lisa's involvement and vows to save her since he was not able to save Steve. While Olson only recruited Ray to be a liaison between the FBI and Blue Ridge City officials, Ray finds himself taking on all of SURGE single-handedly during a day of utter natural chaos.

Gameplay

In Disaster, players control Ray from a third-person point of view, with the player taking on jumping puzzles and navigating hazards that can hurt or kill Ray. Disaster also features rail shooter segments that use the Wii Remote's pointer function to target enemies, as well as a number of Quick Time Events and minigames based around the motion controls of the Remote and Nunchuk. For example, the player can perform actions such as pressing buttons in rhythm to perform CPR, moving heavy objects and running from flood waters and lava flows by quickly moving the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, and driving a car by holding the Wii Remote on its side and tilting it left or right. During the shooting sequences, the player can duck and take cover and shoot more accurately by using a limited but renewable ability to concentrate.[4]

Players will also have to keep an eye on meters for Ray's stamina, heart and lungs, which can be depleted by strenuous activity and exposure to smoke and poisonous fumes and replenished by eating food or taking in deep breaths of clean air respectively. Rescuing survivors involves bringing them to safety or completing a first aid minigame before their stamina meter depletes and they die.[4] During the game players will be able to improve Ray's skills, including his strength, accuracy with firearms and mental concentration by collecting "Survival Points" earned by rescuing civilians, while "Battle Points" earned from killing SURGE members can be used to purchase and upgrade Ray's weapons and equipment.

The game covers 23 stages which can be replayed for a higher score.[4] The game also includes a shooting range, "stamina challenges", unlockable weapons and costumes and a more difficult "Real Disaster Mode".[5][2]

Release

Although initially there was little information about the game after its debut E3 2006 announcement, an interview with then-Nintendo of America marketing director Beth Llewelyn during E3 2007 revealed that Disaster was still in development.

The April 2008 issue of the Japanese video game magazine Famitsu later revealed the release date for Japan was to be July 3, 2008, but on May 17, 2008 Monolith announced that the release date for Disaster had been "postponed indefinitely" to “increase the quality of the finished product”.[6] However, on August 13, 2008, the website of the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification listed the game with an M rating, suggesting it was nearing completion. Nintendo also stated that the game was "still in development" on August 19, 2008.[7]

Japanese TV spots later confirmed a release date of September 25, 2008 in Japan. The European Nintendo website also confirmed a European release for October 24, 2008.[8]

The game's North American release was cancelled due to poor sales outside the country and the fact that Reggie Fils-Aime, then-president of Nintendo America, hated the game, calling it laughable and overpriced.

Reception

Disaster: Day of Crisis received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[9] Famitsu gave Disaster a score of 34 out of 40.[11] Official Nintendo Magazine praised the presentation and the mix of gameplay styles; though they felt the enemy AI was "woeful", the game was described as "a really enjoyable arcade-style experience."[17] Siliconera likened it to "a vapid, but fun to watch summer action movie".[20] IGN claimed Disaster delivers fun in "huge, preposterous spades", and believed the mix of genres and gameplay mechanics to be "relentlessly unpredictable and gloriously compulsive". However, they also found problems with the game's pacing, increasingly repetitive combat and adventuring, and unbalanced driving sections, and felt that some players will be put off by the number of "abstract game mechanics wrestled into a single plot-driven narrative".[14] Cubed³ called Disaster "completely mesmerising", despite an inconsistent visual quality and difficulty level, praising the intentionally cheesy dialogue, high level of interactivity and "rousing" soundtrack.[21] N-Europe said that while the game can be "great fun" and "brilliantly atmospheric", it is held back by poor graphics and lacklustre physics, especially in the driving segments.[22]

In contrast, GameSpot called the game "unfocused and scatterbrained", with "lackluster" graphics and sound.[13] Eurogamer also found fault with the unfocused and confusing mix of genres and had control issues with the driving and adventuring sections, though they called the shooter segments "lots of fun" and the plot entertaining and "unwittingly hilarious beyond belief".[10]

In its first week of sales in Japan, Disaster sold more than 13,000 copies.[23] After its first month, it had sold 21,464 copies in Japan.

References
  1. "Disaster : Day of Crisis dated in Japan". Gamekyo. 2008.
  2. Wales, Matt (September 2, 2008). "Disaster Hits Europe". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  3. Bozon, Mark (May 9, 2006). "E3 2006: Eyes-on: Disaster: Day of Crisis". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  4. Tanaka, John (September 25, 2008). "Hands-on: Disaster: Day of Crisis". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  5. rawmeatcowboy (September 1, 2008). "Disaster: Day of Crisis - confirmed for Europe on Oct. 24th". GoNintendo. Archived from the original on April 5, 2012.
  6. Victor B. (May 17, 2008). "Disaster: Day of Crisis delayed indefinitely". QJ.net. Archived from the original on May 20, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  7. "Disaster: Day of Crisis". Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification. August 13, 2008. Archived from the original on September 22, 2008. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
  8. "Disaster strikes on Wii". Nintendo Europe. September 2, 2008. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  9. "Disaster: Day of Crisis for Wii Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  10. Walker, John (October 30, 2008). "Disaster: Day of Crisis". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  11. Hinkle, David (September 23, 2008). "Day of Crisis not a total disaster?". Engadget (Joystiq). Oath Inc. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  12. "Disaster: Day of Crisis". GamesMaster. Future plc. December 25, 2008. p. 73.
  13. Ramsay, Randolph (December 1, 2008). "Disaster: Day of Crisis Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  14. Wales, Matt (October 29, 2008). "Disaster: Day of Crisis Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  15. NGamer staff (October 24, 2008). "Disaster: Day of Crisis review". NGamer. Future plc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  16. McCrystall, Coiré (February 8, 2009). "Review: Disaster: Day of Crisis". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  17. Scullion, Chris (October 23, 2008). "Disaster: Day of Crisis Review". Official Nintendo Magazine. Future plc. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  18. Rositano, Joseph (November 22, 2008). "Disaster: Day of Crisis Review". PALGN. PAL Gaming Network. Archived from the original on July 3, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  19. Orry, Tom (October 24, 2008). "Disaster: Day of Crisis Review". VideoGamer.com. Resero Network. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  20. Spencer (September 25, 2008). "One Hell Of A Day With Disaster: Day Of Crisis". Siliconera. Curse, Inc.
  21. Riley, Adam (October 30, 2008). "Disaster: Day of Crisis (Wii) review". Cubed³. Cubed³ Limited. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  22. N-Europe: Wii Review: Disaster: Day Of Crisis
  23. "Media Create Sales: 09/22 - 09/28 (Software)". Chart Get. October 1, 2008. Archived from the original on February 11, 2009. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
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