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State Of Emergency Preview
Chris Leyton
00/12/0000
Rockstar`s latest title promises to be their most controversial yet...
Rockstar seem to have an eye for controversy, their Grand Theft Auto franchise has constantly grabbed headlines in British tabloids, whilst the third title has seen itself banned in Australia.
This you might have thought may have seen Rockstar quiet down a little, take a more conservative approach with their games, matured with age, but thankfully this couldnāt be further from the truth.
Their latest PS2 title, State of Emergency, promises to be their most controversial yet. Essentially itās up to you to create riots and demonstrate against Americorp, a controlling, monopolistic corporation that tries to clamp down on the violence you get to create.
The game plays like an old-school beat-em-up, think Streets of Rage, Final Fight, Goldenaxe and youāre on the right path. Despite being a popular genre in days gone by, this genre has endured a less then successful translation to the next generation. Images of Fighting Force and other countless tired efforts may well put you off, but rest assured SoE expands upon the premise in every way to conceive a true next generation beat-em-up.
Perhaps the most notable way in which developers VIS have done this is by recreating a living-breathing city for you to wreak havoc upon. The hundreds of NPC that populate the streets arenāt simply mindless drones, but react cleverly to the action going on. Some may run for cover, others may join your gang or try to oppose you.
Once you first enter a level the sheer amount of action going on will blow you away, hundreds of people populate the screen, looting shops, having fights, and generally getting up to mischief. Itās daunting at first, but thankfully the missions are kept simple and thus the emphasis firmly remains on fun.
There are two gameplay modes to get to grips with, Chaos, which is the arcade mode, and Revolution mode, which is backed up by a story and varying missions and objectives.
Players select one of five characters who make up the Freedom Movement, initially only two are selectable however progress through the game opens up new characters and other secret options.
The missions have a variety of different objectives, ranging from eliminating certain people, escorting and protecting freedom agents, stealing sensitive documents and rescuing characters. However, theyāre all secondary to the primary objective of causing as much chaos and destruction as possible.
Of course thereās only so much destruction that you and your fists can do, which is where the games handy weapons come into play. Fifteen weapons are set to feature in SoE, including the likes of Molotov Cocktails, grenade launchers, Uziās, flamethrowers, grenades, 9 mm handgun, rocket launcher, mace, minigun, AK-47, M16, tazer, tear gas, pepper spray, and a shotgun, a fair amount of firepower, fun and ideal when dispersing of a crowd numbering of over a hundred.
Of course weapons donāt grow on trees, however thatās not to stop you picking up the occasional brick, trashcan or bench to use. The levels have been designed to be completely interactive, shop windows can be broke, cars can be bombed, buildings obliterated. The idea is funā¦ those who canāt see past the controversy should get out a little more.
Visually the developers have gone with a definite cartoon style that benefits in two ways, firstly it removes the controversy that realistic visuals would entail whilst it also ends up look very unique and much a look of itās own to help it stand out from the crowd. Textures are clean, crisp and vibrant without being overly detailed, whilst the locations are populated with a variety of shops, objects and detail that help to bring each one to life. However it's the sheer amount on-screen that should impress even the most cynical of gamers out there, simply put this needs to be seen to be believed.
