Points of Review!

True Crime (Xbox)

by Tiger_Walts

In a forum thread it was quoted by a member of EG staff that their first impressions of this tile, with regard to GTA3 and Vice City, were that it had more depth yet in some cases not. This is true but it is also in many respects very complex yet not complex and it is also both very fun and not very fun.

First some background, Nick Kang is a clichéd cop. Let's take a look at the evidence. Recently suspended but re-appointed, drives a flash car, maverick, wisecracking, hates the idea of a partner, dad was a cop... Heck, the list goes on, but at least it's familiar ground. The plot is separated into chapters, which are subdivided into missions book-ended by the now obligatory in-engine cut-scenes. Each mission is based of one of the three game modes; driving, shooting or hand-to-hand combat. One of the interesting thngs with True Crime though is that when a mission is failed it isn't game over - you have the option of re-attempting that mission or continuing the game, and this can lead to an alternative mission or even a branching in the plot line. Not only can performance affect plotlines but you also have a Knights of the Old Republic-style "Good Cop/Bad Cop" rating which is affected by a number of things, such as how lethal your shooting is and how many innocents you kill. So, it's not linear and there are a number of different endings, but then it is linear because the missions must still be done in a certain order.

To explain this game to someone is like teaching chemistry. To know one area you must understand another and before that another, it goes around in a vicious circle like a self-devouring serpent. So let's start with driving sections and the city.

The city is huge, with the first car that you are given it will take about 15-20 minutes to drive across town without the game stopping once to load anything in. Compare that to the GTA games where the same task can take just three minutes and will stop at least twice to load in the new section. Only the Driver games come close in terms of scale and indeed detail. The city is densely furnished with buildings of all sorts and after hours of play you will slowly begin to realise what area of LA you are in just by the style of the buildings. Failing that, a map of all the major roads is handy and the current thoroughfare you are driving down will be displayed onscreen with the names of intersecting streets and turnoffs also appearing. You will also find much of the fittings destructible. Almost nothing is safe; trees, lamp posts, signs and of course hydrants with gushing water are not safe. This destructibility continues in the interior sections also, to a high degree, so much that you may find the object you are using for cover is slowly disintegrating. Other objects become hazardous to Nick when subjected to a battering but that also means the bad guys are vulnerable too.

So, the city is host to the driving sections of the game, and although not necessary the most important of which is dealing with street crimes, solving street crimes will award you with points, 100 of which will award you a badge which can be used in one of the 30 24/7 training areas to unlock upgrades (10 for each game mode). Just turning up to a training area is not enough however, you must perform a sort of mini-game in order to earn it. Complete it and your badge is exchanged for the upgrade, fail and you lose the badge. Also, if you complete a chapter by succeeding in all its missions you unlock the opportunity to get a bonus upgrade, this can be used to unlock cars, guns and grapple moves, fail these though and you still have the chance to go back and re-do them.

The street crimes section actually incorporates all of the different game modes so we'll go through each one in detail.

The driving section is probably the only game mode that feels complete without the addition of upgraded manoeuvres. In fact think of the control you have in GTA3 and you are already there. The upgrades are not unwelcome though, in fact they improve the experience, and a few seem to have been borrowed from the Crazy Taxi series. Attaining these manoeuvres requires you to navigate a course, avoiding obstacles and performing the manoeuvre at least once.

At the beginning, the shooting is the least satisfying practice to engage in but is soon improved by upgrades, which are rewarded to you in a shooting range, tasking you to hit specific targets and avoid others. Shooting is also quite perilous without the aid of the 'Take Cover' button, holding this down will make Nick crouch or sidle up to a wall Enter The Matrix style. From this position Nick can jump up/out to attack, it is bay far the most important button in the shooting sections. The most useful upgrade in the game is the Precision Targeting, this is activated by holding down the Fire button, and will give the player control over a reticule whilst slowing down time. It gives you the chance of targeting different body parts or even the staple exploding barrels. It can also be used while driving, allowing tyres to be shot out and even fuel tanks ignited. Using this blend of the two modes also feels very rewarding. There is also available a Max Payne-esque Shootdodge, but you never use it as it can leave you vulnerable.

The fighting appears very simple at first, the only attacks at your command are kick, punch, jump kick and a single grapple move. The attacks must be the correct one for your opponents current stance in order for it to connect, otherwise it is blocked. Hit a bad guy enough times in succession and they will become dazed. The only failing point is, it is not really clear what stance an opponent is in, and it really reduces scoring hits to a game of luck. This doesn't mean much until you have gained many of the upgrade moves from the 24/7 dojos. These are earned by performing the new move against a succession of dummies. The new moves give you more options during a fight and help you deal more damage to the tougher enemies later on. There also appears a stealth game mode, in this you only have access to two disabling moves, one of which is lethal and awards the player Bad Cop points. The other awards the Good Cop kind. You also have a tranquilliser gun in these sections but your ammo is limited to 3 darts. The sneaking is also aided by the take cover button.

I'll say it now before I vent: I really like this game. No, I really, really like this game. But, there are some horrible letdowns. The first is the camera. It doesn't seem to know where it wants to be on some occasions and if you want to pan it near a wall you can't. The pan control given to the player also contradicts the target selection in the shooting sections, pushing left on the R-stick will select the next target to the left of the current one if any and rotate the camera in their direction. Without a target the camera pans in the opposite direction with the same input. Very confusing. There are also a few questionable controls and after learning that "L-Click plus B" is used to handcuff someone it's obvious what the base system for development was. There are also a number of glitches, characters and cars on occasion will jump position and even Nick Kang is not immune, when taking cover behind a fence during the bonus shooting challenges I had him suddenly materialise on the other side where he was shot numerous times. The game has also hung about five times, but this annoyance isn't too bad as the game autosaves after every mission and upgrade and at other points too.