Click image for larger version.  Name: 20160119_200042.jpg  Views: 22  Size: 65.0 KB  ID: 8426An interesting game that Konami made and then immediately ignored, Project Overkill on the PS1 is an oddity on the system. It essentially plays like Doom if Doom were conceived as a top-down, isometric twin stick shooter instead of an FPS. All of the violence, secrets, weapon variety and ammo hunting, even similar stage design with hidden doors and elevators... but using the D-pad for movement and the four face buttons to shoot in varying directions.

Project Overkill has detailed sprites and backgrounds with neat little touches, such as leaving behind bloody footprints for a few seconds when you walk over a corpse and almost everything can be destroyed. The music fits well, but doesn't stand out a ton. The four playable characters are pretty cool, and all have unique attributes. When one dies, they stay dead, though, so you have to be careful with your favorites (mine is Mr. Kreeg). Really, there are three things that aren't broken, but can hurt your experience.

First, the control. It isn't bad, but your character finishes the animation for each step and in turning, meaning that until you get used to it, the play almost feels laggy, although it does allow you to briefly spray your bullets in a circle as you turn. Secondly, the ammuntition is doled out very sparingly, and doesn't refill between missions, making you worry a bit more than you probably should about blowing things up for fun. Lastly, the stages often have pretty tight time limits, which can probably be the biggest bummer, as it limits your ability to really explore the sprawling stages.

Still, I like Project Overkill. It's a style of game that doesn't appear much on consoles (the only ones I can think of right off the top of my head is Crusader: No Remorse, but that plays like shit, Captain Quazar on 3DO, which is fun but sloppy, and Mazer on 3DO, which is an oddball in its own right), and definitely recalls a very different Konami than the pachinko maker they have become.

Remember this one? It was a great game for a sleepover if you were a teenager in the mid-late '90s.