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Review: True Crime: Streets of L.A
by Jolex Del Pilar
Friday, November 21, 2003
Add a bit of Max Payne, GTA 3, and a dash of Getaway, and you'll get a good image of what True Crime is about.
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Title:
True Crime: Streets of L.A
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Platform:
PS2 |
Publisher:
Activision
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Developer:
Luxoflux
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#
of Players: 1
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Genre:
Action
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Origin:
United States
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Expected
Release: November 2003
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Grapevine:
"The city of LA is rendered so accurately we were able to travel from our E3 2003 hotel to the game's version of the LA Convention Center." |
Back in May, I wrote a little blurb about True Crime: Streets of L.A directly from the E3 show floor. It seemed to me that the game was going to fall victim to the GTA 3 hype that was fairly rabid at the time. Surprisingly, after playing the full retail version, it's obvious that True Crime isn't a simple clone, but rather an extension of a very popular genre.
The story of the game follows the exploits of an L.A cop named Nick Kang. Kang is a smart mouth cop whose part of L.A.P.D's elite E.O.D (Elite Operations Division) unit. While he shoots off at the lip almost as much as with his pistols, Kang is known as the best E.O.D has to offer. Throughout the story, Kang takes on Chinese Triads, Russian Mafia, and other criminal elements, as he tries to unravel a devious plot that may be broader than he expects.
The game's story is structured in a mission based setting spread throughout 7 main chapters, with 5 optional chapters. True Crime's storyline, as might be implied from the previous sentence, is a branching storyline. This means that certain missions, depending on how they are completed, may swing the storyline into radically different directions. The game features three different main paths, each ending with different results to the story. I won't spoil anything here, but there are three different endings, not all of them good. The actual mission selection is fairly varied involving fighting missions of both the hand to hand and gun fighting variety. More covert missions such as sneaking into warehouses or tailing suspects are also featured. I didn't really enjoy the tailing missions so much, but they weren't unbearable. Other missions ask you to get to a certain location in L.A within a certain amount of time. These missions can be either hit or miss depending on what kind of car you're in at the time the missions begin. Usually though I was stuck in a 4 cylinder compact and sometimes missed my deadline by seconds. Still, given a decent car, the time based driving missions aren't impossible. Even if you do decide the main quest missions aren't really your thing you should remember that there are a lot of crimes occurring in a large city like L.A. and you being a cop, there are always criminals to take down. Much like in GTA 3, there are numerous mini-missions that you can partake in as a dispatcher will warn you about a possible car jacking, armed mugging, or rape happening in your general area. You can either rush to the scene, or simply go on your way. It's your choice. Completing these missions are in your best interest though as they are easy ways to get "good cop" points. Good cop points help turn your character to the "light side" of law enforcement and allow you to view the better endings in the game. Though you could slaughter every perp in the game and get "bad cop" points giving you the worst ending in the game. Most gamers will try both sides of the tracks.
Nick Kang: Portrait of a gun crazed smart mouth.
One of the notable things about True Crime, and perhaps the one feature of the game that still gives me a certain delight even now, is the fact that 240 square miles of Los Angeles are accurately modeled in the game. While SCEA's The Getaway claimed to have remodeled much of greater London, I really had no way of confirming that because I have never been to London myself. However I could test Activision's claims of accuracy with True Crime, and test I did. When Activision claimed that their L.A map was accurately detailed, they weren't kidding. When I say accurate, I mean, this game could literally be used as a map of the city of L.A. To test out the accuracy of the game, I decided to find the hotel the VGLN.com staff used for E3 2003 this past May. Once found, I traveled from the hotel using the printed out MapQuest directions we had utilized during the trip all the way to the L.A Convention Center without a hitch. Suffice to say, I was fairly impressed with the detail with which L.A was recreated.
The City of L.A, yours to explore, or rampage through.
However, most gamers won't be looking to buy this game based simply on the fact that it's a cool map interactive map of L.A. With games like True Crime, it's all about the action, the run and gun. In this arena, True Crime is a mixture of many other previous games, most notably Max Payne, Grand Theft Auto, and the aforementioned Getaway. The action missions, either consisting of gunplay or martial arts, are some of the best action sequences you'll see in a game. The gunplay missions have a distinct Max Payne/Getaway feel to them, featuring diving shots, and the ability to take human shields. When the lead is flying, it's often chaotic, and bloody, just the way we like it. One level inside a towering skyscraper had great gunplay sequences, the paper, and computer monitor pieces littered the floor. I tore through that office like an animal. Martial Arts sequences require quite a different tact however. They require patience, timing, and sometimes a little bit of luck. This is actually the one aspect of True Crime that sets it apart from GTA 3 and The Getaway. It's a complex hand to hand fighting system that forces the players to use a bit of finesse. You have to be mindful of the stance your enemy is using. If he's hunched into a low stance, go for a head kick, if he's fighting with both hands up, kick at his knees. If he's overwhelming you with superior speed, go for a grappling move and break his arm. The system is very fluid, and one might say intuitive, after a while. When it's all put together, the hand to hand sequences seem like an action sequence from the Matrix or Jet Li movie. There is some very exciting stuff here on the whole.
Don't mess with Nick, his Kung-Fu is better than yours.
True Crime is a great looking game. It's a step above Grand Theft Auto 3, but probably on par with The Getaway, which is a good thing. The streets of L.A are populated with dozens of NPCs, who you can actually pay down and check for drugs at your fancy. The sound experience in the game is not too shabby either featuring a distinctive hip hop soundtrack from some of the industries most recognized artist including the Dogg Father himself, Snoop Dogg. Other notable artists include E-40, Westside Connection, and Bone Thugs N Harmony. It fits the game completely and I found that the developers of Luxoflux were able to merge the visual and audio experience in the game very competently, something that cannot be said for a great many games.
After you beat the game, or in between quest, True Crime actually features a sort of RPG element. You can upgrade your weapons, martial art moves, and even you standard police car. While these upgrades are needed to complete the game, they offer a nice distraction if you're not digging the current mission, or just want to explore what else the game might offer.
True Crime does have a few flaws. While it does feature a dozen playable chapters each featuring anywhere from 5-8 missions each, I still felt as though the game fell a little on the short side. I completed the game in less than 15 hours without the aid of the provided tip guide. Although I suspect others, without my magical adeptness at action games, might get a good 20 hours out of True Crime. One thing I still haven't done however is unlock Snoop Dogg, a hidden secret character in the game. That I imagine might add a few more hours scouring the city for his patented "dogg bones".
Notwithstanding the apparent shortness of the game, True Crime is a great action adventure that a lot of gamers will enjoy. It's full of action, emotion, and even instances of humor. I can't really see many gamers not liking this game unless they have some weird, almost clinical aversion, to violence, action, or hip hop music. True Crime, along with Max Payne 2, is a major contender for action game of the year and definitely deserving of your gaming dollar.
--- Jolex Del Pilar
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