True Crime: Streets Of L.A. – XB – Preview 2

Let’s see… yep,
it’s two years after the release of Grand Theft Auto III, and it’s time for all
the re-hashes trying to capitalize on the genre. Right on time comes
Activision’s spin on one of the greatest (and most violent) games ever made in
the form of True Crime: Streets of LA.  Activision invited GameZone down to The
Dragon Bar in San Francisco for a preview of the game, some grub, and plenty of
drinks. 

 

The story of the
game is your basic
renegade-cop-needs-to-clean-up-the-city-by-any-means-necessary, and the hero is
one Nick Kang, a member of the Elite Operations Division, or EOD.  Due to excess
violence and a few cases of bending the rules too far, Kang was an ideal choice
for the EOD, a classified division of the LAPD that works undercover and is
allowed a loose leash.  Kang’s main objective in True Crime is to clean up the
Russian and Chinese crime syndicates that plague the city with fists, feet,
guns, and cars.

 

Anyone who has
ever seen screenshots or game footage of True Crime will instantly group it into
the same genre as Grand Theft Auto III.  Its true place, however, should be with
titles that spun-off from GTA such as Max Payne, Dead to Rights, and most
accurately, The Getaway.  All these titles (save for Max Payne), had a tough
time in the market and with the critics.  True Crime follows suit, but does have
several elements going for it that should make it more successful among gamers. 

 

Like GTA, True
Crime combines driving around a large map (in this case, 250 accurate square
miles of Los Angeles) with on-foot shooting and fighting.  But because the story
is more mission-based instead of free-roaming like GTA, the gameplay is much
more similar to mission-based point A to point B style of The Getaway, the PS2
game based in London. 

 

The driving
portion of the game is a blast, just as driving in The Getaway or GTA is. 
There’s nothing like speeding down Wilshire Blvd. at 100 mph in a ride that’s
not yours (you can commandeer, Activision’s euphemism for ‘carjack’, vehicles). 
In addition to driving around like a maniac, Kang can shoot weapons from the
driver’s seat much more accurately than in GTA, can perform 180 and 360 degree
turns on a dime, and pitch the car up on two wheels Dukes of Hazard style.  The
cars handle remarkably easily, and most of them have a bit of giddy-up under the
hood for arcade style racing. 

 

The fighting
missions are very reminiscent of Dead to Rights.  There are often 4 or 5 goons
to contend with at one time, and Kang can target them individually.  The
fighting is much more complex than simply punching and kicking, with combo
moves, grapples, and takedown moves all within Kang’s arsenal.  Kang can also
visit dojos to improve his repertoire, adding round house kicks, enemy-launching
foot thrusts, and rib-cage crushing fists from the air type things.  Kang can
also pick up various weapons from enemies (usually by flipping the weapon in the
air with his foot and catching it) such as guns and knives, and can even put a
knife straight through an enemy’s head. 

 

Some missions are
highly weapons-based.  Kang can wield two weapons at once, even an AK and a
glock simultaneously, and unload lead into everyone in sight.  The standard
shooting style is an easy auto-targeting system represented by simple yellow
crosshairs that can be changed to the next victim with the right analog stick.
Kang will also want to go to precision targeting, a first-person view that gives
the user total control over the crosshairs, when facing enemies holding
prisoners hostage.  While it’s fun to see Kang drop bad guys by putting a few
clips in them, the controls suffer in these instances, just as they do in most
games of this genre.  Kang can use the Max Payne slow-mo dive when things get
hairy, and he can disarm opponents when he finds himself sans weapons. 

 

One of the
interesting choices Activision made was the branching storyline.  There are
often a few ways each mission can be approached.  For instance, if a mission
asks for Kang to stealthily infiltrate a building, Kang can either sneak around
unnoticed, or can get caught by guards.  If Kang gets in unnoticed, he may be
able to fight the boss one-on-one, get some information, and then move on.  If
Kang gets caught by the guards, he may have to tussle with them, and pursue the
same boss as he escapes by car.  It’s unclear how many missions have these
options, and it’s also unclear whether these alternate stories can be played
again within the same game.  It’s a good effort at a feature that some other
games have tried, and could be the blueprints for this ambitious feature for
other games, so that each gamer has a unique experience when playing the same
game.  

 

The graphics and
cinematics in the game were fairly impressive on the Xbox and GameCube, but the
PS2 version was noticeably weaker.  There is a generous amount of detail on the
streets and indoors, and many objects are somewhat interactive (although thick
trees merely breakaway when hit with a car). 

 

Several actors
have lent their talent to the game to make the cinematics and storyline have a
real Hollywood feel.  Among the stars are Chinese heartthrob Russell Wong,
Christopher Walken, and my favorite, Gary Oldman. 

 

Another highly
touted feature of True Crime is the soundtrack.  The entire soundtrack features
West Coast hip hop artists and has more bumps than a fat kid at a
mosquito-infested summer camp.  Among the artists are E-40, Westside Connection,
and an exclusive track Snoop Dogg. 

 

From the early
looks I got, it appears as though True Crime has a very good shot to be much
better than The Getaway and Dead to Rights.  There are a lot of moves that can
be done in the game, which is great, but ultimately needs good controls to pull
off.  Unfortunately, the game’s greatest weaknesses are in the controls. 
However, if they can be overlooked or mastered, True Crime looks as though it
has the potential to be very entertaining and very violent.

 

True Crime is
scheduled for a November 4th release.  True Crime: Streets of LA is
rated M for Mature for themes of Blood and Gore, Mature Sexual Themes, Partial
Nudity, Strong Language, and lots of Violence.