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True Crime: Streets of LA Review
Chris Leyton
07/11/2003
Believe the hype, True Crime is better then GTA3...
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, which probably explains why thereâs a billboard advertising JockStraps in an identical manner to the RockStar logo in Activisionâs âTrue Crime: Streets of LAâ.
You see, LuxoFlux, the gameâs developers admit freely where theyâve taken inspiration from, and rather then knock them down for blatant plagiarism we have to agree with what theyâve said to us on numerous occasions.
âGTA3â rightfully won acclaim, not for being particularly excellent, but being good at tying up all aspects into one neat package â“ a sum of the parts so to speak. When you look back at the individual aspects of âGTA3â theyâre surprisingly weak; the melee combat is appalling, the targeting system is a waste of time, thereâs not even that much variety to the gameplay. LuxoFlux have taken this on-board and decided that they can improve the individual aspects in the hope of creating an overall better product - a lofty ambition for sure but one that they carry off with stylish effect.
âTrue Crimeâ pits players as Nick Kang, a renegade cop whoâs recently been booted out of the LAPD for use of excessive force. Itâs not long however before heâs enlisted into the EOD, a newly formed division that grants its members the rights to use excessive force in order to deal with the more deadly of LAâs criminals. Whilst playing through the game, players learn the back-story of Nickâs father, a respected officer in the LAPD whose death on patrol has been left unanswered.
The story leads into one of âTrue Crimeâ most genius aspects, a branching story system that actually works. Each episode within the game is made up of a number of smaller missions; success or failure within these will push players down different branches in the story. Whereas in the likes of âGTA3â where failure meant you had to restart the mission again until you completed it or moved onto another one, âTrue Crimeâ allows players to move onto the next mission regardless of whether you completed it or not. A typical situation might see Nick having to work his way through an enemy hideout; if you manage to get through youâll get to the end, otherwise the next scene might see him beaten up and tied to a chair.
Itâs testimony to the guys at LuxoFlux that this system works so well, thanks to the quality of the scripting and cut-scenes you never feel as though the plot jumps too much or in a totally different tangent. Naturally players can opt to go back and restart a failed mission in the hope of completing it, in fact itâs highly likely that you will have to if you wish to progress onto the later episodes of the game and not âfall downâ to the Poor Ending at the first opportunity. It so good to finally see a branching system work in a game, too often weâve been disappointed at the linearity of similar systems in rival games, but here your actions do feel as though they have significance.
Missions that involve driving allow you to explore the wide concrete mess that is Los Angeles. Itâs whilst in the wide outdoors that another neat idea comes up and smacks you in the head. Whilst driving around LA your radio will chatter with details of on-going criminal activities that are happening in your vicinity. These range from simple muggings to full blown armed robbery; which players are free to take on, as and if they wish. Depending on the severity of the activity, different actions will be required; a simple flash of your badge is usually sufficient for muggings, although you may have to chase after them on occurrences and dish out the old âBruce Leeâ on their arse, however larger activities such as a Bank Job will require stronger force.
Completing these affect your âGood/Bad Copâ rating, another aspect that affects your progress through the story. Depending on your actions in the game this will increase and decrease; such examples as taking a suspect out with a headshot or killing a civilian will reduce this, whilst hitting a suspect with a neutralising shot or arresting a random civilian with illegal goods will earn you points. Your rating will also affect the civilians of LA stance towards you, if it gets too low then you can expect them to come after you whenever you step foot outside the car, if it gets lower then even the LAPD will get involved. Whenever you earn 100 points this will be changed into a âCop Badgeâ, which can be used to enter the 24/7 centres that are explained below.
So from a game design point of view then âTrue Crimeâ is a rare refreshing change from the norm; thankfully âTrue crimeâ features strong gameplay to actually back it up with a number of improvements to the âGTA3â rulebook and a smattering of innovative ideas.
The main game is essentially made up of three aspects: Driving, Shooting and Fighting.
The driving is virtually identical to that featured in âGTA3â, players are free to drive any vehicle they see; however be warned the civilians of LA seem to be a harder bunch then those in Liberty City or Vice City, taking no thought about mowing you down if youâre standing in the street. Whilst driving your free to have a shot at anybody, however holding on the button will allow you to enter âPrecision Aimingâ mode - a brilliant touch that slows down time, zooms in the camera and allows you to accurately target objects such as tyres or the gas pipe for one big huge explosions â“ itâs a tricky shot, but well worth it when you see a car flip up in the air in slow-motion.
Shooting is based on a solid aiming system that allows you to switch targets without the camera dashing all over the place. You can enter âPrecision Aimingâ in the same manner as when youâre driving to allow you to accurately pick off Headshots or Limb shots, whilst you can tap the manoeuvre button to perform a variety of evasive stunts and holding on to it allows you a brief period of slow-mo to whip out a couple of shots.
The fighting is thankfully a massive improvement upon that featured in âGTA3â, playing more resemblance to a typical third-person action/adventure title. The system will automatically target the nearest opponent, allowing Nick to pull off a variety of punch, kick and grapple moves.
All of these aspects can be improved by visiting the 24/7 that are scattered throughout L.A. It costs 1 âCop Badgeâ to enter the 24/7, allowing you to train in the specific aspect and open up new moves and special items. The game features a wide range of moves, firearms and vehicles for you to unlock, providing the perfect scope for going back and replaying the different missions.
If there were any gripes to be had it would be the âStealthâ scenes. Certain missions require you to sneakily invade different locations, allowing you to knock out somebody, kill them quietly or use your tranquilliser dart. Naturally your choices affect your âGood/Bad Copâ rating, however the whole aspect just feels tacked on compared to the quality of the rest of the game. All you have to do is just run up to them and press a button quickly, as youâre given an extraordinary amount of time to kill somebody from when they first notice you. Itâs highly likely youâll just âfailâ the mission to move on to the better parts.
The visual aspect of âTrue Crimeâ is surprisingly strong; thanks to the same techniques employed in âGTA3â, LuxoFlux have managed to replicate over 400 sq miles of LA and boy does it take a time to get from one end to the other â“ even when youâre on the FreeWay!!! Unfortunately the actual design doesnât seem to be as strong as that in âGTA3â or âVice Cityâ; although the game features lots of destructible objects in the environments, thereâs precious little interaction with the rest of it leaving little reward for exploring it and an overall detached feeling similar to âThe Getawayâ. Whilst it wonât blow you away, âTrue Crimeâ features good character models, impressive animations and a rock-solid framerate.
Special mention must go the music aspect of âTrue Crimeâ as Activision have truly brought in the big guns when it comes to voice-actors and licensed tracks. The likes of Gary Oldman and Christopher Walken have been enlisted to provide voices, whilst a range of West Coast hip-hop tunes are predominantly the type of music youâll hear blaring out â“ it may not be for everyone but it suits the tone of the game perfectly.
