Massive explosions? Check. Spider bombs? Check. Enemies reduced to cinders? Check. Isometric viewpoint of the carnage? Check. Looks like you’re playing Crusader: No Regret.
Growing up, I found myself attracted to games that featured widespread carnage. Descent, Bedlam, Hellbent…the more I could blow up and destroy, the happier I was. In 1996, at the age of 12, I came across Crusader: No Regret. Within minutes of booting it up the first time, I knew I had found what I had been looking for.
Nearly everything you see around you in Crusader: No Regret can be destroyed…and not just destroyed, but ANNIHILATED. Computers, industrial equipment, storage units…everything explodes in a satisfyingly fiery way. Enemies come out of the woodwork, firing at you from all sides. Spider bombs, rockets, bullets, flame and ice traps…danger lurks around every turn. Using an enhanced version of the Ultima VIII engine, Crusader: No Regret offered smooth graphics, great sound, and some of the best-looking explosions of the 90′s. Like most other games from the 90′s, Crusader: No Regret also incorporated full motion video cutscenes, complete with a cheesy script.
Taking place only 47 hours after Crusader: No Remorse, the story revolves around an elite soldier known as a Silencer who defects from the WEC (i.e. governemnt) and joins the resistance. A moon is used by the WEC as a mine/prison, where anti-establishment types are forced to dig up a radioactive material used as the primary source of energy. You, as a former WEC killing machine, decide to join the resistance and take down the mine.
As with most games from the era, I’m not sure about my total time spent with Crusader: No Regret…however, I DO remember that it was the only game I played for nearly a month, and considering the amount of time I kept myself in front of a screen back in 1996, my /timeplayed was likely approaching the triple digits. I never grew tired of blowing the unholy hell out of everything, and each explosion made me giddy. The twisted husk of a metal container or fuel canister that had been destroyed remained on screen, so you could backtrack through the level and view the dogs of war you had let loose.
Requiring only a 486 running at 75 MHZ and 8 MB of ram, Crusader: No Regret was a DOS-only release (unlike it’s predecessor, Crusader: No Remorse, which was released for DOS, Playstation, and Sega Saturn.) I played it on my 166 MHZ Pentium with 64 MB of RAM, so the game ran super smooth for me. Developed by Origin Systems, the it shared a similar design philosophy as Ultima, Wing Commander, and in some cases even the 2000 classic Deus Ex. Some of the biggest names in the industry came out of Origin Systems, including Warren Spector, Chris Roberts, a pre-Daikatana John Romero, and Lord British himself Richard Garriott. Origin Systems had an overflowing cup of talent, and it shows in Crusader: No Regret.
Crusader: No Regret is a game that shall live on forever…I only hope that more people get a chance to go through it. This is an experience not to be missed.
Oh, and if your computer date is set to December 25th, there is a little surprise in store for you…
