X-Squad, known in Japan as X-Fire/Crossfire (XFIRE クロスファイア), is a PlayStation 2 launch title developed by Electronic Arts Square and published by EA Games. It was released on August 3, 2000 in Japan, October 26 in the U.S. and on December 8 in Europe.

History

X-Squad served as the launch title for the Playstation 2 in North America when it was released on October 26, 2000 with 29 games.

Plot

Set in 2037, W-Squad has been defeated, Doctor Bianca Noble has been kidnapped and her experiment Project Medusa has been stolen. Ash, the leader of X-Squad, along with teammates Maya, Melinda and Judd, is deployed to rescue Dr. Noble and take down her kidnappers.

Gameplay

X-Squad takes the form of a third person shooter, with the two analog sticks moving the character and camera respectively. In the game the player leads a group of up to three soldiers through nine levels, giving them commands to perform helpful actions. The player can also use the R1 and L1 buttons strafe.

Development

EA partnered with Animation Science Corp. for developing the game's 3D animation. An early preview reported the game used 30 fps with a huge amount of motion capture sequences. The game was formerly known as X-Shooter prior to being known as X-Fire. X-Squad was first shown in Japan in 1999 during the TGS convention. EA showcased the game in the E3 2000 convention. According to an interview with Mike Jeffress at Electronic Arts, the changes made for the non-Japanese version include English voiceovers, AI improvement, and changes to the story's plot to suit North American audiences. He mentioned that plans were considered to add multiplayer, but it was later discarded due to time constraints and feedback that most players didn't want to fight each other in the game.

Reception

The game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Randy Nelson of NextGen called it "A concept game that unfortunately doesn't even get its concept right." In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 30 out of 40. In one review, Human Tornado of GamePro called it "a great game for the action gamer who longs for a little more to chew on. The graphics are fast and nimble, and the action can be very challenging especially on the higher difficulty level. Even though it doesn't push the envelope, X Squad [sic] is a unique and very entertaining ride." In another GamePro review, Jake The Snake said, "If you can't get enough of third-person shooters, X Squad [sic] gives you plenty of trigger time, but nothing especially innovative or new."