True Crime: Streets of LA

"''My name is Nick Kang! I'll be your carjacker today!''"

Welcome to Los Angeles. You are Nick Kang, a cop. Your mission: Stopping bad guys. This game allows you to control your character in a pretty much limitless environment. You have the ability to hijack cars, kill people, help people, travel by foot, travel by car, go sightseeing, do police work, become a bad guy, etc. There's 240 square miles of Los Angeles stored in this little disc, that's open for you to explore. This game is HUGE.

Gameplay: 9/10
Better than the GTA series. You play as a cop and it's your duty to keep the streets of Los Angeles save. You can do whatever you want. You want to follow the rules? That's OK. You want to disobey the rules, that's OK, too. There is a Karma meter in this game that will tell you how loyal you are as a cop. Killing a lot of people will make the meter drop. Being a bad cop doesn't stop you from beating the game, but some weapons, cars and fighting upgrades can only be achieved when you're a good boy. So listen to your mommy and stay on the right path. :)

Graphics: 7/10
First of all, you must not forget that this game is HUGE! There is more than 240 square siles of original Los Angeles in this game, which takes a lot of space on the game disc. Graphics are a little bit below GameCube's average, but you now know the reason. There is no fog or anything in the game. However, some things are very detailed: Sometimes, you can see a dead cat on the street. Oh well, a puddle of blood is all there is left... Sorry Kitty.

Sound: 9/10
To tell you the truth: I don't really like rap music. And to be exact: The WHOLE soundtrack is rap! The reason I gave the sounds a nine is because I love the sound effects in the game! There is a lot of swearing in the game. Hit someone right in the face, and they will yell some swear words right back at you! Nick also has something to say a few times. Killing an innocent civilian will make Nick say: ''Come on, duck! Oops, too late!'' When you steal someone's car, Nick will say: ''My name is Nick Kang! I'll be your carjacker today!''. And many, many more.

Controls: 8/10
Everything works perfect, except for the camera, which is pretty annoying. The C-Stick allows you to rotate the camera as you wish. But when you turn 180 degrees, it would be nice if the camera would turn with you. By the way, you can customize your own controls as you wish, but the default is good enough most of the time.

Buy/Rent: Depends on what game genre you are in to. This game allows you to do fights (kung-fu style), some shooting (third-person and first-person, which is limited), driving, exploring, etc. This game has a lot of different aspects to it, which I'm sure some of them will be amusing to you, whatever kind of genre you're in to.

Final conclusion: Best game in its genre. In my opinion, it's better than the GTA games!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/20/03, Updated 07/10/08

Game Release: True Crime: Streets of LA (EU, 11/21/03)