"The most swearing I've ever heard in a game........"

Introduction:
Kingpin was hyped up to be the most raw, violent, and vulgar game to ever grace the shelves. It boasted a new damage system with multiple ''pain skins'' to show unique damage on body parts. These new bells and whistles came at a cost, though. At the time of it's release it's system requirements were fairly high. Once you get past the shock value you are left with a pretty decent FPS. Nothing compares to knocking a guy down then crouching over him only to bash his skull in with your crowbar. Then to top it off you rob him only to get a measly $5 bucks! How about lighting up an innocent bystander with a flamethrower? Then when he stops running around with arms flailing, you pop his head off his shoulders with your shotgun? It's stuff like this that makes you smile just a little bit. Not to mention you can hire local thugs to protect you and send them out on hits. A very cool feature.

Story:
You are tossed in a dark alley. You've just been beaten, humiliated, and threatened. It's time for payback. You are told by two thugs hovering over you that the beating comes courtesy of Nicky Blanco. You are warned to keep out of Poisonville...but you aren't gonna listen.

Graphics:
Excellent. The damage modeling on the characters is superb. Lets say you knock an enemy down to the ground. Well, you can then take your crowbar and inflict damage to almost every part of the body. Heads and limbs can get blown off. You can even knock off the hat on someone's head. The attention to detail definately paid off on the character modeling. The environment looks good but a little plain in some spots. Everything has great textures but I would have preferred more interaction with the objects in the environment. The fire and explosion effects are also worth pointing out.

Sound:
The deep, gruff voice of your character is well played out. It conveys very well how pissed off he is and how close he is to the end of the rope. Other main characters voices are portrayed well also. The Kingpin sounds like Ving Rhames and in once cutscene several similarities to Pulp Fiction occur. The voices of the lower thugs and goons seem often repetitive and soon get annoying. Almost every sentence has the ''S'' or ''F'' word in it, but it soon loses shock value. Explosions and hits are well done. Beat on an oil drum and you get an empty, metallic clang. The music is done by Cypress Hill, a pretty decent rap group. Only problem is that it loops way too often.

Control:
Standard FPS controls. The only complaint I had was the postive and negative talk keys. I changed these and the flashlight key for better access.

Fun Factor:
Once the shock factor of the excessive swearing and over the top violence wears off, you are still left with a pretty decent FPS. Taking a shotgun to the head of an unsuspecting hobo hardly ever loses it's fun. If the developers would have spent more time on the environments and item interaction I would have scored this game much higher. Another complaint is the difficulty levels. At the medium difficulty setting I was getting slaughtered. And I consider myself fairly versed in FPS games. I recommend playing on easy first time around.

Replay:
This is one of the few downfalls of the game. Once you beat the game there is nothing left to accomplish. The story is very linear but very fun when you first experience it.

Overall:
I would definately recommend buying this game if you can find it at a discount. I paid full price for it a few years ago and at the time it was worth it. It will keep you hooked for awhile, and has a challenge that even veteran FPS players will enjoy.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/10/03, Updated 06/10/03