Video Game / Razing Storm

Man versus Machine.^note Man wins.

Complete Destruction Machine Gun Game

RAZING STORM

• Shoot Like Crazy!
• Smash and Destroy!
• Exterminate Legions!
• Take Down Titans!

Razing Storm is a light gun rail shooter arcade game developed and published by Namco Bandai for the System 357^note Namco's arcade board based on the PlayStation 3 board.

You play as two members of the special forces unit S.C.A.R., identified as Alpha One and Alpha Two, to assassinate terrorist leader Paulo Guerra. When the plan goes awry due to an anti-air attack, the unit must fight for the success of the mission. Most of the game primarily involves the use of a machine gun that is effective against soldiers and lightly armoured personnel. At certain points, you will fight against the terrorists' death machines. These include the fast but weak Mini-Mecha "Raptor", a Spider Tank, and Humongous Mecha known as "Kraken", forcing you to change weapons. Your mission is to eliminate the terrorist threat and destroy the enemy's headquarters, while battling the terrorists and their Humongous Mecha in the process.

As in Crisis Zone, the player is equipped with a handheld ballistic shield. When the shield is deployed, the player is impervious to all types of damage and ammunition, although he is unable to attack.

Weapons include:

• Machine gun (for regular enemies)
• Cluster Shot (for Raptors and the Mission 4 squad of HACS)
• Rocket Launcher (for Humongous Mecha)
• Sniper Rifle (for the Stealth-Based Mission)
• Satellite pointer (to destroy the enemy HQ and the Spider Tank)

A compilation with the sequel to this game, titled Time Crisis: Razing Storm, was ported to PlayStation 3 under the new "Move" controls (which unfortunately turned the game into something akin to a First-Person Shooter). The arcade mode was also included and two other arcade shooters are packaged with it: Time Crisis 4 (the arcade mode only, not include the earlier FPS mode of the console version) and the moderate smash-hit Deadstorm Pirates (a pirate-themed shooter similar to Sega's Let's Go Jungle/Let's Go Island).

In the sequel mode, the player controls Delta 1 and fights in battles before, during, and after the arcade version, eventually completing the ''sequelhook' rescue mission and battling the not-dead Paulo Guerra.

Not to be confused with the similarly named super move of Geese Howard (Raging Storm)

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This game provides examples of:

• And Now for Someone Completely Different: In the PS3 version of Razing Storm, you play as one of the police commandos guarding Paulo Guerra's prison. He gets shot dead by one of Paulo Guerra's own special forces. Then you get to use the main characters again.
• Anyone Can Die: A LOT of your squad members get shot down — in the first stage, no less than four. Can happen to you at the end of stage 3, if you fail to counter the Spider Tank's last ditch Macross Missile Massacre.
• Artificial Stupidity: Surprisingly zigzagged in the Story Mode. Though your AI-controlled allies don't usually appear to contribute towards attacking enemies, there are instances when they show a surprising amount of competence. One notable example is when you're going down an elevator with the AI-controlled Casey in the final stage, there's a part when you're ambushed by a swarm of Seekers (small flying enemies). In this instance, you can take cover the entire time and Casey will actually take down all the Seekers for you.
• Attack Its Weak Point: This is how you defeat Krakens, as well as the Final Boss (a Cool Airship that exposes its weak spot when it fires its Wave-Motion Gun).
• Beam Spam: ALL the Mecha-Mooks, including the Final Boss, will use this one on you. Beware their "random" shots, it will catch you off-guard!
• Big Bad: You don't even get to fight against Paulo Guerra, the terrorist leader — your team destroys him along with his HQ via a Kill Sat! Or so you think, until he reappears alive and well before the Final Battle of the sequel.
• Bilingual Bonus: Taking place in South America (specifically Brazil), the enemies in Story Mode can be heard speaking in Portuguese. In particular, the dialogue of the prologue is entirely in Portuguese.
• Bittersweet Ending: You complete your mission of blowing up the enemy HQ, and escape while defeating the enemy's strongest force (a Cool Airship). However, your team finds out that another team has been captured by the terrorists, and sets out to rescue them...
• Blood Knight: Many of the S.C.A.R. soldiers express their excitement engaging in combat, especially when inflicting heavy damage on enemy forces. Shin, one of the Alpha Team members, is particularly trigger-happy. At one point, he gets so worked up that his teammate has to literally pull him back.
• Book Ends: The game starts with a Prologue at the prison where the Big Bad Paulo Guerra was originally held, with you playing as one of the prison guards wielding a Sniper Rifle before Guerra's inevitable release. The last phase of the Final Battle has you - at this point playing as a Delta Team member - using a sniper rifle again to do what should have been done at the beginning: put a bullet in Paulo Guerra's head and end his reign of terror.
• Boom, Headshot!:
  • Headshots do the most damage to a Mook. This goes double for Stage 3-1, where headshots are vital to quickly finishing the mission.
  • Also how Paulo Guerra finally bites it in the Story Mode's Final Battle.
• Boss Rush: The final part of the second stage pits you against a lot of Raptors, followed by TWO Krakens.
• Bottomless Magazines: Averted. You'll need to reload every now and then.
• Cannon Fodder: The unarmored terrorists who simply utilize Human Wave tactics to swarm the commandos, especially when compared to their more professional counterparts.
  Fortune: There are a lot of enemies!
  Shin: Ah, who cares? These clowns are nothing!
• Chainsaw Good: The HACS have this as a melee weapon.
• Charged Attack: The Krakens and the Final Boss charge up when preparing their Wave-Motion Gun. It's best you shoot them in the charging core while they're doing so.
• Code Name: Alpha One and Alpha Two. Also, the Mecha-Mooks.
• Combat Compliment: Gratuitously, especially in the arcade game. Your teammates absolutely shower you with praise when you destroy powerful enemies or just play well in general.
  "Crazy skills, Alpha 1!"
  "Alpha 1! Awesome!"
  "There's such a thing as too good, Alpha 1!"
  "Glad you're on our side, Alpha 1!"
  "Alpha 1, you might just give Fortune a run for his money!"
  "All right, Alpha 2! Just keep doing what you're doing!"
  "Alpha 2. That's some fine shooting!"
  "You're one heck of a shot, Alpha 2!"
  "Good going, Delta 1!"
  "Delta 1 crushed that HACS!"
  Shin: You're a natural!
  Fortune: Nice and clean! Commendable skills!
  King: That's right! That's how it's done!
  Casey: Excellent work! The HACS is down!
  "Need I go on?"
• Combat Tentacles: The appropriately named Kraken enemies will try to use their huge machine tentacles to smash the player. The tentacles also happen to be how the Kraken units walk, smashing downwards through the roof to get at you.
• Combos meets Pinball Scoring: Shooting certain objects with your Cluster Shot or Rocket Launcher causes your combo meter to skyrocket. Additionally, the combo timer is very lenient compared to Time Crisis.
• Continuity Nod: Possibly. One of the members of the Alpha Unit is named "Miller," which happens to be the surname of the Time Crisis hero Richard Miller. Whether or not this is intentional, as this game's set in the future it's possible that "Miller" may be a descendent of the VSSE veteran.
• Cool Airship: The Final Boss is one of these. Hit the core when it charges its Wave-Motion Gun to deal massive damage.
• Crosshair Aware: If a crosshair appears on an enemy, it means that it's about to shoot you (red: player 1, blue: player 2)! Hide as soon as possible, or just shoot them down first. Enemy rockets are highlighted by a yellow caution triangle.
• Crusading Widow: Casey. The Delta Team leader mentions his late wife before and after the final stage.
  Casey: Guess I won't be seeing my wife again for a while.
  King: Yeah, she's telling you to live.
  Casey: I guess you're right.
• Decapitated Army: COMPLETELY SUBVERTED. The terrorists are more pissed than ever once you destroy their leader Paulo Guerra and HQ and with the Satellite Laser Cannon, and send in lots of Powered Armor troops, a Spider Tank, and a Cool Airship to prevent your escape.
  • But then again, their ongoing resolve is probably because Guerra ISN'T dead.
• Degraded Boss:
  • The first Raptor you fight in the game acts as a Mini-Boss of sorts. Later, they come in as Giant Mooks.
  • The Kraken is the boss of the first stage, that constantly tries to chase down and harass the player. The second stage has you fight against two of them, one at a time.
• Downer Ending: Downplayed if you fail to stop the missiles in Stage 3. A noticeable amount of your squads die and you will fail to proceed to the final stage, however the game keeps it positive by having most of them unharmed and agree that in spite of everything, they succeeded in their mission to assassinate the Big Bad.
• Eagle Land: Paulo Guerra sees the US as the boorish version due to their interventionist behavior and America Saves the Day mentality.
• Evil Laugh: Paulo Guerra in the PS3 sequel laughs like a maniac constantly.
• Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The title for the game says "Complete Destruction Machine Gun Game". Couldn't have said it any better, and also: "Shoot Like Crazy! Smash and Destroy! Exterminate Legions! Take Down Titans!"
• Excuse Plot: Nothing really explains who is Paulo Guerra and how an armed militia has access to mechanical abominations of various sizes and how the US only sends a bunch of military men against them. The console version sheds some light of the story behind Paulo Guerra, though.
• Featureless Protagonist: Unlike previous Time Crisis titles and spinoffs, the characters you play as in the Arcade and Story Mode aren't given names, only being addressed as military units (Alpha 1, Alpha 2, and Delta 1). You don't even get a good look at their faces or shown any distinguishable features.
• Flesh Versus Steel: It's your squad of human special forces vs. the terrorists' Death Machines.
  Shin: Ha ha! See? Humans are the masters here!
• Five Temperament Ensemble: Though their backgrounds aren't deeply explored, this trope can be applied to the five main S.C.A.R. soldiers.
  • King: Choleric. The leader of the Alpha Unit, who speaks loudly when speaking or giving out orders. He's the one that calls the shots during battle and tells the player what weapons to use.
  • Casey: Leukine. The deadpan leader of the Delta Unit with a dry wit. A dependable soldier and friend despite being somewhat sardonic in nature, which may or may not be a result of him being a widower.
  • Shin: Sanguine. A very vocal member of the Alpha Unit that prefers to shoot first then ask questions later. Also the source of the game's funnier one-liners.
  • Fortune: Melancholic. The brainiac of the Alpha unit with exceptional computer skills and a more refined way of speaking. He helps unlock some doors and an elevator in the Story Mode's last stage.
  • Hunt: Phlegmatic/Sanguine. The authoritative and affable leader of the Bravo Unit, having a symbiotic friendly relationship with his comrades.
• Fun with Acronyms: S.C.A.R. (Strategic Combat And Rescue) and HACS (Heavy Armored Combat Suits).
• Giant Enemy Crab: Depending on how you view it, the third boss is either this or a Giant Spider Tank.
• Giant Mook: Powered Armor terrorists and Raptors count as these.
• Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: The Final Boss is a massive battleship. With a set of giant toothy jaw on the front that covers its laser cannon.
  Shin: How come no one told me about this thing?
  King: Because we didn't know about it! Now just keep firing!
• Giant Squid: Krakens are squid-like Humongous Mecha equipped with a huge set of missile launchers, laser guns, a Wave-Motion Gun, and a few nasty Combat Tentacles.
• Giant Spider Tank: The boss of the third mission.
• Gotta Catch 'Em All: The dogtags, which can be found by destroying terrain. There are ten of them, each one giving 5000 points as well as extending your platform's life bar during the Spider Tank's last-ditch Macross Missile Massacre. The more you get, the less chances of seeing the Non-Standard Game Over Downer Ending.
• Grievous Harm with a Body: In the first stage, a raptor violently headbutts one of your soldiers, causing him to be thrown into you. Put up your shield or else you'll be damaged.
• Heavily Armored Mook: Heavy Armoured Combat Suits, aka HACS, without a doubt. As for the rest of the regular enemies, they tend to die very quickly...
• Heroes "R" Us: The SCAR unit with operators Alpha 1 and Alpha 2 in Razing Storm.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Barely averted with Hunt near the end of the game. He urges King to kill him in order to stop a launch device linked to his heart, before it launches a nuclear missile targeting the United States. Thankfully, the heroes are able to have Headquarters disarm it non lethally.
• Hollywood Tactics: With apologies to erroneous tactics used by Hollywood for the comparison. Suffice it to say Paulo Guerra or whoever replaces him should SHOOT the trainers for their terrorist army that thought it was a good idea to have their men charge headfirst at the elite commandos carrying weapons and shields that can bring down multistory mecha WHILE THROWING THEIR ARMS UP IN SOME BATTLE TAUNT BEFORE SHOOTING SAID COMMANDOS! Even the game can't let this pass unmocked, as your squadmates appear dumbfounded by how stupid the terrorists are.
• Hostage Spirit-Link: A good reason why you shouldn't shoot the hostages. Thankfully you only lose half a life instead of an entire one.
• Humongous Mecha: Krakens. They are gigantic machines that tower over buildings.
• Immune to Bullets:
  • The Spider Tank is first fought against with the machine gun. Your machinegun bullets don't seem to even harm it in the least, so you switch to a more suitable weapon...
  • The armor of the Final Boss is invincible even to rockets. You have to wait until its weapons are on to blow them up.
• Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: The regular terrorist enemies are so like this. If they are preparing an accurate shot, it will take some time. The weakest ones have to go in melee range to land a hit.
  Shin: You guys couldn't hit the broad side of a barn!
• Kill It with Water: The Spider Tank boss has an attack where it fires out... giant black exploding bubbles of doom.
• Kill Sat: You get to use this on the enemy HQ at the beginning of the third mission, as well as a Wall Crawling Spider Tank at the end of the mission.
• Kraken and Leviathan: One of the Humongous Mecha is known by this name, presumably due to the elongated "head" and Combat Tentacles.
• Last Ditch Move: When you defeat the Spider Tank, it fires out a Macross Missile Massacre in a bid to destroy the platform you're on. Failing to destroy said missiles in time get you the Downer Ending.
• Lightning Bruiser: The Mini-Mecha Raptors can take quite a bit of damage, have rapid firing lasers as well as a homing missile launcher, and they jump all over the goddamn place!!!
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Your shield will defend you from nothing less than Beam Spam, More Dakka, Macross Missile Massacre (unless it's the one from the Spider Tank), Wave Motion Guns, and falling concrete.
• Macross Missile Massacre:
  • Krakens love to use these on you with their multiple missile turrets. Mostly the second one before you equip the rocket launcher.
  • Once defeated, the Spider Tank fires out a ton of missiles (which you have to destroy) in a last ditch attempt to destroy your squad. Failing to destroy enough of them in time gets you the Downer Ending.
• Made of Explodium: Many of the armored terrorists explode when defeated. Justified, as they're wearing light mechanical armour.
• Made of Indestructium: Your shield can withstand regular shots, missiles, lasers, plasma, ramming from a Mini-Mecha or Humongous Mecha, falling buildings and even a Wave-Motion Gun.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Your teammate, "Fortune", is one of the few who don't die during the entire course of the game (where Anyone Can Die).
  • Krakens are Humongous Mecha that move via Combat Tentacles and have an oversized elongated "head".
  • Raptors are Mini-Mecha that have dinosaur-like legs and leap all over the damn place (and sometimes on you!) like the dinosaur it's based off.
  • Paulo Guerra is literally "Paul War" in Portuguese.
• Mecha-Mooks: Raptors, Krakens, the Spider Tank, and the Final Boss.
• Mini-Boss: Raptors and HACS enemies tend to be fought alone or only alongside other Raptors/HACS. Though sometimes a HACS can be seen accompanied by a few troops.
• Mini-Mecha: The Raptor enemies. They're bigger than the Powered Armor terrorists, but a smaller than the Krakens.
• Mook Maker: The helicopters in the third stage spawn terrorists... unless they're shot down first.
• More Dakka: Your standard Machine Gun.
• Multiple Endings: Better shoot down the Spider Tank's Macross Missile Massacre! You'll get a Nonstandard Game Over Downer Ending if enough of them hit!
• N.G.O. Superpower: Guerra's rebels have Mini-Mecha, Spider Tank, Humongous Mecha, and Wave-Motion Gun firing spaceship. The protagonists, a pair of SCAR member (implied to be an elite group of US-based military commandos) are just around half dozen squad of foot soldiers.
• Nintendo Hard: Though it's easier compared to typical Time Crisis game because the threat circle gives several seconds instead of split second before it's the time to release the pedal, and expert players can finish the game without letting go of the pedal unless to reload. And though it's subtle, it takes a split second to fully go behind cover (unlike previous games where you're safe upon releasing the pedal), meaning timing your dodges is trickier. Otherwise, the game is still difficult, as you will have to face hordes of enemies, the bosses have multiple weak points and it takes effort to avoid the bad ending.
• No Ending: After completing Stage 4, your squad receive a message that Bravo Team (the other team) was intercepted and captured. As your squad gets ready to rescue, the credits roll.
• No One Could Survive That!: Remember how Paulo Guerra got hit by the satellite beam in the arcade version? He's alive and kicking in the PS3 sequel.
• One-Man Army: Not quite. You work in a special forces squad, but kind of played straight as you're the guy doing the most damage to the enemy.
• Pinned to the Wall: The Story Mode exclusive Skewer shoots harpoons, which are capable of NAILING human enemies to any environmental objects behind them.
• Powered Armor: Known as HACS (Heavy Armour Combat Suit), and serve as the Giant Mooks of the game. Can take quite a bit of damage compared to the regular terrorists. You fight a lot of them near the end of the final level (if you survive the end of the third mission, that is)
• Ramming Always Works: Averted. Raptors and the Spider Tank will try to ram your character, but you can use your Made of Indestructium shield to guard against those. At the start of the second stage, your army jeep bowls over a Raptor easily.
• Recursive Ammo: The Spider Tank fires out missiles in a Last Ditch Move, these missiles then rapidly spawn more homing missiles targeted at the platform you're on.
• Red Shirt: Many of your squad teammates- at least four get downed in the very first stage. Especially the police commandos guarding Guerra's cell.
• Remilitarized Zone: The first, second and fourth stages are a shopping complex, town and city that have been taken over by the terrorists and their death machines. Expect LOADS of gunfire, lasers and at least a rocket or more than ten.
• Retcon: The console version explains why, after Stage 3-1, Guerra's forces are still in good working order: He isn't actually dead.
• Retirony : In the PS3 version of Razing Storm, two police commandos in a sentry tower at the start are discussing about being on break the next day as well as seeing their kids. No surprise as to what happens to them next.
• Rewarding Vandalism: Destroying buildings not only nets you points, but dog tags which will extend your life bar during the Spider Tank's Taking You with Me Macross Missile Massacre. Destroying huge chunks of terrain will cause them to fall on the terrorists, taking out many at one go (and hence saving time and earning more points)
  Shin: Is it okay to just destroy a house like that?!
• Sequential Boss: All the bosses are like this in some form. The Kraken of the first stage is fought on a platform that gets destroyed in the second half, the Spider Tank of the third stage jumps all over and hides in buildings, and the Final Boss is attacked from the underside first, before it is attacked in the frontal Wave-Motion Gun.
• Skyward Scream: Guerra lets out a triumphant scream when he's freed from prison.
• Sniping Mission: Stage 3-1.
• Solemn Ending Theme: "The Bleeding".
• Spider Tank: One of the enemies you fight in the third level is this. Also, Krakens can be considered as one.
• Spiritual Sequel: To Crisis Zone, no less. Both games give the players an automatic rifle and a all-protecting riot shield alongside the Time Crisis "use the pedal to attack and hide, but don't let the time limit run out" formula.
• Spotlight-Stealing Title: The PS3 version is called Time Crisis: Razing Storm.
• Stealth-Based Mission: The first part of stage 3 is this. You have to snipe the terrorists without alerting the lot. If you get caught, you have to kill more enemies, causing you to take more time and potentially more damage, and lose a LOT of your time bonus.
• Stuff Blowing Up: The terrorists with light armour, the HACS, the Raptors, the Krakens, the Spider Tank, the Cool Airship Final Boss, and some parts of the terrain like generators, cars and other flammable stuff.
• Subsystem Damage: Krakens have multiple guns, all of which can be targeted and destroyed to make life easier. It's real weak point, however, is the main cannon. This holds the same for the final boss too.
• Sucking-In Lines: The Wave-Motion Gun attacks of the Krakens and the Final Boss show this.
• Surprisingly Happy Ending: The console version's Story Mode ends with pretty much everybody in the squad lives, even that guy who had launch trigger wired into him. The specifics on how to disarm it wasn't seen though apart from it involve shooting that guy in the chest, presumably shooting the launch trigger without killing him.
• Taking You with Me: The Spider Tank boss that pesters you for the third stage fires out a Macross Missile Massacre when defeated. It's not aimed at you — it's aimed at the skyscraper connector that you and your squad is standing on! If the walkway gets destroyed, you get a Non-Standard Game Over Downer Ending.
• Theme Music Power-Up: In the second half of the final battle with Paulo Guerra in the PS3 story mode, the Five Finger Death Punch song Ashes plays. This is also the game's opening theme.
• Timed Mission: You have a time limit for each scenario. Failing to complete it within the limit makes you lose one hit point. Many high scorers try to do a speed run of the game, as time gives you a lot of points every time you complete a scenario.
• Too Dumb to Live: The regular terrorists that try to charge the player en masse; they have guns. Does it not cross their minds to shoot at the player(s)? Their suicidal stupidity is heavily lampshaded by your squad mates.
  Shin: These amateurs don't know who they're messing with!
  Fortune: Aren't they afraid of dying?!
  Delta Team Member: They don't even TRY to take cover!
• True Final Boss: The Cool Airship Final Boss can be somewhat considered this, as the fourth and final stage is an extra stage of sorts.
• Unexpected Gameplay Change: The sequel on the PS3 became more like a First-Person Shooter than a Light Gun Game. No wonder it got poor reception.
• The Very Definitely Final Stage: Stage 4, billed as a "bonus stage", sort of counts as this. You need to finish it for the better ending and to get your initials on the high score boards (if you manage to score high enough).
• Wake-Up Call Boss: The first boss you fight, a Kraken. If you didn't have enough practice with the shield, you will get hurt a few times from Beam Spam.
• War Is Hell: Though the war in Razing Storm hasn't been going on for too long, Paulo Guerra's revolutionary campaign has clearly devastated parts of the South American country. The city in the arcade game's last stage so badly trashed, blowing up A SINGLE CAR near a multistory building is all it takes to topple the entire structure over. Needless to say, though the game's environment is meant to be shot up, a lot of places are already pretty battle ravaged by the time S.C.A.R. enters the scene.
• Warm-Up Boss: The first Raptor you fight isn't really that much of a problem, although it jumps around a lot. Your rapid machine gun takes care of its missiles easily.
• Wave-Motion Gun: Both the Krakens and the final boss use this on you. It's a good thing your shield is Made of Indestructium...
• Wolfpack Boss: Near the end of the second mission, you have to fight about five Raptors, the last four two at a time. Not that hard, but truly annoying.
• Wreaking Havok: You can blow up the side of a building (and kill the terrorists foolish enough to stand there). The environments are also VERY destructible. Even the intro video calls it "Complete Destruction Machine Gun Game".
• Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: The sniping segment in Stage 3 concludes with the Kill Sat destroying the Big Bad's HQ and "MISSION COMPLETE!" appearing on the screen... wait, doesn't this seem a little short for a whole stage? This is when the enemy forces call for backup faster than usual.
• Zerg Rush: The regular terrorists that rush you en masse and hold up their hands in the air for a few seconds before stomping you. Or getting shot to death first. This numerical superiority is used successfully in the prologue mission in the PS3 sequel where Guerra's fighters manage to overwhelm police commandos guarding Guerra's cell by surprise.

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