by Wyatt "JOEDOG" Elliott
The KISS rock band of the 70's and 80's has hit cult status in the 90's and beyond. Todd McFarland has even made them into action figures based on their own comic book. Which Take 2 has made into a game for Dreamcast.
KISS Psycho Circus is a first person shooter with all the creepiness and play style of Doom. Yes, KISS Psycho Circus is a Doom wanna be. And why not, the chances of us ever seeing another Doom game grow slimmer and slimmer with every school shooting. (Because Doom is the cause of all violence in the world don’t you know.) So I encourage any game developer who wants to make a Doom rip off.
KISS is not the quality Doom was, but it's a nice effort. Graphically its creepy and sometimes scary. You can choose from one of the four KISS characters. Along the way you will earn and build up your armor. KISS Psycho Circus is much like Doom in the sense it features a hellish atmosphere and the goal is simple. Survive the level.
KISS will, at times, throw anything and everything at you. They developed a new graphics engine just to be able to bombard you with baddies.
KISS does not and will not have the impact Doom did. The characters are not as unique. The control is not as perfected. The game simply is not the next Doom. However it is the closest thing out there currently. It is enjoyable, and does deserve a look.
With so many terrible first person shooters out there, its good to know that KISS is not one of them. So play KISS Psycho Circus. You'll need a KISS for good luck, than KISS your ass goodbye, cause this is not your father's KISS.
PUBLISHER: TAKE 2 / TREMOR
ESRB RATING: M
PLAYERS: 1
GRAPHICS: 8 MUSIC & SOUND: 7 CONTROL: 6
SECRETS: 7 ORIGINALITY: 8 FUN & REPLAY: 8
OVERALL: 7.5